Dollar General Opens Bidding War

There's now a bidding war for Family Dollar, with Dollar General today offering about $9.7 billion for the discounter in an effort to trump Dollar Tree's $8.5 billion bid last month. Dollar General Corp. said today that it would pay $78.50 per share in cash, 3% higher than Family Dollar Stores Inc.'s Friday closing price of $76.06. "Our proposal is financially superior to the current transaction agreement with Dollar Tree," says Dollar General Chairman Rick Dreiling, as per the Wall Street Journal. The combined companies would create a behemoth with 20,000 stores and annual sales that top $28 billion, notes the Journal.

Dollar Tree offered last month to pay $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share they own. The companies put the value of the transaction at $74.50 per share. Family Dollar's board unanimously approved the Dollar Tree deal.