Dollar General raises bid for Family Dollar

Less than two weeks after rural-centric Dollar General was spurned by Family Dollar in its takeover bid against rival Dollar Tree, Dollar General has raised its offering price to $9.1 billion, Michael de la Merced reports for The New York Times.

In July, Dollar Tree offered $8.5 billion to purchase Family Dollar. Last month Dollar General responded with an offer of $8.9 billion, but that offer was rejected, with Family Dollar citing anti-trust issues.

Dollar Tree has added new provisions to avoid antitrust issues, de la Merced writes. "Under the terms of the revised offer, Dollar General will pay $80 a share, up from its original bid of $78.50 a share and from Dollar Tree’s $74.50-a-share bid. It will also pay a $500 million reverse termination fee if their agreement falls apart over antitrust concerns. And Dollar General has more than doubled the number of stores – to 1,500 – it is willing to divest to satisfy antitrust regulators." (Read more)