Dollar General Remains Committed To Acquiring Family Dollar

(RTTNews) - Dollar General Corp. (DG) said Friday that it remains committed to acquiring Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) and that it is currently evaluating its next steps.

The statement from Dollar General came in response to the decision by the Board of Directors of Family Dollar to reject Dollar General's enhanced all-cash proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Family Dollar for $80.00 per share.

Meanwhile, the Family Dollar Board has reaffirmed its recommendation in support of the deal with another rival Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR), which expects to close the deal as early as end of November.

Dollar Tree agreed in late July to acquire Matthews, North Carolina-based Family Dollar Stores for $74.50 per share in a cash and stock deal valued $9.2 billion.

On August 18, Dollar General made a superior all-cash proposal of $78.50 per share or $9.7 billion to thwart the Dollar Tree bid.

On August 21, Family Dollar Stores announced that its board has unanimously rejected the non-binding proposal made by Dollar General on the basis of antitrust regulatory considerations. The Family Dollar board then also unanimously reaffirmed its recommendation in support of the merger agreement with Dollar Tree.

On Tuesday, Dollar General sweetened its offer by $1.50 to $80.00 per share, and also raised the number of stores it was willing to divest if ordered by the FTC. Showing evidence of its confidence in its ability to obtain antitrust approval, it also agreed to pay a $500 million reverse break-up fee to Family Dollar relating to antitrust matters.