Dollar General isn’t about to be left out in the cold. The discounter is starting a bidding war for Family Dollar with an approximately $8.95 billion offer as it attempts to trump a Dollar Tree bid.
For Dollar General, the decision to enter the fray was clear because Family Dollar had been on its radar for a while.
Dollar General was very surprised when Family Dollar announced its deal with Dollar Tree. Despite the shock, Dollar General remains undeterred in trying to work out a transaction.
One reason Dollar General is angling for Family Dollar is its customer base. The Dollar General CEO says that Family Dollar is strong in metropolitan areas, while Dollar General’s strength lies in rural markets.
Dollar General Corp. said it would pay $78.50 per share in cash. That’s 3 percent higher than Family Dollar Stores Inc.’s Friday closing price of $76.06. Dollar General put the deal’s value at $9.7 billion.
Last month Dollar Tree Inc. made an $8.5 billion bid for Family Dollar. It offered to pay $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share held. The companies valued the transaction at $74.50 per share at the time. Including debt and other costs, the companies estimated the transaction to be worth approximately $9.2 billion.
Dollar General operates 8 stores in Coffee County with Family Dollar and Dollar Tree both offering 2 locations.