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Monday, August 18, 2014

Dollar General enters race for Family Dollar with $8.95 billion bid, (NYSE: DG), (NASDAQ: DLTR), (NYSE: FDO), (NYSE: WMT)

Dollar General Corp offered to purchase Family Dollar Stores Inc for $8.95 billion, trumping a bid by Dollar Tree Inc that had threatened to unseat the biggest U.S. discount retailer from the peak of a highly competitive market.Shares of Family Dollar, the No. 2 U.S. discount retailer, rose 4.9 percent to $79.79, above the offer price of $78.50 per share in cash, in a sign that investors anticipate a bidding war."Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree have some capacity to go a little bit higher with the offer price," said Joseph Feldman, analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.Dollar stores have been a popular choice for U.S. consumers in a weak economy. Competition to woo penny-pinching customers has intensified, particularly as Wal-Mart Stores Inc has opened more small-format stores.

Dollar General Corporation is a discount retailer in the United States by number of stores, with 9,961 stores located in 39 states as of March 2, 2012, primarily in the southern, southwestern, midwestern and eastern United States. Shares of DG traded higher by 10.08% or $5.79/share to $63.25. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $53.00 and as high as $65.99. On average, 6128120 shares of DG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 24244364.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (Dollar Tree) is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at the fixed price. Shares of DLTR fell by 2.02% or $-1.125/share to $54.48. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $49.59 and as high as $60.19. On average, 2687760 shares of DLTR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3567184.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (Family Dollar) operates a chain of more than 7,900 general merchandise retail discount stores in 46 states, providing consumers with a selection of merchandise in neighborhood stores. Shares of FDO traded higher by 5.02% or $3.82/share to $79.88. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.64 and as high as $79.93. On average, 2732250 shares of FDO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 10850409.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart), operates retail stores in various formats globally. Shares of WMT traded higher by 0.83% or $0.61/share to $74.51. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $71.51 and as high as $81.37. On average, 5850340 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1492969.



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