Dollar General Corp raised its bid for Family Dollar Stores Inc to $80 per share, or $9.1 billion, and warned it may turn hostile and appeal directly to shareholders if the new offer was rejected.The No.1 U.S. deep-discount retailer also said it would pay a break-up fee of $500 million if the deal ran foul of competition law, the reason Family Dollar had cited for its rejection of the earlier $8.95 billion offer.Family Dollar opted instead for an $8.5 billion cash-and-stock bid from Dollar Tree Inc.Family Dollar's shares were up almost 1 percent at $80.52 in premarket trading on Tuesday, above Dollar General's offer, suggesting some investors held hopes of higher offers.
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 1.03% or $0.66/share to $64.65. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $53.00 and as high as $65.99. On average, 6748590 shares of DG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1163222.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (Dollar Tree) is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at the fixed price. Shares of DLTR traded higher by 1.58% or $0.845/share to $54.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $49.59 and as high as $60.19. On average, 2898030 shares of DLTR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 670623.
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 0.5% or $0.4/share to $80.23. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.64 and as high as $80.20. On average, 3134540 shares of FDO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 846505.
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