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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Options traders ready for the end of Dollar Store bidding war, (NYSE: DG), (NASDAQ: DLTR), (NYSE: FDO)

Family Dollar Stores Inc shareholders will vote on Thursday on an agreement to be bought by fellow discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc, possibly putting an end to a months-long tussle with Dollar General Corp. Traders in the options market appear to be betting on a Dollar Tree win and have been positioning for Dollar General shares to come under pressure.While Dollar General's last offer of $9.1 billion in cash trumped Dollar Tree's cash-and-stock bid of $8.5 billion, its unwillingness to divest more than 1,500 stores to win anti-trust approval might swing the scales in Dollar Tree's favor, analysts said.Earlier this month, two influential proxy advisory firms changed their stance and advised Family Dollar shareholders to vote for an acquisition by Dollar Tree.Dollar General puts, which carry the right to sell the shares at a specified price in the future, and can be used to make bearish bets on the stock, have been unusually active.

Dollar General Corporation is a discount retailer. Shares of DG fell by 0.19% or $-0.13/share to $67.21. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $53.00 and as high as $71.78. On average, 4272080 shares of DG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3854316.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (Dollar Tree) is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at the fixed price. Shares of DLTR traded higher by 0.83% or $0.56/share to $67.81. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $49.59 and as high as $71.53. On average, 2474250 shares of DLTR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3621101.

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 0.16% or $0.12/share to $75.55. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.64 and as high as $80.97. On average, 1468400 shares of FDO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3534791.



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