Dollar General Still in Talks With Regulators on Family Dollar

By Chelsey Dulaney 

Dollar General Corp. said Friday that it is still in discussions with U.S. regulators about its unsolicited offer to buy Family Dollar Stores Inc., but it didn't elaborate on what divestitures regulators may require to approve the deal.

The update comes ahead of Family Dollar's shareholder vote on its pending $8.5 billion deal to be bought by Dollar Tree Inc. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

Dollar General didn't comment Friday on how the talks with antitrust regulators have gone. The company said it doesn't expect to provide further updates before the Family Dollar shareholder vote on the Dollar Tree deal.

Earlier this month, Dollar Tree gave an optimistic update on its pending deal, saying it will have to divest a "relatively small" number of stores to secure U.S. antitrust approval of the deal, which could close as early as February. Dollar Tree said it would work with the Federal Trade Commission to determine what divestitures would be required, but added that it would likely be a small number of stores that won't be material to its plans for the combined company.

Meanwhile, larger rival Dollar General also has been in talks with the FTC about a potential acquisition of Family Dollar. Its $9.1 billion unsolicited bid was shot down in September by Family Dollar, which claimed the antitrust risks were too high.

Dollar General has said it would be willing to divest up to 1,500 stores, but Family Dollar's chief executive, Howard Levine, has said there is a "very real and material risk" that Dollar General's offer would fail to pass a lengthy regulatory process.

At the heart of the FTC's review are the similarities among the discount retailers' businesses and how a combination could affect competition and pricing. Dollar General and Family Dollar both sell a variety of consumable and household products at a range of prices, while Dollar Tree primarily sells goods for $1 or less.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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