Dollar General Boosts Family Dollar Offer in Takeover Tussle

Dollar General Corp. raised its bid for smaller Family Dollar Stores to $9.1 billion and is willing to divest twice as many locations to ease antitrust concerns after the retailer's first proposal was rejected for a lower offer. Dollar General bid $80 a share in cash for Matthews, North Carolina-based Family Dollar, compared with an offer of $78.50 made two weeks ago. The company also said today it would sell as many as 1,500 locations, up from 700 in its previous approach, and pay Family Dollar $500 million if the the deal fails on antitrust grounds.