Family Dollar Sale to Dollar Tree to Close Today

Dollar Tree is expected to complete its purchase of Matthews, N.C.-based Family Dollar today, drawing to a close a yearlong takeover saga that included a separate buyout attempt from another discount retailer, Dollar General. It also will effectively end local ownership of the homegrown retail chain that traces its roots back to 1959, when Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar store on Central Avenue with a $6,000 loan. Last week, federal regulators approved the $8.5 billion sale of the company to Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree.