Tag: dollar general
U.S. Stocks Little Changed; Apple Up 0.2 Percent

U.S. Stocks Little Changed; Apple Up 0.2 Percent

New York (AFP) — Wall Street stocks were little changed in early trade Wednesday with Apple posting modest gains after unveiling a spate of new products, including a mobile-payment system and a smartwatch.

About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 3.01 points (0.02 percent) to 17,010.86.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.25 (0.06 percent) to 1,987.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.89 (0.02 percent) to 4,553.18.

Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com, said concerns about the Fed accelerating its plans to raise benchmark interest rates are the “excuse du jour” for tepid trade in equities.

But O’Hare also said the “stock market may just be succumbing to some price exhaustion after a huge move.”

O’Hare said the trajectory of Apple stock was consistent with the tech giant’s history of rising in the weeks before product launches and then cooling off after the announcements are made. Apple shares stood 0.2 percent higher.

Dollar General launched a hostile takeover campaign for Family Dollar, offering $80 a share for the company and seeking to scuttle a rival bid from Dollar Tree for $74.50. Family Dollar has said a deal with Dollar General would face major antitrust obstacles.

Dollar Tree lost 0.3 percent while Family Dollar and Dollar General each fell 0.1 percent.

EBay dropped 3.3 percent on worries that Apple’s new mobile wallet system could threaten its PayPal unit.

Although it is possible PayPal could be integrated into the Apple system, “competitive concerns for PayPal will likely continue” in light of the Apple news, said a note from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Dow member Microsoft rose 0.1 percent following reports it is considering a $2 billion deal to buy Mojang AB, the creator of the popular “Minecraft” video game.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury advanced to 2.53 percent from 2.50 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year rose to 3.26 percent from 3.23 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

AFP Photo/Eric Piermont

Want more news about the economy? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Dollar General Raises Bid For Family Dollar

Dollar General Raises Bid For Family Dollar

New York (AFP) — Dollar General on Tuesday sweetened its bid to acquire Family Dollar and threatened to launch a hostile takeover campaign in the latest twist in a bidding war among discount retailers.

Dollar General, the largest U.S. deep-discount chain, raised its all-cash bid for Family Dollar to $80 per share from $78.50, while also agreeing to pay Family Dollar $500 million if a deal is not completed for antitrust reasons.

Dollar General said its latest bid would provide Family Dollar shareholders with about $640 million in greater value compared with a proposal by rival Dollar Tree that has been favored by the Family Dollar board.

“We are confident that our enhanced proposal sufficiently addresses any concerns that led Family Dollar’s Board of Directors to reject our prior proposal without any discussions between our companies,” said Rick Dreiling, chief executive of Dollar General.

“If the Family Dollar Board fails to seize this opportunity to maximize value for its shareholders, we will consider taking our superior proposal directly to the Family Dollar shareholders.”

Dollar General’s Tuesday bid marks its second effort to woo Family Dollar, the number two company in the discount sector, after Family Dollar in August snubbed an earlier proposal worth $9.7 billion.

On August 21, Family Dollar rejected the bid by Dollar General, saying it could run afoul of U.S. anti-monopoly rules. Instead, Family Dollar, said it still favored a $9.2 billion offer from Dollar Tree.

But Dollar General said Tuesday it was confident it could win antitrust clearance after consulting antitrust experts. To win regulatory approval, Dollar General said it would agree to divest as many as 1,500 stores if ordered by the Federal Trade Commission.

Dollar General had previously pledged to divest up to 700 stores to get the green light from antitrust officials.

Family Dollar released a statement confirming it received the latest Dollar General Proposal and pledging to “review and consider” the bid in consultation with legal and financial advisers.

A Dollar General-Family Dollar combination would have nearly 20,000 stores in 46 states and sales of more than $28 billion. That compares with Walmart’s 4,900 mostly much larger U.S. stores which generate 12 times that much in sales.

In early trade, Dollar General jumped 1.5 percent to $64.92, Family Dollar shares rose 0.6 percent to $80.28, and Dollar Tree gained 0.8 percent to $54.07.

AFP Photo/Joe Raedle

Interested in economic news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Dollar General Puts Up Rival Bid For Family Dollar

Dollar General Puts Up Rival Bid For Family Dollar

New York (AFP) — Dollar General on Monday made a counterbid for Family Dollar Stores, trumping an initial offer by Dollar Tree as the U.S. war for the discount retail market heats up.

Dollar General, the largest dollar-store chain in the United States, offered to pay $78.50 per share in cash for Family Dollar, the country’s second-largest deep discounter, in a deal valued at $9.7 billion.

Dollar General said the combined company with Family Dollar would have nearly 20,000 stores in 46 states and sales of more than $28 billion.

In July Family Dollar agreed to be acquired by Dollar Tree, the third biggest dollar chain, in a cash-and stock deal valued at $9.2 billion, including debt, with Dollar Tree paying $74.50 per share.

Dollar General said its offer was “substantially superior” to Dollar Tree’s, giving Family Dollar shareholders a better price and immediate liquidity for their shares.

“For Dollar General shareholders, the proposed combination of Dollar General and Family Dollar would be a significant strategic opportunity to create immediate and lasting shareholder value,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and chief executive.

The customers of both companies would also benefit because “we would be able to provide better value and greater selection,” he said.

If a merger agreement is reached, Dreiling, who previously had announced his retirement, would remain in his dual roles in the combined company until May 2016 to oversee the integration, the Goodlettsville,Tennessee-based company said.

Family Dollar, which sells name-brand and private-label goods at various prices, announced it had agreed to the merger deal with Dollar Tree on July 28. The combined company would have sales of more than $18 billion and more than 145,000 employees

The chain had been under pressure to put itself up for sale from activist investor Carl Icahn, who bought a stake in the company in early June.

Shares in Dollar General on Monday jumped 11 percent to $63.79 in pre-market trade. Family Dollar was up 4.8 at $79.69; Dollar Tree fell 1.9 percent to $54.57.

AFP Photo/Brian Killian

Interested in economic news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!