Dollar General offers about $9.7B for Family Dollar, starting bidding war with Dollar Tree

There's now a bidding war for Family Dollar, with Dollar General offering about $9.7 billion for the discounter in an effort to trump Dollar Tree's bid.

Dollar General Corp. said Monday that it would pay $78.50 per share in cash, 3 percent higher than Family Dollar Stores Inc.'s Friday closing price of $76.06.

Last month Dollar Tree Inc. made an $8.5 billion bid for Family Dollar. It offered to pay $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share they own. The companies put the value of the transaction at $74.50 per share.

Dollar General's board unanimously approved the Dollar Tree deal.