Dollar General is making a competing bid of about $9.7 billion for Family Dollar Stores.
Citing what it calls "substantially superior valuation" for shareholders, Dollar General said Monday its offer of $78.50 a share in cash is higher than the $74.50 a share in cash and stock bid made by Dollar Tree on July 28.
Shares of Family Dollar and Dollar General opened sharply higher Monday, while Dollar Tree lost ground in early trading on Wall Street. Family dollar was trading above Dollar General's offer price. (Click here for the latest price.)
Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling told CNBC that any perception of a previously chilly relationship with Family Dollar is "water under the bridge."
In a letter to Family Dollar Chairman and CEO Howard Levine, Dreiling wrote: "Our proposal provides Family Dollar's shareholders with approximately $466 million of additional aggregate value over Dollar Tree's offer and represents a premium of 29.4 percent over the closing price of $60.66 for Family Dollar stock on the day prior to the Dollar Tree announcement [last month]."
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If a Dollar General-Family Dollar tie up goes through, the combined company would have 20,000 stores in 46 states, with sales of $28 billion. Dollar General expects synergies of $500 million to $600 million annually three years after the close. The business models and product mixes of Dollar General and Family Dollar are highly complementary, Dollar General said in a statement about its offer.
"Dollar General has undertaken significant economic and antitrust analysis with respect to the transaction and is confident it can quickly and effectively address any potential antitrust issues," the retailer continued. "Dollar General is prepared to commit to divest up to 700 retail stores in order to achieve the requisite approvals,
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—Written by CNBC staff, with reporting by CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin and David Faber