Dive Brief:
- Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling said in a statement Thursday that the discount retailer is still "firmly committed" to the acquisition of rival Family Dollar.
- The news comes less than a week after Family Dollar rejected Dollar General's $9 billion bid over antitrust worries, saying that it will stick with an earlier $8.5 million bid from Dollar Tree.
- Dreiling's statement was accompanied by Dollar General's second quarter earnings, with net sales up 7.5% to $4.72 billion, profit up 2% to $251 million, and same-store sales up 2.1% in the quarter.
Dive Insight:
Family Dollar's reason for rejecting Dollar General's higher bid was quite simple: It thought that the lower offer from Dollar Tree would be more likely to go through. While Dollar General seemed confident that the issues cited by Family Dollar were manageable, the company didn't offer any specifics as to how it will pursue Family Dollar in the future.