VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Changing their previous stance, two influential proxy advisory firms advised Family Dollar Stores Inc shareholders to vote for the retailer's acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc, saying the deal offered more certainty of closure.

Discount store chain Dollar Tree Inc said it expects to divest less than 300 stores to buy larger rival Family Dollar Stores Inc, and had already identified potential buyers.

Some 20 state attorneys general have joined the federal antitrust investigation of competing bids by Dollar General Corp (DG.N) and Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O) to buy Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N), a development that potentially complicates the companies' efforts to win U.S. approval for a deal.

Activist investor Elliott Advisors UK Ltd nominated seven candidates for election to Family Dollar Stores Inc's (FDO.N) board as it looks to push for a sale of the dollar store operator to bigger rival Dollar General Corp (DG.N).

U.S. retailer Dollar General Corp (DG.N) is preparing to go hostile as soon as this week in its bid to buy rival Family Dollar Stores (FDO.N), taking its $9.1 billion offer directly to shareholders after being spurned twice by its smaller rival, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has sold his entire stake in Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N), making a profit of about $200 million on the investment, according to sources familiar with the matter on Wednesday.

Dollar General Corp (DG.N) raised its bid for Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N) to $9.1 billion, and warned it may turn hostile and appeal directly to shareholders if the new offer was rejected.