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US: Former FTC exec hired by Dollar General to thwart rival merger

By  |  September 3, 2014

A former official at the US Federal Trade Commission has been hired by Dollar General to encourage Family Dollar to proceed with a proposed merger after Dollar General upped its offer to acquire the company.

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    Dollar General increased its bid to $9.1 billion after Family Dollar responded to the offer with resistance. According to reports, Family Dollar is still recommending a merger with third rival, Dollar Tree, which it considers to hold lower antitrust risk than a deal with Dollar General.

    Now, Dollar General has hired Richard A. Feinstein, a former FTC official and current partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner to encourage Family Dollar to accept a deal.

    Feinstein was the director of the regulator’s Bureau of Competition for four years until earlier this year. According to reports, it is rare for a company to so publically hire a former regulatory official to aid with a private merger.

    Full content: The Street

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