Dollar General says committed to Family Dollar deal

28/08/2014 - 12:17

(Reuters) - Dollar General Corp , the No.1 U.S. deep discount retailer, said it remained committed to acquiring rival Family Dollar Stores Inc and reported a 7.5 percent rise in quarterly sales.

Family Dollar last week rejected a $9 billion buyout offer from Dollar General that it said could run foul of competition law, opting instead for a smaller bid from Dollar Tree Inc .

"The financial benefits of our offer to Family Dollar shareholders are indisputable," Dollar General Chief Executive Rick Dreiling said in a statement on Thursday.

The company's net income rose to $251.3 million, or 83 cents per share, in the second quarter ended Aug. 1, from $245.5 million, or 75 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose to $4.72 billion from $4.39 billion, helped by higher sales of tobacco products, candy and snacks. Same-store sales rose 2.1 percent.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)