Thursday, May 26, 2011

Family Dollar still talked about as takeover target

Two months after rejecting a takeover bid from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, another influential investor is discussing the Matthews-based company's allure as an acquisition.

Bill Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital, gave a presentation yesterday at an investment conference called "All in the Family," touting the likelihood for a takeover of Family Dollar in the near future. Family Dollar, one of the Charlotte region's biggest homegrown success stories, could be worth a lot more per share than its current value, Ackman said, and possible buyers could include rivals like Dollar General or other leveraged buyout firms.

Ackman, also a well-known activist investor, also said his firm is buying Family Dollar shares. But he said his investment will only be a passive stake, and he won't pressure management for changes.

The mention of Family Dollar as a takeover target could reignite speculation that the nearly 7,000-store chain could be bought sometime soon. But the company still has a so-called "poison pill" in place, discouraging any hostile takeover attempts, so any buyer would likely have to approach with a significantly higher offer than Peltz's tender of $55-$60 per share.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just another way for the richer more powerful contenders to get their wellpadded competition out of the picture so they can jack prices up on the average person once again.