NEW YORK – The dollar store saga continues, with Dollar General’s all-cash bid of nearly $10 billion for Family Dollar this week, topping the deal that Dollar Tree made last month to acquire the struggling chain for approximately $8.5 billion.

Dollar General is bidding $78.50 per Family Dollar share, to total $9.7 billion, compared to Dollar Tree’s offer of $74.50 per share cash and stock.

Spokespeople for the three discount retailers have declined to comment on this latest move, including whether or not Dollar Tree would raise or withdraw its original bid.  While some analysts seem to think that a Dollar General and Family Dollar merger makes more sense, and would create the nation’s largest chain of dollar discounters, no one is counting Dollar Tree out yet.

NACS first explored the dollar store threat to convenience in our October 2012 NACS Magazine cover story “The Race for Space.” In our 2013 October issue we covered the potential threat of Amazon.com in “A Trojan Horse Strategy.”  What threat to the industry will we cover this October?  Stay tuned for this year’s NACS Show October issue.