Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced Thursday the merger of two large national chains of deep discount stores, Dollar Tree, headquartered in Chesapeake, Va. and Family Dollar, headquartered in Matthews, NC. As part of the agreement, Dollar Tree will be required to divest hundreds of Family Dollar stores nationwide, including stores in Memphis and Nashville.
Working with the Federal Trade Commission, Tennessee and 16 other State Attorneys General are requiring Dollar Tree to sell more than 300 Family Dollar stores to a new competitor in order to complete the $9.2 billion acquisition.
The affected stores will be sold to Sycamore Partners to be re-branded as DollarExpress, a new chain of deep discount stores.
“One of our concerns about the merger was that it would substantially lessen competition in markets like Nashville and Memphis,” said Attorney General Slatery. “By requiring stores to be sold to a new company in the marketplace, that competition to offer the best prices and merchandise will remain.”
The four stores being sold to DollarExpress in the Memphis and Nashville markets include:
Family Dollar Store #758 Family Dollar Store #942
1945 South 3rd Street 2252-I Lamar Avenue
Southgate Plaza Lamar Airways Shopping Center
Memphis, TN 38109 Memphis, TN 38114
Family Dollar Store #9312 Family Dollar Store #8386
6195 Winchester Road 3407 Gallatin Pike
Memphis, TN 38115 Nashville, TN 37216
Dollar Tree operates stores under both the Dollar Tree and Deals banners. Stores using the Dollar Tree banner typically price all merchandise for $1 while both Deals stores and Family Dollar stores offer additional merchandise for higher prices.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office worked with the FTC in conducting a national review of the transaction. Other states joining Tennessee in the lawsuit include Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.