Carl Icahn sells stake in discounter Family Dollar and earns $200m
Activist investor Carl Icahn yesterday sold his stake in deep discounter Family Dollar, earning $200m (£121m) in the process, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the issue.
The sale comes after Icahn pushed Family Dollar’s management into putting it up for sale, igniting a bidding war.
In July, rival Dollar Tree offered to pay $8.5bn (£5.15bn) for Family Dollar, excluding debt, which the company had accepted at the time.
But then Dollar General put in a competing bid of $9bn, which the company rejected citing antitrust concerns.
On Tuesday, Dollar General upped its bid to $9.1bn.
Icahn became Family Dollar’s largest shareholder with a 9.4 per cent stake. He immediately started agitating for change at the company, including attacking chief executive Howard Levine.