Less than a week after Dollar General officials said they weren’t giving up on a possible relationship with Family Dollar, the No. 1 dollar store made another attempt to woo its target by flashing a huge wad of cash – this time in a much more aggressive manner.

According to Reuters, Dollar General upped its bid to $9.1 billion and warned Family Dollar officials that the deal could turn hostile if the new offer is once again rejected.

Officials with Dollar General say they would “consider taking our persuasive and superior proposal directly to your shareholders” if Family Dollar refuses to engage in discussions.

In addition to increasing its bid from the previous $8.95 billion offer, Dollar General says it would pay a break-up fee of $500 million if antitrust law prevents the two retailers from merging.

Family Dollar cited “significant antitrust issues” in its rejection of Dollar General’s first bid. The North Carolina-based retailer instead said it would stick with an earlier $8.5 billion merger deal with Dollar Tree to create a company with more than 13,00 stores and annual revenues of $18 billion.

But Dollar General doesn’t like the sound of that and attempted to ease Family Dollar’s antitrust review worries on Tuesday by saying it would close 1,500 of the combined company’s 20,000 stores. Previously, Dollar General said it would close 700 stores.

The dollar store wars began back in July when Chesapeake, VA-based Dollar Tree announced it has struck a deal to purchase Family Dollar. Not one to feel left out, Dollar General entered the race with an unsolicited bid just a week later.

UPDATE 2-Dollar General sweetens Family Dollar bid, may go hostile [Reuters]

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