"It's bittersweet," he said.
Spain said that Dollar Express' merchandising strength would complement the operational abilities of the 1,434-store Dollar Tree chain. "We've been friendly competitors for a long time," he said.
"This is a strategic fit for Dollar Tree because of Dollar Express' significant position in the Delaware Valley, especially Philadelphia," Dollar Tree chief executive Macon Brock said in a written statement yesterday. "The proposed merger creates a stronger presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and supports our growth strategy."
For five years, brothers Bernie and Murray Spain, Dollar Express' president, had been planning a succession strategy that included an initial public offering. On Dec. 23, they filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying they planned to raise $63 million in an IPO.
"We were within a week of going on a road show" to promote the company to investors, Bernie Spain said.
"They were practicing" their parts," said the brothers' investment banker, Seth Lehr of LLR Equity Partners, a Philadelphia venture-capital fund.
"The market has been so chaotic," Bernie Spain said. "There hasn't been a good retail IPO to come out in a long time. We know our company is good, but we weren't sure that we would have been the first one accepted by Wall Street."
Dollar Tree, the nation's largest $1 discount store, offered six million shares to the brothers, their families and Advent International Corp., a Boston venture-capital firm that owned one-third of Dollar Express.
Dollar Tree's closing price yesterday was $51.13, down from Monday's high of $54.75. Dollar Tree's stock has been steadily climbing, except for a major slump in mid-February, when it dropped to the upper $30s.
