Howard Levine sells 1.8 million shares of Family Dollar stock

In a previously announced plan to shed ownership of Family Dollar, CEO Howard Levine sold 1.8 million shares of the company’s common stock on March 3, a transaction amounting to more than $144 million.

Levine now owns 4.6 percent of the Matthews-based discount retailer, down from a previous 6.2 percent before the sale, according to a securities filing Thursday.

Levine doesn’t intend to sell any additional common stock currently, according to the filing, but that may change, “depending on market conditions, legal restrictions, and financial considerations.”

The March 2 filing had said over the next five days, Levine intended to sell “approximately one to two million shares” of Family Dollar, which is being sold to rival Dollar Tree.

Virginia-based Dollar Tree recently said it expects anti-trust approval from the Federal Trade Commission of its $8.5 billion purchase of Family Dollar by early March. Dollar Tree also said it expects regulators will require “no more than roughly 300 stores” to shutter and that it’s working to close the deal by April 27.

This story was originally published March 5, 2015 at 7:15 AM with the headline "Howard Levine sells 1.8 million shares of Family Dollar stock."