Men's Wearhouse Inc. (MW) offered to buy rival men's clothing
retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB) for about $1.5 billion,
less than two weeks after Jos. A. Bank dropped its bid for Men's
Wearhouse.
Men's Wearhouse is offering $55 a share in cash for Jos. A.
Bank, an 8.7% premium over the company's Monday close and a 32%
premium over its price in October when it bid for Men's
Wearhouse.
Jos. A. Bank, which is based in Hampstead, Md., first made an
unsolicited $2.3 billion offer for its Houston-based rival in early
October, but it was soon after rejected. Later in the month, Jos.
A. Bank said it would consider raising its bid for Men's Wearhouse
if it were able to conduct limited due diligence. Men's Wearhouse
again rebuffed the overture, calling Jos. A. Bank's offer of $48 a
share too low.
Earlier this month, Jos. A. Bank withdrew its takeover offer,
but left the door open for possible talks in the future. The
company also indicated it would be willing to entertain a bid from
Men's Wearhouse if the value were right.
A Jos. A. Bank representative wasn't immediately available for
comment.
Jos. A. Bank shares were up 11% at $56.22 and Men's Wearhouse
shares were up 4.1% at $49 premarket.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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