Men's Wearhouse Prepared To Raise Offer For Jos. A. Bank - Update

(RTTNews) - Men's Wearhouse, Inc. (MW) on Thursday urged directors of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (JOSB) to re-consider its $57.50 a share bid. The clothing retailer also expressed willingness to sweeten its offer if additional value is discovered during due diligence, as the acquisition battle between two firms continue.

In a communique to Jos. A. Bank board, Men's Wearhouse urged its smaller rival to accept its offer of $57.50 a share, stating that "we are prepared to increase our offer price if you can demonstrate or we can discover additional value through discussions or limited due diligence."

Men's Wearhouse asked independent directors of Jos. A. Bank to form a special committee to reconsider its offer the board rejected even without any discussion.

Men's Wearhouse has also formally submitted its notice to nominate two independent director candidates to the board of Jos. A. Bank at its 2014 annual meeting.

"We are confident that the Men's Wearhouse offer to acquire the Company delivers significant value to the Company's shareholders that is superior to what we believe you can reasonably expect to create as a standalone company," the company said in the letter.

On January 6, Men's Wearhouse launched an hostile sweetened offer of $57.50 a share to acquire Jos. A. Bank in an all-cash deal valued at about $1.6 billion. The cash tender offer expires on March 28. The move came just over a month after Jos. A. Bank rejected Men's Wearhouse's initial $55.00 a share offer, and 45 days after Jos. A. Bank withdrew its acquisition offer for Men's Wearhouse.

The flurry of acquisition bids between Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank began about three months back.

Hampstead, Maryland-based Jos. A. Bank had initially on October 9 offered to acquire Men's Wearhouse for $48 a share in cash, which Men's Wearhouse immediately rejected, stating it significantly undervalues the company and its strong prospects for continued growth and value creation.

Jos. A. Bank withdrew its $2.3 billion all-cash offer for Men's Wearhouse in mid-November, saying the Men's Wearhouse board failed to engage in good faith negotiations by a November 14 deadline.

Men's Wearhouse then in late November made its initial counter offer to acquire Jos. A. Bank in an all-cash deal valued at about $1.2 billion, just ten days after Jos. A. Bank withdrew its offer for Men's Wearhouse.

JOSB is currently trading at $56.10, up $1.24 or 2.25%, on the Nasdaq. MW is currently trading at $47.20, up $1.10 or 2.39%, on the New York Stock Exchange.