UPDATE: On Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, Men’s Wearhouse announced in a press release that it has increased its initial offer to acquire Jos. A. Bank from $55 per share to $57.50 per share. The current total for the proposed transaction is approximately $1.3 billion.
Men’s Wearhouse also plans to nominate two independent candidates for the Jos. A. Bank Board of Directors. The executives are John D. Bowlin, who previously acted as President and CEO of Miller Brewing Company, and Arthur E. Reiner, who once served as Chairman and CEO of Macy’s eastern division.
“Although we have made clear our strong preference to work collaboratively with Jos. A. Bank to realize the benefits of this transaction, we are committed to this combination and are taking our offer directly to the shareholders,” said Doug Ewert, President and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse.
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Below is the initial article, which was published on Nov. 28, 2013.
Men’s Wearhouse has proposed an offer to acquire fellow men’s apparel brand Jos. A. Bank for $55.00 in cash per each outstanding share, totaling up to $1.2 billion. A deal between the two companies would result in the fourth largest U.S. men’s apparel retailer, with a brick-and-mortar presence of more than 1,700 stores nationwide.
The current offer comes on the heels of Men’s Wearhouse rejecting Jos. A. Bank’s unsolicited public proposal to acquire the company in October 2013. According to the offer, Jos. A. Bank would have purchased Men’s Wearhouse for $48.00 per share, adding up to approximately $2.4 billion.
“We believe we are the right acquiror for this combination and that our experienced management team is best positioned to execute the integration of our companies and achieve the synergies that would result,” said Bill Sechrest, Lead Director of the Board of Men’s Wearhouse, in a statement. “We are ready to engage with the Jos. A. Bank’s Board immediately. After a thorough review, our Board concluded that an acquisition of Jos. A. Bank by Men’s Wearhouse has strategic logic and the potential to deliver substantial benefits to our respective shareholders, employees and customers.”
Should Jos. A. Bank accept the terms, the deal will be the latest addition in a string of acquisitions completed by Men’s Wearhouse. Following the acquisition of After Hours, Joseph Abboud and Moores, the retailer integrated more than 600 stores and 7,000 employees.
