Men's Wearhouse Inc. (MW) rejected Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.'s
(JOSB) request to conduct some due diligence in its bid to acquire
the rival men's fashion retailer, again calling Jos. A. Bank's
offer too low.
Men's Wearhouse shares fell 3% to $42.05 in recent Monday
trading, while Jos. A. Bank shares were down 0.7% at $47.62.
After consulting with its financial and legal advisers, Men's
Wearhouse said it wasn't in the best interest of its shareholders
to provide Jos. A. Bank with access to nonpublic information on the
company. In response to the due diligence request, the Men's
Wearhouse board again said Jos. A. Bank's $48-a-share offer
significantly undervalued the company.
"We are enthusiastic about Men's Wearhouse's prospects and are
confident that our strategic plan will deliver more value to our
shareholders than Jos. A. Bank's inadequate, highly conditional
proposal," Men's Wearhouse Chief Executive Douglas S. Ewert said.
"We thank our shareholders for the support we have received."
Jos. A. Bank Chairman Robert N. Wildrick said his company was
"disappointed" in the decision by the Men's Wearhouse board not to
allow a request for due diligence.
"For our part, we stand by our previous statement and will keep
our proposal open until November 14," Mr. Wildrick said.
Jos. A. Bank last week said it would consider raising its $2.3
billion bid for Men's Wearhouse if given the chance to conduct
limited due diligence, but warned about dropping the offer in two
weeks if Men's Wearhouse's board refused to engage in talks.
Jos. A. Bank last month unveiled an unsolicited offer for Men's
Wearhouse that was soon after rejected.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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