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Men’s Wearhouse, a US-based retailer of clothing for men, has raised a cash tender to purchase Joseph (Jos.) A. Bank Clothiers, a retailer of men’s tailored and casual clothing, sportswear, footwear and accessories, for $1.6bn or $57.50 per share.

The move by Men’s Wearhouse comes a month after Jos. A. Bank rejected its initial offer of $55.00 per share, and 45 days after Jos. A. Bank withdrew its plan to acquire Men’s Wearhouse.

Men’s Warehouse president and CEO Doug Ewert said the $57.50 per share proposal to acquire Jos. A. Bank is compelling and provides substantial value and immediate liquidity to Jos. A. Bank shareholders.

"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, accordingly, we are taking our offer directly to shareholders," Ewert added.

Men’s Warehouse said it intends to fund the deal by a combination of cash on balance sheet and debt financing.

The acquisition bids among Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank started three months ago, when Jos. A. Bank raised an offer to acquire Men’s Wearhouse for $48 per share or $2.3bn on 9 October 2013, but withdrew in November.

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In late November, Men’s Wearhouse counter attacked by raising an all-cash deal worth $1.2bn to buy Jos. A. Bank Clothiers.

Earlier Jos. A. Bank’s board of directors also adopted a ‘poison pill’ in the form of a limited duration shareholder rights plan, declaring a dividend of one right on each share of the company’s common stock outstanding on 21 October.

Men’s Wearhouse said it will deliver notice to Jos. A. Bank of its intention to nominate two independent director candidates, John Bowlin and Arthur Reiner, for election to Jos. A. Bank’s Board of Directors at its 2014 Annual Meeting.

Ewert said the highly-qualified nominees proposed by Men’s Wearhouse have proven track records serving on public company boards, and they believe they will act in the best interest of Jos. A. Bank’s shareholders by carefully evaluating the compelling and value creating opportunity represented by the Men’s Wearhouse offer.

"We urge Jos. A. Bank shareholders to tender into our offer in order to send a strong message that Jos. A. Bank should engage in good-faith negotiations immediately so we can complete this value creating transaction," Ewert added.


Image: Mens Wearhouse clothing store in Saugus, Massachusetts. Photo: Courtesy of Anthony92931.