NEW YORK (AP) — Never say never.
Just when it looked like a potential combination of Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank was dead in the water, the script has been flipped.
Now it's Men's Wearhouse that is offering approximately $1.54 billion for its rival. Less than two weeks ago, Jos. A. Bank dropped a $2.3 billion bid for its competitor. A combination could create a menswear powerhouse of more than 1,700 outlets.
The announcement that Men's Wearhouse was interested in a possible deal came as a bit of a surprise on Tuesday. The retailer had received an unsolicited offer of $48 per share from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. in September. But it rejected that bid in October, calling it "opportunistic" and inadequate."
Jos. A. Bank was still in the hunt back then though, saying it would be open to raising its offer if allowed to assess whether an increased bid was justified. But Men's Wearhouse wouldn't give the Hampstead, Md., company access to nonpublic information, and Jos. A. Bank dropped its bid on Nov. 15.