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Men’s Wearhouse says its board met with external financial and legal advisers and determined it wasn’t in its shareholders’ best interest to give Jos. A. Bank access to the information. The Houston specialty retailer maintains that Jos. A. Bank’s offer of $48 per share significantly undervalues its business.
Richard Collings is senior writer for financial news service The Deal.
“So you look at where the stock price has been trading over the last twelve months in terms of Men’s Wearhouse, and you would say, ‘OK, a $48 offer is pretty close to the highest point the company has traded at.’ So they think they should have an even richer valuation. Now, a strategic [player] like Jos. A. Bank is the only one who would be able to basically afford to pay that kind of premium for Men’s Wearhouse.”
On Thursday, Jos. A. Bank said it would consider boosting its bid if allowed access to nonpublic information. The Hampstead, Maryland retailer also said it would drop its offer in two weeks if there continued to be no discussions on the proposal.
