Men's Wearhouse to Shield Books

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 [e-mail]

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