On Thursday, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (JOSB) turned down the latest acquisition proposal from rival Men’s Wearhouse (MW), but signaled that it would consider a higher bid. The news sent JOSB stock up almost 4% in Friday morning trading, while MW stock climbed more than 4%.
JOSB shares gained after the company said its board had authorized talks with MW regarding a potentially higher purchase price for JOSB. In addition to the talks, JOSB said it would permit MW to conduct a restricted level of due diligence, if certain conditions were agreed to, and was willing to talk with MW about the structure of a potential deal, Reuters notes.
Earlier this week, MW hiked its bid for JOSB to $63.50 a share. It had previously offered $57.50 per share for JOSB. MW also noted that it would be willing to raise the bid to $65 a share in exchange for a look at JOSB’s books.
Two weeks ago, JOSB said it would spend $825 million to acquire outdoor apparel retailer Eddie Bauer, a move meant to complicate a hostile takeover by MW.
The bidding war between JOSB and MW was kicked off in October when JOSB extended a $2.3 billion offer to acquire MW. That bid was declined and MW has since made several offers to acquire JOSB.
JOSB stock has climbed more than 50% over the past six months, while MW stock has gained more than 30%.
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