Jos. A. Bank says Wall Street is gonna like this deal, but it doesn’t guarantee it will happen.
The suit retailer signaled on Thursday that it won’t go hostile with a $2.3 billion takeover bid for rival Men’s Wearhouse — a seeming about-face that rattled investors and sent shares of both companies tumbling.
Jos. A. Bank Chairman Bob Wildrick told Men’s Wearhouse in a letter that he would abandon the offer unless he gets a response by Nov. 14. He also said Jos A. Bank would consider raising its $48-a-share bid on the condition it got a peek at Men’s Wearhouse’s books.
“If these people don’t talk to us between now and then, our best analysis is that they’re so entrenched we’ve got to move on and pursue other opportunities for the sake of our shareholders,” Wildrick told The Post.
Wildrick declined to elaborate on what alternatives Jos. A. Bank might consider.
Investors fretted that the move gives an easy out for Men’s Wearhouse management, which told investors earlier this week the company could deliver superior results on its own.
“If you’re Men’s Wearhouse and you’re the new CEO, all you have to do is not call them and it just goes by the wayside,” said Mark Montagna, an analyst at Avondale Partners.
Some investors speculated that Jos. A. Bank’s move was a gambit designed to rally Men’s Wearhouse shareholders to pressure the company’s management to come to the bargaining table.
Indeed, people close to the situation say at least one activist shareholder has weighed going public with an effort to prod Men’s Wearhouse.
Montagna said that Jos. A. Bank’s two-week deadline could make a tight window for such an event.
“If they are trying to bring people out of the woodwork, there’s just not enough time for an activist to go through all the gyrations,” he said.
Shares of Men’s Wearhouse lost 3.1 percent, to close at $42.30. Shares of Jos. A Bank fell 3.8 percent, to $47.95.