Jos. A. Bank open to raising Men's Wearhouse bid

HAMPSTEAD, Md. Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) says it will consider boosting its $2.3 billion buyout bid for Men's Wearhouse (MW), but that it will drop its offer in two weeks if there continues to be no discussions on the proposal.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. made an unsolicited offer of $48 per share for Men's Wearhouse in September. Earlier this month Men's Wearhouse Inc. rejected the bid, calling it "opportunistic" and "inadequate."

On Thursday Jos. A. Bank said it would consider raising its offer if allowed to assess whether an increased bid is justified or not.

The company said that Men's Wearhouse board has refused to talk and said it will terminate its proposal if "good faith discussions" are not held by Nov. 14.

Men's Wearhouse shares were down more than 4 percent to $41.73 in midday trading.