"Men’s Wearhouse now in pursuit of Jos. A. Bank; In two clothiers’ merger fight, the script is flipped" by Michelle Chapman | Associated Press, November 27, 2013
NEW YORK — Never say never. Just when it looked like a potential combination of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank was dead in the water, the script has been flipped.
Now it’s Men’s Wearhouse that is the suitor, offering about $1.54 billion for its rival. Less than two weeks ago, Jos. A. Bank dropped a $2.3 billion bid for its competitor.
A combination could create a menswear powerhouse of more than 1,700 outlets.
The announcement that Men’s Wearhouse was interested in a possible deal came as a bit of a surprise on Tuesday....
Men’s Wearhouse faced pressure from its biggest shareholder, Eminence Capital LLC. On Wednesday Eminence urged Men’s Wearhouse to talk with Jos. A. Bank. The hedge fund argued that a combination of the two businesses would create value and increase the growth potential of Men’s Wearhouse. Eminence owns 9.8 percent of Men’s Wearhouse’s stock.
Men’s Wearhouse Inc. appears to have now come around to Eminence’s view....
The decision by Men’s Wearhouse to go from an acquisition target to the bidder is known in the investment world as the Pac-Man defense. The phrase comes from the video game, in which Pac-Man was able to go from being hunted by ghosts to turning around and gobbling them up once he swallowed a power pellet....
I've had it with the video games, thanks.
--more--"
Also try: This Post Will Make You Look Good
I don't like it.
