Men’s Wearhouse raises offer to buy rival Jos. A. Bank

Men’s Wearhouse does not want to take “no” for an answer.

The Fremont, Calif.-based retailer on Monday raised its offer to purchase rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. to $63.50 a share, up from $57.50, and has also sued to prevent Jos. A. Bank’s planned acquisition of retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc.

The newly issued offer is good through March 12 and could potentially be raised to $65 a share after further “limited due diligence,” Men’s Wearhouse said.

“Men’s Wearhouse strongly encourages Jos. A. Bank shareholders to tender their shares by the ... March 12 expiration date to demonstrate support for a negotiated transaction with Men’s Wearhouse,” the company said.

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Over the last several months, Men’s Wearhouse has pursued a hostile takeover of its rival, which recently announced plans to buy retailer Eddie Bauer in a deal valued at $825 million.

The Eddie Bauer acquisition was seen by some analysts as a move to thwart Men’s Wearhouse’s efforts because the deal would force Jos. A. Bank to pay Eddie Bauer a $50 million termination fee if it falls through.

Under the terms of Monday’s offer, however, Jos. A. Bank would have to dump Eddie Bauer.

Men’s Wearhouse also took the aggressive step of filing a lawsuit accusing Jos. A. Bank of “adopting a series of unreasonable, shareholder unfriendly and illegal defensive measures designated to thwart Men’s Wearhouse tender offer,” according to the company.

A representative for Jos. A. Bank was not immediately available for comment Monday.

Shares for Men’s Wearhouse were up $3.04, or 6.74%, to $48.15 Monday. Jos. A. Bank shares were up $4.78, or 8.68%, to $59.83. %