Men’s Wearhouse And Jos. A. Bank Finally Talk Merger, Might Make This Thing Work

Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, the Mary and Matthew Crawley of the modestly-priced suit world, are one step closer to settling down with each other. After months of courtship that included buying another clothing retailer and competing bids to buy each other, the two companies have finally settled down for a frank chat about joining their retail operations in corporate matrimony.

Today, Men’s Wearhouse announced that they’ve received a merger proposal from Jos. A. Bank, and the two companies have a non-disclosure agreement about the negotiations, so maybe we in the media will stop following every move that the two make toward or away from each other in this soap opera. JB rejected the latest takeover offer from Men’s Wearhouse last week–one that required the company to abandon its plans to acquire Eddie Bauer.

Like an arranged marriage among the aristocracy, much of the pressure to merge is coming from outside but interested parties: specifically, Eminence Capital LLC, a shareholder in both companies.

Men’s Wearhouse says has draft merger agreement from Jos. A. Bank [Reuters]

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