Men’s Wearhouse Offers to Buy Jos. A. Bank

Men’s Wearhouse, which had rebuffed takeover efforts by Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, abruptly turned the tables on Tuesday and bid $55 a share in cash to acquire its one-time suitor.

The offer values Jos. A. Bank at $1.5 billion, an 8.7 percent premium over its closing stock price on Monday and 32 percent above its price in October, when it bid for Men’s Wearhouse.

The deal represents the latest effort to combine the two companies but comes after relations have frayed in recent weeks.

“Following Jos. A. Bank’s unsolicited public proposal to acquire Men’s Wearhouse, our board of directors evaluated a number of alternatives to deliver value to our shareholders,” William Sechrest, lead director of the board of Men’s Wearhouse, said in a statement. “After a thorough review, our board concluded that an acquisition of Jos. A. Bank by Men’s Wearhouse has strategic logic and the potential to deliver substantial benefits to our respective shareholders, employees and customers.”

But rather than be bought, it is Men’s Wearhouse and its management team that want to do the shopping.

“We believe we are the right acquirer for this combination and that our experienced management team is best positioned to execute the integration of our companies and achieve the synergies that would result,” Mr. Sechrest said. “We are ready to engage with the Jos. A. Bank’s board immediately.”

Jos. A. Bank made an unsolicited $2.3 billion bid in early October for Men’s Wearhouse, which rejected the offer as highly conditional and said it believed that its own turnaround plan would be better for shareholders.

Jos. A. Bank indicated later that it would consider raising its $48-a-share offer if it were allowed confidential access to Men’s Wearhouse’s books. Men’s Wearhouse again rejected the offer, and Jos. A. Bank withdrew its bid this month, but left the door open for possible talks in the future.

The Men’s Wearhouse offer is not contingent on any financing and will not require additional costly third-party equity commitments, the company said.

Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are advising Men’s Wearhouse, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher is providing legal advice.