Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday February 27, 2014

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday February 26, 2014: Jos A Bank Rejects Men's Wearhouse $63.50/Share Tender Offer; Agrees to Meet with Men's Wearhouse The Regjection:
Jos. A. Bank's JOSB Board announced Thursday they had unanimously rejected Men's Wearhouse's MW $63.50 per share unsolicited offer as inadequate. The Jos. A. Bank Board, in a letter to Men's Wearhouse CEO Douglas S. Ewert, said they have authorized a meeting to "establish a process that will enable you to advise our Board as to the highest price you are prepared to pay in an acquisition of Jos. A. Bank." Men's Wearhouse stated on February 24, it would be willing to consider an offer of $65.00 per share with "limited due diligence." Jos. A. Bank closed Thursday at $60.30, and traded over $62.00 after-hours. Men's Wearhouse closed at $50.42 and traded over $52.00 after-hours. American Eagle Conference Cancellation Causes Spurs Takeover Chatter The Rumor:
Shares of American Eagle Outfitters AEO surged higher Thursday on a report the company had cancelled out of an upcoming analyst conference. An American Eagle spokesperson did confirm to Benzinga that the company did cancel out of a Janney conference in March "due to internal meeting schedules." American Eagle Outfitters closed Thursday at $14.85, a gain of $0.04. Blackstone Acquires 20% Stake in Versace for $287M The Deal:
Private equity firm Blackstone BX acquired a 20% stake in Italian luxury goods company Versace, as had been rumored on Wednesday. Versace CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris said Blackstone would assist in an IPO over the next three to five years. Blackstone closed Thursday at $32.96, a gain of $0.29.