U.S. antitrust officials on Friday gave the green light for the proposed merger of Men's Wearhouse Inc and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc to move ahead, citing ample competition in the market for men's suits and tuxedo rentals.The Federal Trade Commission wrote to the firms on Friday saying an investigation into the merger had been closed, and FTC officials said in a blog post that the tie-up was not likely to harm consumers.Unlike certain other big retail mergers, the decision "rested primarily on the competitive environment among brick-and-mortar stores, not competition from online sales," said Deborah Feinstein, Alexis Gilman, and Melissa Davenport, all of the FTC's Bureau of Competition."Buying a suit online does not seem obvious to most people, and online suit vendors generally cannot offer tailoring services," the trio noted.
The Men's Wearhouse, Inc. is a specialty retailer of men's suits and a provider of tuxedo rental product in the United States and Canada. Shares of MW traded higher by 4.12% or $1.99/share to $50.25. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $32.46 and as high as $58.80. On average, 780135 shares of MW exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1581822.
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