%1

Men's Wearhouse Inc. said Tuesday that it is buying its rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. for $1.8 billion, The Associated Press reported yesterday. The company will pay $65 a share, a 5 percent premium to Jos. A. Bank's Monday closing price of $61.83. Jos. A. Bank also said that it is terminating its deal to acquire the parent company of Eddie Bauer, which sells rugged outerwear. On Tuesday, shares of both companies rose on the news: Men's Wearhouse's stock was up nearly 5 percent to $57.14, while shares of Jos. A. Bank increased nearly 4 percent to $64.22. The acquisition comes after months of the two chains publicly fighting over who would acquire whom. Industry-watchers had speculated that a merger was inevitable given the challenges the companies face in the competitive menswear landscape. With more than 1,700 U.S. stores and $3.5 billion in annual sales, the combined company's reach in men's clothing will fall behind only Macy's, Kohl's and J.C. Penney. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter.

Lockheed Martin announced yesterday that it would acquire a Massachusetts company that helps protect electrical grids, oil and gas pipelines and other pieces of critical infrastructure against cyberattacks, The Washington Post reported yesterday. The purchase of Industrial Defender, which has more than 130 employees, is part of a move by the massive, Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor to expand its cyber-business into commercial markets as the federal government cuts defense spending. It comes amid increased warnings that the nation’s power grid is vulnerable to attack. Terms of the deal, including the sale price, were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in 30 days.

A bankruptcy judge approved First Mariner Bancorp's request to auction off its Baltimore bank quickly, a process that drew heated objections from creditors and the U.S. Trustee, the Baltimore Sun reported today. Bankruptcy Judge David E. Rice set an April 7 deadline for bids on First Mariner Bank, with the auction to be held three days later if any bids come through. In an order filed over the weekend, he wrote that the bank's parent company "articulated good and sufficient reasons" for the timing and other procedures. First Mariner filed for bankruptcy protection Feb. 10, capping its years-long struggle to get back on solid footing after residential loans soured during the housing bust. It has operated under a federal regulatory order to increase its capital level since 2009, and it was unable pay millions of dollars in interest payments due in December on trust-preferred securities.

A Gordon Brothers Group division has offered to purchase women's clothing retailer Dots at a bankruptcy auction next week, saying that it is prepared to begin shutting down roughly 360 stores on March 1, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. At a court hearing held on Friday, Bankruptcy Judge Donald Steckroth characterized the bid from Gordon Brothers as a "liquidating bid" and denied the bidder's request for special fees as a reward for stepping out with a lead offer.

Saint Francis Hospital in New York's Hudson Valley got permission from Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris on Wednesday to be taken over by Westchester Country Health Care Corp., which offered more than $30 million for the struggling 333-bed facility, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Saint Francis Hospital officials picked that bid over an earlier $24 million offer from another health-care provider called Health Quest Systems Inc., which has ties to the nearby Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Women's clothing retailer Dots is preparing to sell its roughly 370 stores at a Feb. 26 auction, the Wall Street Journal reported today. According to court papers, the struggling chain got permission from bankruptcy Judge Donald H. Steckroth to set a Feb. 25 bid deadline for potential buyers. Dots officials haven't named a lead bidder for the auction. The Ohio-based chain, which employs more than 3,500 people, filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 20 after losing shoppers when the quality of the chain's merchandise declined under prior management. In earlier court papers, former Chief Executive Lisa Rhodes said that the company has new leaders and fresh merchandise that will enable the company to "thrive as a profitable player in the retail market."

Atlantic Express Transportation Corp. has asked a bankruptcy judge to approve National Express Corp.'s $11.75 million bid for its Philadelphia school district busing operations, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Following a Feb. 11 auction, National Express emerged with the highest offer for the Philadelphia-based assets, which include 364 buses. Should Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane consent to the sale, Atlantic Express would receive $8.75 million in addition to about $3 million in assumed liabilities.

Wanxiang Group, China's largest auto parts company, won a bankruptcy auction for the assets of Fisker Automotive, the defunct manufacturer of the Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, Reuters reported on Friday. Wanxiang's bid has been valued at about $149.2 million, representing $126.2 million of cash, $8 million of assumed liabilities, and a contribution of common equity in an affiliate designated by Wanxiang, Fisker said in a statement. The sale will be presented to Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross today for approval. Wanxiang outbid an affiliate of Richard Li, a Hong Kong billionaire and Fisker investor.

OSX Brasil SA, the bankrupt shipbuilding company controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, is in talks with Cerberus Capital Management LP and a number of unnamed investors for a potential debtor-in-possession financing deal, Reuters reported yesterday. Currently no agreement has been struck between OSX and potential sources of the loan, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a securities filing yesterday. OSX's focus at this point is what to do with three floating production storage and offloading vessels it owns, according to the filing. A source with knowledge of the situation said OSX, which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year, is seeking between $200 million and $215 million in financing to move ahead with a restructuring process.

The parent company of Fox and Hound sports bar and Champps casual dining chains, F&H Acquisition Corp., is nearing a bankruptcy court deal valued at more than $120 million to sell to New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, the Triangle Business Journal reported yesterday. F&H would avoid a planned March auction under the deal, which reportedly calls for lender Cerberus Business Finance LLC to pay $14.5 million in cash in a private sale, forgive $19 million of debt and take responsibility for another $86 million of the company's debt in exchange for most of the company's assets. F&H Acquisition filed for chapter 11 protection in December 2013, and at that time the company owned and operated 101 full-service restaurants, including 50 Fox & Hound units, 35 Champps locations and 16 Bailey’s outlets, and it also franchised 11 Champps restaurants. F&H, based in Wichita, Kan, pointed to the continuing effects of the recession and poor sales as reasons for the filing.