’80s Flashback Alert: Men’s Wearhouse Pulls a Pac-Man Move

In agreeing to buy would-be acquirer Jos. A. Bank, the company revisits a takeover defense tactic that, like the video game it is named for, debuted in the ’80s.

Back in the 1980s, it was called the Pac-Man defense: a company under attack decides to turn the tables and try to acquire its suitor.

This is what the Men’s Wearhouse decided to do Tuesday when it offered to buy Jos. A.

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