By James Davey
LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Philip Green, the billionaire owner of Bhs department stores and the Arcadia group of fashion companies, said on Wednesday he would not take long before deciding whether or not to launch a takeover offer for menswear retailer Moss Bros.
Asked about the likely timetable for a possible bid he told Reuters it was "not very long".
"We'll have a look at it in the next couple of days. We'll have a conversation, we'll see where everyone is," he said.
"Hopefully we've got a bit of a feel for the business."
He was speaking after his Warbeck Holding Company vehicle spent 6.7 million pounds ($10.36 million) on a 28 percent stake in Moss Bros, which owns brands such as Moss, Cecil Gee, Savoy Taylors Guild and Hugo Boss.
The holding was purchased from Baugur, the troubled Icelandic investment group.
Green said Moss Bros was attractive as it was debt free and has no pension fund.
"We could maybe help develop the hire side," he said. "We're still to decide if we think there's enough that we can scale-up and do something."
Green said the Moss Bros stake purchase was sealed swiftly.
"I got a call about this 15 hours ago, they (Baugur) said 'this is what we want to do', I said 'fine we'll do it,'" he said.
Last month Green held talks with Baugur, Icelandic banks and the Icelandic government to acquire much of Baugur's debt, estimated at over 1 billion pounds.
Buying Baugur's debt would give him considerable influence over the group's British fashion interests, which include Jane Norman, Whistles and a 49 percent share in Mosaic Fashions -- owner of Oasis, Principles, Karen Millen, Warehouse and Coast -- as well as supermarket chain Iceland and toy store Hamleys.
Baugur also owns stakes in UK retailers Debenhams, Woolworths and French Connection.
Green said the Moss Bros purchase did not represent a change in focus from Baugur's debt to its equity holdings.
"It's not a shift in stance or anything. We're looking at all sorts of things on a daily basis. We've just got to find things we think we can create or add value," he said.
"There's going to be things that are turning up. On a case by case basis we have to study them," he added.
At 1401 GMT shares in Moss Bros were up 11.0 pence, or 70 percent, at 26.5 pence, valuing the business at 25.5 million pounds.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Rupert Winchester)