Wells Fargo on Friday rejected a bid to buy Chicago-based Hartmarx, which employs 300 people at Seaford Clothing in Rock Island.

The bank also said the bidder, London-based Emerisque, has pledged to sell Seaford and two distribution centers within three months if it gains control of Hartmarx.

Emerisque, the union representing Seaford workers and U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., all called the claims a distortion.

Wells Fargo’s actions puts Hartmarx into default, the bank and others said Friday, and escalates a dispute that’s been brewing for weeks.

Hartmarx, which had accepted Emerisque’s bid, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

The union representing the company’s workers have urged Wells Fargo to accept a bid that will save company jobs. But despite ongoing talks, the union and Hare have accused Wells Fargo of going back on its word and trying to liquidate Hartmarx.

Hartmax recently gained fame when President Barack Obama wore some of the company’s clothes during his inauguration.

“If that’s the way they want to behave, Monday we go to war,” Hare said Friday.

Wells Fargo, which is Hartmarx' main creditor, said in a statement Friday it is rejecting Emerisque’s bid because it didn’t provide enough value to the lenders who are owed $114 million nor would it guarantee continued operation of Hartmarx’s businesses.

The bank said the cash part of the bid amounts to less than $56 million, less than half the amount that’s owed.

A Wells Fargo spokesman, Gabriel Boehmer, responded to the claim that the bank has tried to liquidate Hartmarx by noting it provided financing in January to avoid Hartmarx’s immediate liquidation and to give it time to find new financing or sell the business.

The company’s union responded Friday by saying Wells Fargo is simply doing what it had planned all along.

“It is outrageous for a bank that has received billions in taxpayer money to reject Emerisque’s generous bid to save the company and thousands of good jobs,” said Bruce Raynor, of Workers United.

Wells Fargo got $25 billion from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Fund.

Raynor said the union has an understanding with Emerisque that it will continue operations in Rock Island, as well as honor its obligations to employees. It called the bid good for Hartmarx, its workers and for Wells Fargo.

Emerisque said Friday the Wells Fargo statement was a “blatant distortion of the facts.” It called it an attempt to affect a hearing before a bankruptcy judge Monday.