Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) stock rose Monday after the company received an acquisition proposal from Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) for $275 per share in cash.

Details

The offer values UniFirst at about $5.2 billion and represents a 64% premium to its 90-day average closing price as of December 11, 2025.

Under the proposal, UniFirst’s common shareholders would receive roughly $4.2 billion, while Class B shareholders would receive about $1 billion.

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The combined company would serve more than 1 million business customers across the U.S. and Canada.

With Cintas’ strong history of organic growth, adding UniFirst would expand processing capacity and route density, further improving customer service.

Regulatory Approvals

Under the Cintas/UniFirst proposal, both companies are required to make reasonable efforts to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals as quickly as possible.

If antitrust challenges arise, both parties must litigate as necessary. The “drop-dead” date for the transaction is 10 months, with two possible 4-month extensions if approvals are delayed, provided all other closing conditions are met.

Additionally, if the merger is blocked on antitrust grounds, Cintas would pay UniFirst a $350 million reverse termination fee, representing more than 6.5% of the total transaction value.

Cintas is confident in obtaining regulatory approvals for its proposed UniFirst acquisition.

Management Commentary

Todd Schneider, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cintas, said, “We remain unwavering in our conviction that combining Cintas and UniFirst would deliver considerable benefits for customers, employee-partners and shareholders. Accordingly, we have reiterated our compelling $275 per share all-cash offer to the UniFirst board and are reaffirming our commitment to move swiftly to complete a transaction.”

“Recent market commentary confirms that many UniFirst shareholders, including several of the company’s largest institutional investors, recognize the value that a combination would deliver and share our belief that we are stronger together than we are apart.”

Previous UniFirst Acquisition Attempt

Cintas has been seeking constructive engagement with UniFirst’s board since 2022 and continues to express interest in a potential combination.

In January 2025, UniFirst confirmed that its board had unanimously rejected an unsolicited, non-binding, and highly conditional proposal from Cintas to acquire all outstanding UniFirst shares for $275 per share. The offer was received in November and December 2024 and was deemed not to be in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.

In March 2025, Cintas announced that it had terminated discussions regarding the proposed transaction, citing a lack of engagement from UniFirst.

As of November 30, Cintas’ cash and cash equivalents stood at $200.8 million.

Price Action: UNF shares were up 33.40% at $227.00 during premarket trading on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. CTAS was down 0.57%.

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