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Uniform Makers UniFirst, Cintas Renew Takeover Talks
Cintas in December Submitted a $275-a-Share Offer
UniFirst Corp. is now in active discussions to be acquired by Cintas Corp., people familiar with the matter said, after years of on and off attempts at a potential deal.
The uniform maker is engaging with Cintas after its larger rival resubmitted a $275-a-share takeover offer in December, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Cintas, which also makes uniforms and workplace products, had initially tabled the bid in January 2025 but soon walked having been unable to engage UniFirst in “substantive” discussions.
Cintas ranks No. 3 and UniFirst ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics list of top uniform rental companies.
UniFirst CEO Steven Sintros said on a quarterly earnings call last month that the board was working with advisers to “evaluate” the renewed proposal and determine if it was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
Cintas has been pursuing UniFirst for years. It indicated its interest in acquiring the company for $255 a share in 2022. Cintas said at the time that UniFirst had not engaged in a substantive way.
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The fresh talks are at a preliminary stage and there’s no certainty they’ll result in a deal, according to the people. No final decisions on price or timing have been made, they said.
Representatives for Wilmington, Mass.-based UniFirst and Mason, Ohio-based Cintas didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Shares of UniFirst have consistently traded below the $275 offer price. The stock closed at $199.84 on Feb. 9, giving the company a market value of about $3.6 billion. Cintas fell 0.6% to $194.76 a share for a market capitalization of about $78 billion.
UniFirst is controlled by the Croatti family. The company’s dual-class share structure helped stop activist investor Engine Capital, which was pushing for a sale of the company, from being voted onto the board last year.
Written by Liana Baker, Dinesh Nair and David Carnevali
