Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) and UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) jointly announced Wednesday morning that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Cintas to acquire UniFirst in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $5.5 billion, representing an enterprise value multiple of 8.0 times trailing twelve-month EBITDA. The deal, unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, caps a pursuit that Cintas has pressed for nearly four years against the resistance of UniFirst's controlling Croatti family.
Under the agreed terms, UniFirst shareholders will receive $155.00 in cash and 0.7720 shares of Cintas stock for each UniFirst share they own, representing a combined value of $310.00 per share based on Cintas' closing price on March 9, 2026. UniFirst shares surged approximately 9% to roughly $281.38 in premarket trading, while Cintas stock dipped about 2.2% to $192.00 as the market assessed the dilutive impact of the share consideration. There is no separate consideration for Class B shares.
Cintas simultaneously disclosed preliminary third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $2.84 billion, representing 8.9% year-over-year growth, with organic revenue growth of 8.2%. Full quarterly results are scheduled for release on March 25. The company said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to its earnings per share by the end of the second full year after closing, with the transaction targeted for completion in the second half of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The strategic rationale centers on integrating complementary route networks, processing capacity, supply chains, and technology infrastructure to serve approximately 1.5 million business customers across North America. Cintas expects to generate approximately $375 million in annual operating cost synergies within four years of closing — a projection that mirrors the playbook the company executed successfully after its 2017 acquisition of G&K Services. The combined company would hold an unrivaled market position in the North American workwear and uniform services sector, creating significant barriers to entry for smaller competitors.
The transaction will also enhance Cintas's integration with Workday's enterprise resource planning platform, a partnership that the company highlighted in its official announcement as a key technology enabler for the combined business. For investors in the broader industrial and business services sector, the deal signals consolidation in what has historically been a fragmented market and raises valuation benchmarks for the remaining independent operators.
Regulatory scrutiny could be a meaningful variable. The combined entity would control a substantial share of the U.S. uniform rental market, and antitrust regulators may require divestitures in certain geographic markets as a condition of approval. Cintas indicated it has included provisions in the merger agreement to address potential regulatory requirements, reflecting lessons learned from earlier unsuccessful attempts to bring UniFirst to the negotiating table.