New York, May 25, 2026, 17:21 (EDT)
- Mister Car Wash shares stopped trading as Leonard Green & Partners finished its all-cash deal to take the company private.
- Eligible shareholders get $7.00 in cash for each share. MCW last traded at $7.10 on May 18.
- U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for Memorial Day. MCW is not set to resume trading on Nasdaq when markets open again.
Mister Car Wash Inc. has stopped trading on Nasdaq after Leonard Green & Partners closed its $3.1 billion deal to take the chain private. The company said LGP picked up the shares it didn’t already own for $7.00 a share in cash. Mister Car Wash shares stopped trading ahead of the delisting.
It’s an issue because this Monday isn’t a usual session. U.S. markets are shut for Memorial Day. Nasdaq says May 25 is a market holiday in its 2026 schedule, so when markets reopen on Tuesday, there won’t be any MCW pricing to trade against or cover.
Shares were mostly finished trading ahead of the holiday. According to Nasdaq Trader, the stock was halted after the May 18 after-hours session, stayed halted on May 19, and was suspended from May 20. The merger consideration is $7.00 per share.
MCW ended regular trading at $7.10 on May 18, matching its close from May 15, with roughly 29.5 million shares changing hands, per Investing.com data. Not much moved in the stock as the market paused for the close.
Mister Car Wash’s delisting had an index impact too. S&P Dow Jones Indices said F&G Annuities & Life would take Mister Car Wash’s spot in the S&P SmallCap 600 before trading opens May 19, so small-cap index trackers will no longer hold MCW.
Mister Car Wash Chairman and CEO John Lai said in the closing statement that “going private gives us greater flexibility” to focus on customer experience. Back in February when the deal was first announced, Lai said the change would help the company “invest more boldly” in its stores, workforce and tech. PR Newswire
Mister Car Wash is moving ahead with delisting plans. According to a May 19 filing, the company asked Nasdaq to file Form 25 to take the stock off the exchange and out of registration. It also said it would file Form 15 later on to deregister its common shares and stop public reporting.
Mister Car Wash, the business going private, posted first-quarter revenue of $277.9 million, a 6% gain from last year. Comparable-store sales climbed 3.9%. Unlimited Wash Club members increased 11% to around 2.5 million. The company closed March with 549 locations.
Adjusted EBITDA climbed 13% in the first quarter to $96.7 million. The profit metric excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and some other items. The company skipped an earnings call due to the pending LGP deal.
Car-wash rivals are pushing changes in the space. Driven Brands sold off its U.S. car-wash unit in 2025, then its international car-wash arm in January 2026. The company said this would simplify its business and cut debt.
Zips Car Wash filed for bankruptcy protection last year. The large private chain pointed to rising rates, bigger labor costs and more rivals as drivers, Reuters said. About 900 new car-wash locations had opened every year in the U.S. for five years. That is also the risk side LGP is taking on: an industry that is still growing but is also fragmented, burdened by lease expenses, debt loads and heavy local competition.
For regular MCW holders, the public-stock part is done. The open questions now are on how cash settlement plays out, whether there will be an appraisal process for dissenters under Delaware law, and what kind of disclosure will be available after privatization.
