New York, February 11, 2026, 09:15 EST — Premarket
- UniFirst shares were little changed in early trading after a sharp jump in the prior session
- A report said UniFirst is in active acquisition discussions with larger rival Cintas
- Traders are watching for any board update ahead of the next earnings cycle
UniFirst Corp (UNF) shares edged up 0.7% to $231.58 in premarket trading as of 8:41 a.m. ET, after a 15.1% jump to $230.01 on Tuesday. The stock traded between $229.39 and $241.32 in the previous session. (StockAnalysis)
The move follows a Bloomberg Law report that UniFirst is in active discussions to be acquired by Cintas Corp (CTAS), citing people familiar with the matter. A tie-up would bring two large uniform and workplace-services providers under one roof, and would revive a pursuit that has flared up on and off for years. (Bloomberg Law)
Cintas’ last public bid — $275 per share in cash — sits about 19% above UniFirst’s premarket level, a gap that underscores how much deal risk investors still see. The December proposal also included a $350 million reverse termination fee, a break fee the buyer would pay if regulators block the deal. (Reuters)
In a statement announcing the offer, Cintas said the proposal implied a 64% premium to UniFirst’s 90-day average closing price as of Dec. 11 and that it expected to fund the deal with cash and committed credit lines, among other sources. (Default)
UniFirst Chief Executive Steven Sintros told analysts on a Jan. 7 earnings call that the board had hired independent advisers to review the “unsolicited non-binding” proposal. “That work remains ongoing, and we will provide an update as soon as it has been completed,” he said. (The Motley Fool)
The renewed chatter has turned UniFirst into a classic merger-arbitrage setup. In deal-arb trading, investors buy the target hoping the shares drift toward the offer price; the trade can unwind fast if talks go quiet or terms shift.
But UniFirst’s dual-class structure can complicate the path to a signed agreement. The company’s Class B shares carry 10 votes each and are not freely transferable unless converted, according to its latest annual filing. (SEC)
A separate SEC filing showed Executive Vice President Ross William Masters sold 1,128 UniFirst shares on Feb. 9 at $201.38 each under a 10b5-1 plan adopted in November. (SEC)
Investors are watching for any public update from either company, including a possible SEC filing that clarifies where talks stand, and for any sign the bid price moves. UniFirst is next expected to report quarterly results around April 1, according to MarketBeat’s earnings calendar. (MarketBeat)
