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Cintas, UniFirst Shares Plunge on Report of FTC Lawsuit to Block $5.5B Merger
Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) and UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) fell sharply on Tuesday following a report that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to file a lawsuit to block the companies' proposed $5.5 billion merger.
Market Reaction
The news triggered a significant sell-off in both companies' stocks, signaling investor concern that the deal may collapse. The market response included:
- Cintas (CTAS): Shares traded down 6% after falling as much as 7.5% intraday, marking the stock's steepest one-day decline since December 2024.
- UniFirst (UNF): Shares slid 9%, recovering from an earlier plunge of 17%, which was the stock’s worst intraday performance since March 2025.
Regulatory Hurdle
AdThe stock downturn was prompted by a Semafor report, which cited unnamed sources, stating the FTC has formally notified both Cintas and UniFirst of its intent to challenge the transaction in court. A potential antitrust lawsuit from the federal agency represents the most significant obstacle to the deal's completion to date.
Merger Background
The development casts doubt on a transaction that had previously received overwhelming support from UniFirst shareholders. At a special meeting on June 11, 2026, more than 99% of votes cast—representing approximately 95% of all outstanding UniFirst shares—were in favor of the acquisition.
Under the agreed-upon terms, UniFirst shareholders are slated to receive $155.00 in cash and 0.7720 shares of Cintas stock for each UniFirst share they hold.
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