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(Cintas)

Cintas Corp. has agreed to buy UniFirst Corp. in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the uniform supplier at $5.5 billion, clinching a yearslong pursuit of its rival.

UniFirst shareholders will receive $155 in cash and 0.7720 shares of Cintas stock for each UniFirst share they own, according to a statement on March 11. This represents a combined value of $310 per share based on Cintas’ closing price on March 9.��

On March 11, UniFirst’s stock rose as much as 7.8% to $278.09, while Cintas fell 1.4%.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, subject to shareholders’ approvals. Bloomberg News��reported��last week that Cintas was in advanced talks to buy UniFirst.

The deal will help the companies compete in the garment industry, where rivals are building up their offerings and investing in last-mile fleets, the firms said. The combined entity will supply about 1.5 businesses across North America.

“By combining, we will be better positioned to drive growth and deliver on efficiencies that will benefit our collective customers and employee-partners,” Cintas CEO Todd Schneider said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to boost Cintas earnings by the second full-year after closing, according to the companies, who said they project $375 million in operating cost savings. Cintas had annual sales of about $10 billion in its last fiscal year, while UniFirst reported $2.4 billion.

Cintas, which also makes uniforms, has been trying for years to buy UniFirst, which is controlled by the Croatti family. It has been circling UniFirst, based in Wilmington, Mass., since at least��2022.

Cincinnati-based Cintas is known for its ubiquitous white step vans emblazoned��with its blue company logo, with a large corporate fleet that operates across North America.��

Cintas ranks No. 3 and UniFirst ranks No. 2 on the��Transport Topics list of top uniform rental companies.��

Written by David Carnevali, Ryan Gould and Dinesh Nair