UniFirst Corporation Stock (UNF) Jumps After Cintas Renews $275 Buyout Offer

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) became one of the market’s most closely watched stocks on Monday, December 22, 2025, after larger rival Cintas Corporation (Nasdaq: CTAS) disclosed a renewed, all-cash acquisition proposal that would value UniFirst at roughly $5.2 billion.

The headline number is simple: $275.00 per share in cash. The situation around it is anything but.

By late morning New York time, UniFirst shares were up about 18% at roughly $201, after a volatile session that saw the stock swing from the high $170s to the mid $240s.

Below is a detailed breakdown of all the key UniFirst stock news from 22.12.2025, plus the most important forecasts, analyst targets, and the near-term catalysts now driving the UNF story.

What happened to UniFirst stock on December 22, 2025?

Cintas takes its UniFirst bid public again — at $275 per share

Cintas announced it submitted a non-binding proposal to UniFirst’s board to buy all outstanding common and Class B shares for $275.00 per share in cash, a move that immediately reset the conversation around UniFirst’s valuation and strategic direction. ^[1]

Reuters reported the renewed offer values the deal at about $5.2 billion and represents Cintas’ third attempt to secure a transaction. ^[2]

UniFirst confirms receipt and says it’s reviewing the proposal

UniFirst, for its part, confirmed it received the unsolicited, non-binding proposal on December 12, 2025, and said its board has engaged independent financial and legal advisors and is “carefully reviewing and evaluating” the bid. ^[3]

UniFirst also explicitly told shareholders they do not need to take any action at this time, and said it does not plan to comment further until its review is complete. ^[4]

The offer details investors are focusing on

Even in a world where “$275 cash” tends to do most of the talking, several specifics matter because they shape deal probability—and UNF’s trading level suggests the market is still arguing with itself about that probability.

1) The proposal is “non-binding” — and the spread is still huge

Cintas’ approach is currently a proposal, not a signed merger agreement. UniFirst shares trading around $201 versus $275 implies a discount of roughly 27% to the headline bid—an unusually wide gap for a clean, near-certain all-cash takeout.

That gap is basically the market’s way of saying: “Cool story. Prove it.” ^[5]

2) Cintas tries to pre-answer the “will regulators block it?” question

Cintas emphasized what it called a “clear path to completion,” and—crucially—offered a $350 million reverse termination fee payable to UniFirst if the transaction is not approved on antitrust grounds. ^[6]

In deal-land, a reverse termination fee is the corporate equivalent of putting real money on the table to signal confidence. It doesn’t guarantee approval, but it changes the negotiating posture.

3) No financing contingency (according to Cintas)

Cintas stated the proposal would not be subject to financing contingencies or shareholder approval on the Cintas side, and that it expects to fund the cash consideration through cash on hand and committed lines of credit/other available financing sources. ^[7]

4) Timeline and engagement (or lack of it)

Cintas said the proposal was delivered to UniFirst’s board on December 12, UniFirst acknowledged receipt on December 16, and Cintas claims there has been no “substantive engagement” since then—one reason Cintas appears to have gone public again. ^[8]

UniFirst’s public statement confirms receipt and says it is working with advisors, but does not commit to talks or a timetable. ^[9]

Why is UNF stock still far below $275?

The market’s pricing is telling you that investors see meaningful obstacles between “proposal” and “paid.”

Here are the main ones—based on what’s known as of December 22, 2025:

The board review is real—and can end in a “no”

UniFirst has not endorsed the bid; it has only confirmed it is reviewing it with advisors. ^[10]

Control and governance dynamics matter

The Wall Street Journal noted UniFirst’s dual-class share structure and the Croatti family’s voting control have been a key factor in prior episodes of shareholder dissatisfaction and takeover resistance. ^[11]

Antitrust risk is still risk, even with a reverse termination fee

Cintas is trying to reduce perceived regulatory risk by offering a reverse termination fee and highlighting its antitrust preparation. ^[12]
But investors may still price in the possibility that regulators scrutinize a combination of major uniform and facility-services providers—especially given the overlap narrative.

“Same price, new attempt” raises the question: what changed?

Cintas is back at the same headline price ($275) that has appeared before in the long-running Cintas–UniFirst saga. The new element this time is the structure—especially the reverse termination fee and the insistence on a clear regulatory path. ^[13]

That can be meaningful. It can also be read as Cintas saying: “We don’t want to pay more; we want to make ‘$275’ harder to ignore.”

A quick timeline: how we got here

This isn’t a random one-day meme spike. It’s an episode in a multi-year chess match.

January 2025: UniFirst previously rebuffed a Cintas proposal at $275 per share, according to Reuters. ^[14]
March 2025: Cintas terminated discussions on its bid after failing to reach agreement with UniFirst, Reuters reported at the time. ^[15]
December 2025: Activist pressure had been building. The WSJ highlighted criticism from investors and the activist Engine Capital pushing for strategic alternatives, alongside governance constraints from the dual-class structure. ^[16]
December 12, 2025: Cintas delivered the latest non-binding $275 cash proposal (confirmed by both companies). ^[17]
December 22, 2025: Cintas publicized the offer; UniFirst confirmed receipt and began (or continued) its formal review with advisors. ^[18]

UniFirst’s other news on December 22, 2025: next earnings date is set

While the takeover bid is sucking up most of the oxygen, UniFirst also issued a separate release: it will report Fiscal 2026 first-quarter results on January 7, 2026, before the market opens, followed by a 9:00 a.m. ET conference call. ^[19]

Why this matters now:

If takeover talks progress, earnings can become a negotiating lever (guidance, demand trends, margins, route density economics).
If talks stall, earnings become the next fundamental catalyst that can re-anchor valuation—especially if investors start treating the bid as “optionality” rather than a base case.

UNF forecasts and analyst targets: what “normal” looked like before today’s bid

One of the most important context clues for UniFirst stock is how Wall Street valued it before this renewed acquisition spotlight.

As of the most recently published consensus snapshots available on December 22:

Yahoo Finance showed a 1-year target estimate around $165.50 for UniFirst. ^[20]
MarketBeat listed an average analyst price target of about $174.75, with a range roughly from $145 (low) to $197 (high). ^[21]
Zacks also displayed an average target around $165.50, with a similar low-to-high range in the mid-$100s to low-$180s. ^[22]

Two big takeaways from those numbers:

The $275 bid is far above the prior consensus.
Those targets may now be stale, because analyst models often don’t immediately re-rate to a takeover price until a deal looks “real” (signed agreement, regulatory path, board support).

So if you’re scanning targets today, treat them as: “stand-alone valuation history,” not a fresh map of where the stock must go next.

What the biggest coverage outlets emphasized today

Different outlets framed the same facts in slightly different ways:

Reuters focused on deal value (~$5.2B), the $275 cash offer, and the fact it’s Cintas’ third attempt to get a deal done. ^[23]
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the persistence of the bid over years, the reverse termination fee, and the governance/activist backdrop that could pressure UniFirst’s board to engage. ^[24]
Barron’s treated UniFirst as a major daily mover tied directly to the takeover bid headline. ^[25]
TipRanks/other market commentary zeroed in on the “credibility signals” (no financing contingency, reverse termination fee) as key reasons the market reacted strongly. ^[26]

What investors should watch next

UniFirst stock is now trading like an event-driven security. The next moves likely come from process, not vibes.

1) UniFirst board actions and communications

UniFirst has said it will not comment further until the review is complete. ^[27]
Investors will be watching for any sign of:

a formal “strategic review” announcement,
confirmation of negotiations,
a rejection, or
a request for improved terms.

2) Is $275 the ceiling—or just the opening line?

Cintas is at a clear, repeated number. The question is whether UniFirst’s board treats it as:

compelling as-is,
a starting point, or
not credible enough to engage.

3) Regulatory signals

Even without a signed deal, markets can react to any credible commentary around antitrust risk in consolidating service-route industries. Cintas is clearly trying to message preparedness here. ^[28]

4) January 7, 2026 earnings

UniFirst’s scheduled earnings release and call is now a hard catalyst on the calendar. ^[29]
Whether the company discusses the proposal is unknown; UniFirst explicitly says shareholders need not act now and the company doesn’t intend to comment further during the review. ^[30]

Bottom line: UniFirst stock is now a deal-probability debate

On December 22, 2025, UniFirst stock moved sharply because Cintas made the takeover story unavoidable again—putting $275 cash and a $350 million reverse termination fee into the public arena, while UniFirst confirmed it is reviewing the proposal with major advisors. ^[31]

But the stock’s continued discount to $275 is the market’s way of pricing in the messy realities: non-binding proposals, governance dynamics, regulatory uncertainty, and the simple fact that UniFirst hasn’t said “yes.”

For now, UNF is less a “uniform services compounder” story and more a process-and-power story—one that could resolve quickly if talks begin, or drag on if the parties remain entrenched.

References

UniFirst Corporation Stock (UNF) Jumps After Cintas Renews $275 Buyout Offer — News, Forecasts, and What’s Next