FTC to sue to block Cintas-UniFirst deal, Semafor reports

Oct 27 (Reuters) - The ‌Federal Trade ​Commission ​has indicated to uniform rental firm Cintas that it will sue ‌to block its proposed $5.5 billion acquisition of ⁠rival UniFirst, Semafor reported on Tuesday, citing people ‌familiar with the matter.

The ‌FTC has not yet voted on whether to sue, but its staff have privately ​expressed concerns about the companies' combined market share, the report added.

Here are more ⁠details:

• In March, Cintas, valued at $89.71 billion, agreed to buy smaller ​rival UniFirst in a cash-and-stock deal, combining two of North America's largest ​workwear and facility services providers. ‌UniFirst has a market cap of $5.06 billion

• The deal capped a ⁠multi-year pursuit in which Cintas had made at least three formal approaches since 2022

• Cintas ⁠was banking on the deal to expand its reach ​and cut costs by combining delivery routes, plants, and supply chains, as it looked to better compete ‌with rivals

• Shares of UniFirst fell 8% on Tuesday, while Cintas ‌was down about 5%

• Cintas, UniFirst and the ⁠FTC did not ‌immediately respond to ​Reuters' requests for comment

(Reporting by Koyena Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju ‌Samuel)

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