The Cintas-UniFirst deal appears to have hit yet another roadblock.

Sources from the Federal Trade Commission have indicated to Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas (asi/162167) that the regulatory body will sue to block the proposed $5.5 billion acquisition of fellow uniform provider UniFirst, per reporting from Semafor.

The FTC has not yet voted on the matter, but staff have privately expressed concerns about the combined company’s market share.

In March, Cintas announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Wilmington, MA-based UniFirst. It had been a long time coming, with the proposed deal marking the company’s third try after two failed attempts at a purchase.

As part of the most recent iteration of the acquisition bid, Cintas added on a $350 million reverse termination fee payable from Cintas to UniFirst, which it will owe if the merger is blocked by antitrust laws.

Earlier this month, the two parties announced they had certified compliance with the FTC, marking the next step in the process to move the deal forward. Their plan was to complete the acquisition by year’s end.

Shares of both companies plummeted Tuesday after the Semafor report was released, with UniFirst and Cintas shares falling 8% and 5%, respectively.

“The FTC has not voted on a final decision in this transaction,” a spokesperson from the antitrust regulator told Semafor. “Any decision will not be communicated through the press.”

As of Oct. 28, 2026, Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) shares were trading at approximately $213.72. Cintas ranks 14th on Counselor’s most recent list of largest distributors in the industry based on estimated 2025 North American promotional products revenue of $256.8 million (that figure does not account for the company’s proposed UniFirst acquisition). As of Oct. 28, UniFirst Corp (NYSE: UNF) shares were trading at $252.06.