The Boyar Value Group, a registered investment advisor and independent equity research firm founded in 1975, published an open letter to UniFirst Corporation’s Board of Directors urging an immediate strategic review after years of underperformance and the Company’s refusal to meaningfully engage with credible potential buyers.

In the letter, Boyar Value Group expresses concern that UniFirst has dismissed multiple approaches from strategic acquirers despite “a more than 45% premium to the unaffected price” offered by Cintas Corporation in its most recent $275 per-share proposal.

Boyar also notes that UniFirst is a solid business that would present massive synergistic opportunities to a strategic acquirer. But years of underperformance, questionable governance, failed technology investments, and a refusal to engage with buyers have eroded shareholder confidence and destroyed value.

“UniFirst is an asset that would be highly coveted in a competitive sale process,” said Jonathan Boyar, Principal of Boyar Value Group. “The Board’s refusal to engage with credible buyers raises serious fiduciary concerns.”

Standalone Plan Cannot Bridge Valuation Gap

An October 2025 report published by Boyar Research noted that even substantial operational improvements cannot meaningfully narrow the valuation gap between UniFirst’s current market price and what a strategic acquirer could pay. The standalone approach exposes shareholders to significant operational and external risks, and—when accounting for the time value of money—could take years, or even a decade or more, for UniFirst to reach a valuation comparable to what an acquirer could offer today.

Crucially, the letter adds:

“We trust that the Board’s steadfast pursuit of this lower-upside alternative is not influenced, even inadvertently, by the more than $300,000 in annual compensation earned by many non-employee directors, and that decisions are being made solely to maximize long-term shareholder value.”

Call for Action

Boyar Value Group urges the UniFirst Board to:

1. Form an independent special committee with its own advisors;
2. Reengage Cintas and all other credible strategic and financial buyers;
3. Conduct a robust and open sale process;
4. Provide transparency to shareholders regarding strategic alternatives.

“Anything less is a dereliction of duty,” the letter states.

Click here to read the letter in its entirety

About The Boyar Value Group

Boyar Asset Management

Founded in 1983, Boyar Asset Management manages money for both institutions and high-net-worth individuals utilizing a value-oriented approach to stock market investing.

Boyar Research

Established in 1975, Boyar Research publishes independent equity research focused on identifying intrinsically undervalued public companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204488839/en/

“UniFirst is an asset that would be highly coveted in a competitive sale process,” said Jonathan Boyar, Principal of Boyar Value Group. “The Board’s refusal to engage with credible buyers raises serious fiduciary concerns."