French Workplace Supplies Provider Elis SA’s Takeover Proposal

(Reuters) – French workplace supplies provider Elis SA made an informal takeover proposal to U.S. peer UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Corp, as reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Massachusetts-based UniFirst approached Elis to gauge interest in a deal after Elis’s takeover approach to rival Vestis Corp became public last month.

Elis and Vestis are still holding exploratory talks about a potential deal, according to Bloomberg.

Elis, UniFirst, and Vestis did not immediately respond to requests for comments outside regular business hours.

Elis and Vestis confirmed the interest approximately a month ago, following Reuters’ initial report on the acquisition offer.

Elis, which has a market value of about 9.2 billion euros ($10.15 billion), provides workplace supplies and maintenance services for uniforms.

($1 = 0.9060 euros)