By Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn
Sept 5 (Reuters) - French workplace supplies provider Elis SA has approached Vestis , the former uniform rentals business of $Aramark(ARMK-W)$ , with an acquisition offer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Elis first approached Vestis, which has a market value of about $3.3 billion, including debt, a few weeks ago, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. The terms of the offer could not be immediately learned.
There is no certainty that Vestis will agree to a deal with Elis, the sources said. Another suitor could also approach Vestis, and it's possible that no deal with any party is reached, the sources added.
Elis and Vestis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Vestis has become an acquisition target after its business was hit by the loss of key customers. Its shares have shed about 35% of their value this year, trailing the S&P 500 Diversified Support Services which has risen about 17% during the same period.
Activist investor Corvex, which is led by hedge fund veteran Keith Meister, took a stake in Vestis after it issued a profit warning following its first-quarter results. In June, Vestis appointed Meister to its board of directors.
Earlier this year, Vestis was hit with a class action lawsuit by a shareholder who alleged that the company made misleading statements on its growth forecasts that led to a $1 billion valuation hit for shareholders.
Elis, which has a market value of about 9.2 billion euros ($10.19 billion) including debt, is a provider of workplace supplies, and offers maintenance services for uniforms.
($1 = 0.9024 euros)
(Reporting by Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal)
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