Share price rises sharply at Pendragon after £280m North American deal

The share price of Nottingham-based car retail giant Pendragon has risen sharply after news that it could be sold in a £280m deal.

Pendragon’s share price was up over 27% by close of trading on Monday (September 18) to 23.2p – its highest point since last December when a £400m deal to sell the firm to Hedin collapsed, along with the value of the company.

This morning, Pendragon said that the firm’s UK motor and leasing businesses could be been sold to Lithia UK Holding Limited, a subsidiary of Lithia Motors.

Pendragon and Lithia Motors have also agreed the terms of a strategic partnership with Lithia, including the rollout of Pinewood, the company’s dealer management software (DMS) business, to Lithia’s existing 50 UK sites and the creation of a joint venture to accelerate Pinewood’s entry into the North American DMS market

Pinewood will become a standalone entity, retaining Pendragon’s existing listing on the London Stock Exchange. Pendragon will change its name to Pinewood Technologies and be led by Bill Berman as CEO and Oliver Mann as CFO.

Shareholders will receive around 27.4p for every share they hold as part of the deal.

Lithia is one of the largest automotive retailers in North America. It has 50 UK locations.

Pendragon operates the Stratstone and Evans Halshaw outlets.