Pendragon takeover bid upped to £447m

Hedin Mobility Group, the largest shareholder in Nottingham-based car retail giant Pendragon, has upped its joint bid for the the company to £447m.

Hedin has teamed up with PAG International to raise its offer from the £392m bid it issued on Wednesday.

The new offer represents a 32p-per-share offer from Hedin and PAG and comes after Pendragon said that the firm’s UK motor and leasing businesses could be be 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.

Under the terms of the deal stakeholders would receive around 27.4p per share.

A statement from Pendragon said: “The board will consider the revised proposal and will consult with its shareholders and provide an update in due course.”

Pendragon’s share price has risen sharply to 30.5p on the news – a level not seen since before the pandemic.