And then there was one… second bidder drops £447m offer for Pendragon

AutoNation, the £20bn NYSE-listed firm, has pulled out of the race to buy Nottingham-based car retail giant Pendragon.

The firm had made a £447m offer for Pendragon at the end of September, but late yesterday afternoon (October 17) said it was stepping aside.

AutoNation has 300 outlets and is headed by British-born Mike Manley, once the boss of Fiat Chrysler.

The move leaves the path clear for a £397m deal for Nottingham-based car retail giant’s UK motor and leasing business.

Shareholders will now vote on the major deal, which would see Lithia UK Holdings, a subsidiary of Lithia Motors, take over Pendragon’s retail brands in the UK – with the results being announced at a meeting in London on Wednesday October 25.

The boards of Pendragon and Lithia Motors had previously 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.

At the beginning of October a joint bid by Sweden’s Hedin Mobility Group and Leicester-based PAG International, which owns the Sytner brand, withdrew a £447m offer for Pendragon, which runs the Evans Halshaw and Stratstone outlets.