Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE)

Sector:

Retailers

Index:

FTSE Small Cap

342.50p
   
  • Change Today:
    -2.50p
  • 52 Week High: 795.00
  • 52 Week Low: 290.00
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 87.12m
  • Volume: 1,168,161
  • Market Cap: £298.37m

Bid target Pendragon reports solid H1 as AutoNation joins the fray

By Benjamin Chiou

Date: Wednesday 27 Sep 2023

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Bid target Pendragon on Wednesday reported an 10% increase in underlying first-half profits as it received yet another takeover offer - this time from US car retail giant AutoNation.

The company just two weeks ago agreed a £250m sale of its UK car dealerships to US group Lithia Motors, after which it would formerly rebrand as Pinewood Technologies, a listed company focused exclusively on dealer management software. It also signed a partnership with Lithia to accelerate Pinewood's growth across North America.

Since then, it has received unsolicited proposals from a number of parties to counter that deal: firstly, Hedin Mobility and Penske jointly offered 28p per share, which was swiftly increased to 32p after being rejected by the board; then late on Tuesday, AutoNation matched that offer. The offers value Pendragon's entire business at £447m.

Adding more complexity to the story, Pendragon's chief executive Bill Berman spent over two decades at AutoNation, most recently as president and chief operating officer (until 2017).

Meanwhile, Hedin had previously offered £400m to take over the whole business last year but the deal collapsed in December 2022 after the buyer cited "challenging market conditions".

Pendragon's board said it is still considering both new proposals and will consult with shareholders.

In the six months to 30 June, the company delivered sales of £2.09bn, up 13.2% year-on-year, with "broad-based growth" across all divisions. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 9.6% to £36.7m.

The Pinewood division, which currently only accounts of a small fraction of the Pendragon business, saw revenues jump 16.9% to £14.5m, as total users rose 7% to 32,800 and recurring revenue per user rose 7%.

Pendragon's stock was up 10% at 32.73p by 0830 BST, having risen by 72% over the past month alone.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:


Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

 

PINE Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 342.50p
Change Today -2.50p
% Change -0.72 %
52 Week High 795.00
52 Week Low 290.00
Volume 1,168,161
Shares Issued 87.12m
Market Cap £298.37m

PINE Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value Not Available
Price Trend
49.76% below the market average49.76% below the market average49.76% below the market average49.76% below the market average49.76% below the market average
52.38% below the sector average52.38% below the sector average52.38% below the sector average52.38% below the sector average52.38% below the sector average
Income Not Available
Growth
8.68% below the market average8.68% below the market average8.68% below the market average8.68% below the market average8.68% below the market average
9.52% above the sector average9.52% above the sector average9.52% above the sector average9.52% above the sector average9.52% above the sector average

PINE Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Special Final
Ex-Div 23-Apr-24 18-Apr-19
Paid 07-May-24 30-May-19
Amount 24.50p 0.70p

Trades for 13-Dec-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
11:36 75,000 @ 343.00p
10:48 100,000 @ 343.00p
10:54 46,896 @ 343.00p
10:55 68,000 @ 343.00p
11:35 100,000 @ 343.00p

PINE Key Personnel

CEO William Berman
CFO Oliver Mann

Top of Page