Pinewood Technologies Group plc has accepted a £545 million cash takeover offer from US technology private equity firm Ridgeview Partners. This deal will see the automotive software company, which trades as Pinewood.AI, delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Shareholders will receive £4.48 in cash per share, representing a 43% premium to Pinewood's closing price of £3.14 on July 23, 2026, the day before Ridgeview's interest became public. The offer also marks a 53% premium to the one-month volume-weighted average price and a 64% premium to the three-month volume-weighted average price.
The agreed transaction follows a turbulent period for Pinewood, as a higher offer of £575 million (500 pence per share) from Apax Partners collapsed in February 2026. Apax withdrew its bid amidst concerns about the potential disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on traditional software business models, leading to a sharp decline in Pinewood's share price to around 203 pence. Ridgeview's current offer, though 10.4% lower than Apax's initial proposal, is seen as protecting shareholders against the valuation lows experienced during the AI-driven software sell-off.
Pinewood, which generated £40.5 million in revenue in 2025 (up 29.8%) and £16.4 million in underlying EBITDA (up 17.1%), is attractive to private equity due to its high recurring revenue (83.2% of group revenue in 2025) and exposure to the fragmented automotive dealership market. Ridgeview intends to take Pinewood private to enable greater investment in data and AI capabilities, accelerating its expansion into North America and other international markets. The deal is valued at approximately 25.6 times Pinewood's prospective FY2026 underlying EBITDA of £21.3 million, and about 9.1 times its aspirational FY2028 EBITDA midpoint of £60 million, highlighting the long-term growth potential for the private equity firm.
Investors holding almost half of Pinewood, including US car dealer Lithia (which owns nearly 32%), have already backed the deal. Shareholders have the option to roll a portion of their holdings into unlisted stock in the bidder, an option capped at £250 million, though this is not recommended by the board. The acquisition represents another instance of a London-listed growth company being acquired by foreign private equity, driven by relatively subdued valuations in the UK market and the opportunity to pursue longer-term strategies away from public market pressures.
