Pinewood Technologies, a Birmingham-based software provider for automotive sellers, has accepted a takeover offer from Ridgeview, a San Francisco-based private equity firm. The deal, valued at £545 million, will see shareholders receive 448 pence in cash per share. This represents a 43% premium compared to Pinewood's closing share price of 314 pence on July 23, the day before the offer period commenced. The acquisition will be executed through UK Piston Bidco, a new vehicle formed by Ridgeview entities. Pinewood's directors have unanimously endorsed the takeover, and shareholders representing a combined 48.68% stake have committed their support.
This takeover by Ridgeview follows a previous, higher bid from Apax Partners for 500 pence per share (totaling approximately £575 million) that collapsed in February 2026. The prior deal fell through due to increased market volatility and investor concerns about the potential disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on software companies. Pinewood's shares subsequently dropped as low as 203 pence before recovering with Ridgeview's new offer. While Ridgeview's offer is 10.4% lower than Apax's previous proposal on a per-share basis, it still provides a significant premium over recent market valuations.
Pinewood's business model is characterized by high recurring revenue, with £33.7 million in recurring revenue in 2025, accounting for 83.2% of its total revenue of £40.5 million. The company reported a surge in annual profit to £49.7 million in 2025 from £8.2 million, and underlying EBITDA increased 17.1% to £16.4 million, achieving a 40.5% margin. Ridgeview's acquisition is expected to accelerate Pinewood.AI's growth strategy, particularly its expansion in North America and the development of its cloud-native, AI-first software platform. Pinewood's CEO, Bill Berman, stated that Ridgeview is the right partner for continued investment, innovation, and scaling the business.
From a valuation perspective, the £545 million offer represents approximately 33 times Pinewood's trailing underlying EBITDA for 2025. However, against the company's expected underlying EBITDA of £21.3 million for fiscal year 2026, the multiple is about 25.6 times. Looking further ahead, Pinewood has a medium-term target of £58 million to £62 million in underlying EBITDA by 2028. At the midpoint of £60 million, Ridgeview's acquisition price is equivalent to only about 9.1 times that aspirational EBITDA level, highlighting the long-term growth potential seen by the private equity firm. The takeover is anticipated to conclude in the second half of 2026.
