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Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD) partners with Pinewood Technologies and will acquire Pendragon’s UK motor and fleet management divisions, making it the UK’s third-largest automotive dealership group.
The acquisition of Pendragon Vehicle Management adds a highly profitable fleet management services business to Lithia (LAD) and this acquisition will round out Lithia’s presence in the UK market.
The cash consideration for the strategic partnership with Pinewood Technologies and acquisition is ~$350M (£280M).
As part of the agreement, the ongoing Pendragon business, comprised of the Pinewood DMS platform, will remain listed on the London Stock Exchange under the name Pinewood Technologies and will become a pure-play software-as-a-service business with its profitable Pinewood dealer management system.
Post-completion, Lithia (LAD) would have estimated annualized revenues of over $38B. The acquisition is planned to be financed using existing on-balance-sheet capacity.
Lithia (LAD) will take 16.7% ownership in the remaining Pinewood business at the completion of the transaction.
