Pinewood still confident in future despite Apax pulling offer

(Sharecast News) - Pinewood Technologies on Monday said it was still confident in its long-term prospects after private equity firm Apax Partners withdrew its £575m offer for the automotive service provider on Friday, citing prevailing challenging market conditions.

The company, which offers a cloud-based platform for car dealerships and manufacturers, said it was well-positioned to continue executing its strategy and to achieve medium-term 2028 guidance of underlying EBITDA of £58m - £62m.

It added that the £33m acquisition of automotive artificial intelligence platform Seez in February 2025 "further strengthens the company's AI and customer engagement capabilities".

"Taking full ownership of Pinewood North America LLC, together with a new contract with Lithia expected to generate approximately $60m of annual revenue by the end of 2028, represent significant milestones that put the company in a strong position to grow its share of the North American automotive dealer software market," Pinewood said in a statement.

Previously part of Pendragon, in 2024 Pinewood became an independent entity following the sale of Pendragon's UK motor and leasing divisions to Lithia Motors, a North American automotive retailers.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com