Pinewood.AI

Automotive Software · Private Equity · Dealer Management Systems

Acquisition

Pinewood.AI to go private in $742M Ridgeview Partners buyout

The final price still marks a comedown from a rival private-equity bid abandoned earlier this year amid an AI-driven selloff in software stocks.

• Pinewood Technologies Group plc, trading as Pinewood.AI, agreed to a £545 million ($742M) takeover by US private equity firm Ridgeview Partners, with shareholders getting £4.48 per share in cash.
• Pinewood.AI runs a cloud-based, AI-first dealer management platform for auto retailers and OEMs, spun out of the 2024 breakup of dealer group Pendragon.
• The £4.48-per-share price is a 43% premium to Pinewood's undisturbed 314p close before bid interest emerged in July, and shareholders can instead roll over into unlisted Ridgeview holding company shares, capped at £250 million.
• The deal follows a collapsed 500p-per-share approach from Apax Partners, which walked away in February as fears of AI disruption triggered a sharp software-sector repricing.
• Pinewood generated £40.5 million in 2025 revenue, up 29.8%, with underlying EBITDA of £16.4 million (a 40.5% margin) and £33.7 million in recurring revenue.
• Shareholder Harwood Capital, holding 5.7% of Pinewood, objected to a preferential liquidation rights clause in the deal, even as investors holding nearly half the company, including 32% owner Lithia & Driveway, backed it.
• The takeover adds to a wave of foreign private-equity buyers picking off undervalued London-listed technology companies, with UK takeover volumes running roughly double last year's pace.