Apax has announced that it will not make an offer for cloud-based full-service technology provider, Pinewood.AI.

The private equity firm had initially entered into discussions with the technology firm over a £575m offer, following several approaches.

However, Apax stated that it does not intend to make an offer for the company, in light of "challenging market conditions".

Under takeover rules, Apax cannot make another offer for Pinewood for another six months, unless agreed with the Pinewood board, if a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer or there is a material change in circumstances.

Pinewood said that it remains very confident in its long-term prospects, with the company occupying a "leading position as a mission-critical, full-service embedded technology provider" to automotive retailers and OEMs.

It stated this confidence is underpinned by recent strategies progress, including its acquisition of Seez last year. It added that it continues to execute its strategy and aims to achieve its medium-term FY28 earnings guidance of between £58m and £62m.

Despite this confidence, shares in Pinewood dropped by over 32%.

Head of markets at AJ Bell, Dan Coatsworth, stated: "Pinewood is a technology provider to car retailers and manufacturers and has gone big in AI-related services. Two years ago, that strategic development would have attracted hoards of investors wanting exposure to all things AI. In 2026, the reverse is true as investors panic about companies being disrupted by the big AI platform providers including Anthropic and OpenAI.

"It’s notable that Pinewood’s share price hasn’t simply given up the share price spike from when Apax first revealed takeover interest. The shares have fallen even further as investors are now worrying why a big-name bidder has suddenly walked away, and whether Pinewood is going to be lumped with the multitude of other stocks that have struggled this year due to AI disruption-related fears."

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