Pinewood.AI has acquired Lithia UK Holdings’ 51% stake in the joint venture, Pinewood North America LLC, for a consideration of $76.5m.

The deal is set to be satisfied by the issuing of more than 14.5 million new Pinewood.AI shares, priced at 386.5 pence.

As a result, the acquisition values the joint venture at $150m. Pinewood.AI added that this is also supported by the independent valuation work performed by Kroll.

The cloud-based software business said that the acquisition would allow it to unlock "broader adoption" of its products among North American dealer groups.

It added that by acquiring Lithia’s majority stake in the joint venture, it would gain complete control over its North American platform.

As part the deal, Pinewood.AI said that it has entered into a five-year contract with Lithia to roll out its software to all of the US-based automotive firm’s current and future sites across the US and Canada by the end of 2028.

As a result, the software firm anticipates total annual revenue from Lithia in North America to increase by approximately $60m.

Chief executive officer at Pinewood Technologies Group, Bill Berman, said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Lithia to acquire the majority stake of the North America joint venture. The US and Canada are central to our growth strategy, and through the joint venture, we have made significant progress towards commercialising the Pinewood.AI platform for the North American market. Assuming full control of the Joint Venture will strengthen our ability to fully capitalise on the opportunities available in a key strategic growth market.

"Today, we are also announcing that we have agreed the terms of a five-year contract with Lithia to implement the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence platform across all its current and future sites by the end of 2028. This is a significant milestone on our journey to entering the North American market and we remain on track to pilot the platform in Lithia's US stores in the second half of 2025, with the full system roll-out commencing in 2026."

CEO at Lithia Motors, Bryan DeBoer, added: "This agreement represents the next step in our strategic partnership with Pinewood.AI and supports our vision to modernize customer experiences across our ecosystem. As Pinewood.AI's largest global customer, we are excited to partner in the rollout of their platform across our North American network and accelerate our transformation into a fully integrated, data-driven retailer. Pinewood.AI is now able to emerge as the leading automotive intelligence provider in the US."

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