Pinewood Technologies has agreed to a takeover offer from a private equity vehicle administered by the US firm, Ridgeview, valued at £545m.

The pure-play software-as-a-service provider for car dealerships has accepted the £4.48 per share offer, which represents a 43% premium on its closing share price on 23 July, when the offer period commenced.

As an alternative to the cash offer, eligible Pinewood shareholders may elect to receive an unlisted limited liability company in Rollover Holdco for each Pinewood share, capped at £250m.

Ridgeview said that it has long admired Pinewood.AI and its ability to benefit from high recurring revenue and long-standing OEM partnerships.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Ridgeview plans to work with Pinewood.AI’s management team and employees to support the business in its next phase of growth, which it said will require a “step-change in technology investment” that can be enhanced through private market ownership.

This support will include plans to help accelerate Pinewood.AI's growth strategy across all of its markets, including its home market of the UK, and the continued expansion of Pinewood.AI's cloud-native, AI-first, mission-critical software platform across North America.

Following the announcement, shares in Pinewood Technologies jumped by 4%.

CEO at Pinewood.AI, Bill Berman, said: "I am extremely proud of everything we have achieved since Pinewood.AI became a standalone technology business in 2024. We have created a strong platform for future growth and we are confident in the significant global opportunities ahead, particularly in North America.

"Realising the full potential of the business now requires continued investment, innovation and execution at scale, and we know that Ridgeview is the right partner to support us through this next exciting chapter."

Co-founder at Ridgeview, Michael Hulslander, added: "Pinewood.AI has built a powerful, modern, end-to-end and AI-first platform that provides operators with the tools needed for the next-generation dealership. Our goal is to partner with Bill and his team on their mission to help customers modernise their businesses."

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