7:30 am, September 27, 2022
Hedin Group has said it will block any rival attempts to launch a takeover of Pendragon.
At 26 per cent, Hedin is the largest shareholder in the UK dealer group and made a fresh takeover bid last week.
The Swedish investor made an approach to Pendragon for a £405m buy-out – the second take-over approach it has made in six months.
The 29p per share offer is the same as Lithia Motors’ – a US car dealership firm that tabled a takeover offer in the summer but was blocked by Hedin.
The most recent 29p offer would cost Hedin Group £294m in cash to secure the rest of the shares it doesn’t already own, said The Times.
In a statement Hedin confirmed its most recent approach, adding it ‘believes in the long term potential of Pendragon and will not consider or accept any other offers for its current shareholding in Pendragon’.
As Car Dealer reported yesterday, the Hedin buy-out could see the return of former Pendragon CEO Trevor Finn.
He joined the Hedin board as a non-executive director in January 2021.
Hedin operates 200 dealerships in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland via its Hedin Bil subsidiary.
Pendragon includes the Evans Halshaw and Stratstone names and runs around 160 showrooms in the UK.
Last week, Pendragon revealed its underlying pre-tax profit fell slightly to £33.5m in the first half of 2022.
It also announced it’s in ‘advanced discussions’ to bring Chinese brand BYD to the UK.
