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Pendragon said today that a potential takeover of the company had failed because a major shareholder had not given its backing to the deal.
It said following a period of due diligence “a large international corporate” presented a board-approved non-binding offer of 29 pence per share, valuing the company at £460m.
The proposal dependent on the approval from Pendragon’s major shareholders.
It said the board got approval from four of the five shareholders who were willing to sign up to the deal, but one did not play along.
“The Board of Pendragon concluded that the Proposal merited engagement with its five largest shareholders and received strong support for the Proposal from four of these shareholders who were willing to sign irrevocable commitments.
“However, Pendragon was unable to engage with one of these shareholders and therefore, given this lack of certainty, the bidder has withdrawn its non-binding offer and both parties have terminated discussions.
In March this year Sky news reported that a big shareholder had made a secret 28p a share offer for Pendragon.
It said Hedin Group, which operates more than 200 vehicle showrooms in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland through its subsidiary Hedin Bil, tabled a secret 28p-a-share offer for Pendragon several weeks ago.
Last month Pendragon said it was on track to report first half pre-tax profits of £33m. It aims to ‘unlock value’ in the franchised business, grow its used car business and diversify with its software arm Pinewood.