Motor Trader The award-winning and longest running UK magazine for car retailing professionals. Your first stop for News, Jobs and Reports for the motor industry.
Pinewood is set to return £358m to shareholders following the sale of the Pendragon dealer group and leasing businesses to Lithia.
The company made an announcement on Friday, detailing a proposal to return the sum to shareholders by way of a special dividend of 24.5 pence per existing ordinary share.
Subject to shareholder approval the dividend is expected to be paid on 7 May 2024.
The payout marks the conclusion of the long running Pendragon saga, which saw it subject to a multiple bids and counter bids before Lithia emerged triumphant.
Players that expressed an interest in Pendragon included Hedin, Auto Nation and Penske.
In September Pendragon announced it was selling the groups motor and leasing business to Us dealer group Lithia.
Pinewood remained separate and continues to be listed on the London Stock Exchange headed up by Bill Berman.
The Pinewood software will be rolled out to Lithia’s existing 50 Jardine and Arden sites in the UK.
The deal also speeds up Pinewood’s entry into the $2.6bn North American market, targeting Lithia’s 17,500 users across 296 locations in the medium-term alongside new third-party customers.