Mystery surrounds Pendragon takeover rejection
08 August 2022
Mystery surrounds last week’s bid for Pendragon that had to be turned down after one of its top five shareholders blocked the 29p-a-share approach. The board-approved offer came just four months after a 28p a share offer from Hedin Group was turned down by American CEO Bill Berman and the Pendragon board.
At 29p a share, Pendragon would be worth around £411 million.
Pendragon’s top five shareholders are Hedin Group, Schroder Investment Management, Odey Asset Management, Briarwood Chase Management and Hosking Partners.
Two industry experts told Auto Retail Agenda they believed Hedin was the likely shareholder blocking the deal. Auto Retail Agenda has contacted Anders Hedin and Hedin Group for a comment, but they are yet to respond.
Hedin Group holds 26.3% of Pendragon shares. However, founder Anders Hedin also has an additional personal stake in the firm, which takes his total interest to 27.1%.
Hedin Group reportedly made a 28p a share offer for Pendragon in March but was turned down by the board. At the time, it was understood Hedin was considering a further bid.
In a statement by the retailer, it revealed: “The proposal was contingent on receipt of irrevocable commitments from all of Pendragon’s major shareholders. 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was unable to engage with one of these shareholders and therefore, given this lack of certainty, the bidder has withdrawn its non-binding offer and both parties have terminated discussions.”
A spokesman for Pendragon refused to reveal who the blocking shareholder was, or comment on rumours the new bidder was based in the USA and why the 29p a share was accepted by the board when the 28p offer was not.
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