Shares in Pendragon jump on takeover approach

Shares in Pendragon motored ahead on Monday after the car dealership received a £406m takeover approach from its largest shareholder.

The London-listed group – which includes the Stratstone and Evans Halshaw brands – said it had received an “unsolicited, preliminary and highly conditional” cash offer from Sweden’s Hedin Mobility Group on 21 September.

At 29p per share, the proposed offer is around 28% higher than the company’s closing price of 22.7p on Friday.

Shares in Pendragon jumped on the news, and by 1000 BST on Monday they were trading 20% higher at 27.2p.

Pendragon said it was considering the approach with its advisors, and noted that there was no certainty that a firm offer would be made.

Should a deal go ahead, however, it would mark a return for founder and previous chief executive Trevor Finn, who led the firm for more than 20 years until he left in 2019. He is now a non-executive director at Hedin.

Under the Takeover Code, Hedin – which has a stake of around 27% in Pendragon – has until 24 October to make a firm offer for the firm or walk away.