Pinewood Technologies Group, a leading provider of cloud-based software for the automotive retail sector, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 51% interest in its North American joint venture from Lithia UK Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithia & Driveway, for $76.5 million. The transaction will be settled through the issuance of 14,560,691 new ordinary shares in Pinewood.AI, reflecting a total joint venture valuation of $150 million.
With this acquisition, Pinewood.AI assumes full ownership and operational control of its North American platform. This strategic move eliminates governance complexities, enhances operational flexibility, and accelerates Pinewood.AI’s ability to expand its presence in the $6.5 billion North American automotive retail software market.
In parallel with the acquisition, Pinewood.AI and Lithia have entered into a five-year commercial agreement to deploy the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ platform across all current and future Lithia dealerships in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2028. The contract also establishes a defined pricing structure for Lithia’s use of Pinewood.AI solutions.
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Once the current rollout is complete, Pinewood.AI anticipates generating approximately $40 million in annual recurring revenue from Lithia. With further North America-specific platform enhancements expected by 2028, the total annual revenue from this agreement is projected to increase to around $60 million.
The joint venture’s valuation has been independently validated by Kroll LLC, taking into account the planned deployment of Pinewood.AI’s dealer management system (DMS) and suite of applications throughout Lithia’s North American network.
“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Lithia to acquire the majority stake of the North America joint venture. The US and Canada are central to our growth strategy, and through the joint venture, we have made significant progress towards commercializing the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ platform for the North American market. Assuming full control of the joint venture will strengthen our ability to fully capitalize on the opportunities available in a key strategic growth market,” commented Bill Berman, Chief Executive Officer of Pinewood Technologies Group plc. “Today, we are also announcing that we have agreed the terms of a five-year contract with Lithia to implement the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ Platform across all its current and future sites by the end of 2028. This is a significant milestone on our journey to entering the North American market and we remain on track to pilot the platform in Lithia’s US stores in the second half of 2025, with the full system rollout commencing in 2026. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lithia for their partnership in the joint venture and we look forward to working with them as a key customer long into the future.”