Pendragon – the car dealership group which owns Evans Halshaw and Stratstone – has taken out a high court injunction after being subjected to a ransomware attack.
The £3.4 billion turnover business said its IT systems had been hacked but it was still able to operate as normal.
It said it had rejected the hackers’ demands – reported to be for $60 million (or around £54 million) – and reported the incident to UK government cybercrime agencies and the police.
It said: “We have identified suspicious activity on part of our IT systems and have confirmed we experienced an IT security incident.
“This has not affected our ability to operate, and we continue to service our customers and communities as normal.
“Upon discovery, we took immediate steps to contain the incident.
“Our security specialists launched an extensive investigation to assess fully what has happened and we’ll be keeping our customers and partners updated.
“To add, the Pinewood Dealer Management System was and remains completely unaffected.”
It said it had notified its staff and the car manufacturers it deals with about the incident, adding: “We have successfully obtained an interim injunction from the High Court against the threat actor.”
In unrelated news Nottingham-headquartered Pendragon said was extending its deadline for a potential buyer of the business to submit a formal offer.
Swedish vehicle retailer the Hedin Mobility Group AB said it wanted to buy the business over a month ago and was carrying out due diligence checks.
At the time Hedin said it was prepared to pay 29p a share for Pendragon, valuing it at more than £400 million.
In a new announcement to the markets, the Pendragon board said it was prepared to extend the deadline for Hedin to make a firm offer or drop its plans from October 24 to 5pm on November 21.
Pendragon said: “There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made. A further announcement will be made in due course.”
It said the update had been made with the consent of Hedin Group.
