1:48 pm, October 25, 2023
The proposal to sell Pendragon to Lithia was approved by shareholders today with nearly 99% of those who chose to vote backing the resolution.
Following the withdrawal of a competing bid from AutoNation last week, a general meeting was held today (October 25) where shareholders could vote simply on the decision to dispose of Pendragon and the ‘North American Pinewood opportunity’.
In total, 98.92% of shareholders who chose to vote agreed with the resolution.
The results show that 27.24% of shareholders decided not to cast their vote, close to Hedin’s 27% share in the company.
Hedin has made multiple bids to buy Pendragon and had partnered with Penske to make another attempt before pulling out of the race earlier this month.
The vote was for the increased offer made by Lithia of 35.4p per share, which experts said made it the most likely bid to be accepted.
This includes a special dividend of 24.5p that shareholders will receive next year.
The transaction is now expected to complete before the end of the year but it remains subject to a number of conditions.
Pendragon will change its name to Pinewood Technologies plc on the London Stock Exchange.
