UK's Pinewood Technologies shareholders approve $721 million Ridgeview takeover

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Shareholders of British automotive software firm Pinewood Technologies on Friday approved a £545 million ($721.14 million) take-private deal by US private equity firm Ridgeview Partners. 

• At a shareholder meeting on Friday, 99.76% of votes cast were in support of the takeover.

• Pinewood's board in August had recommended Ridgeview’s offer valuing the company at £4.48 per share in cash.

• Pinewood is the latest London-listed technology company to attract private equity interest as buyout firms continue to target UK-listed businesses seen as undervalued.

• The deal is expected to become effective on October 9.

• Pinewood provides a cloud-based platform to help car dealerships and manufacturers manage everything from vehicle sales and customer relationships to repairs and accounting.

• Pinewood had also attracted interest from Apax Partners in January, with an offer valuing it at 500 pence-per-share. But the private equity firm withdrew its approach in February citing challenging market conditions.

• Shares of Pinewood have gained about 24.16% year-to-date.

($1 = 0.7557 pounds)

(Reporting by Anushka Chourasia and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)