Medtronic Shareholders Approves $43 Bln Acquisition Of Covidien

(RTTNews) - Medtronic Inc. (MDT) announced that a majority of its shareholders approved the company's proposed $43 billion acquisition of smaller rival Covidien plc (COV).

Based on preliminary vote results, the proposal to adopt the transaction agreement and approve the merger was approved by shareholders owning approximately 95.66 percent of the shares voted at the meeting and approximately 75.18 percent of the outstanding Medtronic shares as of the record date. The final vote results will be filed on a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, January 9, 2015.

Covidien announced earlier today that its shareholders had approved the transaction.

The transaction is expected to close in the last week of January or early February, subject to approval by the High Court of Ireland.

In November, The European Commission approved medical device maker Medtronic Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Covidien plc.

Medtronic said in mid-June that it agreed to acquire Covidien in a cash and stock deal valued at about $42.9 billion. The deal will help Medtronic shift base to Ireland and save it from paying high U.S. corporate taxes.