NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shareholders of Merrill Lynch & Co on Friday voted to approve the company's acquisition by Bank of America Corp , Merrill said.
With the acquisition, Bank of America would become the largest U.S. bank by assets with about $2.7 trillion, surpassing JPMorgan Chase & Co
The terms of the acquisition valued Merrill at $19.7 billion on Thursday, down from an original $50 billion because Bank of America's share price has fallen since the transaction was announced on Sept 15. Merrill shareholders would receive 0.8595 of a Bank of America share for each of their shares.
Bank of America shareholders are scheduled to vote on the transaction later Friday. They must vote because of the large number of shares the bank is issuing. The acquisition is expected to close by year-end.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace)
