CORRECTED: Wachovia shareholders approve Wells Fargo buyout

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp's shareholders approved the bank's takeover by rival Wells Fargo & Co on Tuesday, bringing one of the largest mergers stemming from the financial crisis close to completion.

The merger was approved by about 76 percent of the votes entitled to be cast.

Wells Fargo won the deal to buy Wachovia in October after a brief but acrimonious battle with rival bidder Citigroup Inc , which initially had agreed to buy Wachovia's banking assets with government assistance.

The Wells Fargo deal is currently worth about $11.7 billion.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, but the integration of the two banks' systems, operations, products and services will be done over the next two to three years, Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf said.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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