Shareholders of the London Stock Exchange have approved its £1.6-billion- ($3.3 billion / Rs13,068.8 crore) takeover of fellow stock market operator Borsa Italiana. LSE''s parent firm, held a special shareholder meeting, to ratify the deal after it had been approved by by Borsa Italiana''s investors last week.

Clara Furse, LSE''s chief executive, said the vote reflected the rationale of the deal as "Borsa Italiana and the (London Stock) Exchange are highly complementary and the merger will create considerable value for both our customers and our shareholders,"

Fuse has successfully maintained shareholder approval as she repeatedly fended takeover attempts from Nasdaq.

LSE expects to complete the transaction by October, if the European Competition Commission, the competition regulator, approves the deal that would create the largest trading market for shares in Europe.