Shareholders in Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group gave the green-light to the sale of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless, paving the way for the megadeal to go ahead next month.

The companies are expecting the deal to complete “on or around 21 February 2014”.

According to Vodafone, shareholders representing 68.55 per cent of shares in issue voted overwhelmingly (99.8 per cent) in support of the transaction, which will see its 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless sold to Verizon Communications.

The deal will also see Vodafone acquiring Verizon’s minority stake in Vodafone Italy.

And shareholders in Verizon approved the company’s issue of 1.28 billion shares of common stock to Vodafone shareholders to complete the deal.

“Acquiring Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless will provide Verizon with greater financial flexibility to invest in new technologies and address evolving customer demands. This is critical because we believe that, when it comes to wireless growth, we are just getting started,” Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said.

When announced in September 2013, the deal had a price tag of $130 billion on it, in a mixture of cash, stock, and the Vodafone Italy stake.

Vodafone is set to use a chunk of the proceeds in a wide-ranging investment programme called Project Spring, which includes a significant network upgrade element.

In a statement, Verizon noted that the transaction is still subject to approval from the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and “other customary closing conditions”.