LATE NEWS: SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE TABCORP-TATTS MERGER

The $11.3vbillion merger of Tabcorp and Tatts now requires only court approval, after Tatts shareholders gave the deal the green light late yesterday.

Almost 99 percent of votes cast by Tatts shareholders at a meeting on Tuesday  (yesterday) were in favour of Tabcorp acquiring all of the issued shares in Tatts.

Approval of the scheme is now required from the Supreme Court of Victoria, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

If the deal gets the go-ahead, Tatts shares will cease trading on the share market at the close of trade on Wednesday, and new Tabcorp shares will begin trading on a deferred settlement basis on Thursday.

Tabcorp has also finalised the sale of its Queensland gaming business Odyssey to Australian Nationals Hotel, which was required as a condition of the merger