Londis shareholders have overwhelmingly approved Musgrave's £60 million sterling (€90 million) bid for the mutually owned retail chain. The acquisition is set to be completed late next month, making Musgrave the largest symbol wholesaler in the UK.

At an extraordinary meeting of Londis shareholders in Birmingham yesterday, more than 97 per cent voted to accept the Musgrave bid, which will see each of them get £31,645 (€47,572) in cash.

Musgrave welcomed the outcome of the vote, which brings to an end a six-month saga and will give it a share of about 6 per cent of the UK convenience sector and a leading position in the symbol market. It will now support 227 Budgens stores, 104 Supervalu and Centra stores in Northern Ireland and 2,100 Londis stores.

"It's a great result for us, an overwhelming vote of confidence and very reassuring for the start of the relationship between ourselves and the Londis retailers," said Musgrave's managing director, Mr Séamus Scally.

He said Musgrave aimed to deliver improvements to Londis retailers in chilled and fresh ranges, to sustain investment in point-of-sale systems, and to improve pricing structures.

The board of Londis, which recommended the Musgrave offer ahead of a number of rival bids last April, also welcomed the outcome.

"The shareholders of Londis have taken an important decision today, a decision which secures Londis's position as the UK's leading symbol group," said Mr Peter McNamara, vice-chairman and acting chief executive of Londis.

The bid by the Cork-based distributor and retail franchiser was the second it tabled after an initial £40 million offer, made last December, was derailed by controversy over special payments to Londis directors.

The second offer, which saw off interest from a number of other parties including the Co-Op, the Big Food Group and off-licence chain Threshers, needed 75 per cent of the votes cast at yesterday's meeting before it could go ahead.

Of the 1,896 Londis shopkeepers, each of whom have a vote, 1,626 people voted. Of this, 1,583 voted in favour of the Musgrave deal.

The acquisition now needs High Court approval in the UK at a hearing scheduled to take place on July 22nd. Assuming that the court sanctions the scheme and confirms the reduction of capital at that hearing, the transaction will be completed on July 23rd and cheques posted to shareholders on August 9th.

Musgrave, which is one of the largest privately owned Irish companies, currently holds 24 per cent of the grocery market in the State and 12 per cent in the North.