ITC Holdings shareholders approve Entergy deal

NOVI, Mich. (AP) -- ITC Holdings Corp. shareholders on Tuesday approved the energy company's proposed acquisition of Entergy Corp.'s transmission business.

Entergy announced in December that it would spin off its electric transmission business to ITC, which operates power lines in the Midwest.

As part of the deal, Entergy will receive about $1.78 billion in cash and its shareholders will get a 50.1 percent stake in the new company. The deal also helped Entergy potentially clear some antitrust hurdles in a separate proposed $523 million acquisition of two power plants from KGen Power Corp.

ITC, based in Novi, Mich., said its shareholders voted in favor of all the proposals necessary for the deal to move forward. It is expected to close by the end of the year.

Shares of ITC rose $1.63 to $92.09 in afternoon trading. Its stock has been gaining steadily since last summer and is near the top of its 52-week trading range of $66.30 to $93.69.

Entergy was up $1 to $69.65.