Shareholders in FairPoint Communications voted Wednesday to approve the telecommunication provider’s deal with Verizon Communications for landline operations in parts of New England.
The $2.7 billion deal was announced in January.
Verizon will spin off the landline group as a separate business, and FairPoint will own 40 pecent of the new venture.
FairPoint, which offers telecommunication services in a growing number of small markets, is buying Verizon landline operations in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.
The deal will make FairPoint the nation’s eighth largest telecommunications firm.
