Shareholders OK Thomson's Reuters Buy

The approval is a key step in creating an enormous supplier of financial news and information.

Thomson shareholders approved the deal in a meeting in Toronto and Reuters shareholders approved the deal during a meeting in London, according to a release from Thomson.

Thomson officials said they were confident they can create and build value in the new Thomson-Reuters Corp.

The acquisition has already been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice as well as regulatory officials in Europe and Canada, where Thomson is based. The deal still must be approved by courts in Canada and the United Kingdom before its expected closing April 17.

Regulators are requiring the companies to sell copies of four databases that provide earnings estimates, economic information and other data to investors. They hope the sales will allay the anticompetitive effect of reducing the number of players in the financial database business from three to two. The other big player is Bloomberg LP, founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The two companies are not required to complete the sales before the closing of the acquisition, Thomson said.

The value of the Thomson deal is based on current share prices and currency exchange rates. Thomson shares fell 90 cents to 34.66 in trading Wednesday; Reuters shares that trade in the U.S. fell 22 cents to $72.19.

Reuters was founded when Paul Julius Reuter began transmitting stock market quotations between London and Paris via the Calais-Dover cable in 1851.

London-based Reuters is more focused on Europe, while Thomson formally based in Toronto but run from Stamford, Conn. is stronger in North America.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects Reuters founder in penultimate graf.)