Members of Royal London have agreed with plans to acquire the Co-operative Banking Group's life insurance business.
At the life and pension mutual's Extraordinary General Meeting held in London this morning, 95% of the members' vote was in favour of a motion to acquire the life insurance and asset management businesses.
Subject to final regulatory approvals from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, the acquisition is expected to be completed in late summer 2013.
With the acquisition Royal London's funds under management will increase from an estimated £50 billion to £70 billion,
The number of customers will increase from around 4 million to 6 million and the number of policies managed will increase from 6.8 million to 10.3 million.
Tim Melville-Ross, chairman of Royal London, said: "I warmly thank the Royal London members for their support for the Board's proposals to acquire these businesses.
"The acquisition increases our scale, capabilities, profitability and financial strength. The board believes it will support further our mutual dividend policy which has already seen over £325 million allocated to our members accounts since 2007.
"It is transformative and exciting for us and we look forward to welcoming the Co-operative policyholders into Royal London. We become an even more substantial player in the UK life and pensions market and it is a landmark step forward representing significant financial and strategic value to the Group and our members".
