The on-again off-again merger of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International looks set to go ahead after shareholders of both companies voted en masse for the proposed deal.

Marriott's cash-and-stock acquisition of Starwood, valued at US$12.41bn as of Thursday (7 April), will create the world’s largest hotel company. Holders of more than 97 per cent of Marriott shares and 95 per cent of Starwood shares voted in favour of the transaction at separate meetings today (8 April).

Starwood CEO Thomas B. Mangas described the vote as "significant step toward closing” the deal, which was almost derailed by a late rival bid. A consortium led by Anbang Insurance Group pledged a higher price for Starwood and only withdrew its proposal to acquire Starwood last week, paving the way for the Marriott/Starwood merger to move ahead. Anbang dropped its offer “as a result of market considerations” and did not intend to make another proposal, Starwood said in a statement.

Commenting on the backing of the deal from shareholders, Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO, said: “With today’s successful stockholder approval milestone, we are that much closer to completing our transaction. Our teams continue to plan the integration of our two companies, and we are committed to a timely and smooth transition. We appreciate the stockholders’ vote of confidence in our ability to drive long-term value and opportunity as a combined company.”

As previously announced, the parties have cleared the pre-merger antitrust review in the United States and Canada and multiple other jurisdictions. The transaction remains on track to close in mid-2016 pending completion of Starwood’s planned sale of its timeshare business later this month, obtaining remaining regulatory approvals, including in the European Union and China, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.