Motorola Mobility shareholders approve Google merger

Motorola Mobility's shareholders have overwhelmingly voted to approve Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of the company.

During a special stockholders meeting today, about 99 percent of the shares voting today approved adoption of the merger agreement, the company said. Those shares represent approximately 74 percent of the company's outstanding common shares.

"We are pleased and gratified by the strong support we have received from our stockholders, with more than 99 percent of the voting shares voting in support of the transaction," Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said in a statement.

The merger was originally expected to close by the end the year or early in 2012, but Motorola Mobility said the schedule of regulatory filings will most likely eliminate the possibility of the merger closing this year.

Google announced in August that it would pay $40 a share in cash for Motorola Mobility, giving the Web giant a treasure trove of handset patents to defend itself and its partners against a rising tide of legal opposition.