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The $17-billion takeover of Reuters Group PLC by electronic publisher Thomson Corp. was approved overwhelmingly today by shareholders of both companies, which together will form one of the world's largest information operations.

David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Corp. (TSX: TOC) and grandson of founder Roy Thomson, told a shareholder meeting that this "is a remarkable beginning for both corporations."

He was commenting after about 99 per cent of Thomson shareholders at the Toronto meeting had voted to approve the deal, the biggest in the history of the Canadian-headquartered company which began in northern Ontario during the Depression as a radio and newspaper business.

Reuters, whose news agency origins date to 1851, said its shareholders approved the transaction by 92.6 per cent at a meeting in London.

Richard Harrington, president and CEO of Thomson, said the acquisition of Reuters "gives us a global footprint that we've never really had as our own company."

Harrington plans to retire after the two corporations are combined.

Reuters CEO Tom Glocer will be chief executive of the combined Thomson Reuters, which will have more than one-third of the world market for financial data, in competition against Bloomberg LP.

The Thomson family, which owns 70 per cent of Thomson Corp., will remain in control with 53 per cent of the combined company.

About 200 people attended the Toronto meeting at Roy Thomson Hall, named after the company's founder, who became Lord Thomson of Fleet after buying the Times of London.

Most of his papers were in small Canadian towns and cities, starting with the Timmins Press, which he bought in 1934. Thomson Corp. eventually operated more than 200 papers in North America and the U.K., but it has shed those interests in favour of selling high-value specialist information to financiers, accountants, lawyers, doctors and other professionals, largely electronically.

David Thomson, who will chair the combined company, told shareholders that "we are dedicated to building the finest information group in the world."

The vote was a formality as the Thomson family's Woodbridge Co quick payday loan. had committed its 70 per cent stake to the transaction, expected to close April 17.

Combining Thomson's strength in North America with the presence of Reuters in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, "Thomson Reuters will create a business with a global brand presence that will allow opportunities to grow faster than either Thomson or Reuters could realize," David Thomson said.

Despite the turmoil shaking financial markets, "I'm fully confident we can create and build value in this business," he added.

Harrington said it would take about three years for the two companies to combine and operate as one company.

At the end of the three years, he said, Thomson Reuters expects to gain about US$500 million of annual savings on resources such as technology, product development and corporate services.

The enterprise will have a dual listing as Thomson Reuters Corp. in North America and Thomson Reuters PLC in Britain.

The combination "is going to be terrific for shareholders," predicted Felix Narhi, an equity analyst with Odlum Brown in Vancouver.

"The combined entity is very well positioned, particularly in financial, going essentially from an oligopoly to a duopoly," Narhi said.

He rates Thomson a "buy" and applies the same assessment to Thomson Reuters, although "we have reduced our target price to $49 per share from $51 due to the more challenging near-term business climate and rumours of layoffs in the financial sector."

Thomson shares were down 66 cents or 1.8 per cent at C$35.40 on the TSX, with a 52-week range between $50.00 and $31.67.

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