Providian Financial Corp. shareholders today approved the firm's proposed merger with Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, with 83% in favor and 13% opposed, according to a statement by San Francisco-based Providian. The statement didn't account for the other 4% of the vote.
"The results are what we expected them to be," said Shirley Westcott, managing director of Proxy Governance, a proxy advisory firm that recommended clients support the merger. "The economics of the deal are what matter to shareholders."
Institutional Shareholder Services also recommended its clients support the merger.
Putnam voted its 7.5% of Providian shares against the merger, while Egan-Jones Proxy Services and Glass Lewis separately recommended their clients vote against the merger, all saying the price was inadequate.
The deal was valued at $6.5 billion, or about $18.71 a share.
