Shareholders of Canada Life Financial Corp. have strongly endorsed the Great-West Lifeco Inc. offer to acquire all of Canada Life’s common shares for a combination of cash and Great-West shares.

As at February 14, the combination of cash and shares was valued at $44.50 per Canada Life common share.

Canada Life chairman and CEO, David Nield, made the announcement immediately following a special shareholder meeting held Monday in Toronto.

“With the results of today’s shareholder vote, Canada Life is embarking on an exciting, new future as a member of the Great-West group of companies,” said Nield in a news release.

Shareholder approval of the Great-West transaction required a two-thirds majority of the votes cast at the meeting; 99.4% of the actual votes cast were in favor of the transaction, which is still subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

Later this week, Canada Life will mail shareholders materials that explain how they can elect payment for their Canada Life shares.

Shareholders must submit their election forms before the scheduled deadline of 16:00 ET time, July 3, 2003. The transaction is expected to close on July 10.