Middlefield Group on Thursday announced the successful completion of the previously announced merger of closed-end fund U.S. Dividend Growers Income Corp. into mutual fund Middlefield U.S. Dividend Growers Class.

Pursuant to the merger, each closed-end fund share was automatically exchanged for 0.78975513 Series F shares of the mutual fund.

Approximately 3,572,680 new Series F shares of the mutual fund were issued in connection with the merger. The shares of the closed-end fund will no longer trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange..

Shareholders should see the Series F shares in their broker/dealer accounts on or before July 20, and are not required to take any actions.

The merger was effected on a tax-deferred “rollover” basis, Middlefield Group says in its announcement. All costs of the merger were paid by the manager, Middlefield Ltd.

The merger benefits shareholders by providing an opportunity to hold series F shares of an open-end mutual fund that offers a lower management fee and daily purchases and redemptions at net asset value, Middlefield Group says.

The objective of Middlefield U.S. Dividend Growers Class is to maximize long-term total return by investing primarily in equity and fixed income securities with a strategy that focuses on U.S. issuers.