MCI shareholders approve merger

MCI shareholders have approved its merger with Verizon, the company announced Thursday. Eighty-eight percent of votes cast and 64.6 percent of outstanding shares were in favor of the merger.

The Verizon-MCI combination still requires federal approval and the blessing of 12 state regulatory commissions.

Nineteen state bodies have already approved the merger. The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to debate both the Verizon-MCI and the SBC-AT&T mergers on Oct. 28.