Sprint Nextel shareholders today voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed merger of Sprint and SoftBank during a special shareholders meeting. Almost 98% of the votes cast in the meeting, which represent around 80% of Sprint’s common stock, were in favor of the merger.

“Today is a historic day for our company, and I want to thank our shareholders for approving this transformative merger agreement,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “The transaction with SoftBank should enhance Sprint’s long-term value and competitive position by creating a company with greater financial flexibility.”

The merger will give current Sprint shareholders 22% of the new company, while SoftBank will own around 78%. For each share of common stock Sprint shareholders own, they will have the option to receive either one share of common stock in the new company or $7.65. The merger is still awaiting the approval of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which Sprint and SoftBank anticipate will be granted by early July.

Last week, Sprint announced that it is increasing its acquisition offer for Clearwire. The company is now offering $5 per share of the wireless provider, valuing Clearwire at around $14 billion.