In an Extraordinary General Meeting held today, shareholders of TNT have signed off a takeover bid by FedEx.

Though subject to EU competition investigation and a challenge by UPS, the deal shows signs of progress. UPS was deemed to have too great a reach in Europe when it attempted to buy out TNT in 2013, and this would suppress competition in the region. Commentators however feel that FedEx has a much smaller footprint in the EU so this would have less of an impact on competition.

In a statement in response to the the approval by the TNT EGM, FedEx Regional President of Europe David Binks said, “We believe the combination of these two great companies will provide significant value to the employees, customers and shareowners of both TNT Express and FedEx, and we continue to work constructively with the regulatory authorities around the world to obtain clearance of the acquisition.”

DHL, which would be the third major player in the European overnight express delivery market, has stated that it is watching proceedings with interest though has no immediate response. The company is said to believe that there will be some disruption in business activities while the takeover process, and will take on business lost to TNT / FedEx as this occurs.