Nisa members have approved the £137 million takeover of the firm by The Co-operative.
In a narrow win, 75.8 percent of members voted in favour of the takeover, with 24.2 percent voting against. The deal needed 75 percent support for approval.
“The convenience store environment is changing rapidly, and is unrecognisable from that which existed when Nisa was founded more than 40 years ago,” said Nisa chairman Peter Hartley.
“Co-op will add buying power and product range to our offering, while respecting our culture of independence.”
The deal comes after months of talks. Nisa’s board last month recommended shopkeepers to accept the deal, despite some saying the deal’s cash payment structure favours those with a smaller shareholding.
The takeover will give the Co-op access to a further 3,200 stores. Co-op argued that with a takeover, Nisa members will be able to compete against other stores such as Tesco (LON:TSCO) by expanding their product ranges with the Co-op branded products.
Jo Whitfield, boss of Co-op Food, said: “We are delighted that Nisa members have supported our offer and our ambition to create a stronger member-led presence within the UK convenience sector,”
“Together Co-op and Nisa can go from strength to strength, serving customers up and down the country and creating real value for them in their communities.”
Under the terms of the deal, Co-op will pay £137.5 million for Nisa, plus an additional £5.5 million worth of costs. The Co-op would also take on Nisa’s debt, which is worth £105 million.
Whilst approval from Nisa members has gone through, the deal will still need to be approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Tesco is also waiting for the results of the inquiry into its £3.7 billion takeover of Booker (LON:BOK), the wholesale giant that supplies goods to pubs, restaurants and stores.