SHAREHOLDERS at Babcock International Group have given near- unanimous approval to its proposed takeover of helicopter company Avincis.

At a shareholder meeting yesterday 99.9% of those voting backed the £920 million deal.

Babcock said votes representing almost 72% of its issued share capital had been cast.

The acquisition comes with £705m of net debt and potential damages claims related to the Glasgow helicopter crash in November, in which Police Scotland's helicopter leased from Bond crashed into the Clutha pub, killing ten people.

Avincis, which operates as Bond Aviation in the UK, provides helicopter and fixed-wing services for medical, search and rescue and firefighting, as well as services to the oil and gas industry in the North Sea.