Ares Capital Corp. shareholders approved all proposals for a definitive merger agreement under which the New York-based investment company will acquire American Capital Ltd.

According to an 8-K filing, an overwhelming majority of Ares Capital shareholders at a special meeting approved the issuance of Ares Capital common stock at a price below net asset value per share in the merger. At a separate meeting, a near-unanimous percentage of American Capital's voting shareholders cast their votes in favor of adopting the merger. It came less than six weeks after a group of American Capital shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to block the pending deal.

The transaction is expected to close as early as the first week of January 2017, Ares Capital said.