Shareholders of Avagenesis Corp. and Avapecia Life Sciences Corp. approved the companies' merger to form a new company named Liberty Biopharma Inc.

Under the terms of the deal, Avagenesis shareholders will get one Liberty common share for every one Avagenesis common share, while Avapecia shareholders will receive one Liberty common share for every three Avapecia common shares.

The companies expect the merger to close at midnight ET on Dec. 31. Closing of the merger is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Shares of Avapecia will be delisted from the Canadian Securities Exchange after the closing, and Liberty's shares will start trading under the symbol LTY on the TSX Venture Exchange the next trading day after the deal closes.