Hicks Acquisition Co I Inc on Friday said its stock and warrant holders approved its deal to buy privately held oil company Resolute Natural Resources Co.

Hicks Acquisition Co is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) -- a shell organization that raises money in an initial public offering to acquire another business. Resolute will become publicly traded through the SPAC's shell company when the deal closes, which is expected to happen later on Friday.

The combined company, to be called Resolute Energy Corp, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol REN REN.N, the company said.

About 72 percent of Hicks Acquisition's stockholders voted to approve the deal, the company said. About 91 percent of the warrant holders agreed to receive either $0.55 in cash or a new warrant to purchase shares of Resolute common stock for their warrants.

Hicks Acquisition became the second blank check company this week to announce the approval of an acquisition, bucking a trend this year that has seen SPACs struggle to complete deals since the financial crisis, with investors preferring to get their money back.

On Wednesday, GHL Acquisition Corp GHQ.A, a SPAC affiliated with investment company Greenhill & Co Inc, said shareholders had approved its acquisition of Iridium Holdings LLC, a mobile satellite communications firm.

Hicks Acquisition said in August that current Hicks shareholders will own about 74 percent of the new company, with the remainder controlled by Texas billionaire and sports tycoon Tom Hicks, who founded the SPAC. Investment fund Natural Gas Partners and Resolute's management will also hold stakes in the new business.

Hicks Acquisition Co went public in September 2007, raising $552 million. In June 2008, the firm partnered with the Blackstone Group to take Graham Packaging public in a deal that was then valued at about $3.2 billion.

Hicks and Blackstone amended that agreement in January, allowing both partners to terminate the deal and look at other transactions. Hicks abandoned that deal in August and signed the $582 million deal to buy Resolute.

(Additional reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Investment Energy