BOCA RATON, Fla. - PepsiCo Inc said on Wednesday that shareholders of both Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc approved its proposed merger, paving the way for the snack and soft-drink maker to acquire its two largest bottlers.

More than 81 percent of the combined voting power of Pepsi Bottling common and Class B shares voted in favor of the merger, while 86.5 percent of PepsiAmericas votes were in favor of the merger, PepsiCo said.

The maker of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay snacks said it hoped to close the deals by the end of February. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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