Shareholders of Taubman Centers have overwhelmingly voted to approve and adopt the company's merger agreement with fellow shopping mall real estate investment trust Simon Property Group Inc, despite the latter's legal maneuverings to halt the proposed $3.6 billion deal.

Taubman announced that at a special meeting of shareholders on Thursday about 99.7% of the shares voted were in favor of the merger agreement, meaning that about 84.7% of the outstanding Taubman shares entitled to vote gave sign off on the deal.  That number represents about 78.3% of the outstanding voting shares held by shareholders who are not members of the Taubman family, according to the company.

"Taubman stands ready, willing and able to close the Transactions with Simon on June 30, 2020, the third business day following the satisfaction of all conditions precedent, which is the timeline required by the Merger Agreement," the REIT said as it announced the voting results.