LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Countrywide Financial says stockholders controlling a majority of the mortgage lender's outstanding shares have approved the company's takeover by Bank of America.

Countrywide says more than 69 percent of outstanding shares were voted in favor of the transaction at a stockholders meeting in Calabasas, California, today.

The lender says the deal is expected to close on July 1.

Countrywide agreed to sell itself in January for about 4 billion dollars in stock. The deal is now valued at about 2.8 billion, reflecting a decline in Bank of America's stock price over the past six months.

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