Yankee Candle sale complete

A special meeting of stockholders of Yankee Candle Co. approved the company's proposed merger with private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC.

Preliminary voting results suggested that 99.9 percent of shares present and voting at the meeting voted for the approval of the merger, Yankee Candle of Deerfield said today, adding that the transaction is expected to close in February.

The company designs and makes scented candles that are sold through a network of more than 17,000 retail outlets, including company owned stores.

In October, an affiliate of Madison Dearborn of Chicago said it had agreed to buy Yankee in a deal valued at $1.7 billion, including debt.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)