ZEAL Network shareholders have approved their company’s plan to acquire digital lottery broker Lotto24, rejecting a rival plan from online lottery betting operator Lottoland.

On Friday, Zeal held a general meeting in London, after which the company announced that 60% of its shareholders had approved necessary preconditions for the proposed acquisition of Lotto24, a former ZEAL subsidiary that was spun off into a standalone entity in 2012.

Following Friday’s vote, ZEAL CEO Helmut Becker congratulated shareholders for sharing the company’s vision of uniting ZEAL and Lotto24 to create “the leading private digital lottery broker in Germany.” Becker claimed the proposed acquisition will create “significant value” for shareholders of both companies, their customers, German states and their lottery beneficiaries.

ZEAL said it would now proceed with its formal pitch to Lotto24 shareholders and expects the acceptance period for the takeover offer will start by the end of this month.