Embraer shareholders ok sale of commercial jet division to Boeing

Shareholders of Embraer approved a deal Tuesday to sell 80% of the company's commercial plane division to Boeing, enabling Boeing to compete with Airbus in the market for jets with up to 150 seats. About 96.8% of shareholders voted in favour of the deal after Embraer overturned an injunction that had put the shareholder meeting on hold. The transaction must now be approved by antitrust regulators around the world. Under the terms of the deal finalised in December, Boeing will pay US$4.2b to control Embraer's most profitable division, supplying passenger jets to airlines. Brazil's govt, which holds veto power over important business decisions at Embraer, a former state company, said last month that it would not block the partnership. <br/>