Globus Medical’s shareholders on Thursday approved a share issuance for the company’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of San Diego-based spine company NuVasive.

Globus will issue three-quarters of a share of its Class A common stock for each share of NuVasive common stock, giving the Audubon, Pa.-based company a 72% stake in NuVasive. The combined orthopedics company would have more than 5,000 employees, and “one of the most comprehensive offerings of musculoskeletal solutions and enabling technologies to help surgeons treat their patients,” Globus CEO Dan Scavilla said in a statement.

Since the companies announced the planned acquisition in February, Globus’ shares have fallen by 25%, from $76.96 on Feb. 8 to $57.54 at Thursday’s close. At the time, analysts raised concerns about past failed spine mergers, and the companies’ different corporate cultures. 

Despite these concerns, Scavilla said Globus’ shareholders showed an “overwhelming level of support for this merger.”

The company said 99.7% of Class A common stockholders and 100% of Class B common stockholders voted to approve the issuance. (David Paul, Globus’ chairman and founder, owns all of the company’s Class B shares, BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman wrote in February.) 

In a separate vote on Thursday, NuVasive’s shareholders also approved the merger agreement. While the majority of shareholders voted for the acquisition, they voted against a compensation proposal for NuVasive executives related to the merger, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The acquisition is expected to close after receiving clearance from regulators and other closing conditions.