A row of Tim Hortons coffee cups are lined up for customers at Penn Station in New York, July 13, 2009. Tim Hortons Inc. today began serving its coffee, baked goods and soups and sandwiches for the first time in New York. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A row of Tim Hortons coffee cups are lined up for customers at Penn Station in New York, July 13, 2009. Tim Hortons Inc. today began serving its coffee, baked goods and soups and sandwiches for the first time in New York. Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons has been given the go signal by its shareholders to accept the proposed takeover offer of U.S. fast-food global chain Burger King. Once their tie-up closes, the two companies will now become Restaurant Brands International.

About 99 percent of shareholder votes reflected approval of Burger King's acquisition of Tim Hortons for about $11 billion, the Ontario-based company said in a statement. Expected to close this week or by Friday, the takeover effectively makes Burger King to transfer its headquarters from Miami to Canada.

Marc Caira, Tims Hortons' outgoing chief executive, assured shareholders they will witness a "bolder, more assertive and more dynamic Tim Hortons in the future," one that will see the company successfully go global. "This transaction will allow us to take Tim Hortons' brand around the world. Tim Hortons must go around the world," he said.

Caira became the company's chief executive in July 2013. He will serve as a vice-chairman and director of the new company, Restaurant Brands International. Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Burger King Worldwide, meantime, will become the CEO of the new company. "We are excited to unveil the name of our new global company, which conveys our mission to create the world's leading global restaurant business," Schwartz said.

The transition still remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval and issuance of a final order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice hearing for the final order to approve the Arrangement is scheduled to take place on Dec 11, 2014. Restaurant Brands International expects the completion of the Arrangement and related transactions on Dec 12, 2014. After which, shares of Restaurant Brands International will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol QSR. Units of Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership, meantime, will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol QSP.

When Canadian regulators greenlighted the takeover in the first week of December, part of its conditions for approval were that new company must maintain the current employment levels at all Tim Hortons franchises across Canada, as well as expedite the expansion of the coffee-and-doughnut chain globally and in the U.S. The merger would create a new entity worth about $18 billion, with total sales potentially reaching $23 billion annually.

Read: Canada Greenlights Tim Hortons' Purchase By Burger King