TXU shareholders voted overwhelmingly on Friday to approve the $45bn buy-out of the US energy group that, when announced in February, was the largest planned leveraged buy-out on record.

The approval, coming amid credit market woes, was widely expected as investors would be keen to seize the deal on the table. More than 95 per cent of those who voted, holding more than 74 per cent of the shares outstanding, backed the deal.