Nokia shareholders today approved the sale of the company's mobile phone business to Microsoft on Tuesday. The Extraordinary General Meeting of Nokia held today confirmed and approved the sale of substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business to Microsoft in line with the proposal and recommendation of the Nokia Board of Directors.

Nokia said that more than 99 % of the votes cast at the meeting were in favor of this proposal.

"This is a significant step forward for Nokia. We are delighted that shareholders have given us overwhelmingly strong support to proceed with this transformative agreement," said Nokia Board Chairman and interim CEO, Risto Siilasmaa. "Today's vote brings us closer to completing a transaction which will mark the beginning of the next chapter in Nokia's near 150-year history, offering the potential of greater value for shareholders," he said.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Nokia in September agreed to sell its devices and services business and license its patents to Microsoft for 5.44 billion euros ($7.4 billion) after failing to recover from a late start in smartphones.

The sale is set to boost Nokia's net cash position to nearly 8 billion euros from around 2 billion in the third quarter.

Without the handset business, the remaining company will earn over 90 percent of sales from telecom equipment unit Nokia Services and Networks (NSN) and will also include a navigation software business and a trove of patents.