Hospice care provider Odyssey HealthCare Inc. said Monday its shareholders approved a merger agreement providing for the company's acquisition by Gentiva Health Services Inc. The deal is expected to be completed around Aug. 16. Gentiva, an Atlanta-based home health care provider, said in May it would pay $27 for each Odyssey share. Based on Odyssey's 33.8 million shares outstanding at March 31, the deal was valued at $912.3 million.The companies said the deal will create a hospice care provider with an average daily patient census of about 14,000 and operations in 30 states.
