Shareholders of Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS.A) approved the company's $49 billion takeover of BG Group Plc on Jan. 27, clearing one of the final hurdles for a deal that will create the world's biggest LNG trader.

As many as 83% of shareholders voted in favor and 17% against the deal, one of the largest in the energy sector in the past decade.

BG shareholders will cast their votes in London on Jan. 28.

"Our immediate focus is on the successful completion of the transaction and we now await the results of tomorrow's BG shareholder vote," said Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden in a statement.

Shares in BG were down 0.2% at 6:37 a.m. CST (12:37 GMT), while Shell's B shares traded 2.4% lower, compared with a 1.7% decline in the European oil and gas index.

Over 40% of Shell's shareholders also own around half of BG's stock, according to Reuters data.

If the deal is approved by all shareholders on both sides, the two companies will merge on Feb. 15. Shell will then become the world's most powerful LNG trader and gain access to valuable oil resources offshore Brazil and in Australia.