With 63 percent approval, the shareholders of the British real estate group Assura have approved the merger with listed rival Primary Health Properties (PHP).

Originally, the Assura board had endorsed the private equity bidders' offer but later switched to the side of PHP. Despite a last-minute push by KKR to highlight the value of its offer, PHP prevailed – even though the decline in its own share price pushed the value of the combined cash and stock deal below the original 1.8 billion pounds.

A central argument for many major shareholders like Schroders, Allianz Global Investors, or Baillie Gifford was that Assura would remain publicly listed through the merger. The concern: A sale to private equity would have meant delisting at a price perceived as too low.

A few days before the vote, however, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued an interim order freezing the execution of the merger. The authority is examining potential antitrust issues. PHP stated that this is a "planned, conventional, and necessary step" in the process and the offer is not dependent on CMA clearance.

The struggle for Assura is seen as a sign of a potential revival of the British property transaction market.