EZchip shareholders vote in favour of Mellanox deal

(Reuters) - The majority of EZchip Semiconductor Ltd's shareholders have voted in favour of a merger with Mellanox Technologies Ltd, the companies said on Tuesday, paving the way for a deal that had been contested by an activist shareholder.

About 84 percent of shareholders voted in favour of the deal between the Israel-based semiconductor companies, which is expected to close in February, they said in separate statements.

Mellanox, which supplies products that enable databases, servers and computers to connect with each other, announced in September it would acquire EZchip in an $811 million all-cash deal that would help it manufacture network processors.

Activist investor Raging Capital Management, EZchip's largest shareholder with a stake of about 8 percent, said Jan. 6 that it supported the merger. It had previously launched a proxy fight, arguing that EZchip did not pursue a "robust and rigorous" sales process before agreeing to being bought by Mellanox, prompting EZchip to seek other buyers.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Editing by Richard Chang)