New Delhi/Paris, Dec 22 (IANS): French firm Alstom Monday said a majority of its stakeholders have approved the sale of its energy business to US-based General Electric (GE).

In a regulatory filing to the National Stock Exchange, Alstom said 99.2 percent of the stakeholders approved the sell-out which will be closed in the second quarter of 2015. Under the deal, GE will buy assets which account for around 70 percent of the French group's revenue.

The companies will also set up three GE-controlled joint ventures in nuclear power, electricity grids and renewable energy. Also, GE will be selling its rail signalling unit to Alstom.

The transaction remains subject to the authorisation required from a regulatory and merger control standpoint in a number of jurisdictions.

The deal will be followed by a cash return to shareholders which could range between euro 3.5 to 4 billion from the deal valuation of euro 12.35 billion to be implemented through a public share buy-back offer, the company said in a statement.

"The board had taken note of a limited number of recent positive and negative adjustments regarding the terms of the transaction. The combination of these adjustments should not have a material impact on the transaction," Alstom's chairman and CEO Patrick Kron said.