After an initial attempt failed last week, AMD shareholders have finally approved the company’s plan to spin off its chip manufacturing operations to form The Foundry Company in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC). The transaction is now expected to close by March 2.

Under the deal, AMD will receive $700 million and a 34.2 percent ownership stake in the manufacturing business, down from its original take of 44.4 percent due to its falling stock price. The remaining 65.8 percent will go to ATIC, but both companies will retain equal voting rights. The move is aimed at enabling the struggling chip maker to become more competitive against Intel and is a follow up to their asset smart strategy announced back in October.