Frontier Communications shareholders have approved a $9.6 billion sale to Verizon, the company said on Wednesday, even as a number of large investors sought to get a higher price. Shareholders had until Wednesday to cast their votes on a deal that Verizon's CEO Hans Vestberg called a "strategic fit" that would allow the company to be more competitive in additional markets.

The transaction, which awaits regulatory approval, would extend Verizon’s fiber network to a size that would rival major competitors like AT&T and Comcast by adding back lines i