National advice firm Jelf Group’s deal to be taken over by insurance broker Mash for £258 million has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Marsh will acquire the entire share capital of Jelf and give each Jelf shareholder 215 pence per share, which values the company at around £258 million.

The two companies announced their deal had received regulatory approval and would look to complete the acquisition by December.

Jelf directors have unanimously approved the acquisition and will recommend all its shareholders to vote in favour of the deal.

The deal was announced ahead of the 16 September deadline Marsh had set to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or say it no longer has plans to do so.

Jelf, founded in 1989 has 37 offices across UK and provides advice to over 10,000 businesses and individuals on financial planning, employee benefits and insurance.

In August the two companies confirmed they were in ‘early stages’ of discussions over a possible cash deal.

Jelf, which has business lines split across insurance, employee benefits and financial planning, posted a 61% increase in pre-tax profits for the year to 30 September 2014. Acquisitions and restructuring after the retail distribution review lead profits up from £4.6 million to £7.4 million, the firm said.

Revenues for the group’s financial planning arm, however, fell by 7.1% from £7.1 million in 2013 to £6.6 million in 2014.