Merrill Lynch holders OKd anti-takeover measures.

At its annual meeting in Princeton, N.J., the nation’s largest investment firm announced that stockholders had passed proposals setting staggered terms for directors and requiring a greater stockholder vote for certain mergers. The board was divided into three classes of directors, each elected for three-year terms. Stockholders also approved a measure to require 80% shareholder approval for any merger with a suitor that held a stake of 5% or more in the company. If a suitor received approval from the Merrill Lynch board for a proposed merger before acquiring a 5% stake, shareholder approval would have to be only a simple majority.