NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shareholders are scheduled to vote on Bermuda reinsurer Validus Holdings' acquisition of rival IPC Holdings on September 4, the companies said in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Validus' $1.7 billion acquisition of IPC is expected to close as soon as shareholders approve the deal, according to the filing.

Validus and IPC will each hold special meetings for shareholders, they said.

Under the sales agreement, shareholders will receive $7.50 in cash and 0.9727 of a Validus share for each IPC share held.

If approved, the sale would end months of negotiations for IPC, a property-catastrophe reinsurer also based in Bermuda.

IPC began to look at its alternatives after rating agencies pressured it to diversify its business, which is predominately the sale of catastrophe reinsurance, or insurance to cover other insurers when they are hit by claims from disasters such as hurricanes.

In March, IPC said it would merge with Max Capital Group, also a Bermuda insurer, but that deal was rejected by IPC shareholders in June, after Validus made a unsolicited, higher bid.

At least 16 companies expressed interest in buying IPC Holdings since last year. The company was seen as an attractive target because the rates for property-catastrophe coverage are rising, while the prices for many other types of insurance coverage are falling.