Investor Carl Icahn has secured a majority of seats on the board of US shale producer SandRidge Energy after a contentious proxy fight, writes Julia Martinez.

Shareholders elected four of Icahn's picks and re-elected two incumbent directors at an annual meeting vote, according to preliminary results.

Two additional spots were appointed, handing SandRidge an additional seat and Icahn a fifth seat on an eight-person board.

SandRidge struck a deal with Icahn when the race for the seventh board seat was too close to call.

The newly elected, six-person slate agreed to expand the board by one, handing the spot to an incumbent, while appointing an Icahn nominee to the fifth slot.

In April, Icahn, the company's largest individual shareholder with a 13.6% stake, proposed replacing the entire board with his own list of candidates.

Icahn and SandRidge have been battling since late last year, grabbing headlines over a failed $746 million takeover of rival Bonanza Creek, the ousting of the company’s chief executive and chief financial officers, as well as a rejected merger with Midstates Petroleum.

SandRidge recently announced it had 17 potential buyers, including Icahn, setting up a possible upcoming sale of the Oklahoma-based company.

On 19 June, the board agreed to appoint SandRidge incumbent David Kornder and Icahn's nominee Jonathan Frates.

From Icahn's slate, shareholders elected Randolph Read, John Lipinski, Jonathan Christodoro and Bob Alexander.

SandRidge retained Sylvia Barnes and William Griffin, the acting chief executive since the previous executive was ousted by Icahn in February.

The billionaire is known for pushing board shakeups across a range of sectors, but within the energy sector has targeted US independent Chesapeake Energy, mining giant Freeport-McMoRan, drilling company Transocean and liquefied natural gas player Cheniere Energy.

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Icahn wins tussle to secure majority on SandRidge board