NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - BlackRock ( BLK ) won a fight with

hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein last week when shareholders

voted at four of its closed-end funds, data showed, keeping the

asset manager's directors in place and retaining it as the

manager.

Weinstein's Saba Capital Management, a large owner in

BlackRock's ( BLK ) closed-end funds, and BlackRock ( BLK ) have been locked in

battle for months over the future of 10 of the funds.

BlackRock ( BLK ) is the world's biggest asset management company

with more than $10 trillion in assets under management.

Saba wanted investors to replace the BlackRock ( BLK ) directors by

electing its own nominees to the funds' boards. It also wanted

investors to fire BlackRock ( BLK ) as manager at some of them.

"Shareholders rejected Saba's efforts to unseat BlackRock ( BLK ) as

investment adviser and voted to support the Board's nominees at

several funds," Glenn Hubbard, Chair of the Boards of BlackRock

Closed-End Funds said in a statement on Friday.

"For the second year in a row, Saba has failed to convince

shareholders that Saba will deliver more value than the funds'

current stewardship and management teams," he added.

"There is a great injustice that continues as BlackRock ( BLK )

refuses to let its fund owners have their voices heard," Saba

said in a response to the vote on Monday.

Saba has cited poor performance as the reason change is

needed at the funds, which jointly manage roughly $10 billion.

Investors voted at four BlackRock ( BLK ) funds last week (

) after having voted at six (,

and) the previous week.

Meetings at and have been adjourned until

next month due to a failure to achieve quorum.

The BlackRock ( BLK ) funds require that a majority of the

outstanding shares -- 50% plus 1 share -- are voted in favor of

a director to secure election. At several funds neither side met

that level, which means the current directors will be held over

and stand for election again next year.

Saba did not secure enough votes to replace directors or

fire the fund manager at any of the eight funds.

The preliminary vote count is subject to final certification

by the independent inspector of elections, BlackRock ( BLK ) said.

Closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds, don't issue or

redeem new shares, which can leave them trading above or below

the value of the securities held by the fund.

For months, Saba has argued that investors will benefit when

the discount to the BlackRock ( BLK ) funds' underlying assets is shrunk

and that BlackRock ( BLK ) should buy back shares from investors which

could unlock some $1.4 billion in value.

BlackRock ( BLK ) said it has taken action to improve performance

and that its directors are better choices than Saba's nominees.

The battle between BlackRock ( BLK ), which manages money for retail

investors and pension funds and advises governments, and

Weinstein, who made headlines last year when he and other

prominent investors tried to buy hedge fund Sculptor Capital

Management after it agreed to sell to someone else, is shining

light on an often overlooked part of the mutual fund industry.

Saba, which has taken the fight to court, said in its

statement on Monday: "Looking ahead, we plan to hold BlackRock ( BLK )

accountable in court".

BlackRock ( BLK ) was advised by JPMorgan Chase, Sidely Austin LLP,

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Stradley Ronon, and Georgeson.