June 17 (Reuters) - Penn Entertainment ( PENN ) said on

Tuesday its shareholders had elected two out of three HG Vora

nominees to the company's board, amid a proxy fight with the

activist investor.

Penn shareholders elected Johnny Hartnett and Carlos

Ruisanchez to serve on the casino operator's board, the company

said, citing preliminary voting results from its annual meeting.

"We are intently focused on driving profitability in our

Interactive segment and growth across the business as we

continue strengthening the company's balance sheet and liquidity

position," Penn said.

In April this year, HG Vora pushed ahead with a proxy fight

to try and elect all three of its director candidates after Penn

said it would appoint only two of the nominees to its board.

Penn had said it was shrinking the board by one to eight

directors, leaving only two seats available to be voted on at

the meeting in June.

The company's shares have fallen nearly 85% from its high in

2021 and the hedge fund, led by investor Parag Vora, had

criticized the Penn management over capital allocation and what

it called poor acquisitions.

Earlier this month, proxy advisory firm ISS urged

shareholders of Penn to elect all three nominees of HG Vora to

its board ahead annual shareholders meeting.