McDonald's announced that it expects to win a proxy fight with activist Carl Icahn over the fast-food chain's treatment of pregnant pigs.

According to a WSJ report citing early vote counts ahead of Thursday's annual meeting, McDonald's (MCD) appeared to have retained two board seats that Icahn was challenging with two board candidates.

The report comes after proxy consulting company ISS released a recommendation in favour of the McDonald's (MCD) board of director nominees last week.

In February, Icahn launched his battle with McDonald's (MCD) by nominating two board members in a dispute over the company's treatment of pigs.

Icahn asked McDonald's to avoid buying pigs obtained from gestation cages, an issue he initially raised with the fast-food giant in 2012.

Icahn has no intention of stopping. He also targeted Kroger (KR) in late March, nominating two directors to the supermarket chain's board of directors in his quest for better treatment of pigs.

Icahn invited large index-fund managers, particularly those focusing on ESG, to join his campaign against McDonald's earlier this month.

Source: Seeking Alpha