Billionaire investor Carl Icahn appears to have lost his fight to get more control of struggling electronics maker Motorola. At the company's shareholder meeting on Monday, Icahn failed to garner enough support to be elected to the board of directors.

Motorola said the results are still preliminary, but Icahn conceded that he had lost the proxy fight. He said he was unsuccessful because he didn't have the support of large mutual funds.

The vote is considered a victory for Motorola C.E.O. Ed Zander. Icahn began his battle to turn Motorola around in January, and he repeatedly criticized Zander's performance. Zander shot back that Icahn was unqualified for the job, and the public battle between the two turned bitter. Icahn owns 2.9 percent of the company's shares, which he said he plans to keep, adding that he'll be back at next year's meeting if operations haven't improved.  

Bloomberg News notes that while the vote is in Zander’s favor, he is not out of the woods yet. Icahn garnered enough support to show management that they need to make necessary changes to revive growth. Motorola shares have lost 12 percent of their value so far this year. They were unchanged in trading on Monday.

The Chicago Tribune reported from inside the meeting that Zander acknowledged Icahn's attendance by saying "Good to see you again." The comment drew laughs from the crowd. When Icahn got up to speak his mind, Zander appeared to stare at the floor.