April 25 (Reuters) - Coal miner Walter Energy Inc saidpreliminary results indicated shareholders had rejected all five of activistinvestor Audley Capital's nominees to its board.
The British hedge fund, which controls less than 1 percent of WalterEnergy's shares, had criticized the company for churning through chiefexecutives and taking on too much debt at punishing interest rates.
Walter called the fund's campaign a "hit and run" designed to turn a quickprofit.
Earlier this month, the company said proxy advisory firm InstitutionalShareholder Services had advised Walter's shareholders to back the boardnominees over those of Audley Capital.
Walter Energy's shares rose about 2 percent to $18.26 on the New York StockExchange.