Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sure knows how to pick his battles.
Investors in popular video distribution company Netflix — where Icahn recently took a 10 percent stake — had been showing signs of discontent with the company’s board well before he came along.
Indeed, shareholder “withhold” votes for Netflix’s directors have run as high as 40 percent in recent years, data show.
As such, booting some of Netflix’s directors — should Icahn choose to try — could be a walk in the park for the experienced activist.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner was booted as chairman of the Mouse House after 43 percent of shareholders voted to oppose his re-election in 2004.
Of course, Icahn has indicated no plans to tangle with Netflix. In announcing his 10 percent stake on Wednesday, he even applauded CEO Reed Hastings, telling The Post, “I think he has a great platform.”
But Icahn also made it clear that he thought Netflix could fetch a pretty penny if it put itself up for sale. And history suggests that he puts on his boxing gloves when he doesn’t get his way.
“This is not an antagonistic situation for Carl Icahn,” said Ken Squire of 13D Monitor, which tracks proxy battles. But, Squire said, that could change if “the company receives buyout interest at a premium price … and [Netflix] ignores or rebuffs those proposals.”
Netflix has a staggered board so that only three directors will be up for election at next year’s annual shareholder meeting.
One of them, Tim Haley, saw 39.3 percent of investors vote against him in 2010, his last go-around.