Ron Burkle does not want to lose to the Kalisman Kid — twice.
The billionaire investor’s Yucaipa Cos., while barred from engaging in a proxy fight with Jason Taubman Kalisman’s Morgans Hotel Group, according to sources, met with shareholders last week at a confab called by a dissident stakeholder, The Post has learned.
The meeting happened as Sahm Adrangi’s little-known Kerrisdale Capital, which has put up a full slate of new directors for the chic hotel group, met shareholders to convince them to vote for his candidates.
Burkle, who supports Kerrisdale’s slate, was at the meeting at New York’s NoMad Hotel, said sources.
Adrangi wants to put the chain up for sale immediately, while the 34-year-old Kalisman wants to wait a year or so before putting it on the block.
The scheduled May 14 shareholder vote that, sources said, Kalisman was poised to win, is now getting closer.
Up until now, Burkle, at least publicly, has kept some distance from Kerrisdale. Yucaipa owns nearly $100 million of preferred stock and warrants to buy 30 percent of Morgans.
Adrangi has also hired Yucaipa joint-venture partner Andrew Zobler as an adviser.
Kalisman met with shareholders on Thursday and urged them to support his slate.
Shares have risen about 25 percent over the past year and closed Thursday down 2.6 percent, to $7.61.
Last year, it was Kalisman, grandson of real estate developer Alfred Taubman, who succeeded in toppling the Burkle-controlled board.
Morgans also released earnings Thursday, reporting revenue per available room increased by 2.5 percent in the first quarter.
Yucaipa said it would attend any shareholder meeting it is invited to.