The famed and feared corporate raider has actually conceded defeat in his campaign to elect a slate of dissident nominees to Biogen Idec’s board, the Associated Press reports.

One of Icahn’s nominees, Alexander Denner, acknowledged at the start of Biogen’s annual meeting Thursday in Cambridge that Icahn’s three candidates had failed to win shareholder support. Instead, four of the company’s proposed nominees were expected to win election to the 12-person board. The vote results were not immediately available, though.

Icahn, who owns 4 percent of Biogen, has been pushing the biotech very hard to sell to a large drugmaker and forced Biogen’s board last fall to solicit bids. The auction failed after two months, though, when no bids surfaced. In recent SEC filings, Icahn accused the Biogen board of making it difficult for bidders to conduct due diligence.