ISS backs HG Vora's board nominees in Penn Entertainment proxy fight

June 6 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm ISS on Friday urged shareholders of Penn Entertainment PENN.O to elect all three nominees of hedge fund HG Vora to its board ahead of the casino operator's June 17 annual meeting.

ISS recommended that Penn's shareholders cast their votes for HG Vora-nominated candidates William Clifford, Johnny Hartnett and Carlos Ruisanchez.

"The company is facing sustained challenges, which have resulted in total shareholder return and operational underperformance," ISS said in a note.

Penn responded to ISS' recommendation by encouraging shareholders to vote for Hartnett and Ruisanchez but opposed Clifford's candidacy.

"Clifford demonstrated antiquated views of a rapidly changing industry, and the same posture of resistance to exploring value-generating solutions, which we believe would hinder constructive decision-making," Penn Entertainment said.

"PENN attempted multiple resolutions with HG Vora, but all of our resolution attempts were rejected," the company said.

HG Vora said in April that it planned to push ahead with a proxy fight at Penn to try and elect all three of its director candidates after the casino operator said it would appoint only two of them to its board.