Shamrock Holdings, the Disney family investment firm, won three seats on the board of directors of one of the nation's biggest cement makers Thursday, according to Shamrock's preliminary tally.

Although the official results won't be released until next week, Shamrock executives said the early returns showed that their company won the seats on Texas Industries Inc.'s nine-member board by a 4-1 ratio. The vote took place at Texas Industries' annual shareholders meeting Thursday in Dallas.

The Burbank-based investment firm, known for shareholder activism, started snapping up Texas Industries' shares in September 2008, when the housing market was a shambles and the cement maker's stock began to plummet. The Dallas-based cement producer is the largest in Texas and has a major presence in California with two major plants in Oro Grande, near Victorville, and Riverside.

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