Nelson Peltz lost P&G election by 6 million votes, company filing claims

Weeks could pass before hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz and the Procter & Gamble board know for certain whether his bid for a seat at the table was successful, but the preliminary results of the Oct. 10 election show him wanting for millions of votes.  According to a report submitted by P&G to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo received 6,151,417 more votes than Peltz, who waged a monthslong campaign against the P&G establishment in hopes of radically restructuring the company. His vision would decentralize P&G from its Cincinnati headquarters, dividing it into three branches he claimed would have more market agility and accountability. Between his attempts to woo shareholders and the efforts of P&G leaders to retain them, the contest cost at least $65 million, making it the most expensive proxy battle in history. And Peltz won't surrender without a fight. According to CNBC, he and P&G leaders will enter the "snake pit" -- the often-venomous stage in which each contested vote is recounted -- and spend multiple weeks verifying the final results. "We really do respect all our shareholders,"  P&G CEO David Taylor said last week. "So, I will visit him. We'll have the appropriate interactions and to the extent he's got ideas that'll help us, we will move forward."