P&G appoints Peltz to board despite losing proxy battle

Procter & Gamble Co said it appointed Nelson Peltz to its board despite the activist investor narrowly losing a months-long proxy fight, the biggest ever involving a U.S. company.

The company’s shares were up 1 percent in after-market trading on Friday.
Immediately after its annual meeting in mid-October, P&G said it beat Peltz by a slim margin, but a preliminary tally by an independent election inspector, released a month later, showed otherwise.

“Because the election results were so close, and because a large number of shareholders voted for Nelson Peltz to be a director, the board has engaged in numerous discussions with Mr. Peltz regarding a board seat,” P&G said on Friday.

The consumer goods conglomerate said it increased its board size by 2 to 13 - to accommodate Peltz and appoint a new director in Joseph Jimenez, CEO of drugmaker Novartis AG.

P&G said it had recounted nearly two billion votes, many of which were paper ballots.

The recount showed that shareholders elected all eleven P&G nominees, including Ernesto Zedillo, for whom the votes cast were extremely close to those for Peltz.

Following recent discussions, Peltz and P&G agreed that the company would not be predisposed to take on excessive debt, reduce R&D spending, advocate for a break-up of the company or move the company out of its headquarters in Cincinnati - demands Peltz had made during the proxy battle.

P&G said it had recounted nearly two billion votes, many of which were paper ballots.

The recount showed that shareholders elected all eleven P&G nominees, including Ernesto Zedillo, for whom the votes cast were extremely close to those for Peltz.

Following recent discussions, Peltz and P&G agreed that the company would not be predisposed to take on excessive debt, reduce R&D spending, advocate for a break-up of the company or move the company out of its headquarters in Cincinnati - demands Peltz had made during the proxy battle.