Nelson Peltz wins P&G board seat in vote recount

Now it is Procter and Gamble’s turn to demand a recount.

One month after the Bounty and Crest maker declared victory over billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz in the largest proxy fight ever waged, a second vote count has overturned the results and handed Peltz a razor-thin victory, according to a report on Wednesday.

Peltz, it now appears, outpolled current director Ernesto Zedillo by 42,780 shares — 0.002 percent of shares outstanding — P&G said in a statement following a report on CNBC.

The tally was completed by IVS Associates, an independent inspector of elections.

But P&G isn’t ready to accept defeat.

“The results are still preliminary and are subject to a review and challenge period during which both parties will have the opportunity to review the results for any discrepancies,” P&G said.

A tally last month showed that Peltz, whose hedge fund Trian Partners has a $3.5 billion stake in P&G, lost the board seat by 6.15 million shares.

Peltz said last month that the vote was actually “too close to call” and the tally was “based on estimates and incomplete information.”

His fund seemed to be pleased with the latest count.

“The inspector’s report represents an independent, careful tabulation of all proxies and ballots submitted to the inspector by both P&G and Trian,” the hedge fund said.

Shares of P&G gained as much as 3 percent on the recount news in after-hours trading