USG Corp. declared victory Sunday in its...

USG Corp. declared victory Sunday in its proxy battle with Desert Partners LP, saying a preliminary vote count showed a management-backed slate of directors had defeated one nominated by the investor group. But Desert Partners said it would continue pursuing its $2.2-billion hostile buyout offer for the building materials company, and noted it had a pending lawsuit challenging the proxy vote. In the contest for six seats on the company’s 15-member board, USG said the management-backed slate received approximately 57% of the votes cast, according to a preliminary count. The final results are to be announced Friday, the company said.