HIGH MANAGEMENT TURNOVER, CUSTOMER LOSSES, VENDOR PAYMENT ISSUES AND ACCOUNTING RESTATEMENTS RAISE SIGNIFICANT GOVERNANCE CONCERNS

Woodbridge Urges Shareholders to Vote GOLD Proxy Card for Highly-Qualified Woodbridge Director Nominees Mark Begelman and Martin E. Hanaka

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 9, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodbridge EquityFund LLLP and Levitt Corporation (NYSE: LEV), together 'Woodbridge,' todaymailed a letter to the shareholders of Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP).Woodbridge's letter raises serious concerns about the ability of the currentOffice Depot board and management to execute on the recently-announced'long-range strategic plan' and questions management's consistent blame of themacroeconomic environment for the Company's problems despite evidence thatmanagement performance is the true cause. Woodbridge urges Office Depotshareholders to protect their investment by electing its two highly-qualifiednominees, Mark Begelman and Martin E. Hanaka, to the Office Depot board ofdirectors. Shareholders can vote their GOLD proxy card FOR Woodbridge'snominees by Internet, telephone or mail today.

'We are extremely frustrated by management's use of the macroeconomicenvironment as the scapegoat for their persistent underperformance. While thecurrent economic environment is certainly difficult, it does not explainOffice Depot's consistent underperformance compared to Staples in virtuallyall key retailing metrics. This underperformance dates back over five years,across good economic times and bad,' said Alan B. Levan, President ofWoodbridge Capital Corporation, the General Partner of Woodbridge Equity FundLLLP. 'Office Depot's poor performance and the unwillingness of the board torecognize that this results from management's inability to execute - not theeconomy - are unacceptable. Our highly-qualified nominees are the right peopleto ensure that Office Depot's problems are finally recognized and solved.'

For additional information regarding Woodbridge's nominees, go towww.RebuildOfficeDepot.com.

    The full text of Woodbridge's letter appears below:
                           PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT,                   VOTE FOR WOODBRIDGE'S DIRECTOR NOMINEES
           SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED GOLD PROXY CARD TODAY
    Dear Fellow Shareholder:

As the Office Depot, Inc. annual meeting draws closer, we want to provideyou with important information so that you can make an informed decision onApril 23. As you are aware, we have nominated Mark Begelman and Martin E.Hanaka, two highly-qualified and experienced retail executives, for electionto the board of directors of Office Depot. If elected, our nominees willprovide the necessary expertise and leadership on the board to finally turnaround Office Depot.

                        THE LATEST OFFICE DEPOT NEWS:           INCONSISTENT PRICING PRACTICES AND POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE          LEAD TO TERMINATION OF CONTRACT WITH THE STATE OF GEORGIA             AND ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS OF OTHER STATE CONTRACTS                                  NATIONWIDE

The state of Georgia recently terminated its statewide contract withOffice Depot as Georgia's exclusive vendor of office supplies. In a February2008 letter announcing the decision, Tim Gibney, the Assistant Commissioner ofPurchasing wrote, 'Various performance issues by Office Depot have beenidentified and documented the past few months, including numerous pricing,service delivery issues and overall lack of responsiveness.'(1) After notingthat a formal cure letter was sent to Office Depot approximately six monthsearlier, the letter continues, '...the errors committed by Office Depot havesimply occurred for too long with too much effort being expended by the stateto assist them in delivering the level of service and pricing outlined in ourstate contract.'

An article published in the San Jose Mercury News on April 7, 2008,highlighted a similar problem with a state contract in California, as well aspotential problems with other state contracts nationwide.(2)

For background, Office Depot won a California state contract in 2006,which was supposed to enable small businesses to sell office supplies toCalifornia agencies and to cut costs. Instead, serious issues have arisenabout Office Depot's conduct and it appears that costs have actually risen.

The Mercury News reports that while Office Depot was supposed to havepartnered with nine small businesses to win the contract, those businesses alllist the same address for an office that is staffed by an Office Depotsubcontractor. In addition, the Mercury News reports that its analysis showsCalifornia's 'annual cost for office supplies rose 20 percent under thecontract and included tens of thousands of dollars in overcharges.' Thenewspaper found Office Depot had increased the cost to the state on 800+ items- even though the manufacturer's price had not changed.

    As reported in the Mercury News:
    ''I think it's a scam,' said Rick Marlette, a professional marketing    analyst whose audit of the office supply contract in Georgia spurred state    officials to kill their deal with Office Depot last month. 'They've played    these tricks in the past, gotten by with it, and they've gotten bolder and    bolder.' In Marlette's study of California's contract and billing records    - more extensive than that conducted by the newspaper - he concluded the    state has overpaid more than $1 million in office-supply purchases.'

The astonishing truth is that this might just be the tip of the iceberg.According to the Mercury News:

    ''Other states are examining their own contracts with Office Depot. North    Carolina won reimbursements after identifying overcharges in an audit.    Nebraska is expected to release its audit next week. And officials in New    York and Wisconsin have called meetings with Office Depot, but it's    unclear whether formal audits will be ordered.''

These incidents are prime examples of mismanagement at Office Depot. Wefind it disgraceful that the Company cannot serve its customers and correctits mistakes despite warnings and requests for improvement. We have to wonderhow many smaller and everyday consumers have experienced the same level ofdissatisfaction and have taken their spending dollars to another office supplyretailer.

Office Depot needs leadership that is capable of turning the Companyaround and delivering high-quality service to its customers. Taking care ofcustomers is the very foundation of success in retailing, and the Company hasneglected this principle for far too long.