DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Dissident shareholders of Office Depot Inc. (NYSE:ODP) (ODP) abruptly dropped their proxy battle against the office retailer just days before the annual meeting, contending the effort had served its purpose of waking up shareholders.
The company welcomed the decision, with spokesman Brian Levine saying, "We are confident that we have the right board of directors and management team in place."
Woodbridge Equity Fund LLLP and Levitt Corp. (NYSE:LEV) (LEV) said they no longer planned to nominate board candidates at Wednesday's meeting but asked that shareholders withhold their votes for the company's nominees - Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Odland and former Chairman David Fuente.
But the move came after proxy advisors this week recommended shareholders not back the dissidents' nominees - former Office Depot President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Begelman and Martin E. Hanaka, who held the same posts at rival Staples Inc. (NASDAQ-NMS:SPLS) (SPLS).
Alan B. Levan - president of Woodbridge Capital Corp., the fund's general partner - said, "Our objective in waging this proxy fight was to provide a strong wake-up call to Office Depot's (NYSE:ODP) board and management...we believe we have been successful in delivering that message, as well as drawing attention and scrutiny to the unacceptable performance of Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) ."
Levine said management and the board continue "to press ahead with the implementation of our strategic plan, and we are committed to taking every step necessary to improve the Company's performance."
Woodbridge and Levitt had taken Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) officials to task for using economic weakness as an excuse for the company's "persistent underperformance." But the company maintained it was taking every step necessary to improve performance and increase shareholder value, and that Woodbridge and Levitt hadn't disclosed a plan to improve the company's performance.
Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) shares were recently up 33 cents, or 2.9%, at $11.80.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2136; kevin.kingsbury@ dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-18-08 1215 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
