Levan withdraws Depot board candidates
18 April 2008
Activist Office Depot shareholder Alan Levan has withdrawn his nominees to the company’s board after failing to gain the backing of the main proxy advisors.
In a statement, Levan commented: “Our objective in waging this proxy fight was to provide a strong wake-up call to Office Depot’s board and management team that the current governance, oversight and overall performance of the company are unacceptable and that steps must be taken to increase shareholder value.
“We believe we have been successful in delivering that message, as well as drawing attention and scrutiny to the unacceptable performance of Office Depot.”
The board election at 23 April’s shareholder meeting will no longer be a contested election and the directors will be elected by a majority vote.
Responding to the withdrawal of the Levan-backed nominees, Office Depot said that it appreciated the support that it had received from shareholders and that it was fully committed to implementing its turnaround plan for the company.
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