Levan withdraws ODP nominees

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Alan Levan's dissident Office Depot shareholder group, Woodbridge, said that it will stop pursuing attempts to nominate candidates to Office Depot's board of directors.

"Rather than continue this costly battle we have decided not to propose our candidates for election at the meeting. However, we hope that Office Depot's board and management heed our call for action, as well as the calls for change delivered by the proxy advisory firms," said Levan.

Levan's battle with Office Depot began on March 27, when he filed a proxy statement on March 27, pressing shareholders to vote for Woodbridge's director nominees, Mark Begelman, former president and coo of Office Depot, and Martin Hanaka, former president and coo of Staples.