The Childrens Place moves forward without ex-CEO

Shareholders vote to retain board after former chief drops proxy fight.The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCE), in Secaucus, announced Friday the results of its shareholder meeting, bringing a quiet close to a proxy fight launched by its former chief executive. Shareholders voted in Sally Frame Kasaks, Norman Matthews and Malcolm Elvey as directors with three-year terms.

The company’s former chief executive, Ezra Dabah, had campaigned to seat a slate of three new directors, a move the company previously said would have given him majority votes on the nine-person board. Dabah remained on the board following his 2007 resignation from the CEO post. His father-in-law, Stanley Silverstein, also sat on the board.

The Children’s Place fights to retain current board

However, Dabah withdrew his three nominees prior to the annual meeting after a deal was brokered with the company. On Wednesday, The Children’s Place entered into an agreement to acquire some 2.45 million shares — 50 percent of the shares Dabah owned — for $28.88 per share. Dabah had owned 4.9 million shares, representing 16.6 percent of the company’s common stock. Per the sale, Dabah and Silverstein agreed to resign from the company’s board.

The Children’s Place is currently led by interim CEO Chuck Crovitz, but the company said it intends to name a permanent CEO by year’s end.

E-mail João-Pierre Ruth at [email protected]