BOCA RATON
» Alan Levan, chairman of BankAtlantic, has filed a proxy challenge to Office Depot, seeking to unseat its CEO, Steve Odland, and two members of its board and replace them with two former Office Depot executives. The office supply chain announced plans to launch a technology support service called Tech Depot at its stores by the end of the year.
» RailAmerica, a short line and regional rail service provider based in Boca Raton, plans to lay off 95 as a result of a planned merger with Florida East Coast Industries. Boca operations will be relocated to Jacksonville.
» Penthouse Media Group plans an initial public offering of about $250 million in stock.
» Losses at Medical Staffing Network Holdings eased in the fourth quarter to $1 million from $24.8 million a year ago.
BROWARD COUNTY
» Verizon Wireless has begun construction of a 45,000-sq.-ft., $50-million call-processing center in the southwest part of the county to serve as the main hub for the company’s wireless traffic from Key West to Broward.
FORT LAUDERDALE
» Ediets.com lost $4.21 million in the fourth quarter on revenue of $6.9 million. A year earlier, the online diet company had revenue of $9.5 million. The company also hired a new CFO, Thomas Hoyer.
» The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against five former principals of employee leasing firm Certified Services, accusing them of siphoning $30 million from the company and misstating financial results.
» The operations of Miami television station WSFL-CW39 will be merged into the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Both are Tribune Co. properties. Howard Greenberg, publisher of the Sun-Sentinel and sister publication the Orlando Sentinel, will become general manager.
» Stiles Landscape Co., a division of Stiles Corp., has been sold to the Brickman Group, a commercial landscaping firm in Gaithersburg, Md.
FORT PIERCE
» Hans Kraaz, owner of Intercoastal Finance Group, has put a 75,200-sq.-ft. portfolio of nine buildings on the market for $12.8 million.
HOLLYWOOD
» Tousa Inc. won court approval to sell its interest in a $16.3-million promissory note for $13.5 million, giving it $13 million in net proceeds to allow the company to avoid foreclosure proceedings.
JUPITER
» Scripps Florida has received a $7.6-million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to develop medication to treat Parkinson’s disease. The project will be led by Philip LoGrasso, associate professor and senior director for drug discovery at Scripps Florida.
PLANTATION
» PRC, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, will close four Midwest call centers and cut back at a fifth, reducing its staff by about 850. South Florida operations will not be affected.
POMPANO BEACH
» Pilgrim’s Pride, a Pittsburg, Texas-based chicken processor, will close its distribution center in Pompano Beach and five others because of soaring feed costs and an oversupply of chicken.
PORT ST. LUCIE
» In spite of an overall hiring freeze, the city has started advertising for 19 full- and part-time positions for its 100,000-sq.-ft. civic center, a $25-million facility expected to anchor the city’s planned downtown when it opens in December.
WEST PALM BEACH
» Los Angeles-based Live Nation has purchased the majority of concert promoter Fantasma Productions’ assets. Fantasma’s founder, Jon Stoll, died in January.
» The majority owner of Sunland Homes, the Frank E. Young Family Partnership, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the weak housing market.
» Sikorsky Aircraft has added the 89,000-sq.-ft. Florida Assembly and Flight Operations facility to its Aircraft Developmental Flight Center on the United Technologies campus, bringing 150 new jobs.
» Wafer World, a specialized silicon wafer and optics design company, will expand its operations and add more than 30 employees over the next three years.
» Palm Beach Capital has bought North American Substation Services, an Altamonte Springs-based provider of maintenance for electrical substations, for an undisclosed amount.