Londis management has withdrawn its recommendation of a £40 million bid that would have seen its four executive directors net £21m.
The move comes after strong objection from Londis shopkeeper-shareholders to the proposed Musgrave deal.
Opposition has also grown further after the Big Food Group proposed a £40.3m offer for the company, which would cut the directors' share of the deal to just £600,000.
Adrian Costain, a Londis shopkeeper-shareholder said: “It is constructive, we want to work towards a fair agreement for shareholders.”
Meanwhile, 65 Londis shareholders have since formed an action to discuss the crisis at the company and have said that the group's four non-executive directors should resign.
Londis's current non-executives are Peter Williams, the company's chairman Bharat Patel, Alan Heasman and Daniel Driscoll. They were set to receive £75,000 each if the offer for the company from Musgrave was accepted. The action group wants to put forward Costain as candidate for a replacement chairman.
A Londis spokesman said: “Mr Costain and his committee have an opportunity at the 2003 annual general meeting next week to raise concerns regarding the composition of the board. Their views will have equal weight."
