UPDATE 1-Children's Place board says weighing sale

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LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Reuters) - Children's Place Retail Stores Inc (PLCE.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is weighing a possible sale of the company under pressure from its biggest shareholder, who has expressed an interest in buying it.

Former Chief Executive Ezra Dabah, the company's largest stockholder and a current board member, owns a 17 percent stake in Children's Place and previously said he may offer to buy the company for $24 a share.

Company directors said they have taken steps to clear the way for Dabah to work with the company on a buyout proposal.

"There is no assurance that any such proposal will be made or, if made, would lead to an agreement," the company said in a statement on Friday.

The retailer, which continues to look for a permanent chief executive, also said Louis Lipschitz and Joseph Alutto have joined its board as independent directors.

Children's Place said it would nominate Lipschitz, Alutto, Dabah, Charles Crovitz, Robert Fisch and Stanley Silverstein as its slate of board candidates at the annual shareholders meeting scheduled for June 27.

The company said on Friday that Dabah had agreed to vote in favor of its slate of board nominees.

Shareholders have sued Children's Place and its board, claiming that Dabah's offer was unfair and timed to take advantage of a temporary depressed share price.