March 26 (Reuters) - Starboard Value is nominating three

directors to design and engineering software maker Autodesk's ( ADSK )

board, the activist investor said on Wednesday,

rekindling its proxy battle with the company over margin

concerns.

The nominees include Geoff Ribar, former CFO of Cadence

Design Systems ( CDNS ), and Christie Simons, a senior Partner

at Deloitte & Touche, and Starboard chief executive Jeff Smith.

Starboard, which holds a $500 million stake in Autodesk ( ADSK ),

last week announced its intention to nominate a minority slate

of director candidates for election at the 2025 annual meeting,

nearly a year after it lost a bid to appoint nominees due to

missed deadlines.

It has argued that Autodesk ( ADSK ) spends significantly more than

software peers and has underperformed the market. It also urged

Autodesk's ( ADSK ) board last year to explore a CEO change and cost

cuts.