The Canadian textile company Gildan Activewear Inc. is not calming down. A quarter of a year after the controversial separation from then-CEO Glenn Chamandy, the investment house Browning West LP, which holds around five percent of the group’s shares, announced a lawsuit on Monday at the Superior Court of Quebec.
The aim is to “protect the rights of shareholders at the annual general meeting on May 28th,” said the financial company. Among other things, it now calls for the appointment of an “independent chair” for the upcoming meeting.
In a statement, Browning West accused Gildan’s incumbent board of directors of, among other things, “value-destroying decisions” and “oppressive measures” against critics and called for the current decision-makers to be voted out.
Together with other activist investors, Browning West has been engaged in a public exchange of blows with the company’s management for months. The trigger was the abrupt separation from Chamandy, who was one of the company’s founders and had led the group for twenty years.
Since then, the board of directors has repeatedly accused the former CEO of strategic mismanagement and numerous misconduct and appointed a successor at the top of the group, Vince Tyra. However, the opposing shareholder groups continue to vehemently advocate for Chamandy’s return.