Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear said Thursday its board of directors has resigned and its CEO Vince Tyra has stepped down to be replaced by former top boss Glenn Chamandy.
The company’s US-listed shares rose more than 5% to close at $37.62 on Friday.
The outgoing directors appointed the nominees of activist investor Browning West to the board and ceased discussions on the previously announced sale process.
The clothing maker’s board has been clashing with Browning West and seven other investors that own a total of 35% stake in the company following the ouster of co-founder Chamandy in December.
The board asked Chamandy to leave without offering a specific reason, but later cited his inability to find additional avenues of long-term organic growth.
“Notably, preliminary results indicate that an overwhelming majority of shares have been voted in support of Browning West’s full eight-member slate prior to the Board’s resignation,” the US-based Browning West, which owns 5.7% of Gildan, said.
“We also recognize that this is the first time in more than a decade that an overwhelming majority of shareholders and all leading proxy advisory firms – ISS, Glass Lewis and Egan Jones – supported a full reconstitution of a board of directors.”
