Resignations of Board Members Do Not Address Central Shareholder Demand to Return Glenn Chamandy as CEO
The Only Thing that Has Been Refreshed is the Names of the Directors – the Board’s Disdain for Shareholders Remains
Intends to Support Browning West Nominees at 2024 Annual Meeting
TORONTO, April 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. (“Turtle Creek”), a Canadian independent investment management firm with a 25-year history and a decade-long shareholder of Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL: TSX and NYSE) (“Gildan” or the “Company”), today responded to the latest governance charade by the board of directors (the “Board”) of Gildan and released the following statement:
From the outset of our private and public communications with the Board, we have been very clear in our singular desire for the Board to reverse its hasty, haphazard and value destructive termination of Glenn Chamandy. Our meeting with CEO Vince Tyra, his public statements to-date, and the Company’s most recent and bizarrely staged “Investor Update” reinforced our belief that the loss of Mr. Chamandy seriously impaired Gildan’s ability to drive value for shareholders.
The Board’s embarrassing retreat in the face of unprecedented shareholder opposition only proves that they care about one thing and one thing only – themselves. Rather than facing certain defeat at the upcoming 2024 annual and special meeting of Gildan shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), the Board has stampeded for the exits, but not before hand-picking their replacements – a collection of individuals who have already declared that they will “stay the course”. We can’t fathom why the incoming board members would throw their full support behind Mr. Tyra when his leadership is opposed by so many shareholders, without first engaging with the owners of the Company. The statement by the incumbent Board that it decided that “near-term board refreshment was in the best interests of Gildan” is ludicrous. The only thing that has been refreshed are the directors’ names. The Board’s arrogance, intransigence, and disdain for Gildan’s shareholders remains.
Over the past months, the Board has wasted significant company resources in a desperate attempt to avoid criticism for their terrible decision to replace Mr. Chamandy with Mr. Tyra and to frustrate the owners of the Company. The Board has engaged in a series of underhanded actions including character assassination, the advancement of an ever-changing narrative for its ill-conceived termination of Mr. Chamandy, legal maneuvers, a seemingly failed process to attract bids for the Company that the Board commenced at the worst possible time, and now a partial reconstitution of the Board. Each of these actions has imposed costs on Gildan’s shareholders, distracted the Company’s management team, and impaired shareholder value.
The Board cloaked their selection of hand-picked nominees in the language of “governance” and attacked the major shareholders of Gildan who opposed their actions. The Company’s incoming Chair reaffirmed the Board’s support for CEO Vince Tyra, declaring that “[t]he refreshed board and I fully believe in Vince”, which immediately exposed this pantomime of “change” being perpetrated upon shareholders.
In a separate Bloomberg report, the incoming Chair both disparaged and dismissed the owners of the Company, calling them “the egos and the drama-seekers” and urging them to “get away”. It is the Board who should check their egos and end the drama. Reinstate Mr. Chamandy and fully endorse all eight of Browning West’s nominees. Let’s turn the page on this surreal chapter in Canadian governance history and get on with the business of growing Gildan’s shareholder value.
We intend to support each of Browning West’s nominees at the upcoming Annual Meeting.
No Solicitation
This press release does not constitute a solicitation of a proxy within the meaning of applicable laws, and accordingly, Gildan shareholders are not being asked to give, withhold or revoke a proxy.
Advisors
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP is serving as Canadian legal counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is serving as United States legal counsel and Gagnier Communications is serving as communications advisor to Turtle Creek.
About Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc.
Turtle Creek is an independent investment management firm with a 25-year history. We manage over $5 billion for a clientele of high-net-worth families, institutions and wealth advisors. Turtle Creek is not your typical value investor. We are engaged shareholders focused on the long term. Turtle Creek is where the partners and our senior employees have all of their investable wealth. As a result, we are aligned with our fellow investors to an extent that few other firms can match.
For further information, please visit: https://www.turtlecreek.ca/
Contact
Riyaz Lalani & Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
(416) 305-1459
TurtleCreek@gagnierfc.com
