In April 2024, Ringers Western became the subject of a corporate-governance fight after the company issued an extraordinary 687,959,705,932 bonus shares to the Ringers Western Discretionary Trust. The issue would have increased the trust's voting power from 63.31 percent to 99.94 percent, reducing minority shareholders—including the Bombora Investment Management-led group—to almost symbolic holdings. Bombora challenged the maneuver before Australia's Takeovers Panel, arguing that the transaction improperly concentrated control without the protections normally required for a takeover.
On 4 June 2024, the Takeovers Panel declared the circumstances unacceptable and found that the issue contravened section 606 of the Corporations Act 2001. It ordered the bonus shares canceled, and a review panel affirmed the declaration and orders in September. The panel also highlighted an inherent conflict: the directors approving the transaction were connected to the trust receiving the shares, while both the company and the trust had links to Salerno Law. The case exposed the tension between Ringers Western's fast-growing consumer image and the aggressive control tactics used behind the scenes, turning an Australian country-apparel success story into a cautionary episode about family trusts, minority investors and boardroom self-dealing.
