The shareholders of fashion group SMCP on Friday voted to dismiss five board members associated with its former majority owner Shandong Ruyi, including board president Yafu Qiu and his daughter Chenran Qiu, and add three new independent members.

SMCP, the owner of contemporary French fashion labels Sandro and Maje, said in a statement on Friday that the board would meet in the coming days to appoint a new chairman.

The board reshuffle follows legal battles between shareholders of the French fashion group dating back to last autumn.

Tensions have been high between European TopSoho, a unit of the conglomerate Shandong Ruyi, and its former debtholders since it defaulted on €250 million of bonds exchangeable into SMCP shares in October.

By Mimosa Spencer and Dominique Vidalon; Editor: Kirsten Donovan

Learn more:

What Will Ruyi’s Unravelling Mean for SMCP?

The future of French contemporary giant Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot is at stake in a dispute between distressed Chinese shareholder Ruyi Group and its lenders.