Key facts
- Vishal Garg claims majority shareholder consent to return to a senior leadership role at Better.
- Garg seeks to remove five current directors: Lewis, Talwar, Massenet, Menon, and Narasimhan.
- Garg plans to appoint Bing Gordon and Steve Sarracino as new directors.
- Garg aims to increase annual cost-saving targets from $45 million to $60 million.
- The plan includes a $30 million stock buyback program, starting with $10 million.
- Better's stock was trading at $12.10 on Wednesday morning, up 18.72%.
Founder Vishal Garg claims he has secured majority shareholder consent to return to a senior leadership role at Better Home & Finance Holding Co. and to replace five members of the company's board of directors. A spokesperson for Better declined to comment on the claims.
Garg, who was removed as CEO in early August and replaced by interim CEO Daniel Lewis, is seeking to remove Lewis, Harit Talwar, Arnaud Massenet, Bhaskar Menon, and Prabhu Narasimhan from the board. Garg's campaign has set Oct. 2 as the deadline for submitting written consents, following previous extensions.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Garg described the effort as a "resounding victory" for shareholders, customers, and employees, positioning it as a resistance against a "coup" led by Lewis and the incumbent board. He stated the goal is to drive Better into a new phase of profitable growth, building on the progress of the Tinman AI platform.
Garg's group anticipates the board will promptly acknowledge the consent solicitation results and facilitate a smooth transition. Under Garg's proposed plan, he would lead product, platform, and innovation while initiating a search for a new CEO.
Alex Spiro, Garg's legal representative, stated that this "historic victory" serves the best interests of Better's shareholders, highlighting Garg's vindication after being pushed out and litigating his way back within two months.
Garg also outlined operational changes, including increasing annual cost-saving targets from $45 million to $60 million, hiring an advisory firm for streamlining, finalizing Tinman platform partnerships, scaling the home equity line of credit business to $2 billion in quarterly combined volume, and completing the sale of its U.K. bank operations.
On the capital markets side, the group plans to initiate a $30 million stock buyback program, with an initial $10 million tranche. Better's stock was trading at $12.10 on Wednesday morning, marking an 18.72% increase, after having dropped 64% in the preceding six months.