Key facts
- Vishal Garg stated Better's board will honor shareholder actions once a consent vote is confirmed.
- Garg's group claims a majority of shareholders submitted written consent to support his return and board changes.
- The consent solicitation, if confirmed, would remove five current Better directors.
- A third-party election inspector is verifying the consent vote results.
- Garg proposed a 90-day plan including increased cost-saving targets and HELOC business expansion.
- Better previously sued Garg for alleged unlawful solicitation and securities disclosure violations.
Vishal Garg, founder and former CEO of Better Home & Finance Holding Co., stated on Thursday that the company's board intends to honor shareholder-backed actions once a consent solicitation vote is confirmed by a third-party election inspector. Garg's group claims to have submitted written consent from a majority of shareholders, which would lead to the removal of five current directors, including interim CEO Daniel Lewis.
The five directors have reportedly agreed not to take corporate action or nominate candidates during the interim period while the vote results are being verified. Garg's group delivered the votes to the inspector on Wednesday and expects confirmation within 24 hours, though it remained unclear as of Thursday afternoon if the results were confirmed.
Garg has also put forth a 90-day plan that includes increasing annual cost-saving targets from $45 million to $60 million, hiring an adviser to streamline operations, and expanding the home equity line of credit (HELOC) business to $2 billion in quarterly combined volume. This dispute follows an almost two-month leadership battle after Garg was removed as CEO in early August.
Better had previously sued Garg for alleged unlawful solicitation and securities disclosure violations, which Garg called meritless. A federal judge declined to halt Garg's campaign on August 31. More recently, Better's special committee has been investigating allegations that Garg offered company assets to former employees in exchange for their support in his campaign.