Vishal Garg's shareholder group says holders of more than 46% of Better Home & Finance's voting power have already returned consents to remove five directors, including interim CEO Daniel Lewis. The preliminary tally, unverified by an independent inspector, puts the group within roughly 4 percentage points of a majority ahead of an Oct. 2 target date. Better's board has urged shareholders to reject the effort, citing an ISS recommendation against it.
Written consents representing more than 46% of Better Home & Finance Holding Co.'s voting power have been returned in favor of a campaign by founder Vishal Garg to unseat five of the Nasdaq-listed lender's directors, including interim CEO Daniel Lewis, his shareholder group said.
"I am grateful to our fellow shareholders with more than 46% of the outstanding voting shares who have already made their voices heard," Garg, Better's founder and former CEO, said in a statement. "We are now within striking distance of putting this Company back on a path to value creation."
The preliminary tally, disclosed in a definitive consent solicitation statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 21, covers consents received in the roughly two weeks since the first cards were mailed. The Garg Group is targeting Oct. 2, 2026 to assemble a majority of Better's outstanding voting power. The figure has not been verified by an independent inspector and can be reduced by revocations before the consents are formally delivered.
Beyond Lewis, the solicitation names Harit Talwar, Arnaud Massenet, Bhaskar Menon and Prabhu Narasimhan as removal targets. Garg has proposed Bing Gordon, David Heidecorn and Steve Sarracino as independent director candidates. None has agreed to serve, and the consent solicitation would not by itself seat them — they would require nomination by Garg and approval from a majority of the board as then constituted.
Better pushed back on Sept. 18, calling on Garg to end what it described as a "failed revenge campaign" after he extended the consent deadline. The company has leaned on proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services, which on Sept. 8 recommended shareholders oppose the removal effort. The Garg Group counters that it has support from governance experts and proxy advisory firm Egan-Jones, and on Sept. 22 accused Better of making false statements and using underhanded tactics to block a board overhaul.
Better shares rose 2.0% in early trading on Sept. 21 to $12.56, giving the company a market capitalization of about $236 million, according to Seeking Alpha data. The stock trades against a float of just 8.82 million shares, a thin base that magnifies the influence of large holders in a consent fight.
The outcome turns on roughly 4 percentage points of voting power. A successful solicitation would hand Garg's slate effective control of a company that has raised more than $1.75 billion in equity capital from SoftBank, L Catterton, Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, Ally Bank, American Express and Citi, and would put the future of interim CEO Lewis's leadership directly in question. Failure would leave the current board intact and Garg, who remains a director and significant shareholder, without a near-term path to reconstitution.
Investors will watch the Oct. 2 target date for the tabulated result. Any revocation campaign by Better or its advisers between now and then would narrow the gap, and the company has not disclosed whether it intends to challenge the validity of consents already returned.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
