Time to Build Better Corporate Governance at BETR

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. (BETR) ousted its founder, Vishal Garg, in an August coup led by interim replacement, Daniel Lewis from Orange Capital. BETR implemented a poison pill on Aug. 20, which may prevent Garg from naming his own slate of directors. Despite this, Garg's consent solicitation garnered over 45% of shareholder support, short of the 50% threshold needed for victory.

Even before proposing board nominees, Garg's solicitation had secured widespread backing, despite the company's shares plummeting 55% since Garg's removal. The sudden departure of Garg sparked a standoff between Lewis and Garg, and BETR has taken the matter to shareholders with a consent solicitation running until Oct. 2. BETR's board has named three potential independent directors, including William Bing Gordon, a Silicon Valley heavyweight, David Heidecorn, a Senior Advisor and former Partner at L Catterton, and Steve Sarracino, Founder and Partner of Activant Capital.