Vishal Garg has won a shareholder proxy contest at Better.com, securing enough votes to regain board control of the mortgage origination platform he founded in 2016. The vote concludes a brief interlude of board opposition that emerged after Garg's December 2021 mass termination of 900 employees via Zoom call and the subsequent disintegration of a $7.7 billion SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp. The company has not disclosed vote tallies or the specific composition of the reconstituted board.
Better.com originated $14 billion in mortgages during 2021, ranking it among the top-fifteen nonbank originators in the United States. Volume collapsed in 2022 as the Federal Reserve lifted the benchmark rate from 0.25 percent to 4.5 percent in eleven months, evaporating the refinance market that accounted for 68 percent of Better's pipeline. The firm laid off an additional 3,000 employees across four separate reductions through mid-2023. SoftBank's Vision Fund, which injected $750 million at a $6 billion valuation in 2021, marked the position down 83 percent by March 2023. The SPAC transaction, initially scheduled to close in January 2022, was formally abandoned in July 2022 after Aurora's sponsor declined to extend the merger deadline.
Garg's return as the controlling board voice signals that major shareholders—SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs—have accepted his continued operational leadership rather than force a sale or install outside management. That calculus reflects the limited strategic-buyer interest in digital mortgage platforms after Rocket Companies' 52-week stock decline of 41 percent and loanDepot's 68 percent drop erased $11 billion in nonbank mortgage equity value. Better remains private, operates without quarterly disclosure obligations, and has avoided the distressed-sale path taken by peers including Homeward and Orchard. The board dispute likely centered on dilution terms for a new funding round or disagreement over valuation write-downs, neither of which Better has publicly addressed.
Allocators tracking nonbank mortgage exposure should monitor whether Better attempts another public-market entry in late 2025 or early 2026, when the Federal Reserve's easing cycle may have restored purchase-mortgage volumes to 6.2 million annual originations from the current 4.8 million trough. The firm's technology stack—automated underwriting, direct-to-consumer acquisition, cloud-native servicing—retains value if paired with stable capital and competent governance. Family offices holding SoftBank Vision Fund LP stakes face continued mark-to-market pressure on Better through at least year-end, with the next formal valuation adjustment due in SoftBank's March 2025 fiscal-year results.
Garg now controls a board governing a company one-fifth its former headcount, operating in a mortgage market one-third smaller than the 2021 peak, financed by investors who have written down their stakes by more than $5 billion. The question is not whether he can manage the firm—he already does—but whether those investors will commit additional capital to a founder whose public missteps cost them the exit they were promised.
The takeaway
Garg's proxy win keeps Better private and SoftBank stuck, with no near-term exit unless mortgage volumes recover by late 2025.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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