Oportun Issues Letter Urging Stockholders to Vote for Director Nominees Raul Vazquez and Carlos Minetti
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) has issued a letter to stockholders urging them to vote "FOR" CEO Raul Vazquez and Carlos Minetti as director nominees at the upcoming July 18, 2025 annual meeting. The company highlights its significant progress since the last annual meeting, including a doubled stock price and improved financial performance.
The letter addresses opposition from Findell Capital Management, which seeks to replace Vazquez with Warren Wilcox. The board criticizes Findell for selling 500,000 shares in 2025 while publicly claiming the stock is undervalued. The company questions Wilcox's qualifications, citing inconsistencies in his background check, and emphasizes that removing Vazquez could disrupt the company's positive momentum.
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) ha inviato una lettera agli azionisti invitandoli a votare "A FAVORE" del CEO Raul Vazquez e di Carlos Minetti come candidati al consiglio di amministrazione per l'assemblea annuale del 18 luglio 2025. La società sottolinea i significativi progressi compiuti dall'ultima assemblea, tra cui un raddoppio del prezzo delle azioni e un miglioramento della performance finanziaria.
La lettera affronta l'opposizione di Findell Capital Management, che intende sostituire Vazquez con Warren Wilcox. Il consiglio critica Findell per aver venduto 500.000 azioni nel 2025 pur sostenendo pubblicamente che il titolo è sottovalutato. L'azienda mette in dubbio le qualifiche di Wilcox, citando incongruenze nel suo controllo dei precedenti, e sottolinea che rimuovere Vazquez potrebbe compromettere lo slancio positivo della società.
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) ha enviado una carta a los accionistas instándolos a votar "A FAVOR" del CEO Raul Vazquez y Carlos Minetti como candidatos a director en la próxima reunión anual del 18 de julio de 2025. La empresa destaca su progreso significativo desde la última reunión anual, incluyendo un precio de acción duplicado y una mejora en el desempeño financiero.
La carta aborda la oposición de Findell Capital Management, que busca reemplazar a Vazquez con Warren Wilcox. La junta critica a Findell por vender 500,000 acciones en 2025 mientras públicamente afirma que la acción está subvalorada. La compañía cuestiona las cualificaciones de Wilcox, citando inconsistencias en su verificación de antecedentes, y enfatiza que remover a Vazquez podría interrumpir el impulso positivo de la empresa.
Oportun (나스닥: OPRT)은 주주들에게 2025년 7월 18일 예정된 연례 주주총회에서 CEO Raul Vazquez와 Carlos Minetti를 이사 후보로 "찬성" 투표할 것을 촉구하는 서한을 발송했습니다. 회사는 지난 연례 총회 이후 주가가 두 배로 상승하고 재무 성과가 향상되는 등 상당한 진전을 이루었다고 강조했습니다.
서한은 Vazquez를 Warren Wilcox로 교체하려는 Findell Capital Management의 반대 입장을 다루고 있습니다. 이사회는 Findell이 주가가 저평가되었다고 공개 주장하면서도 2025년에 50만 주를 매도한 점을 비판했습니다. 회사는 Wilcox의 자격에 의문을 제기하며 그의 배경 조사에서 불일치가 있다고 지적하고, Vazquez를 제거하는 것이 회사의 긍정적인 모멘텀을 방해할 수 있다고 강조했습니다.
Oportun (Nasdaq : OPRT) a adressé une lettre aux actionnaires les invitant à voter "POUR" le PDG Raul Vazquez et Carlos Minetti en tant que candidats au conseil d'administration lors de la prochaine assemblée générale annuelle du 18 juillet 2025. La société souligne ses progrès significatifs depuis la dernière assemblée, notamment un doublement du cours de l'action et une amélioration des performances financières.
La lettre répond à l'opposition de Findell Capital Management, qui cherche à remplacer Vazquez par Warren Wilcox. Le conseil d'administration critique Findell pour avoir vendu 500 000 actions en 2025 tout en affirmant publiquement que l'action est sous-évaluée. La société remet en question les qualifications de Wilcox, citant des incohérences dans sa vérification des antécédents, et souligne que le retrait de Vazquez pourrait perturber la dynamique positive de l'entreprise.
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) hat einen Brief an die Aktionäre verschickt, in dem sie aufgefordert werden, bei der bevorstehenden Hauptversammlung am 18. Juli 2025 für den CEO Raul Vazquez und Carlos Minetti als Direktoren zu stimmen. Das Unternehmen hebt den bedeutenden Fortschritt seit der letzten Hauptversammlung hervor, darunter einen verdoppelten Aktienkurs und eine verbesserte finanzielle Leistung.
Der Brief geht auf den Widerstand von Findell Capital Management ein, das Vazquez durch Warren Wilcox ersetzen möchte. Der Vorstand kritisiert Findell dafür, im Jahr 2025 500.000 Aktien verkauft zu haben, während öffentlich behauptet wird, die Aktie sei unterbewertet. Das Unternehmen stellt Wilcoxs Qualifikationen infrage, verweist auf Unstimmigkeiten bei seiner Hintergrundüberprüfung und betont, dass die Entfernung von Vazquez den positiven Schwung des Unternehmens stören könnte.
- Stock price has more than doubled since last annual meeting
- Return to originations growth and improved credit metrics
- Reduced operating expense ratio
- Half of current Board possesses deep lending industry expertise
- Facing proxy contest from major shareholder Findell Capital
- Potential leadership disruption if CEO is removed from Board
- Findell Capital sold 500,000 shares while promoting stock to others
Insights
Oportun faces proxy battle with Findell Capital who wants to replace CEO Vazquez on the board despite strong recent performance.
This proxy contest between Oportun and Findell Capital represents a critical governance moment for the financial services company. The battle centers on CEO Raul Vazquez's board seat, with activist investor Findell Capital attempting to replace him with Warren Wilcox despite Oportun's doubled stock price since the last annual meeting. The timing is particularly notable as it comes amid what management describes as successful execution of their strategic plan, with improvements in originations growth, credit metrics, and reduced operating expenses.
The most telling aspect of this situation is Findell's apparent contradiction between public statements and private actions. While publicly advocating for Oportun stock, Findell has sold 500,000 shares in 2025. This discrepancy raises legitimate questions about their true motivation and investment thesis. Additionally, Oportun alleges their nominee Warren Wilcox has presented a biography with substantive inconsistencies and inaccuracies regarding his professional background.
From a governance perspective, removing a CEO from their own board is an extreme measure typically reserved for underperforming companies. With Oportun's recent outperformance against peers and markets, such a move could indeed disrupt operational momentum. The board's emphasis on continuity suggests they view Vazquez's institutional knowledge as critical for sustaining the company's strategic direction.
The July 18th vote represents a pivotal moment for Oportun shareholders, who must weigh recent performance improvements against Findell's call for board changes. Shareholders should evaluate whether disrupting current leadership would truly enhance value or potentially derail recent progress.
Notes Findell Capital Has Quietly Sold 500,000 Shares of Stock While Publicly Urging Others To Buy
SAN CARLOS, Calif., July 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) (“Oportun” or the “Company”), a mission-driven financial services company, today issued a letter to stockholders ahead of its July 18 annual meeting.
The full text of the letter to stockholders follows:
Dear Fellow Oportun Stockholders,
We are writing to encourage you to vote TODAY “FOR” each of our director nominees – CEO Raul Vazquez and Carlos Minetti – using the GREEN proxy card or GREEN voting instruction form. Your vote is extremely important, regardless of how many shares you own. We are now in the final days leading up to our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is scheduled to be held on July 18, 2025.
Oportun’s Board and Management Have Driven Improved Performance
Since our last annual meeting, we have made significant progress on our strategic priorities and improved our financial performance. In that time, Oportun’s stock price has more than doubled, significantly outperforming our peers and the broader markets. We returned to originations growth, improved our credit metrics and reduced our operating expense ratio.
This improvement did not happen accidentally, nor did it occur overnight. Our continuing forward progress is the result of a thoughtful and deliberate plan — developed by our management team in response to changing economic conditions and overseen by our Board of Directors — and more than two years of consistent execution.
We are confident that Oportun is on the right track, which is why, as part of its annual evaluation process earlier this year, the Board unanimously concluded that CEO Raul Vazquez remains the best person to lead Oportun. We believe that under Mr. Vazquez’s leadership, Oportun will continue to deliver improved financial performance and strong returns for stockholders in 2025 and beyond.
Findell’s Misguided Campaign Risks Disrupting Our Progress
In a campaign that risks destabilizing our clear forward progress, one of Oportun’s stockholders, Findell Capital Management, is seeking to remove Mr. Vazquez – who, in addition to being Oportun’s CEO, is also one of the Company’s largest stockholders – from the Board. Findell seeks to replace Mr. Vazquez with Warren Wilcox, a candidate who we believe is far less qualified and who does not own a single share of Oportun stock. Additionally, since the start of 2025, Findell has sold 500,000 shares despite repeated claims during that period that Oportun’s stock is worth substantially more than the market price. Taken together, we have serious questions about Findell’s motivation.
In our view, failing to elect Mr. Vazquez would be a serious mistake. We do not believe that Mr. Wilcox is suitable for our Board, and he is certainly no substitute for Mr. Vazquez. An independent third-party background check found that the biography Mr. Wilcox has presented publicly and submitted to the Company is replete with substantive inconsistencies and inaccuracies regarding his tenures and job titles. Simply put, Mr. Wilcox does not meet the high standards and caliber of experience we expect from our directors.
While Findell is seeking to strengthen the Board’s lending industry experience, it’s important to highlight that half of our current Board already possesses deep expertise in this area, including backgrounds at leading institutions such as Discover, American Express and OneMain.
We believe that replacing Mr. Vazquez with Mr. Wilcox would disrupt Oportun’s positive momentum by depriving the Board of the critical skills and institutional knowledge we need to continue to drive success.
That is not to say we are standing still. Findell’s campaign notwithstanding, we remain focused on building a stronger and more resilient company.
We Are Taking Action to Ensure Our Progress Continues
We are working diligently to ensure that our forward progress continues by focusing on the execution of our three strategic priorities — improving credit outcomes, strengthening business economics and identifying high-quality originations. We believe these priorities will help further drive sustainable, profitable growth and strong stockholder returns.
We have released a presentation describing our strategy, detailing Oportun’s transformation and highlighting our recent progress.
Support Oportun’s Continued Progress by Voting on the GREEN Proxy Card Today
We encourage you to review this presentation and the other materials available on VoteForOportun.com. Once you do, we believe you will reach the same conclusion as the Board — that removing Mr. Vazquez from the Board at this critical juncture would jeopardize the continuity, leadership and business insight needed to sustain our positive momentum.
You can help ensure that Oportun remains on the right track. Support our continued progress by voting TODAY “FOR” Oportun’s CEO, Raul Vazquez, and Oportun’s other nominee, Carlos Minetti, using the GREEN proxy card or GREEN voting instruction form. Every vote matters, no matter how many shares you own.
We thank you for your investment and your continued support of Oportun.
Sincerely,
The Oportun Financial Corporation Board of Directors
Vote the GREEN Proxy Card Today
To ensure Oportun’s progress continues, the Board urges stockholders to vote “FOR” both of Oportun’s nominees, and “WITHHOLD” on Findell’s candidate, using the enclosed GREEN proxy card ahead of the upcoming Annual Meeting.
Your Vote Is Important!
Please vote on the GREEN proxy card “FOR” Oportun’s two nominees, and “WITHHOLD” on Findell’s candidate, using one of the following options:
- Online - Follow the instructions set forth on the enclosed GREEN proxy card to vote via the Internet,
- Phone - Follow the instructions set forth on the enclosed GREEN proxy card to vote by telephone, or
- Mail - Sign and date the enclosed GREEN proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided.
Remember, please discard and do not sign any white Findell proxy card. If you have already voted using a white proxy card, you may cancel that vote simply by voting again using the Company’s GREEN proxy card or GREEN voting instruction form. Only your latest-dated vote will count!
If you have any questions about how to vote your shares, please call the firm assisting us with the solicitation of proxies:
INNISFREE M&A INCORPORATED
Shareholders may call:
(877) 800-5195 (toll-free from the U.S. and Canada) or
+1 (412) 232-3651 (from other countries)
About Oportun
Oportun (Nasdaq: OPRT) is a mission-driven financial services company that puts its members’ financial goals within reach. With intelligent borrowing, savings, and budgeting capabilities, Oportun empowers members with the confidence to build a better financial future. Since inception, Oportun has provided more than
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this communication, including statements as to our future performance and stockholder returns, are forward-looking statements. These statements can be generally identified by terms such as “expect,” “plan,” “goal,” “target,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “predict,” “project,” “outlook,” “continue,” “due,” “may,” “believe,” “seek,” or “estimate” and similar expressions or the negative versions of these words or comparable words, as well as future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “likely” and “could.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events, financial trends and risks and uncertainties that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These risks and uncertainties include those risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as our subsequent filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except to the extent required by federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there is no assurance that the events or results suggested by the forward-looking statements will in fact occur, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Investor Contact
Dorian Hare
(650) 590-4323
ir@oportun.com
Innisfree M&A Incorporated
Scott Winter / Gabrielle Wolf / Jonathan Kovacs
(212) 750-5833
Media Contact
FGS Global
John Christiansen / Bryan Locke
Oportun@fgsglobal.com
FAQ
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