Beneficient Announces Strategy to Eliminate HCLP Debt and Heppner Equity Interests

DALLAS, Sept. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beneficient (NASDAQ: BENF) (the “Company”), a technology-enabled platform providing exit opportunities and primary capital solutions and related trust and custody services to holders of alternative assets, today announced that it has formulated and is implementing a comprehensive strategy intended to eliminate both the fraudulent indebtedness asserted by HCLP Nominees, L.L.C. (“HCLP”) and the equity interests in Beneficient and its subsidiaries held by the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, Brad Heppner, and his affiliated entities (“Heppner Equity Interests”). Through the strategy, the Company also seeks to terminate all other remaining agreements with Heppner or his affiliated entities (“Heppner Agreements”) and have all amounts purportedly owed to them by Beneficient or its subsidiaries under those agreements or otherwise deemed void and unenforceable. The strategy follows Heppner’s May 2026 federal fraud conviction and is a significant component of the Company’s broader effort to transform its balance sheet, simplify its capital structure, and unlock its potential. The Company continues to operate its business and pursue its long-term growth objectives while implementing the strategy.