Pulte Fight Pits Company’s Founder Against Its Board

William J. Pulte, the founder of the homebuilder Pulte Group and its largest shareholder, is locked in a messy public battle with current management. Yet Mr. Pulte’s interests are divided, as he has hedged his own stock holdings in the company and borrowed heavily against them, leaving one to wonder whether he is acting more in his own interests than the company’s. The battle over Pulte Homes erupted in March, when the 83-year-old Mr. Pulte called a meeting with the company’s chief executive, Richard J. Dugas Jr. Other attendees included Mr. Pulte’s grandson and James J. Grosfeld, a former chief executive of Pulte and a director appointed to the board in December at the behest of Mr. Pulte. At this March 21 meeting, Mr. Pulte demanded that Mr. Dugas immediately announce plans to retire or “there would be war,” according to a letter to shareholders.