Starting an ESOP

Considering an ESOP for your company? Curious what that looks like?

Perhaps you’ve looked into selling your company to a competitor or private equity and aren’t thrilled with what that will do to your employees after the transaction closes. Or perhaps you’re hoping to transfer what you’ve built to your next-generation of leadership, but still want to have some influence on the company?

An ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) may be the answer you’re looking for. An ESOP is a retirement plan created and funded by the company to purchase the ownership shares from the founders, enabling the long-time employees to share in the financial success of the company.

Every ESOP has a couple interested parties:

1. Seller

2. Company

3. Buyer (Trust)

4. Beneficiaries

You are the seller; we are the buyer on behalf of your employee participants.

But why would I bring in an outside party? Why can’t I just do it for my employees? Conflict of interest.

Then why don’t I just have my employees represent themselves? They can. But how many companies have they purchased? Are they comfortable negotiating on behalf of their co-worker’s retirement accounts? Are you comfortable opening up the books to them? What if the negotiations don’t go well? Do they stick around? Or do they go out and open up a competing shop?

We’ve done this a couple times before and have one goal in mind: a smooth, equitable ESOP transaction for both the sellers and buyers.