By: John D. Menke There are good reasons to consider selling your firm to your own employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). No other alternative combines maximum financial advantage with the flexibility that enables you to customize the sale to fit your own particular circumstances. An ESOP enables you to sell your business…
By Nancy Mann Jackson, contributing writer June 17, 2010: 4:45 AM ET (CNNMoney.com) — On his 81st birthday, entrepreneur Bob Moore signed the papers to hand nearly a third of his company over to his 200 employees. But it’s a gift Moore and his three partners hope will pay off for them as well: By…
The exit strategies available to owners of electrical wholesaling firms are somewhat limited. The available strategies include selling the business to a competitor, selling the business to the management employees, or selling the business to all of its employees under the provisions of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”).
USING ESOPS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY You’ve read about them—companies that seem to have found the key to success in an unstable business environment: “Sales Jump 312% as Employees Learn Rules of the Game” at Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation in Missouri. Management Accounting. Inc. magazine awards its Entrepreneur of the Year award to all 240 owner-employees of…
August 11, 2010 The ESOP Association and the Employee Ownership Foundation released today the results of a survey conducted among the Association’s 1,400 corporate members in the first quarter of 2010 which confirms positive benchmarks for ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) companies. The company survey is conducted every five years and was last completed in…
Ross Group Inc of Dayton, Ohio announced that the company has formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and has joined the growing list of companies whose employees are stockholders. “When the transaction is completed,” said Mr. Mark Ross, President and CEO, “the employees of Ross Group Inc will own just under 25 percent of…
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Clif Bar & Company announced the selling of family owned common stock to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Employees through the ESOP own 20% of the company, while husband and wife owners Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford retain the remaining 80%. No change in management structure will…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Technomics, Inc. Benefits Employees with Stock Ownership Plan Arlington, VA – January 26, 2010 Rick Collins, President and CEO of Technomics, proudly informed employees on January 26, 2010 that the Company formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and, in doing so, has joined the growing list of companies whose employees are…
Written by Phillip Swagel and Robert Carroll Executive Summary A study of a cross-section of Subchapter S firms with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan shows that S-ESOP companies performed better in 2008 compared to non-S-ESOP firms along a number of dimensions, including job creation, revenue growth, and providing for workers’ retirement security. The S-ESOPs paid their workers higher…
The ESOP – Employee Stock Ownership Plan – is, slowly, on the rise. These worker-owned businesses are more productive and could benefit the American economy. Shoppers eye goods at the bakery of King Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vt. The employee-owned firm was able to expand from its niche to deliver a broad product line.…
Small companies are rushing to reward workers with employee stock ownership plans as low valuations make awarding shares more attractive By Karen E. Klein Bob Moore gathered three employee shifts together last month for pizza parties to celebrate his 81st birthday. But Moore, the founder and president of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods in Portland, Ore., also…
Dear Reader: As president of Menke & Associates, Inc., I believe there is significant untapped growth potential in most privately held companies. Whether you want to sell some or all of your stock in the company in the next five years or whether you plan to remain active for the long term, Menke & Associates,…
The First ESOP (1956) San Francisco lawyer and economist Louis O. Kelso created the first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1956 as a way to transition ownership of Peninsula Newspapers, Inc. from its two founders (both then in their 80s) to their chosen successors, the managers and employees. Kelso had long believed that the…
Information in this booklet has been developed for those owners of privately-held businesses who are interested in liquefying some portion of the equity which has accumulated in their companies. We have assumed that many of our readers may be interested in accomplishing this objective without sacrificing the identity of their companies, jeopardizing the jobs of…