Business owners with any one, or all, of the following wishes:
- Convert part of all of their equity into cash without bringing in another partner or private equity partner or giving up control
- Add value to their company by increasing company cash flow and working capital
- Increase employee productivity
Most businesses qualifies, i.e., service, retailing, distribution, manufacturing, with:
- Minimum pretax income of about $200,000
- Minimum 7 employees if business is a C corporation or 12 employees if an S corporation
- LP’s, LLC’s and the like can establish ESOPs, but will need to be converted to an S or C corporation before selling shares to the ESOP.
ESSENTIAL ESOP COMPONENTS
The following steps must occur to establish and maintain an effective and successful ESOP:
- Financial design
- Technical design
- Legal documentation
- Valuation
- Communications to employees
- Administration year-to-year
- Coordination and consultation among the clients’ advisors
Menke and Associates, Inc, is the most active firm in the country in the design and installation of ESOPs. It is also one of the few firms that offers comprehensive ESOP servicing, including financial consulting, ESOP legal services, valuation, administration, employee communications, insurance funding, and investment banking.
