Client established a company building homes, apartments and town homes throughout the west coast and has been a staple in the construction industry for over twenty (20) years. The Client decided that they wanted to embark on obtaining adequate monetary consideration of the value of the company and protect the jobs of their loyal staff
Despite a dispute relating to the distillation levels of the machinery that were at the heart of the bargain between the parties, the manufacturer filed a lawsuit against the Client for breach of contract and quantum meruit for a payment dispute for the commercial machinery. The manufacturer also filed a construction lien on the Client’s state of the art laboratory.
Client explored numerous options to achieve this goal, including selling stock to various private equity firms. However, as this would not achieve our Client’s goal of employment engagement and retention, we advised on the possibility of creating an ESOP and selling the company’s stock to it, instead of a private equity firm. We advised Client on employee stock ownership structure, annual plan administration, benefits, tax advantages, vesting schedule, feasibility timeline and feasibility considerations for the company.
Our sophisticated ESOP plan was able to benefit our Client two-fold. Our Client was able to receive a better financial return as a business owner and was able to achieve his goal of giving back to his dedicated staff. Now, our Client is able to solely focus on high performance and becoming a global conglomerate in the real estate industry.