Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Legal Strategies and Tax Implications

This course will walk through the benefits and mechanics of forming an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The materials will provide attendees with general information of ESOPs, the use of an enhanced ESOP structure as an exit or business succession strategy for closely held businesses, and a sample case study.

Attendees will learn the tax benefits of becoming a wholly-owned ESOPs, the characteristics of a "model ESOP candidate," the anatomy of structuring an ESOP sale, and personal perspectives on how ESOPs can be a superior exit strategy and estate planning tool for closely held businesses.

This program is ideal for Corporate, Tax and Estate, and Trust attorneys.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the mechanics of the ESOP structure
• Explore the opportunities and challenges of becoming an employee-owned company
• Identify the advantages of selling to an ESOP compared to private equity or a strategic buyer
• Learn from a sample case study inspired by a real ESOP transaction
• Analyze how selling to an ESOP using the advanced structure can be financially advantageous to the selling shareholder versus other alternatives