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ESOP-owned Craftstech was recently sold to Hyperion, which was recently been purchased by the private equity firm KKR.

● Famed New York City liquor store Astor Wines & Spirits is now ESOP-owned.

A number of ESOPs have recently been recognized as great places to work by a variety of publications.

At the 2023 NCEO Annual Conference in Kansas City, Greg Fresh and Matt Dennison of Chartwell gave a presentation on how a private equity group (PEG) can invest in ESOP companies.

In recent years, the Department of Labor has been more concerned about ESOPs paying for control when, in the DOL’s view, it doesn’t really need to do so or is acquiring control more in form than substance.

Initial results from the NCEO’s 2016 survey of corporate governance practices in ESOP companies show the range of current practices in the composition and compensation of boards of directors and the various approaches companies take toward ESOP trustees.

By Patrick J. Dixon, Account Executive, and Jeffrey S. Gelburd, Vice President, Murray Insurance Fiduciary Liability

The responsibility to create effective alignment should never rest solely with committees themselves. Leadership can play a significant role in both enabling committees to be successful and supporting them through some of their biggest challenges when it comes to creating a strong culture of ownership. There are several things to consider when working to create more effective alignment of between each group’s goals and the practices that will help all teams involved achieve them.

Since stepping down as director of the NCEO 11 years ago to become basically a close to full-time volunteer, I have had the privilege of serving on a number of ESOP company boards (the fees go to the NCEO). A key issue for these boards is how to think about their cash reserves.

There has been growing interest in the US in employee ownership trusts (EOTs). In an EOT, a special purpose trust purchases all or part of the shares from sellers. The trust is designed to be permanent so that the company does not become a target for acquisition.