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Last year, over there were 110 announced acquisitions of non-ESOP companies by existing ESOPs. That number significantly understates the actual number of acquisitions because most ESOP companies do not send out press releases or get press coverage for their acquisitions.

An ESOP administrative committee is a committee designated by the ESOP plan document. Its duties can vary from one company to another and need to be specified in its rules. In many companies, it is simply the board; others have a separate body for that function. There is no legal requirement for there to be an ESOP administrative committee, but in practice, plan documents almost always specify that there be one.

How to use the ESOP to make safe harbor contributions in combination with a 401(k). 

As a board member in a number ESOP companies,* one of the key issues I have worked on is evaluating the CEO, a core task for any board member.

Douglas Pugliese, Alpha Architect; Peter Abrahamson, ESOP Structuring Specialists; Tabitha Croscut, Devine Millimet

When approaching a bank to help finance an ESOP transaction, the company and sellers should go in with a plan.

Updated September 20, 2021

Over the last 28 years, the NCEO has been tracking ESOP and employer stock plan litigation for our annual compendium ESOP and 401(k) Plan Employer Stock Litigation Review.  In the last 12 months, three trends have stood out.

Last year, the employee-owners of New Belgium Brewing voted to sell their 100% ESOP company to Kirin Holdings. New Belgium’s ESOP allowed for pass-through voting of shares on the proposal.

Tom Peters, a management consultant who rose to considerable fame in the 1980s (and who was a fan of employee ownership), is famous for telling companies that “if it ain’t broke, you just haven’t looked hard enough. Fix it anyway.”