I’ve just returned after attending the Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership and wanted to share my experiences of the event. This is the second year that the Symposium has taken place. Organised by Graeme Nuttall OBE and Professor John Hoffmire, the aim is to bring together individuals and organisations active in employee ownership from across
On October 19, 2020, FMI Capital Advisors announced the transfer of ownership of Hunter-Davisson, Inc. (“Hunter-Davisson”) to company employees via the Hunter-Davisson, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). In this transaction, Hunter-Davisson became 100% employee-owned. FMI Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor to Hunter-Davisson for this transaction.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Hunter-Davisson is
Executive search firm Armstrong Craven, headquartered in Manchester, U.K., has become a majority employee-owned business. The firm will continue to be led by joint managing directors Rachel Davis and Peter Howarth. “We have long believed that the well-known benefits of employee ownership, when combined with our extremely dedicated team, will be a recipe for success,
Peter Harken, the co-founder of internationally-renowned sailboat hardware and accessories manufacturer Harken Inc. in Pewaukee, says he and his late brother Olaf Harken rejected overtures from at least 50 potential acquirers over the years but now it’s time to “pass the baton.”
Harken, 83, who is the company’s chairman, announced
A Greenfield-based specialty underground contractor has switched its ownership status. Midwest Mole Inc. says it has transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan following the retirement of second-generation owner and Chief Executive Officer Dan Liotti.
The company, which provides boring, trenchless tunneling, and directional drilling services throughout the Midwest, has been family owned since
Alltek Energy Systems president and co-founder Mike O’Connor has sold his 40-year-old plumbing, heating and mechanical contracting firm to his 60 employees.
O’Connor, 67, formed an employee stock ownership plan this month turning over 100% of the assets of a Waterford
An Erie-based company has completed its transition to a 100 percent employee-owned business.
Officials from Onex, an industrial furnace company, announced the creation of a new Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) at a company event on August 21. Company officials say the transition secures the Onex’s future in Erie.
“Being 100 percent employee-owned rewards our hard-working employees,
Gene Milstein, founder, and his wife, Dee Milstein, co-owner of Applewood Seed Company, announce the formation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), transferring significant ownership of the company to current and future employees.
As part of a comprehensive succession plan, the Milsteins formed the ESOP to implement their goal of keeping Applewood Seed as a
It’s the ultimate bonus: Georgia Theatre Company (GTC), the 18th-largest theater circuit in North America, has rewarded the diligence and dedication of its roughly 700 employees by making them the owners of the company. This apparently unprecedented action by a movie-exhibition chain is made possible by the creation of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP),
Brett Jones plans to arrange at least sixteen acquisitions over the next five years. He just closed on the first one.
Since they became widespread among private equity firms in the 1980s, acquisition strategies, including leveraged buyouts, have become a key part of the playbook leading to the demise of many iconic U.S. companies — including
AVEKA Group, Inc., a contract manufacturing and research and development company based out of Woodbury, MN with a plant facility located in northeast Waukon, has announced that the company has become an S Corporation ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), effective October 15, 2019. In the transaction, prior investors sold 100% of their ownership interest to
Midland Financial Corp., a Florida holding company for Midland IRA Inc. and Midland Trust Company, has become an employee-owned company effective January 29, 2020. Midland sold 25% of its ownership interest to a newly created Employee Stock Ownership Trust, allowing current and future employees to gain a beneficial ownership interest
SCS Engineers, a leading national environmental consulting and construction firm, recently achieved a significant milestone when it completed a transaction to become 100% employee-owned through its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
SCS Engineers established its ESOP in 1986, and recently purchased a small number of outstanding shares from minority shareholders, achieving 100% ownership through the ESOP
metroConnections leadership is proud to share that the company has formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) as of January 1, 2020, and in doing so, has made every metroConnections employee a critical business stakeholder.
The ownership transition is a further commitment to metro’s customers, as the employee ownership further cements its reputation of being known
GreenScapes Landscape Company Inc. is the latest in a line of Columbus companies to transition to employee ownership.
The landscaping company has transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, placing control in the hands of its 90 employees, a succession plan initiated by founder Bill Gerhardt. Since opening
Kovatch, now 62, had been president at Kovatch Castings Inc., a Uniontown manufacturer started by his father in 1976,
Loftness Specialized Equipment Inc. based in Hector, MN has joined an employee stock ownership plan. Through this change, the manufacturer of agricultural and vegetation management equipment is now 100 percent employee-owned.
“Our employees, as well as the entire community of Hector, mean very much to us so we’re excited to present them with this
As of January 1, 2020, Loftness Specialized Equipment, Inc. has joined an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Through this change, the Minnesota-based manufacturer of agricultural and vegetation management equipment is now 100-percent employee owned.
“We’re proud to become 100-percent employee owned,” said Gloria Nelson, president and CFO of Loftness. “Our employees, as well as the entire
Palmer Holland converted to a privately held Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) with an ownership team made entirely of employees.
While Palmer Holland was a private company prior to the transition, this move solidified the organization’s goal to remain an independent specialty chemical and ingredient distributor for the long term. While others in the sector have
PAQ Inc., an independent franchisee of Food 4 Less operating 20 stores in central and northern California, has created an employee-owned stock ownership plan (ESOP) in light of the retirement of owners Patricia and John Quinn. Business partner Glenn Evans will remain with the company as chairman of the board. The three partners founded the business
