Summary: Our ESOP team serves as comprehensive legal counsel for all employee benefits matters for a major ship repair company, including ongoing administration of a $100 million ESOP. We also handle the company's employment, M&A, corporate, and related legal matters, recently closing a $60 million asset purchase transaction and managing a pending $25 million stock purchase by the ESOP.
The Challenge: Our client required comprehensive ongoing legal counsel centered around a $100 million Employee Stock Ownership Plan while simultaneously pursuing aggressive growth through acquisitions. The engagement demanded integrated expertise across employee benefits, M&A, corporate, and employment law to support both ongoing ESOP compliance and complex acquisition activities. The company needed counsel capable of managing routine ESOP administrative matters while executing sophisticated transactions, including a substantial asset purchase and a unique ESOP-funded acquisition of an unrelated company.
Our Strategy: We established a multidisciplinary counsel relationship providing comprehensive support across all employee benefits matters and related corporate needs. Our approach integrated ongoing ESOP compliance and administrative guidance with full-service corporate, M&A, and employment law support. We coordinated complex acquisition diligence and transaction execution while ensuring all activities maintained ESOP regulatory compliance. Our team structured transactions to optimize outcomes for employee-owners while facilitating the company's strategic growth objectives through both traditional acquisitions and innovative ESOP-funded purchases.
The Result: We successfully provide ongoing comprehensive legal counsel supporting the $100 million ESOP while enabling significant corporate growth and value creation for employee-owners. We recently closed a $60 million asset purchase transaction and are managing a pending $25 million stock purchase of an unrelated company to be made by the ESOP, demonstrating sophisticated use of ESOP structures for acquisition financing. Our integrated approach ensures continuous regulatory compliance across all employee benefits matters while supporting aggressive growth strategies that enhance long-term value for employee-owners. The relationship demonstrates our ability to serve as comprehensive outside counsel for ESOP-owned companies with complex, multi-faceted legal needs spanning employee benefits, M&A, corporate, and employment matters.
