Summary: Our ESOP team serves as comprehensive legal counsel for all employee benefits matters for a major company, including ongoing administration of an $83 million ESOP. In 2023, we successfully executed a $14 million stock redemption transaction and refinanced nearly $20 million in outstanding exempt loans.
The Challenge: Our client required comprehensive ongoing legal counsel for complex employee benefits matters centered around an $83 million Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The engagement demanded expertise in ESOP compliance and administrative matters while simultaneously managing significant capital transactions. The client needed to execute a substantial stock redemption transaction and restructure all outstanding ESOP exempt loan financing, requiring sophisticated coordination between ongoing compliance obligations and major financial restructuring activities.
Our Strategy: We established a dedicated employee benefits counsel relationship focused on comprehensive ESOP administration and compliance support. Our approach integrated ongoing administrative and compliance guidance with strategic transaction support for major ESOP-related financial activities. We coordinated the complex stock redemption process while simultaneously managing the comprehensive refinancing of all outstanding exempt loans, ensuring all transactions maintained full ESOP regulatory compliance and optimized the plan's financial structure for participants.
The Result: We successfully provide ongoing comprehensive legal counsel supporting the $83 million ESOP while executing significant value-enhancing transactions for plan participants. In 2023, we completed a $14 million stock redemption transaction that provided liquidity for departing participants and successfully refinanced nearly $20 million in outstanding exempt loans, optimizing the plan's capital structure. Our integrated approach ensures continuous regulatory compliance while enabling strategic financial transactions that enhance long-term value for employee-owners. The relationship demonstrates our ability to serve as trusted ongoing counsel for sophisticated ESOP structures while executing complex financial transactions.
