Whether you're unfamiliar with employee stock ownership plans, or you could use a refresher, this CLE course covers the practical benefits of ESOPs while highlighting the fiduciary and special tax rules applicable to these transactions.
Register now for this free CLE course.
Learn the legal concepts behind employee ownership.
Earn up to 1.5 pre-approved CLE credits and save $99 on this free Lawline.com course. Steve Berman and Polsinelli's Stanley Bulua lead this comprehensive webinar. M&A, tax, trust, estate and business succession practitioners can benefit from this highly-rated course.
CLE Course Highlights
- How employee stock ownership plans can enhance business succession strategies
- Integrating ESOP transactions with estate planning activities
- Identifying when and how a leveraged ESOP sale is a viable M&A transaction alternative
- ESOP financing options
- Fiduciary rules, under ERISA, applicable to ESOP transactions
- Special tax rules applicable to ESOP transactions
Why are leveraged ESOPs meaningful liquidity strategies?
An ESOP is a qualified, defined contribution employee benefit plan that invests primarily in the stock of a company. ESOP plans are "qualified" in that, in return for meeting certain rules designed to protect the interests of participants, plan sponsors receive substantial tax benefits.
Business owners can sell all or a portion of their stock in a business to an employee trust, in a tax-advantaged transaction. ESOPs are permitted to borrow money from or on the credit of the employer to purchase stock from the selling shareholder.
Depending on structure, an employee-owned company can become a nontaxable entity and access money, that would have otherwise been paid to taxes, to amortize the debt used to finance the transaction. In addition to providing business owners a means to diversify their assets and gain liquidity, an ESOP is an employee benefit plan that allows a company to attract and retain key personnel.
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