The Fallacy of the December 31 Closing for ESOP Transactions

The Fallacy of the December 31 Closing for ESOP Transactions by Blake Head an ESOP Advisor.

While many businesses and their owners wish to close an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) transaction by or on December 31, the importance of doing so can be overstated.

Many businesses and business owners contemplating a sale, merger or other liquidity event, oftentimes view closing a transaction before the end of the calendar year as important for a variety of tax and non-tax reasons, and ESOP transactions are no exception. As more and more companies discover the advantages of employee ownership, the number of new ESOP transactions closing on or just before December 31 continues to grow.