09/02/2026
For most employee stock ownership plan ("ESOP") companies, increasing the value of the business is an obvious objective. However, sustained value creation can also create a financial obligation, one that doesn't appear on the company's financial statements.
As the value of an ESOP company increases, so does the amount it will eventually owe to buy back shares from employees who leave or retire. And as the plan matures, long-tenured employees approach retirement holding years of increasingly valuable shares, so that obligation keeps growing along with them.
Value creation and liquidity planning should be considered together, ideally years before the repurchase obligation gets large. Our latest article, written by Scott Deal, takes a closer look. https://f.mtr.cool/li1cux2zc0