In this article, Carter Smith discusses how and why an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) can be a viable succession option for business owners in the wine, spirits, and craft brewing industry. ESOPs can be a powerful option for owners who have successfully built their companies with a valued workforce and who are looking for an exit strategy that will ensure the forward momentum of their businesses.
He touches on the reasons why and provides examples of companies in the craft brewing space who successfully transitioned their companies into the ESOP structure and why “selling out” to institutional players can be seen as counter to the very movement from which the industry was born.
