ButcherJoseph Advised Midwest Equipment Company on Sale to Employees

Who is our client?

• Founded in 1993 and headquartered in St. Louis, Midwest Equipment Company (“Midwest”) is a leading commercial food service equipment distributor in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and Arkansas.
• Midwest has been helping its clients serve their customers and improve sales with new and pre-owned equipment and supplies for hot and cold food and beverages.
• Midwest is part of the Taylor network of distributors that specializes in the food service industry.

Why did Midwest Equipment Company hire ButcherJoseph?

• As Midwest Equipment Company approached its 25^th anniversary, the leadership team began to explore strategic alternatives to help facilitate the eventual succession of the company’s ownership.
• While many business owners sell to a strategic or financial buyer, those options did not align with the founder’s goal of preserving Midwest Equipment’s culture, rewarding his employees, and remaining involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.
• Through research and careful planning, the founder engaged ButcherJoseph to pursue a 100% sale of Midwest Equipment to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• ButcherJoseph has extensive experience educating a company’s suppliers/OEM relationships on the merits of an ESOP transaction.
• The transaction was financed through a senior term loan from Parkside Financial, as well as a subordinated note from the selling shareholder.

What did ButcherJoseph deliver?

• The transaction established a clear succession-plan for the founder and also provided management with equity through a stock appreciation rights plan. ButcherJoseph aided Midwest in developing support from its key suppliers for the transaction.
• The ESOP structure is a natural extension of Midwest Equipment’s culture, which values its long-tenured employees, prioritizes customer relationships, and delivers “red-cape” service.