Employee Stock Ownership Plans

For more than 47 years Atlantic Management has worked with companies in a wide array of industries and their underlying niches. No matter what industry the client hails from, our professionals analyze the key factors for success, the industry trends, and how the company is poised to deal with opportunities and risks.


ESOP Advisory


As nationally recognized experts in this specialized field, Atlantic Management Company has the requisite expertise working with Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and companies exploring or pursuing employee ownership. Our professionals have significant experience in ESOP engagements, having represented shareholders, ESOP fiduciaries, along with institutional and internal trustees in over 260 ESOP valuations, transactions, and advisory engagements.

We maintain relationships with leading national and regional institutional ESOP trustees, third-party administrators, bankers, attorneys, and other advisors specializing in ESOPs.

Our professional staff supports The ESOP Association at the national and New England Chapter level, as well as the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC).   Members of the firm speak at national and regional ESOP conferences, and are actively sought to participate on panels.

ESOP Planning

  • Initial assessment


  • Assessment of strategic alternatives


  • ESOP feasibility studies

  • Preliminary valuations


  • Financing support

ESOP Formation

  • Fairness opinions and solvency opinions for ESOP transactions


  • Initial valuations


  • Transaction structuring and negotiating

Annual Administration and On-Going Transactions

  • Advisory services related to an ESOP’s purchase or sale of stock


  • Annual valuations for ESOP administration


  • Company buy-side acquisitions


  • ESOP and ERISA litigation support and expert testimony

  • ESOP loan restructurings and stretch outs


  • Fairness opinions for ESOP transactions


  • Trustee advisory services

Strategic Alternatives

  • Dividend recapitalization


  • ESOP terminations


  • Management buyout

  • Sale to a financial sponsor (private equity firm)


  • Sale to a strategic buyer