Four years ago Ken Baker, the CEO of his family’s 75-year-old manufacturing business, NewAge Industries Inc., took a huge leap of faith and sold the remaining 51 percent of shares of his company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. He had sold the other 49 percent to the ESOP in three tranches, starting in 2006. After the final tranche in 2019, Baker stayed on as CEO. Here’s how ESOPs stand out in M&A.
