Managing an ESOP-Owned Company’s Capital During Economic Instability

Nearly every business has been affected in some fashion by the abrupt economic downturn, associated job losses, and capital markets volatility caused by COVID-19. ESOP-owned companies face even greater challenges given broad-based employee ownership requires the company to make an internal market for the company’s equity. For ESOP-owned companies that also offer certain employees synthetic equity plans, these challenges can be further magnified as equity-based capital claims consume an increasingly higher proportion of free cash flow. Other privately owned companies can put equity decisions on hold during periods of economic instability; however, ERISA-based retirement plans allow (by law) plan participants to put their shares to the plan sponsor company.