About Benefit Capital

Corporate Business Description
Founded in 1984, Benefit Capital is widely known as the premier firm in America providing a full range of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and related services. Benefit Capital helps companies quickly and effectively form ESOPs and assists owners in selling their stock to ESOPs. By doing so, owners can defer all taxes on the sale, sometimes forever.

Benefit Capital has served as a trusted advisor on more than $5 billion in transactions all across the United States in a variety of industries. In addition, Benefit Capital has six offices across several states and Hawaii providing a variety of services related to ESOPs, ESOP-assisted buyouts, business brokerage, pension plans and related services.

Investment Banking
Benefit Capital provides a variety of services to companies valued at between $10 million and $900 million and has been a primary advisor on more than one billion dollars worth of investment banking transactions. The investment banking services that Benefit Capital provides to middle-market companies include mergers and acquisitions, private placement of debt and equity, fairness opinions, structuring and financing leveraged transactions and corporate partnering.

Merchant Banking
Benefit Capital has a highly regarded track record as a principal in originating and sponsoring private equity and debt investments in middle-market companies. Transactions in which Benefit Capital and its affiliates have provided investment capital include buyouts, recapitalizations, growth equity and ESOPs.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Benefit Capital's principals have more than 25 years of successful experience in providing services in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan arena as principals, consultants or advisors to over $5 billion worth of transactions in diverse industries. ESOPs enable a unique class of buyers (the employees) to buy a company and write off (deduct) not just the interest on any loan but also the principal. ESOPs are the only buyer that is so favored by the tax code and this provision has enabled hundreds of thousands of employees to significantly increase their personal wealth.

Benefit Capital can provide turnkey ESOP services encompassing every aspect of ESOP planning, design, formation, implementation and monitoring. Benefit Capital can also provide equity financing for management and employees and can bring in additional financing sources on the largest transactions. The principals of Benefit Capital are co-authors and editors of the definitive book on ESOPs, which is used as a reference by many ESOP companies and professionals nationwide. Due to his expertise in this area, one of Benefit Capital's principals was asked to testify before Congress and also received an award for his contributions to public pension policy. To see the range of ESOP services click here.

ESOP-Assisted Buyouts
As the large baby-boom generation retires, owners of businesses are finding that the smaller succeeding generation does not have enough people to buy all the businesses being put up for sale. Many businesses for sale are not finding buyers. In many cases, the employees are the ideal built-in buyers.

With a properly structured ESOP, owners can sell their businesses and defer all capital gains taxes (sometimes forever). Owners can save millions to tens of millions of dollars in taxes. Employees can buy the business and write off all interest and principal on the loans. Benefit Capital is a top expert in the USA on ESOP-assisted buyouts and has successfully completed more than $2 billion of these win-win transactions.

Solutions to Sarbanes-Oxley
Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley rules and regulations costs many public companies from $500,000 to more than $3 million per year. While large public companies can afford these fees and expenses, they can be crippling to smaller companies. In some companies, the costs of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley uses up most or all of corporate profits. In other companies, the costs of Sarbanes-Oxley has significantly reduced or eliminated the advantages of being a publicly traded company. Benefit Capital has a unique set of solutions to the Sarbanes-Oxley challenge. In many cases, Benefit Capital can help smaller publicly traded companies escape the burden of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and thereby save $500,000 to more than $3 million per year.

Representative Client List
Please click here for a representative client list.