Verit Advisors, a sponsor of the NCEO Employee Ownership Conference (NCEO) in Denver, April 4 to 6, 2017 will participate in multiple sessions. This annual conference is a premier gathering on employee ownership and over 1,600 attendees are expected.

Verit Advisors’ CEO, Mary Josephs, will participate on a panel titled “Case Study – The Sale of a Private Equity Portfolio Company to an ESOP” on Tuesday, April 4. This session describes an actual case study detailing how a private equity fund exits an investment by selling its portfolio company to an ESOP, instead of selling it to a strategic buyer or another private equity firm. Josephs founded Verit Advisors in 2009 and has nearly three decades of experience in corporate finance. She is a nationally recognized leader and has advised structured and closed more than 300 financings for middle market companies. Ms. Josephs is a past two term board member of NCEO. Ms. Josephs was named one of most Influential women in mid-market M&A by Mergers & Acquisition magazine, January 2016 & January 2017.

In addition, Ms. Josephs will co-facilitate the “ESOP Transaction Professionals Forum” session on Wednesday afternoon. This session will enable professionals to dialogue on key design and structuring issues to ensure best practices with ESOP transactions.

Wednesday, Matt Dalany, Managing Director, will be leading a panel “Debt Markets for ESOPs.” This session is about the current lending environment and financing alternatives for ESOPs. Dalany has over 30 years of commercial banking experience lending to middle market and mid-cap companies. At Bank of America, Matt and the teams he led helped thousands of primarily privately held and family-owned businesses achieve their strategic objectives.

Rob Ruszkowski, Principal, will speak on an advanced panel Tuesday on “Negotiating Protections for the ESOP or Seller Related to Subsequent Events.” This session will address clawbacks, earn-outs, and other protections that parties to ESOP transactions may negotiate to protect themselves from the occurrence of certain post-transaction events. Ruszkowski joined Verit Advisors in 2011 and has a particular proficiency in sell-side M&A as well as ESOP transactions involving a diverse set of middle market companies. Ruszkowski also possesses substantial technical and analytical know-how following a distinguished career in chemical engineering.

About ESOPs

According to the NCEO, the first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) was in 1956 and today there are about 10,900 ESOPs and equivalent plans employing more than 13 million employees in the U.S. ESOPs are spread throughout the nation and industries and range from just a few employees to more than 150,000 employees. Over a 10-year period, ESOPs have 25 percent higher job growth than comparable companies without an ESOP. These companies have 4 to 5 percent higher productivity in the year an ESOP is adopted. Employee ownership keeps businesses and jobs in state with ESOP companies 25 percent more likely to stay in business.

About Verit Advisors

Verit Advisors unites sophisticated middle market investment banking capabilities with a client centric boutique, fluent in ESOPs, debt and equity capital markets, and M&A, transaction opinions and valuation services and board advisory services. Integrity, teamwork, service, and innovation are at the heart of the organization, as the Verit Team strives to provide unparalleled advice and custom solutions to its clients. Mary Josephs founded Verit Advisors in 2009 in Chicago and has nearly three decades of experience in the world of corporate finance. Josephs and her team are considered to be the foremost experts in ESOP transactions and middle market strategic alternatives.