Chicago-Based Verit Advisors Guides a Leading Chicago Manufacturer’s Completion of ESOP Transaction

S&C Electric Company announced that it will become a 100-percent Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) owned S-Corporation.

Verit Advisors, a Chicago-based investment banking firm, was engaged on behalf of S&C to advise the company on valuation and lead execution of the transaction. Verit provided expertise in ESOP valuation and transaction structuring, allowing S&C to evaluate and optimize its objectives.

In 2007, S&C formed a KSOP (i.e., an ESOP with a 401(k) component) which owned 66% of the company as part of John Conrad’s (former Chairman Emeritus) long-expressed desire to maintain private ownership. Founded in 1911, S&C is a global provider of equipment and services specializing in electric power switching, protection, and control for electric utilities and power user markets. S&C’s products help deliver electric power efficiently with enhanced reliability.

Verit Advisors worked diligently alongside S&C management to complete the purchase of all outstanding shares of company stock that were not held by the ESOP, thereby allowing the company to become a 100-percent ESOP owned S-Corp. This ownership structure provides S&C an opportunity to continue to control its own destiny and reinvest the majority of profits back into the business.

“This transaction effectively accomplished two corporate objectives simultaneously – to convert from a C-Corporation to an S-Corporation and to become 100% employee-owned,” said Brooks Myhran, Managing Director of Verit Advisors. “S&C is well positioned for continued and long-term success as a leading manufacturer. It was an honor for us to be associated with the S&C legacy and be a part of its future by transitioning S&C to a 100% ESOP owned S-Corporation.”

“This transaction ensures that S&C’s tradition of private ownership will continue,” said Stan Slabas, Director – Corporate Financial Strategy. “Employee ownership is part of our guiding principles and very important to our culture. Becoming a 100% ESOP owned S-Corp allows us to enhance cash flow and continue reinvesting the majority of our earnings back into the business.”

About S&C Electric Company

S&C Electric, with global headquarters in Chicago, IL, is applying its heritage of innovation to address challenges facing the world’s power grids and is thus shaping the future of reliable electricity delivery. The mission of employee-owned S&C is to continually develop new solutions for electricity delivery, fostering the improved efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid. Additional information about S&C is available at www.sandc.com

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 mergers and acquisitions. 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 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.