Verit Advisors® will participate in the NCEO (National Center for Employee Ownership) Employee Ownership Conference, April 26 to 28, 2022 in Seattle. This annual conference is the premier gathering on employee ownership.

On Wednesday, April 27 at 3:45 PM, John Solimine, Managing Director at Verit Advisors®, will join a panel on “Financing for New and Existing ESOP Companies.” This session will include a current capital markets update, M&A trends, broader leveraged finance market overview, and outlook on 2022 ESOP activity. The presentation will also focus on financing new ESOPs with an emphasis on financing alternatives and observations for existing ESOPs, including company characteristics, structural considerations, and capital allocation financing strategies. Joining Mr. Solimine will be Ginny Saloom, PNC Financial Services Company and Kevin Trieber, Bank of America, N.A.

Mr. Solimine has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and debt capital markets. He began his career at LaSalle Bank (Bank of America), where he provided debt financing for middle-market sponsors and portfolio companies. He gained investment banking experience at Bear Stearns and Jefferies & Company in New York. He later joined Equibase Capital, a Chicago private equity firm.

Also in attendance at the conference from Verit Advisors will be Mary Josephs, Founder and CEO, Jake Cravens, Managing Director, Mitch Mizerek, Associate and Jen Bao, Associate.

About ESOPs

According to the NCEO, the first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) was in 1956 and today there are about 6,700 ESOPs and equivalent plans employing more than 14 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.