Lument Securities recently assisted one of the largest skilled nursing operators in the Midwest with the sale and transition of around 36 operating affiliates to a newly formed employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. As a result, the company is now 100% employee-owned through its employee stock ownership trust. Laca Wong-Hammond and Dominic Porretta of Lument Securities served as investment banker and exclusive financial advisors in providing structuring and valuation services to the client in its negotiations with the Trustee.
Across its more than 30 skilled nursing facilities (and some assisted living communities) across the Midwest, the company has over 4,000 licensed beds in its portfolio. It also has been in for about 45 years and saw employee ownership as the best solution, including its fair valuation, path to liquidity, liability management, estate planning and tax advantages.
This is not the first ESOP deal Lument has closed. As a result of the transaction, they have subsequently advised or financed four large companies in the senior care sector that have either transitioned to employee-owned plans or sold an ESOP. This includes companies like North American Health Care, where Lument provided similar services to this transaction, and Zandex, where it sold and terminated its ESOP.
