Related Professionals
READING, PA, October 25, 2018 – Stevens & Lee Shareholder Edward C. Renenger presented at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association Human Resources Conference held in Harrisburg, PA, on September 20, 2018.
In “ESOPs: Re-emergence as an Attractive Employee Benefit for Community Banks,” Mr. Renenger covered myths associated with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), benefits and pitfalls of utilizing ESOPs and the situations best suited for ESOPs.
Mr. Renenger is Co-Chair of Stevens & Lee’s ESOP Group and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group and also COO of SES ESOP Strategies, a Stevens & Lee/Griffin affiliated company. He concentrates his practice in helping companies navigate the complexities of ESOPs. In this capacity, Mr. Renenger advises business owners on how to sell their companies to employees through an ESOP. This process typically involves working with the company to first determine the feasibility and impact of creating an ESOP, consulting on whether the ESOP accomplishes the goals of the relevant stakeholders, designing the appropriate structure to accomplish those goals, implementing the transaction and then assisting the company with the ongoing administration and compliance of the ESOP.
Mr. Renenger also advises on other ESOP-related transactions, including situations where ESOP-owned companies sell to outside buyers when they have determined that exiting the ESOP structure is appropriate for shareholders. He works with the entire range of ESOP-owned companies, including S Corporations, C Corporations, private companies, publicly traded companies, companies that are wholly owned by the ESOP trust and companies in which the ESOP is a minority owner. Mr. Renenger also counsels ESOP trustees on their fiduciary obligations under ERISA in ESOP-related transactions and when unique situations arise in an already established ESOP.
Mr. Renenger also has particular experience working with ESOPs for financial institutions, such as community banks looking to an ESOP as a source of liquidity for founding shareholders and insurance companies who establish an ESOP in conjunction with a demutualization.
He holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A., summa cum laude, from The Catholic University of America.
