{"id":3596,"date":"2023-06-01T12:04:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/?post_type=transaction&p=3596"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:52:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:52:35","slug":"margaretville-telephone-company","status":"publish","type":"transaction","link":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/outcome\/margaretville-telephone-company\/","title":{"rendered":"100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned"},"content":{"rendered":"

100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned<\/h1>\n

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

Established in 1916, the\u00a0Margaretville Telephone Company<\/a> (MTC) was a family-owned company that had grown to provide a range of voice, video, data and commercial services throughout the Central Catskills Region in New York. The company facilitated business partnerships that allowed the deployment of 2,000 miles of fiber optic facilities to bring broadband to rural and underserved populations. The business reinvests in its home communities and employees, believing that excellent customer services stems from a valued and dedicated workforce.<\/p>\n

Situation<\/strong><\/p>\n

MTC leadership\u00a0sought a business transition plan<\/a>\u00a0that would reward the commitment of its employees through company ownership, further the values of their community-focused culture and sustain long-term business growth as an independent company. Though the company had implemented a minority employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1985, the family leaders wanted a full exit from the company while also securing the company in the community and for the employees. Moving to a full 100% ESOP ownership plan emerged as the right fit. As part of a regulated industry, any transactions affecting 10% or more of ownership would require going through the process of state regulatory approval as well.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

MTC engaged\u00a0SES ESOP Strategies<\/a>\u00a0and affiliated law firm\u00a0Stevens & Lee<\/a>\u00a0in 2014 to assist in guiding and structuring the process, including managing the Company through the regulatory process with special regulatory counsel. In 2018, the company completed a transaction after which the ESOP owned 60% of the company. In 2023, shareholder leadership and management were able to further their goals, with SES leading the transaction in which MTC became 100% ESOP-owned and family leadership completed a seamless exit. SES professionals\u00a0gathered key financial due diligence<\/a>,\u00a0negotiated transaction terms<\/a>, and collaborated closely with the client\u2019s bank and regulatory counsel. Lawyers from Stevens & Lee assisted with preparing the updated ESOP plan, all transaction documents and advised on the ESOP transaction. Notably, the shareholders gained key capital gains tax deferral opportunities for both transactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister Karen [Harris] and I value the dedication of our employees and our family takes great pride in our history of serving our home communities. Moving to 100% ESOP ownership was a great way to reward our employees while securing the Company\u2019s independence,\u201d said Larry Roadman, Chair of the MTC Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

\u201cSES and Stevens & Lee helped us evolve the way we envisioned and provided the kind of quality service we hold in high regard. Their valuable assistance made all the difference for the future of our business,\u201d added Glen Faulkner, MTC President.<\/p>\n

For more information on this transaction, please contact\u00a0Paul S. Fusco<\/a>\u00a0at 215.508.5642.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3596","transaction","type-transaction","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned - SES ESOP Strategies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Waldron engaged SES ESOP Strategies, along with its affiliated law firm,\u00a0Stevens & Lee, to structure the new ESOP plan and guide the Company through the transaction process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/outcome\/margaretville-telephone-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned - SES ESOP Strategies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Waldron engaged SES ESOP Strategies, along with its affiliated law firm,\u00a0Stevens & Lee, to structure the new ESOP plan and guide the Company through the transaction process.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/outcome\/margaretville-telephone-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SES ESOP Strategies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T14:52:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/outcome\\\/margaretville-telephone-company\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/outcome\\\/margaretville-telephone-company\\\/\",\"name\":\"100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned - SES ESOP Strategies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-01T16:04:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-31T14:52:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"Waldron engaged SES ESOP Strategies, along with its affiliated law firm,\u00a0Stevens & Lee, to structure the new ESOP plan and guide the Company through the transaction process.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/outcome\\\/margaretville-telephone-company\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/outcome\\\/margaretville-telephone-company\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/outcome\\\/margaretville-telephone-company\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Transactions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/transaction\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"100+ Years Old Telecom Provider Values Community and Employees, Becomes 100% Employee-Owned\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/\",\"name\":\"Griffin Financial Group\",\"description\":\"TAILORED ESOP SOLUTIONS. 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