{"id":3697,"date":"2019-12-24T11:59:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T16:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/?post_type=transaction&#038;p=3697"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:42:13","slug":"commonwealth-fire-protection-company","status":"publish","type":"transaction","link":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/outcome\/commonwealth-fire-protection-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining Company Culture and Fulfilling the Legacy of Prior Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\">Maintaining Company Culture and Fulfilling the Legacy of Prior Owners<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Located in Leola, PA, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfpsprinkler.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Commonwealth Fire Protection Company<\/a> (CFPC) has provided fire protection services to commercial, industrial, institutional and residential customers for more than four decades. CFPC holds licenses in four states and more than 50 jurisdictions, and the Company has a wide customer base locally and regionally. President Daniel Laird credits the Company\u2019s 93 employees, many who have been with the CFPC for many years, for the Company\u2019s success, particularly when it comes to developing long-term customer relationships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Situation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Laird\u2019s situation was unique as he was previously one of three owners of CFPC. The two other owners passed away unexpectedly, leaving him the sole owner. He sought a way to transition ownership while fulfilling the legacy of his former partners, and an ESOP allowed him to do that as well as rewarding the employees and preserving the company\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SES ESOP Strategies\u2019 completed a feasibility study and assisted CFPC, an S Corporation, in negotiating an ESOP transaction with the ESOP Trustee. As part of this process, SES helped structure the transaction and gather and organize financial due diligence information. Attorneys from SES ESOP Strategies\u2019 affiliated law firm, Stevens &amp; Lee, negotiated the transaction and financing documents. At the close of the transaction on Dec. 31, 2019, CFPC became\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5H1NOUEC7yM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">100 percent ESOP-owned<\/a>\u00a0and retained its status as an S Corporation, enjoying the benefits of operating as a tax-exempt business enterprise due to the tax-exempt status of the ESOP as the sole shareholder of the company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur employees are the backbone of our success and we are so happy to be able to give them ownership in what they\u2019ve helped build,\u201d said Daniel Laird, President of CFPC. \u201cThis solution aligns well with our values as a company and we\u2019re pleased with the work SES ESOP Strategies did to assist us in this transition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information on this transaction, please contact\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:edward.reneger@sesesop.com\">Ed Renenger<\/a>, President and CEO, at 610.478.2238 or\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:mark.russell@sesesop.com\">Mark Russell<\/a>\u00a0at 610.478.2166.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5H1NOUEC7yM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Watch the Commonwealth Fire Protection Company ESOP announcement here.<\/a><\/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-3697","transaction","type-transaction","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Maintaining Company Culture and Fulfilling the Legacy of Prior Owners - SES ESOP Strategies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Waldron engaged SES ESOP Strategies, along with its affiliated law firm,\u00a0Stevens &amp; 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