Z. Christopher Mercer, ASA, CFA, ABAR, Founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, and Edward F. Koren, Partner of Holland & Knight,will present with the webinar “Unlocking Private Company Wealth” for the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law on September 1, 2015.
According to the SBA, small businesses employ about half of the private sector and contribute over 50% to the nation’s GDP. The wealth attributable to the ownership of these closely held enterprises is illiquid, often highly so. Indeed, these business owners too often focus only on their business, and not on its value as a principal portion of their individual net worth. Whether the client intends for the business to be passed down in the family or eventually sold, there seldom is much attention paid to managing the asset as a component of the owner’s net worth.
It is important for business advisers to understand how to talk to their clients about these issues. This program will explore the various means of unlocking that illiquid value, so it can be used currently by the owner and his or her family. The discussion begins with an approach to managing this wealth similar to how an individual’s liquid assets are managed. Then the panel will explore using leverage to fund either a dividend recapitalization or share repurchase to provide current liquidity to the private company owner. The program will also consider the possible use of obtaining a minority investment by a private equity firm. Each of these alternatives can provide needed diversification and current liquidity for private company owners and help assure their long-term financial well being, and that of their family.
Learn more about Unlocking Private Company Wealth here.
