Ownership Transition & Exit Strategies
Providing business owners with a clear, feasible execution road map for succession
Ownership Transition & Exit Strategies
Every business owner will ultimately transition ownership to a successor. Whether that successor is a family member, your management group or a third party, succession is an event that affects your business, family, wealth and future.
And while many owners know they need a succession plan – they prolong the business transition planning process. Business owners usually find themselves in the gap between knowing their options and having an executable plan grounded in their values and financial reality. Baker Tilly bridges the gap to help business owners plan and implement ownership transitions with fewer surprises.
Business owner succession services
Are you ready to turn succession preferences into an actionable road map? Baker Tilly brings together strategy, feasibility, coordination and options for a winning exit.
We help closely held business owners who are:
- One to five years from a liquidity or transition decision
- Considering employee stock option planning (ESOP), management buyout, partial sale, family transfer, recapitalization or strategic exit
- Stuck between ideas for succession and decision making related to financial feasibility, tax structure, governance and implementation
We start every engagement by first understanding your goals for the short- and long-term. Then, we follow a four-step, proven process for success:
1. Succession pathway design: Help owners evaluate and compare transition pathways such as employee stock option plans (ESOPs), management buyouts, partial sales, family transfers and strategic exits. Pathway design is anchored in what matters most to you and your preferences for control, legacy, employee outcomes, liquidity needs and timing.
2. Feasibility-informed planning: Translate the chosen pathway into a road map grounded in economic reality. We address cash flow capacity, financing considerations and practical constraints early.
3. Structure and execution support: Deliver the tax and transaction structuring work required to implement your plan. This includes entity and ownership design, restructuring steps, coordination with key stakeholders and clear documentation to reduce risk.
4. Cross-disciplinary execution leadership: Act as the connective tissue across the owner, business and advisory team, coordinating internal and external resources. We bridge the gaps and keep workstreams aligned.
Business owners who work with Baker Tilly are gaining:
- Clarity: An explicit picture of your objectives and alignment between key stakeholders and potential dynamics.
- Feasibility: A definitive, evidence-based answer to whether a transition can happen within the owner’s timeline, grounded in financial analysis rather than assumptions.
- Execution: A committed direction and a focused action plan with decision gates and a coordinated team to carry it forward.
Beyond the transaction, Baker Tilly can be your strategic advisor for estate planning, wealth management and personal tax strategy.
Complimentary business transition planning services
We work alongside our clients and their advisors to identify additional needs in the following disciplines. Then, we coordinate services across teams, continuing to serve as your single point of accountability.
CFO Advisory Services
Baker Tilly provides critical CFO advisory services and support to financial leaders, business owners and investors that meet the unique challenges, complexities and the ever changing environment the office of the CFO faces.
Due Diligence
Whether it is for an acquisition, sale or refinancing, Baker Tilly provides due diligence services tailored to meet your specific needs.
Strategy & Management Consulting
Baker Tilly’s consulting team offers growth strategy consulting services, profit improvement, and market diligence to operating companies and private equity investors.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Middle market business owners, investors, and corporations rely on our sell-side, buy-side, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and financing solutions to execute their growth strategy.
Merger & Acquisition Tax Planning
Baker Tilly helps identify tax issues, opportunities and insight into alternatives that can allow you to make informed decisions throughout the transaction process.
Valuations
Baker Tilly’s valuation professionals provide supportable, defensible, and unbiased business valuation services that can stand up to the highest levels of scrutiny
Is an ESOP right for you?
If you’re looking to sell your business but want to retain business continuity, you might be considering an ESOP as a solution. While there are pros and cons, this is often a solution worth evaluating for businesses of all sizes. Read our article for more information on ESOPs.
Our dedicated ESOP team helps owners evaluate if an ESOP is a suitable pathway. We focus on preliminary screening and personal planning, with an emphasis on Section 1042 tax elections. If an ESOP is the most strategic route forward, we support implementation and ongoing compliance.
