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V O L . X X I I I N O. V I M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 34 M aine's pace of Employee Stock Ownership Plan deals has been dizzying in the past year. Nearly a dozen Maine companies announced plans last year to convert to ESOP ownership, in which employees take on the fi nancial load of owning the company while carving out an equity stake for the individual stakeholders. With Maine's aging demographics — the nation's highest median age, 43.8 — many owners have chosen the ESOP route over options like selling to a third- party owner or passing the company along to a family member (if a family member is indeed interested). Wealth management fi rms, fi nancial advisors, accounting fi rms, lawyers and related businesses are continuing to see business from the surge toward ESOPs. Most recently, Spinnaker Trust, a non-depository trust company in Portland that manages $1.2 billion in cli- ent funds, expanded its ESOP practice by bringing on Christopher Whitney from Transamerica. Spinnaker, which serves as a trustee in ESOP conversions, has seen an increase in business. "A lot of Maine companies go the ESOP route. ey want to keep the business here. ey may be a major employer in town. ey have a sense of devotion to employees," says Jeannine Pendergast, who heads up the ESOP practice at Spinnaker. " ey may have an option to sell to a third party for more money — they could sell the busi- ness and walk away. But with an ESOP, they're selling to employees and the management team stays the same." " " " Align Your Technology with Your Business " Colors Pantone 2747 Pantone 1807 IT Solutions Designed for Your Business Finding the right IT partner is one of the most important decisions your company can make. At WGTECH, making information technology work for your business is our core competency. We develop individualized solutions that help you grow your business, improve operations, and boost efficiency. We're Northern New England's resource for advanced technology – we'd like to partner with you. www.WGTECH.com 207.856.5300 Christopher Whitney, a newly hired ESOP client advisor and specialist, and Jeannine Pendergast, vice president and senior ESOP client advisor, at Spinnaker Trust in Portland. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Growth of ESOPs benefitting a range of professional services Spinnaker Trust the latest to expand its ESOP practice B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T / R E T I R E M E N T F O C U S C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 6 »