When owners of family-owned and other closely held businesses think about retirement or exit, they weigh several considerations. They often ask themselves and their advisors such questions as: How do I cash out? How do I best handle succession, estate, and tax issues? What will happen to the business that my family members or partners, … Read More
This mini-case study examines S&C Electric Company, the storied Chicago-based employee-owned company that was founded in 1911. The mini-case study introduces the company’s history and describes how employee ownership preserved the company and its jobs during a key generational transition.
On Chicago’s North Side, decades after other manufacturing companies went bust, migrated to the South or outsourced everything to China, S&C Electric – a $700 million-a-year maker of equipment for utilities – stood independent, profitable and debt free. Then, its controlling stockholder, John C. Conrad, died at age 89, and like so many family companies … Read More