SEYMOUR, Ind. -- Kocolene Development Corp. recently announced that the owners of the company have sold 40% of the stock to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Founded in 1938 by Carrie M. Myers, Kocolene is a fourth-generation family company with 32 retail convenience stores and discount tobacco sites under the names of Fast Max and Smokers Host. The Myers family is retaining 60% of the company through the ESOP.
Kocolene and its wholly owned subsidiariesRanger Enterprises, a warehousing-logistics-recycling entity with 700,000 square feet [image-nocss] of warehouse space, and Shadowood Golf Courseare headquartered in Seymour, Ind.
Andrea S. Myers, executive vice president of Kocolene, said, "This ESOP announcement is exciting for all of us at Kocolene. My great-grandmother and grandfather would be happy to know that part of the company was sold to the hands that built it and developed it throughout the years. We run this company by a set of corporate philosophies, and one is teamwork. The feeling of teamwork has been stronger than ever since the announcement."
The company worked with the state of Indiana and its ESOP Initiative Program in obtaining part of the financing for the transaction.
Kocolene will use $2 million in state financing to aid the sale its business to its workers, Trib Town reported in April. Kocolene president and CEO Gary Myers said recently that his family considered many options before deciding that selling to its employees was its best route. "We considered our options," he told a gathering of managers and corporate office employees Thursday morning, according to the report.
"We considered a merger. We tried that. Another option is to sell. We considered that and think we've found a good buyer, people who know our industry and who know our markets and who care about our business and the people who work for us," he said.
"And we have a planwe are going to sell the company to you," Myers added in what was a surprise announcement to most of the associates gathered for the annual managers meeting.
The ESOP process for Kocolene started last year, with the plan taking effect Dec. 31, 2009, the report said. It is a lengthy process that requires the plan to meet state and federal tax laws.
Under the plan, Kocolene employees will be allowed to earn stock in the privately held company through what is essentially a retirement plan designed to invest in company stock. Employees earn stock based on their time with company and their compensation level. At the end of each year, they earn additional stock based on another year of service, Kevin Johnson, Kocolene's CFO, told the newspaper.
A trustee, Daniel W. DeHayes, managing principal of DeHayes & Associates Inc. and Meridian Consulting Group LLC, will oversee investment contributions to the plan, which will be held in a trust fund.
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