HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. -- PFSbrands, whose convenience-store foodservice portfolio includes turnkey brands Champs Chicken and Cooper’s Express, has been sold to its employees. The sole shareholders of PFSbrands, Shawn and Julie Burcham, have completed the sale through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
“I’m really excited to provide every one of our employees with the unique opportunity to earn stock in the company where they work,” CEO Shawn Burcham said. “We believe the ESOP is the ultimate business structure because it turns employees into employee owners who have a real stake in the outcome of their company’s business.
“The shares we allocate to our employee owners through the ESOP do not require a monetary investment on their part,” Burcham continued. “But of course, the hard work these employees contribute and the results they achieve most certainly influences the value of their shares.”
“Under an ESOP structure, shares of company stock are allocated to employee owners each year,” said CFO Trevor Monnig. “As the company continues to grow and perform well financially, the enterprise value of the company increases. Accordingly, each employee benefits from the higher price of the shares they own.”
While 100% of the company’s shares have been sold, CEO Burcham and PFSbrands’ senior leadership team will remain in place.
Under the brand names Champs Chicken and Cooper’s Express, Holts Summit, Mo.-based PFSbrands distributes more than 30 million pounds of chicken, seafood, breadings, sauces and a wide variety of side dishes annually to more than 1,000 grocery stores and c-stores nationwide.
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