SmithBucklin Employees Buy Company From Financial Investors

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/11/2005

Association management firm SmithBucklin announced June 29 that full ownership of the company was transferred from its financial investors to its employees. Company officials said there will be no changes in the company's management, client services, operations or business strategy.

The firm's new Employee Stock Ownership Plan offered employees with balances in their 401(k) or outside qualified retirement accounts the opportunity to transfer funds to purchase shares of company stock. About two-thirds of those eligible decided to participate.

Henry Givray, president and CEO of the company, said its employees "should control the destiny of SmithBucklin."

Givray would not disclose the firm's sale price nor the amount of debt and other financing that had to be secured to complete the transaction.

SmithBucklin approached its financial investors, Mesirow Financial and Svoboda, Collins, with the idea of creating an ESOP in February. "They agreed that this was the right time to sell the company, and the employees were the right ones to sell it to," Givray said.

SmithBucklin has 585 employees and manages approximately 42 tradeshows from its headquarters in Chicago, and satellite offices in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis.