Our clients were the co-founders of a privately held company involved in the development and marketing of better-for-you, ready-to-eat snacks. Each client was seeking to establish an estate plan given their increasing personal wealth stemming from the success of the company. The transfer of their respective interests to various estate planning vehicles was complicated by an impending, highly anticipated initial public offering.
The unique circumstances of the transferred interests required a highly detailed analysis in order to derive and support appropriate valuation discounts. Stout thus considered and prepared multiple valuation approaches, including a review of empirical market data, the preparation of option pricing models, and the development of a proprietary market analysis of pre-liquidity discounts. Also, given the urgency to complete the estate plan in an expedited timeframe, Stout’s professionals exhibited flexibility in meeting strict deadlines.
Stout’s experienced professionals, deep resources, technical skills, and customer focus allowed us to service the clients and their estate planning counsel in realizing a tax efficient transfer of assets.