Qualitative comparison

Path	Possible features	Questions to examine
ESOP	Can broaden employee ownership and provide a transition structure for selling owners.	Financing capacity, fiduciary duties, valuation process, administration, and ongoing obligations.
Private equity	May provide capital and a partner for acquisitions or expansion, with governance and liquidity terms set by the deal.	Control, management incentives, growth expectations, holding period, and future liquidity.
Internal sale	Can transfer ownership to existing leaders over an agreed structure and schedule.	Buyer financing, leadership capacity, payment security, and continuity of client relationships.

Tax treatment depends on the transaction structure, entity, owner circumstances, and applicable rules. A qualified tax adviser must review the specific proposal.

Simple user-input estimate

Enter an illustrative gross sale value, owner share, and estimated transaction costs. The same simple calculation is shown for each path. It does not model path-specific financing or taxes.

Illustrative gross sale value, USD

Owner share of gross value, percent

Estimated transaction costs, USD

Enter assumptions and calculate an estimate.

Estimate limits and disclaimer

Estimated owner proceeds = gross sale value × owner share − transaction costs. This simple estimate excludes debt, cash, working capital, financing, escrow, earnouts, timing, and taxes. It does not predict proceeds or compare the legal or tax consequences of paths. General education only, not engineering, legal, tax, or investment advice. Licensed PE judgment and local codes govern engineering work. Consult qualified advisers.

Example scenario

A hypothetical civil engineering firm owner enters a gross sale value of $2,000,000, an owner share of 60%, and estimated transaction costs of $100,000. The calculator reports estimated owner proceeds of $1,100,000, applying the same estimate to ESOP, private equity, and internal sale. These hypothetical inputs are discussion assumptions, not a valuation or path-specific offer. The estimate can help the owner see how ownership share and costs affect a simple proceeds illustration while comparing broad qualitative considerations across the three paths. It does not model financing, tax, debt, cash, working capital, escrow, earnouts, or timing. Before drawing conclusions, confirm the ownership percentage and cost assumptions, then have a qualified tax professional and attorney review how each structure could affect the owner’s actual proceeds and obligations.

Method, inputs and limits

Purpose

Compare broad qualitative considerations and calculate a simple user-input proceeds estimate for discussion.

Inputs and defaults

Gross sale value: $1,000,000; owner share: 100%; estimated transaction costs: $0. Inputs are nonnegative, owner share is 0 to 100%. Same inputs are used for each path. These are example starting values, not sourced valuations.

Formula

Estimated owner proceeds = max(0, gross sale value × owner share percent ÷ 100 − estimated transaction costs). The identical estimate is displayed for ESOP, private equity, and internal sale. No path-specific financing or tax modeling.

Outputs

Qualitative comparison table and one simple estimated proceeds figure explicitly applied equally to all paths.

Checked cases

$1,000,000 gross value, 100% share, $0 costs: $1,000,000 estimate.
$2,000,000 gross value, 60% share, $100,000 costs: $1,100,000 estimate.
$500,000 gross value, 50% share, $400,000 costs: $0 estimate after floor.

Disclaimer

Estimate only. Tax treatment depends on structure and owner circumstances and requires qualified tax review. Excludes debt, cash, working capital, financing, escrow, earnouts, timing, and taxes. General education only, not engineering, legal, tax, or investment advice. Licensed PE judgment and local codes govern engineering work.

ESOP, private equity, or internal sale?