BPAS has acquired ESOP One, an employee ownership technology platform designed to help participants understand and engage with Employee Stock Ownership Plans. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition expands BPAS’ specialized ESOP practice by adding participant education and engagement technology to its existing ESOP and 401(k) administration, recordkeeping, trust, and custody capabilities.
BPAS currently serves more than 110 ESOP and kSOP plans representing more than 19,000 participants and approximately $2.2 billion in assets. Across its broader retirement and employee benefit operations, BPAS supports roughly one million participants.
The transaction comes as millions of U.S. business owners approach succession decisions. The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility estimates approximately six million small and midsize businesses could undergo ownership transitions by 2035, representing as much as $5 trillion in enterprise value.
ESOP One adds capabilities including a participant portal, employer repurchase obligation portal, and support for synthetic equity programs. BPAS plans to integrate the platform with its administration services to give employers a more unified approach to ESOP and retirement-plan management.
ESOP One will also remain available as a standalone product, including for companies and partners that use competing third-party administrators. BPAS plans to maintain that model through a firewalled approach.
ESOP One currently serves more than 70 clients nationwide. BPAS expects the acquisition to broaden distribution of the technology while giving employee-owners integrated access to account information, statements, and educational resources.
KEY QUOTES:
“Employee ownership can be a powerful succession strategy. However, successfully managing an ESOP requires more than establishing and administering a plan. With ESOP One, BPAS provides a one-stop solution to the administrative, technology and participant experience needs of these plans, while adding the participant portal, employer repurchase obligation portal, and the ability to administer synthetic equity programs. This provides a complete experience that clients are looking for, where their ESOP program is central to the employer/employee relationship, enabling employees to build wealth for the future.”
Paul Neveu, CEO of BPAS
“ESOP One was built around a simple idea: employee-owners should be able to understand not only what they own, but why that ownership matters. Joining BPAS gives us the opportunity to bring that participant-focused experience together with the depth of ESOP administration and retirement plan expertise BPAS has built.”
John Bencosme, Founder of ESOP One
