GreenScapes Landscape Company, Inc. a premier design and build landscape contracting company located in Columbus, Ohio is pleased to announce the sale of 100% of the Company to an Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) Trust.
GreenScapes Landscape Company, Inc. a premier design and build landscape contracting company located in Columbus, Ohio is pleased to announce the sale of 100% of the Company to an Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) Trust. Lazear Capital Partners, an investment banking firm in Columbus, Ohio, was engaged to arrange the transaction and serve as the Company’s exclusive financial advisor.
Since founding the company in 1977 while completing his degree in Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University, Bill Gerhardt grew GreenScapes into a full-service landscape company designing and installing landscaping for commercial properties, residential sites, and site complete maintenance including snow & ice management services. As Bill began considering how to pass on the GreenScapes legacy, he knew that besides capitalizing on his investment he also wanted a plan that would enable his business and its culture to endure while continuing to serve the loyal clients that helped make GreenScapes a leader in Central Ohio. GreenScapes has many talented employees with over 500 years of combined experience at the company!
“Once Lazear Capital Partners helped me realize there was a viable scenario to receive a fair value for the sale of the GreenScapes while at the same time providing the employees with a fully employer-driven benefit, I was hooked. It was important that the employees who helped build the Company into the leader it is today are able to see direct value in the growth and future success of the business. I was successful because of them and now they will take GreenScapes forward and benefit from its future success.”
The flexibility of an ESOP gave Bill a solution that met both his financial and personal goals while ensuring his employees will benefit directly in the future success of the business they helped build. Bill will continue to work at GreenScapes as the President for at least the next 5 years.
