Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) have been in the news lately as a financial strategy to take a company from public to private. An ESOP is a type of employee retirement benefit plan designed to invest primarily in employer stock. To establish an ESOP, a firm sets up a trust and makes tax-deductible contributions to it. Employee Stock Ownership Plans have been around since the 70’s and have been well-regarded as a solution for large, public companies. Many small business owners are unaware that Congress reformed ESOPs in 1998 to enable small, privately owned companies to qualify for it.