Collective takeover: buy back as a group | CDRQ

A collective takeover is easier than you might think. Do you have a group of at least three staff members, partners, or customers of the enterprise being sold? Would you like to explore the cooperative or NPO format as a way to continue the organization’s operations?

You can go the collective route!

Supporting your collective enterprise’s takeover

The process of transferring ownership or transforming an existing business can vary. Our consulting team will assist you in this change of legal structure without interrupting the activities of your organization. At every stage of the collective takeover, you will have our support and guidance.

In particular, our specialists can help by:

  • Validating your social and economic needs.
  • Determining the legal form of your enterprise.
  • Guiding you in creating a business plan, as well as in the incorporation process for the acquired enterprise.
  • Providing technical assistance for organizing your associative life.
  • Supporting the enterprise in looking for financing.

A takeover has numerous benefits

Benefits for the employer

A business succession project

Perhaps you would like to start selling off your business, but your family is not interested and no buyer has come forward. Still, you would like to the company to stay in operation. You can do all this while keeping an eye on the business!

Replacing a departing shareholder

The departure of a shareholder can be a stressful, headache-filled time. If you are interested in incorporating a worker-shareholder cooperative, you could choose to replace this shareholder with your employees, who would form a cooperative to buy back this block of shares. After all, your employees have been with the company for a long time and are personally invested in its mission. So why not put your trust in them by involving them more in the company?

Benefits for employees

By giving employees the chance to create a cooperative that will become a shareholder in your company, members will naturally have an interest in maintaining and developing the company, which considerably increases the survival rate of the company. Moreover, several statistics speak in this direction.

By creating a legal entity via the coop, they will be able to evaluate the incorporation of health insurance, but above all, have access to the Cooperative Investment Plan (RIC) and that of the REER-COOP. Two programs granting tax credits.

Positioning guide for cooperative business takeovers

Along with our partner the Centre de transfert d’entreprise du Québec, we have developed a tool to help you identify and evaluate enterprises with the potential to be bought out by a cooperative. It identifies potential buyers in the business’ environment. It also advises and guides the owners of businesses for sale.

Take the test

Specialized financing

There are tax benefits to help employees invest and reduce their risks in an employee buyout. In almost all cases, our financial partners do not require bonds from worker members or other types of members.

Opting for a collective takeover of a business is more than just a financial transaction – it is a reaffirmation of your organization’s values. Collective enterprises come with many benefits:
  • They are an effective tool for bridging the gap between two generations of entrepreneurs.
  • They maintain entrepreneurial heritage.
  • They help maintain the entire ecosystem of suppliers who work with these businesses.
Soda Diack
Coordinator of Collective takeover