Case Study: a $5B publicly-traded media company secures shareholder approval and closes an ESOP buyout with DLC accounting expertise

$5B Publicly-traded Media Company secures $8.5B buyout with dlc

A $5B publicly-traded media company engaged vendor dlc for its accounting expertise during a complex $8.5B buyout transition to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The challenge was navigating intricate accounting standards to recapitalize shareholder equity, all while overcoming a presumption that the transaction required push-down accounting at fair value, which would have significantly altered the company's financial statements.

The dlc team executed detailed research and documentation, developing a strategy to account for the transaction as a leveraged recapitalization instead of an acquisition. This allowed the company to maintain its historical cost basis. dlc also prepared critical pro forma financial statements that were instrumental in securing shareholder approval and obtaining the necessary funds to successfully close the transaction.