How is it possible and realistic for employees to buy companies?

Employees are not the first group that comes to mind when considering the purchase of large and expensive corporations. But the facts are that for over 32 years, employees, with the help of banks, private investors and the Federal Tax Code have become significant shareholders in over 10,000 corporations in the United States.

Recognizing the financial limits facing ordinary employees interested in buying their companies, the architects of ESOP legislation in the Congress have created a range of tax incentives and investment mechanisms to induce business owners to sell companies to employees. In a small number of these cases employees have also chosen to invest a prudent percentage of their 401(k) funds in the creation of successful ESOP enterprises. Research has demonstrated that ESOP legislation has worked, that is, (1) ESOPs have given millions of employees access to ownership opportunities which they would not have had the financial resources to take advantage of on their own, and (2) the vast majority of ESOP companies are successful, ongoing enterprises http://www.nceo.org/reference/research.html.