What are examples of employee-friendly buyout options other than ESOPs?

There are a range of other possible “employee-friendly” buyout strategies that should and will be considered alongside the ESOP strategy. Those strategies include the recruitment of one or more “employee friendly” private equity firms, some of which are funded in part with union pension funds, to take the lead ownership position in a buy-out. Other possible options include the recruitment of conventional private equity firms, the recruitment of one or more “deep pocketed,” presumably locally based investors, philanthropically motivated individuals or foundations either locally or nationally based and consideration of a non-profit structure. It is likely that in the case of Blethen Maine Newspapers a structure that combines one or more of these alternatives would be designed.