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Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

themarysue.com

21–30 of 128 posts

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#21
Not to be a cynic, but the owner can get a lot of benefits (including tax benefits) from selling to their employees versus an outright acquisition by an outside party.

Basically, the owner sells their shares to a trust, which then pays the owner and the employees gain ownership over a period of time as the financing is paid back.

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#24

Employee ownership is a very old concept. All studies have shown that they are risk averse and have poor growth. I’d love for this to work, but you can’t fantasize your way to results.

Is that necessarily a bad thing? Aardman has a well established artistic niche. Perhaps good governance for them emphasizes stability over risky growth opportunities.

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#26

Employee ownership is a very old concept. All studies have shown that they are risk averse and have poor growth. I’d love for this to work, but you can’t fantasize your way to results.

Why does everything have to be growth, growth, growth, growth?

What's wrong with being stable and providing a decent livelihood?

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#27

Employee ownership is a very old concept. All studies have shown that they are risk averse and have poor growth. I’d love for this to work, but you can’t fantasize your way to results.

On the other hand, Aardman is in the business of making cartoons for children out of clay. And actually has a business doing this.

They are experts in successfully fantasizing their way to results.

As far as being risk averse or having poor growth, their employees are animators. It is not a trade you take up if you tend to be risk averse.

Growth will be judged a frame at a time, but growth is only vitally important to investors and is not that sane a metric of success.

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#28
post #21

Not to be a cynic, but the owner can get a lot of benefits (including tax benefits) from selling to their employees versus an outright acquisition by an outside party. Basically, the owner sells their shares to a trust, which then pays the owner and the employees gain ownership over a period of time as the financing is paid back.

I rather suspect that someone like Pixar or Dreamworks would have offered more money than Nick Park is able to get from his employees.

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#29
post #26

Employee ownership is a very old concept. All studies have shown that they are risk averse and have poor growth. I’d love for this to work, but you can’t fantasize your way to results.

Why does everything have to be growth, growth, growth, growth? What's wrong with being stable and providing a decent livelihood?

[deleted]

Re: Aardman Animation Is Giving the Company to Their Employees

#30

Employee ownership is a very old concept. All studies have shown that they are risk averse and have poor growth. I’d love for this to work, but you can’t fantasize your way to results.

Both of those things sound very good. Corporate growth for the sake of growth is what got us to an atmospheric carbon dioxide level of 400PPM.

If your idea of a company's success is how much profit it accrues, maybe it's time to question why it is you think that's a good thing.

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