Reference no: EM132840548
Question - Plastico Pte Ltd is a leading distributor of industrial and household plastic products in Singapore. The current value of the Company is estimated to be $30,000,000. The company is owned by three shareholders who are actively involved in the daily running of the business. Each shareholder has unique core competences resulting in the success of the business. The shareholders had a meeting with their business banker last month, but they would like to seek a second opinion as they find the banker to be too eager to sell each of them a $20,000,000 Universal Life Policy with premium financing at a preferential interest rate of 1.10%. They provided you with some background information, and request that you address their concerns in relation to their business and personal risk management needs at their next Company Board Meeting. The company comprises of three shareholders:
Alex Tan, 55 years old, owns 40% of the company. He is the creative brainchild of the company and is instrumental in product development and design in the company
Alex is married to Annie and they have a 13-year old son, Abel o Intended retirement age: 70
Ben Lim, 45 years old, owns 30% of the company. He has a depth of experience in operations management and plays a critical role in the operations of the company
Ben is married to Brenda and they have a 5-year old daughter, Bernadette o Intended retirement age: 65
Charles Ang, 35 years old, owns 30% of the company. He has the unique ability to connect with people and never fails to clinch deals for the company and maintaining the relationship and goodwill among different stakeholders
Charles is married to Candy and they have no children
Intended retirement age: 65
All three shareholders unanimously agree that their spouse, who are all home makers taking care of the home and children, are incompatible partners in the business as they lack the business acumen and know-how of the trade. They agreed that it will only be fair to everyone that the shares of any partner(s) exiting the business (due to retirement, illness or otherwise) be bought over by the remaining partners for business continuity and stability as well as financial security for the exiting shareholder and his dependants. The shareholders are acting as personal guarantors for two different Term Loans taken by the Company. The creditors are DBS and OCBC, with a total outstanding debt of $20,000,000. The company also have ten trade debtors comprising sole proprietors and partnerships selling their plastic products via e-commerce channel. Due to COVID-19, sales had slowed down, and the shareholders are starting to be uncomfortable with ageing debt from this group of sole proprietors amounting to $10,000,000.
Required - In the event Charles predeceases Ben, compute Ben's share value after buying out Charles' shares, assuming that the remaining owners will maintain the existing proportion of ownership after the buyout. Will the proceeds of the sale of his shares in the buy-sell agreement be sufficient to fund his surviving spouse and daughter's expenses? What is/are the considerations that Ben should be aware of in regard to such an agreement?