I’m shocked at all the suggestions to get a lawyer as step one. Yes you will need a lawyer at some point to get the terms into writing but what you need is business advice to prepare you for a convo w your employer.
That sort of advice is hard to provide without thorough context but few things to think about:
1. How key are you the sales process? If technical due diligence is a big part of the sales process then you have leverage.
2. Are you a key employee that the acquirer will want to put under contract for a couple years to ensure continuity? If so, you have leverage.
3. Do you generally get along w your employer? If so, you have soft leverage.
As an earlier commenter said, it’s all about leverage, leverage, leverage. No (or almost no) owner is going to give you a significant portion of his or her windfall because it’s “the nice thing to do”. This will only get done if you have leverage and the courage to use it.
P.s. there are all sorts of expensive tax implications here too when it comes to ownership transfer. Lawyers and accountants will be needed but not until you’ve neared some agreement in principle.
That sort of advice is hard to provide without thorough context but few things to think about:
1. How key are you the sales process? If technical due diligence is a big part of the sales process then you have leverage. 2. Are you a key employee that the acquirer will want to put under contract for a couple years to ensure continuity? If so, you have leverage. 3. Do you generally get along w your employer? If so, you have soft leverage.
As an earlier commenter said, it’s all about leverage, leverage, leverage. No (or almost no) owner is going to give you a significant portion of his or her windfall because it’s “the nice thing to do”. This will only get done if you have leverage and the courage to use it.
P.s. there are all sorts of expensive tax implications here too when it comes to ownership transfer. Lawyers and accountants will be needed but not until you’ve neared some agreement in principle.