$1 Billion Sale of Employee-Owned Firm Will Lead to Worker Windfalls

Hundreds of employee-owners of Colchester-based Vermont Information Processing are expected to receive life-changing payments in the coming weeks when their firm is sold for about $1 billion to the huge private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Vermont-based workers with an ownership stake found out earlier this month that they would receive as much as $10 million each, depending on how long they had worked at the company, known as VIP.

VIP reported the planned sale on end-of-year certificates of participation for its employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. Company officials didn’t release information about the sale or return messages left by Seven Days. But Reuters reported on February 12 that the sale, due to close in the coming days, was worth about $1 billion, including debt.

A VIP employee who asked not to be named because of a confidentiality agreement with the company said workers were surprised to learn about their

windfalls.

Workers at VIP begin collecting shares through the ESOP after working one full calendar year with the company. Based on the tenure of his coworkers, the employee estimated that 300 employees will receive more than $1 million, and about 50 with 20-plus years of service will get around $10 million. Most of VIP’s employees live and work in Vermont, he added.

The money is expected to be disbursed to workers starting next month.

VIP, founded in 1972, supplies software that helps beverage distributors such as breweries, wineries and soda bottlers improve their warehouse operations, deliveries and sales, the company says on its website. It says on LinkedIn that it has nearly 600 employees. The company has small offices in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Missouri, Vermont Business Magazine reported in 2022.

Founder Howard Aiken sold the company, which then had 45 workers, to his employees in 2001, the outlet reported. The profile said VIP’s customers include Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi.

Vermont has about 30 privately held ESOPs, said Matt Cropp, the executive director of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center, who wasn’t involved in the formation of the VIP ESOP.

Most employees did not know of the sale until they were informed of their expected payouts earlier this month, according to another VIP employee who also asked to remain anonymous.

Workers have mixed feelings, the employee said.

“There is gratitude; it’s money that for many of us literally represents a change in our social status,” he said. “At the same time, as an employee-owned company, it felt sort of like a second home.”

The employee said Warburg Pincus is offering the newly wealthy workers one-on-one consultations with investment advisers and financial counselors.