Equity agreements allow entrepreneurs to secure funding for their start-up by giving up a portion of ownership of their company to investors. In short, these arrangements typically involve investors providing capital in exchange for shares of stock which they will hold and potentially sell in the future for a profit.
There are four common methods of granting equity or equity incentives in an LLC: (1) outright membership interest or membership unit grants, (2) LLC incentive units (aka “profit interests”), (3) a phantom or parallel unit plan (aka. synthetic equity), and (4) options to acquire LLC capital interests.
Changing ownership percentages in an LLC requires amending the operating agreement with all members' consent and updating state and tax records.
Whatever may be your rationale, you want to know if it is something you can do with your Limited Liability Company; and the answer is yes. Therefore, you can give away your LLC's equity. However, you need to consider factors and challenges that affect this decision.
In an LLC, there's two main ways to grant equity. One is via an employee buy-in, where they buy the stock at its market value (either at hire or over a set time). The second method is through what's called profit interest units, where you grant a share of the profit without their contributing anything.
All LLC members will be named parties under a buy/sell agreement, which is a legal document. The member who wants out of the LLC sells his or her ownership interests to the remaining members who then split that portion amongst themselves.
The most commonly recommended approach to sharing equity in an LLC is to share "profits interests." A profits interest is analogous to a stock appreciation right. It is not literally a profit share, but rather a share of the increase in the value of the LLC over a stated period of time.
The most commonly recommended approach to sharing equity in an LLC is to share "profits interests." A profits interest is analogous to a stock appreciation right. It is not literally a profit share, but rather a share of the increase in the value of the LLC over a stated period of time.