Chapter 4 - MERCER HERITAGE FARMS
Mercer Heritage Farms was not one farm.
It was a family agricultural company.
Four properties.
Grain storage.
Seed distribution.
Equipment leasing.
Estimated enterprise value:
about $22 million.
Mark owned:
32% economic interest,
28% voting control.
Diane owned:
18%.
Other relatives held the rest.
The company had a buy-sell agreement written fifteen years earlier after a family lawsuit.
One clause concerned successor participation.
If a voting family member reached age forty-five without designating a qualified successor willing to participate in the business, that member’s voting rights could temporarily transfer to an independent management trust.
Not ownership.
Voting rights.
Purpose:
prevent inactive heirs from freezing the company.
Rachel asked:
“What does that have to do with Emma?”
Mark said:
“Mom thinks the successor should be a Mercer.”
“She is a Mercer.”
“You know what she means.”
Rachel stared.
“No. Say it.”
Mark did not.
So Rachel did.
May you like
“A boy.”
Silence.
