In a typical ESOP transaction, employees don't put up their own money. Instead, the company borrows funds and uses future earnings to buy shares of the company from the owner. The company usually takes out a bank loan and passes the money to an ESOP trust to pay the seller/owner at closing. Because the bank loan often covers only part of the price, the seller typically finances the rest through a note that the company repays over time. As the company makes tax-deductible payments to the ESOP, shares are gra ...