MBO Ventures
A New York-based ESOP advisory and investment-banking firm specializing in Employee Stock Ownership Plan transactions for cannabis businesses, offering succession planning and tax-efficient ownership transition strategies.
Sponsored
MBO Ventures is an ESOP advisory and investment-banking firm headquartered in New York City. The firm focuses on structuring Employee Stock Ownership Plan transactions for cannabis operators seeking succession planning, liquidity events, and long-term ownership transitions. Through ESOP structures, the firm advises companies on strategies designed to address the financial constraints associated with Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code.
The firm is led by founder and Managing Partner Darren Gleeman, who previously served as managing partner at GB Trading, a quantitative hedge fund. He was named a Top Financial Advisor by Green Market Report in 2024.
MBO Ventures’ advisory services are organized around three practice areas: ESOP formation for cannabis companies, ESOP management and administration, and ESOP consulting and strategy. The firm applies ESOP frameworks to cannabis businesses pursuing full or partial ownership transitions to employee ownership trusts. In certain structures, fully ESOP-owned S corporations may reduce or eliminate federal corporate income tax at the corporate level, subject to applicable regulations, which can increase available operating capital for debt service, expansion initiatives, and workforce incentives.
MBO Ventures provides feasibility analysis, cash-flow modeling, tax-planning support, entity structuring, plan design coordination, and ongoing ESOP advisory services. The firm works with dispensaries, cultivators, processors, and multi state operators evaluating employee ownership as an alternative to private-equity transactions or strategic sales. In addition to advisory services, MBO Ventures offers investment banking capabilities and may participate alongside ownership and management teams in transaction structuring.
The firm positions ESOP transactions as a mechanism for succession planning, employee retention, and long-term operational continuity within the regulated cannabis market. In 2023, MBO Ventures received a patent-pending designation for its ESOP structuring methodology.
