My fintech company is being acquired, no one has equity (single owner - unique scenario). Core team obviously has to go along with the deal - it’s time to use our leverage. Typically, is the piece of the sale price negotiated with the current owner or does he delegate that to the acquiring company?
What negotiation? You aren’t getting any money from the sale.
You're doing a sort of shitty thing to the owner (but not sharing equity was shitty too) if the company is being bought for it's tech and your core team is critical to it's function, then I'd definitely leverage it. You need a unified and committed front from the core team (prisoners dilemma). But you can say, we want $X or X% or we'll all quit upon acquisition. Moreover, you will actively seek to alert potential buyers to this fact. Don't expect recommendations from that owner ever again.
Maybe the owner isn't a complete jerk and is going to hook you guys up. The fact that you know about the acquisition already is kind of weird - did the owner tell you? If he/she did, maybe you can just ask if employees are getting any benefit from it before you start trying to unionize.
Time to renegotiate the pay
The others here are right; this is the whole point of equity. You don’t own any of the company so you don’t get any proceeds from an exit. However if the new company wants to keep you they should be thinking of how they’re going to compensate you; and having an equity component to it would be smart.
All - Thank you. If the core team (there are like 3 crucial members) don’t agree, the sale won’t happen. I personally (part of the core team) am close to the acquiring company. Question again is who we need to press on - owner or acquirer. This is not shitty, we’ve spent 8 years building this, price is ~$500M
Press on owner. Don't risk screwing up deal at this stage by going to acquirer unless the owner refuses to talk turkey.
No it actually is shitty or I think the correct word you are looking for is extortion. Were you confused about your comp package the past 8 years? Were you not paid a fair wage you and your employer agreed to? You should have thought about this 8 years ago or literally any of the past 8 years prior to this and negotiated some options as part of your raise/comp package.
Usually when a company is acquired, most of the employees are let go.
Your TC must have been amazing to work for a start up and get no equity.
You have no equity. There is nothing to negotiate. You get nothing and are entitled to nothing. If you are lucky you get to keep your job under the new parent company.
Unfortunately, this is 100% correct
The core team has leverage if they are critical to the sale. A buyer might walk or offer much less if the core team has made a unified commitment to leave.