My 3rd generation cousins sold the family business after 99 years in 2007. My uncle said to me “why did they not wait till the 100th year?”.
I was the one who told my uncle the business was sold after one day looking up the company name and seeing it was sold to a competitor.
The nephews did not even tell their 2 uncles who had sold their shares when they were in their 80’s and were being paid over time. Neither lived in the state where the business was.
The nephews had the finance guy ask them if they wanted to be paid in full instead of over the years and the taxes would be taken care of. He never mentioned a sale was going on. The 5 cousins split the sale price of $20 million. I do not know what the amount was after expenses.
The building was later bulldozed and a new office and rental apts were built in it’s place after the buyer sold the land several years ago.
The company I retired from is starting it’s 118th year! The three men running it now are stand-up guys in their 40’s with actual Business and Computer degrees.
The company went through it’s ‘shake up’ in the 80’s when the business was split between the three ‘heirs’ when the founder passed. One sold off his share for millions, then drank it away. The other two re-grouped, bought back in after the drunk was gone, and kept on keepin’ on. ;)
It was a very good, solid company to work for. I still hold their stock.