u/wcestnick7

For context, my brother and I took over a company in Canada that my father started. It’s a blue-collar business, but at this point it mostly runs itself. We have long-term contracts, experienced employees, and my brother and I mainly step in to solve problems, show face, and make major decisions. The business does well and could keep growing if we could make the partnership work.

The problem is that my brother and I clearly can’t work together anymore. He creates dissent with employees, constantly fights with me, threatens me, and recently had an assault charge laid against him after he punched me at work.

There are also terms in our Shareholders’ Agreement that I believe he isn’t following. For example, he hired his three sons into the business as labourers without my approval, he was required to get a DZ licence but hasn’t, and I believe he’s doing side jobs with company trucks and pocketing the money, though that last one is hard to prove.

We had a business valuation done, and I offered to buy him out for 50% of the valued amount. I’m nervous about doing this because he openly says he’ll compete with me if I buy him out, and I’m concerned he may try to steal contracts or sabotage the business, even with a non-compete.

He and his lawyer keep rejecting the offer, saying it has to be reciprocal, like a shotgun clause, meaning I’d have to be willing to accept the same offer for my own shares. I don’t want to sell my share of the business. His lawyer is now saying that if I won’t make a reciprocal offer, they’ll take it to court and try to force arbitration (which can take a long time and be very expensive).

We don’t have a shotgun clause or anything similar, so we’re stuck. I don’t want to sell because the business supports my lifestyle, the after-tax buyout money wouldn’t be enough to live on, and I don’t have it in me to start another company. At the same time, I don’t trust my brother not to sabotage the business if I buy him out.

Any advice, opinions, or insight would be appreciated.

For context, my brother and I took over a company in Canada that my father started. It’s a blue-collar business, but at this point it mostly runs itself. We have long-term contracts, experienced employees, and my brother and I mainly step in to solve problems, show face, and make major decisions. The business does well and could keep growing if we could make the partnership work.

The problem is that my brother and I clearly can’t work together anymore. He creates dissent with employees, constantly fights with me, threatens me, and recently had an assault charge laid against him after he punched me at work.

There are also terms in our Shareholders’ Agreement that I believe he isn’t following. For example, he hired his three sons into the business as labourers without my approval, he was required to get a DZ licence but hasn’t, and I believe he’s doing side jobs with company trucks and pocketing the money, though that last one is hard to prove.

We had a business valuation done, and I offered to buy him out for 50% of the valued amount. I’m nervous about doing this because he openly says he’ll compete with me if I buy him out, and I’m concerned he may try to steal contracts or sabotage the business, even with a non-compete.

He and his lawyer keep rejecting the offer, saying it has to be reciprocal, like a shotgun clause, meaning I’d have to be willing to accept the same offer for my own shares. I don’t want to sell my share of the business. His lawyer is now saying that if I won’t make a reciprocal offer, they’ll take it to court and try to force arbitration (which can take a long time and be very expensive).

We don’t have a shotgun clause or anything similar, so we’re stuck. I don’t want to sell because the business supports my lifestyle, the after-tax buyout money wouldn’t be enough to live on, and I don’t have it in me to start another company. At the same time, I don’t trust my brother not to sabotage the business if I buy him out.

Any advice, opinions, or insight would be appreciated.