business One of the most common options for protecting owners' equity is the so called "vesting" agreement. startup is designed to prevent the loss of equity when a business is sold to a third party. Vesting agreements usually provide for one or more of three different types of owners distribution: first, the business will be sold to the third party without any opportunity to receive further equity; second, the owner will receive an amount equal to the value of their shares in the business; or third, the owner will receive an equal amount of money and shares in the business to be held in escrow until the sale of their shares to the third party.