Benchmark valuation
This service, sometimes called a
“valuation audit,” is typically used for internal management purposes.
Firms often choose this option to gain a sense of their values for
strategic planning purposes, to establish merger or acquisition
expectations early in the process, or to set value for stock
transactions. In a benchmark valuation, ZweigWhite completes a desk
review of your firm’s financial statements and other related
information, then calculates your firm’s value using formulas from our
annual ZweigWhite Valuation Survey of A/E/P & Environmental
Consulting Firms. We sum it all up in a 4- to 6-page report.
Fairness opinion
Like
the benchmark valuation, this is a review of your firm’s value under
stated circumstances. But instead of simply using our Valuation Survey,
we calculate your firm’s value using public firm data, merger and
acquisition figures, and earning models, as well as the survey and
other applicable methods. We may also visit your offices and interview
key financial personnel. Firms often request this service during the
early stages of merger or acquisition discussions, for subsidiary or
group divestitures, or for other share transactions. We deliver our
fairness opinion, sometimes referred to as a letter opinion, in an 8-
to 12-page report.
Executive level valuation
In a
limited valuation, we conduct a desk review of information about your
firm, then do a more complete comparison of your firm’s vital
statistics. Typically, we visit your office and interview key financial
personnel. We test your firm’s numbers against similar firms using our
extensive databases of public companies, private mergers and
acquisitions, and our Valuation Survey. The limited valuation is
similar to the fairness opinion, but our report is longer — 15 to 20
pages — and more comprehensive as it also includes more specific
details about how we chose the formulas we did and how we arrived at
our results.
Full valuation
This is a comprehensive
analysis to determine your firm’s fair-market value. It typically
includes a visit to your offices, where we begin our review of your
financial reports, organization data, human resources material, and
other internal documents. We also interview key financial personnel. As
in the limited valuation, we analyze your firm’s financial statistics
using our various databases of firm values, and we compare your firm
against similar firms. In a full valuation, we produce a comprehensive
report of up to 50 pages that provides you with the “who, what, when,
where, why, and how” of your firm’s fair-market value. We then review
our findings with you to ensure the accuracy of the approach and of the
assumptions we have made. Our full valuations satisfy requirements for
ESOPs, for IRS estate and gift tax purposes, and for certain court
requirements.
Valuation formula design
What’s the best
formula for your firm to use in valuing your stock internally?
ZweigWhite helps you establish a balanced valuation formula that
reflects the unique goals of the owners and the company. Typically, it
is some combination of factors, including revenues, profits, and book
value. The formula should enable exiting owners to receive a fair price
for their investment, and allow new shareholders to buy stock at a
reasonable price without hurting the company’s finances or ability to
grow. We deliver this information in a brief report, then discuss the
contents with you.
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