A range, the methods behind it,
and the inputs that move it most.
Football field chart
Note: Illustrative only. Does not represent actual valuation evidence, fairness opinion, or financial advice.
The average of the five valuation range midpoints is US$150 million. All values are illustrative.
| Method | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| EV/EBITDA Trading Comps | 80 | 160 |
| EV/LTM EBITDA Transaction Comps | 100 | 180 |
| DCF | 75 | 190 |
| DCF with Synergies | 90 | 250 |
| LBO | 100 | 275 |
Most disagreements about valuation are really disagreements about method. Each answers a different question, and using the wrong one produces a number that is indefensible rather than merely wrong.
| Method | What it asks | Best for | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Comps | What does the public market pay today for businesses like this? | Profitable businesses with genuine listed peers. The market-anchored baseline | A minority basis, so no control premium. Peer sets are rarely as comparable as they look, and the output moves with sentiment rather than with the business |
| Transaction Comps | What have acquirers actually paid for control of businesses like this? | Sale processes, where control is what is being bought | Private mid-market data is thin and stale. Announced multiples routinely exclude earn-outs and the buyer's own synergies, so headline figures flatter |
| Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) | What is the present value of the cash this business will generate? | Established businesses with forecastable cash flows, and any debt-backed case | Terminal value is typically 60–80% of the answer, so the result is really a view on two assumptions. Near-useless pre-revenue |
| DCF with Synergies | What is this worth to one specific buyer, including what they can take out? | Strategic buyers, and knowing your own ceiling before you negotiate | Synergies belong to the buyer, and asking to be paid for all of them rarely survives contact. Cost synergies are credible; revenue synergies usually are not |
| LBO | What can a financial sponsor pay and still hit their return hurdle? | Sponsor processes, and as a floor test in any competitive situation | It is an affordability calculation, not a valuation. The answer moves with leverage availability and hold period rather than with the business |
| Sum of the Parts (SOTP) | What is each segment worth, valued on its own terms? | Multi-segment businesses where the parts genuinely deserve different multiples | Requires clean segment financials, which most private companies do not have. Corporate overhead allocation quietly drives the answer |
| VC Method | What must this be worth at exit for the investor to hit their target return? | Pre-revenue and early-stage, where every other method fails | Reverse-engineers from a required return, so it describes investor arithmetic rather than intrinsic value. Driven entirely by the exit assumption |
Not the number in the deck — the number below which you walk. Founders who have not done the work negotiate against the investor's model rather than their own.
An unsolicited offer is not a valuation.
It is an opening position, and answering it without independent work is how good businesses get bought cheaply.
A target's asking price and its defensible value are different numbers, and the gap between them is your negotiating room.
A departing founder, a buy-out, an option scheme, or a transfer that needs a defensible basis rather than a handshake.
Frequently for an impairment review, a fundraise, or a strategic options paper.
Knowing what drives your multiple and business worth gives you time to change it.
A valuation for a negotiation, a shareholder transfer and a board paper have different standards of proof.
Historical financials normalized for one-offs, adjustments, and other items that might be challenged.
Usually three methods, occasionally four. Comparables researched
against stated criteria.
The variables that drive value, quantified. The result is a defensible range with clear reasoning.
A document written to survive scrutiny, and a session so you can defend it yourself.
Priced as a project fee, driven by:
30+ cross-border M&A transactions and financings with $700M+ in total aggregate value.
Advised on 30+ cross-border M&A transactions and private financings representing $700M+ in aggregate value across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Valuation informed by real negotiations and investment decisions.
Revenue, margins CAPEX, working capital, and terminal assumptions are explicit and stress-tested.
Forecasts are built from operating drivers, not reverse-engineered to reach a target value. Revenue, margins, reinvestment, working capital, and terminal assumptions are explicit and stress-tested.
Selected based on business model, growth, margins, geography, and transaction relevance.
Public trading multiples and precedent transactions are selected based on business model, growth, margins, geography, and transaction relevance—not simply because they sit in the same industry.
Fundraising, M&A, LBO, shareholder discussions, debt financing, or strategic planning.
Fundraising, M&A, LBO, shareholder discussions, debt financing, or strategic planning. The methodology and output are designed around the decision you need to make—not simply to produce a valuation number.
Practical guides to building reliable models, business valuation, and understanding the numbers behind your business.
