Comparable Company Analysis
The “comps” valuation method provides an observable value for the business, based on what other comparable companies are currently worth. Comps is the most widely used approach, as the multiples are easy to calculate and always current.
A common way to value a private company is by using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) or a Comparable Company Analysis (CCA), and by taking into account factors such as financial performance, growth prospects, industry dynamics, and risk factors.
In private companies, the Fair Market Value (FMV) is the accepted current value of one share of a private company's common stock. Fair Market Value is determined by independent third party appraisers. It represents what the stock would be worth on the open market.
Talk to a business broker for that type of businesses. They can probably ball park or estimate the sale price. Find out if these type of transactions have public records attached to them, then search public records. Search for press releases or news items.
The valuation of a company based on the revenue is calculated by using the company's total revenue before subtracting operating expenses and multiplying it by an industry multiple. The industry multiple is an average of what companies usually sell for in the given industry.
To find the fair market value, it is then necessary to divide that figure by the capitalization rate. Therefore, the income approach would reveal the following calculations. Projected sales are $500,000, and the capitalization rate is 25%, so the fair market value is $125,000.
The revenue multiple is the key factor in determining a company's value. To calculate the times-revenue, divide the selling price by the company's revenue from the past 12 months. This ratio reveals how much a buyer was willing to pay for the business, expressed as a multiple of annual revenue.
Total assets minus total liabilities = net worth. This is also known as "shareholders' equity" and is the same formula one would use to calculate one's own net worth.
The Revenue Multiple (times revenue) Method
A venture that earns $1 million per year in revenue, for example, could have a multiple of 2 or 3 applied to it, resulting in a $2 or $3 million valuation. Another business might earn just $500,000 per year and earn a multiple of 0.5, yielding a valuation of $250,000.
A revenue valuation, which considers the prior year's sales and revenue and any sales in the pipeline, is often determined. The Sharks use a company's profit compared to the company's valuation from revenue to come up with an earnings multiple.
EBIT multiples can range from 0.8 times FME to over 5 times, depending upon the industry, performance, and relative risk of the subject business.
Price to earnings ratio
The Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio valuation method evaluates a company's stock price in relation to the profit an investor can anticipate from it. This is often calculated using an average of share prices and earnings over the previous twelve months.
Selling a privately held business from initial idea, through planning and preparation for the sale, through the transaction and until the seller(s) are completely off-the-hook for the post-closing commitments takes between 3 to 5 years.
The 1% Rule is simply this - focus on growing your business by 1% every day, and compounded, means your business gets 3,800% better each year. Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director of British Cycling, revolutionized cycling using this theory.
A less sophisticated but still popular way to determine a company's potential value quickly is to multiply the current sales or revenue of a company by a multiple "score." For example, a company with $200K in annual sales and a multiple of 5 would be worth $1 million.
Companies with under $3m in sales will typically sell for 2.5 – 3.5 X their discretionary earnings (total cash the owner could take out of the company). Smaller companies that are even more owner-reliant will even be lower than that.
In business, a unicorn is a startup company valued at over US$1 billion which is privately owned and not listed on a share market.
The times-revenue method determines the maximum value of a company as a multiple of its revenue for a set period of time. The multiple varies by industry and other factors but is typically one or two. In some industries, the multiple might be less than one.
Using findings from a private company's closest public competitors, you would determine its value by using the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), also known as enterprise value multiple.
The three most common investment valuation techniques are DCF analysis, comparable company analysis, and precedent transactions.