When buy-sell agreements fall short

Shareholders and partners enter into buy-sell agreements for reasons as varied as the types of businesses they operate. Some hope to avert costly lawsuits if shareholder/partner relations sour — others want to provide assurance heirs will receive a fair price in case of death. This article looks at how buy-sell agreements commonly fail, and what steps to take to ensure they succeed.

Evaluating risk to value a business

Financial risk is one of the key drivers of any company’s value. Unfortunately, public market analysts don’t provide credit ratings for private companies. This leaves it up to the valuator to evaluate a business’s risk factors and incorporate them into the valuation methodology. This article discusses what valuators need to analyze to get a clear picture of a company’s financial risk.

Subsequent events: Handle with care

As a rule, valuators consider only that information known at the valuation date. But sometimes that rule needs to be broken. This article explains when valuators should consider using subsequent events in their analyses. In addition, it examines a recent case to illustrate the use of subsequent events in a valuation.

50% interests pose a valuation quandary

This brief article looks at how valuators decide whether to apply control premiums or minority interest discounts when valuing 50% ownership interests. A valuator needs to consider several variables, including the valuation circumstances, the remaining share distribution and any existing shareholder agreements.