Valuation Services
Bates Group’s experienced team of valuation experts, which includes experts and consultants carrying the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations, can help price any asset. Our deep knowledge of valuation methodologies and the nuances that affect market prices equips Bates Group’s consultants and experts to handle a wide range of valuation requests. Our leading experts in this field are often called upon to provide estimates as to the correct valuation approach in many different types of legal proceedings. We can offer perspectives provided by individuals with high levels of both academic and practitioner experience in this area.
Our valuation team has handled cases involving privately and publicly held companies, internal business segments, real estate, agricultural land, securities and other financial instruments, mortgages, and other unique assets. Having worked on valuation projects in a variety of settings, we are very familiar with the differences between public and private valuation, including the application of both liquidity and control premiums or discounts required in private and minority interest circumstances. We have advised clients on the required cost of capital and undertaken valuation projects using a multiples-based approach, discounted cash flow, and precedent transactions. In many situations we have used a matrix approach, blending the results produced by several methodologies, in order to produce a synthesized price or valuation.
From a privately held winery to a single product line at a public perfume company, we have undertaken a wide range of valuation projects. Some examples include:
- Determined the value of a registered investment advisor, on behalf of the partners, in determining the interest of a departing partner;
- Valuation of a company holding about $60 million in buildings, property, and other real estate in New York City in connection with the acquisition of a dissenting shareholders’ interests at fair value; and
- Valuation of a large petrochemical plant in connection with a post-acquisition dispute.
- Analysis of a valuation of a privately- held, family-owned textile distribution company, identifying specific methodological issues, including the fact that the model indicated value correlated inversely to growth;
- Involved in litigation regarding valuation of credit default swaps held by a large financial products services company, focusing on the appropriate value of derivative and swap products held in the firm’s available-for-sale portfolio at various key dates, and how those values affected the solvency of both the financial services firm and its parent company; and
- Provided rebuttal testimony on the value of a gas fractionation plant presented by owner in the form of a discounted future earnings model. Discussed model methodologies and appropriate techniques for reasonably estimating risk-adjusted discount rates.
As these examples show, knowing how to identify and value the unique risks of a business, segment, portfolio or asset takes experience, and we approach each valuation with the same dedication to providing accurate analysis, reporting, and support that Bates provides company-wide. Valuation is about the connection between risk and reward, and understanding how to interpret that relationship into a single number. Each case starts out as a complex problem, and ends in a simple answer. Let our experience navigate the difficult terrain between those two points for you.