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Entries by Joe Orlando
A Difference of Opinions: Closely-Held vs. Venture-Backed Companies- Part 2 of 2
In Part 1 of 2 of this blog, I spoke about my transition from valuing venture-backed technology startups to valuing owner-operated small to middle-market businesses with $2 million to $50 million in revenue. As part of that discussion, I set the stage for three differences in how these types of businesses are valued, specifically differences […]
A Difference of Opinions: Closely-Held vs. Venture-Backed Companies- Part 1 of 2
In my transition from leading a valuation practice at an accounting firm to an M&A advisory firm, quickly realized significant differences between valuing venture-backed technology startups to valuing owner-operated small to middle-market businesses with between $2 million to $50 million in revenue. Over the last four years, I’ve concluded that there is a distinct and […]
Spring Break 2022
We all remember the question; what did you do on your spring break? Whether it was the title of a paper you needed to write for 11th grade English class or the topic of discussion at the pub in late April of your senior year of college, it’s a great question whose answer can be […]
Understanding Discount Rates – Parts 1 through 5
The Risk Free Rate – Part 1 of 5 One of the most important inputs surrounding the valuation of the business is the discount rate that is used in the analysis. This discount rate is the expected rate of return on the subject interest which in most cases is the equity in the value of […]
Understanding Discount Rates: The Cost of Debt and the Debt to Capital Ratio – Part 5 of 5
The first four parts of this five-part blog have dealt solely with the components of the buildup approach and the determination of a cost of equity. However, when determining a discount rate, it is important not to forget the ability to access debt. Each of the preceding parts of this discussion focuses on the cost […]
Understanding Discount Rates The Company Specific Risk Premium – Part 4 of 5
Up until now, our discussion of the discount rate as “one of the most important inputs surrounding the valuation of the business” has focused on overall market data that arrives at the basis of risk associated with the cost of equity for a privately held company. We’ve begun with a risk-free rate and added risk […]
Understanding Discount Rates The Size Premium – Part 3 of 5
So far, in our educational discussion of the discount rate as “one of the most important inputs surrounding the valuation of the business”, we introduced the first two inputs of the build-up approach. Added together, these two inputs equal the expected market return of equity. However, because the equity risk premium looks at the overall […]
How a Discount for Lack of Marketability (DLOM) is Determined
In a prior chapter of my professional career, I focused on equity security valuations for tax and financial reporting purposes. I led a team of valuation experts who determined the strike price of options granted to employees of up-and-coming technology companies on their way to IPO. For most, that strike price represents the basis (or […]
Understanding Discount Rates The Equity Risk Premium – Part 2 of 5
Our prior post and educational discussion of the discount rate as “one of the most important inputs surrounding the valuation of the business” introduced the first input of the build-up approach, the risk-free rate. The second key input is the equity risk premium. In our reports, we define this input as “The ERP represents the […]
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