Multiples
Valuation from comparable transactions and listed peers. The multiple depends on sector, size, growth, margin and dependencies — not on a table found online.
- ›Choose the peer group carefully
- ›Apply a size discount
- ›Document adjustments
M&A
Company valuation
The multiple is half the answer. What actually reaches your account is decided by the bridge from enterprise value to purchase price.
Valuation is not a calculation result but a reasoned range. We derive it from comparable transactions, cross-check it with a DCF and state openly which assumptions carry the range.
The quality of the basis is decisive. An adjusted EBITDA that does not survive due diligence is no basis for negotiation. So we document every adjustment the way a buyer will later test it.
Then comes the bridge: net debt, working capital target, pension obligations, non-operating assets. These items often move the amount more than a decimal on the multiple.
Makes sense when
- a sale or acquisition is being considered
- shares are being transferred
- succession is being prepared
- a financing round is coming up
Key facts
- Methods
- Multiples, DCF, asset based
- Basis
- adjusted EBITDA
- Output
- reasoned range
- First indication
- free in the first call
Methods
How we calculate
DCF
Discounted cash flows as a cross-check. Useful with predictable cash flows and where investment cycles drive value. Stands or falls with planning quality.
- ›Sanity-check the plan
- ›Justify the cost of capital
- ›Challenge the terminal value
Price bridge
From enterprise value to equity value: financial debt, cash, working capital deviation, pensions, special items. This is where late surprises appear.
- ›Define net debt
- ›Set the working capital target
- ›Isolate special items
Value drivers
What really lifts the multiple: independence from the owner, recurring revenue, a broad client base, documented processes and a second management tier.
- ›Reduce owner dependency
- ›Grow recurring revenue
- ›Lower client concentration
Process
From numbers to a range
- Schritt 01
Data
Annual accounts, management figures, plan, shareholder structure.
- Schritt 02
Adjustments
One-offs, owner salaries, non-operating assets.
- Schritt 03
Valuation
Multiples from comparable deals, DCF as a cross-check.
- Schritt 04
Bridge
Reconciliation from enterprise value to equity value.
- Schritt 05
Discussion
Range, assumptions and levers — and what can be improved in twelve months.
From live mandates
Two honest notes
Rules of thumb are a starting point
Rough multiples give quick orientation. A negotiating basis only emerges with verified numbers and a real peer group.
The market pays for certainty
Two businesses with the same EBITDA can differ markedly in multiple — depending on how robust earnings are after a change of ownership.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Assess the value of your business
We give a first indication in conversation and show which levers move value before a sale.