A closely held firm is not a smaller version of a large public firm, anymore than a child is a miniature adult. While realizing that like large corporations, value comes from a business's ability to generate future cash flows, Long and Bryant emphasize the differences between the two. The primary question is does a separate entity exist or is the business just an extension of its principal owner or manager? If yes, how does this business vary from a large publicly traded firm with market and not management control?
This book gets to the fundamental differences between the two and the adjustments made to correctly value. It avoids the traditional multiples of earnings or multiple of sales and other cookie-cutter approaches, to focus on the basic ability to create value. The book also avoids specifics in tax laws as they change and vary between countries. While providing a conceptual process, Valuing the Closely Held Firm provides numerous examples to lead the reader to understand the concepts.
Foreword 1: Why Bother Valuing a Private Business? 2: Is It a Business - or Just a Pile of Assets? Special Questions and Adjustment in the Valuation of Closely Held Firms 3: Valuation When a Firm Is NOT a Going Concern 4: Valuation of a Going Concern 5: Growth Options and Valuation 6: Inflation and Valuation Measurement 7: Calculating the Discount Rate for Closely Held Firms 8: Planning to Buy? Considerations from the Other Side of the Sale 9: The Exit Strategy 10: What We Know; Where to Go Next Afterword Appendices A1. Glossary of Key Terms A2. Useful Publications and Websites A3. Annotated Bibliography A4. How the IRS sees valuation of private firms A5. Worksheets A5i Likely buyers A5ii Valuation scenarios A5iii Valuation worksheet Index