I often have people referred to me say,
"I want to get my business valued. What will it
cost?"
That's a fair question. To which I usually respond with
three more.
Why do you need a valuation?
The client responses could range from:
- "I want to transfer shares to a
trust for my kids."
- "One of my partners wants to
retire and we want to buy him out at a fair price."
- "I don't get along with my
uncle anymore. He is hurting the business and I want to buy him
out. My lawyer tells me this will likely go to Court."
- "We are buying a business and
there will be outside funding. The lender has told us we will need
a Comprehensive Valuation Report."
These four situations are very different. In the first case,
there may not be any transfer of wealth from the family group, but
there will be for tax purposes. In the second case, it may be a
friendly transaction, with no minority discount for a
non-controlling interest. In the third scenario,
