Valuation: Avoiding the Winner's Curse - Hardcover

Ferris, Kenneth R.; Petitt, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 013034804X ISBN 13: 9780130348043

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2002

Synopsis

In Valuation: Avoiding the Winner's Curse, authors Kenneth R. Ferris and Barbara S. Pecherot Petitt will help you master both the science and the art of M&A valuation. Concise, realistic, and easy to use, it brings together the field's best "rules of thumb," compares every leading traditional and alternative approach, presents examples and case studies from many industries, and offers practical solutions for today's key accounting, reporting, and tax-related challenges.

About this title

About the Author

KENNETH R. FERRIS is Distinguished Professor of World Business at Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management. The author/co-author of ten books, he has served on the faculties of Ohio State University, Northwestern, SMU, and numerous institutions of higher learning throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He has served as director of five corporations, including three listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He currently serves as mergers and acquisitions consultant to small businesses in the southwest US.

BARBARA S. PÉCHEROT PETITT is Assistant Professor of Finance at Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management. She specializes in corporate finance, valuation, mergers, and acquisitions. Prior to joining Thunderbird, she spent two years with Financial Services Management Development Limited as a consultant, and worked for several banks and companies in London and abroad. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Grenoble, France.

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Preface

Valuation is the essence of finance. It asks the question, "What is the 'fair' price to pay for an asset that has a set of uncertain future cash flows?" In the past, the answer to this question was provided by time-tested methods. In recent years, however, new approaches have emerged as practitioners have sought improved ways to assess value. New approaches have also evolved in response to the development of the "new economy" and the many e-commerce companies that were privatized without a history of either earnings or cash flows.

With the backdrop of a rapidly changing valuation environment, this book presents a practitioner-oriented view of the fundamentals of firm valuation. The focus is on valuation for acquisition purposes. In large measure, an acquisition is viewed herein as equivalent to the purchase of any productive asset, namely, as a capital budgeting exercise. Furthermore, valuation is considered to be an art, not a science. Consequently, the reader will find that there are many "rules of thumb" but few inviolable principles to guide them.

The metrics used for valuing companies are not well defined, varying often according to the objectives of the valuation and often with the companies themselves. Consequently, executives and equity analysts face many choices and dilemmas as they try to assess value. Throughout this book, practical solutions are suggested for dealing with these dilemmas and for helping the reader make informed choices. The methods discussed are principally for use in nonfinancial companies; the topic of valuing financial companies is beyond the scope of this book.

To use this book effectively, the reader will need an understanding of the fundamentals of accounting and finance. Furthermore, a background in spreadsheet software, such as EXCEL, is also beneficial.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 013034804X
• ISBN 13: 9780130348043
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 225