INDEPENDENT VALUATION AND APPRAISAL

INDEPENDENT VALUATION AND APPRAISAL

Client needs

  • Obtain an independent valuation of a company, business division or asset
  • Obtain an independent opinion concerning the fairness of a transaction
  • Clarify the situation for the board of directors, shareholders or any stakeholder

Our strengths

  • Acknowledged expertise
  • Our independence
  • A team of experienced professionals who are highly skilled in all areas of financial appraisal (accounting, IFRSs, tax, financial modelling) and the various contexts (independent appraisals subject to the AMF's general regulation, contractual valuations, dispute-related valuations)
  • Approach tailored to the company being valued and to the valuation context, factoring in legal issues
  • Monitoring and ensuring knowledge of best practice: member of APEI (professional association recognised by the AMF), SFEV and CCEF; involvement in those bodies' working groups; and creation of in-house advisory skills centres including "Regulated financial information" and "Financial valuation"
  • Access to financial databases and reference tools: Capital IQ-S&P (market data), Epsilon (transactions involving unlisted companies), Xerfi (sector economic reports) etc.

Solutions / services

  • Valuations and fairness opinions in connection with public offers and private transactions across all sectors of activity.
    a. - Fairness opinions in connection with mergers and public offers (takeover bids, exchange offers, squeeze-outs) as required under the AMF's General Regulation,
    b. - Independent appraisals in accordance with article L.225-209-2 of the French Commercial Code where an unlisted company buys back its own shares,
    c. - Fairness opinions to value unlisted shares held by FCPE corporate mutual funds for employee share ownership plans,
    d. - Valuations of business segments or isolated assets ahead of divestments or internal restructuring,
    e. - Valuations ahead of merger deals

Approach / methodology

  • Determination of relevant valuation criteria, suited both to the company being valued and the specific context in which the transaction is taking place (context of the transaction, analysis of the ownership map and shareholder relations etc.)
  • Systematic use of multi-criteria approaches
  • Use of the main financial databases

Sample assignments

  • Fairness opinions relating to public offers (Euronext Paris)
    - Reserved capital increase by SoLlocal Group (October 2016)
    - Public offer followed by a squeeze-out by Campari for Grand Marnier (May 2016)
    - Simplified public offer by Mannai Corp. for the shares and warrants of GFI Informatique (May 2016)
    - Public offer by Fimalac to buy its own shares (April 2016)
    - Public offer by JC Decaux to buy its own shares (May 2015)
    - Public buy-out offer by Groupe Boisset for shares in Henri Maire (May 2015)
    - Simplified public offer by Ramsay Healthcare for shares in Générale de Santé (October 2014)
    - Public exchange offer by Sopra for shares in Steria (June 2014)
    - Simplified public offer by Italcementi for Ciments Français (May 2014)
    - Reserved capital increase by Groupe Gascogne (May 2014)
  • Valuations of agrifood groups in relation to disposals of minority stakes
  • Valuation of a family-owned group in relation to a tax dispute