Fairness Opinions
We cover all areas related to business and tangible and intangible asset valuations.
Fairness opinions are generally considered a direct outgrowth of the “business judgment rule,” which specifies that boards of directors and management have a fiduciary responsibility to act responsibly on behalf of shareholders.
If they do so, they are protected from liability in situations where they can argue that they exercised due care, acted in good faith and avoided conflicts of interest.
Situations in which a Fairness Opinion is valuable:
- Amalgamations as part of public/private transactions
- Corporate acquisitions and divestitures
- Leveraged buyouts
- Recapitalizations and restructurings
- Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
- Exchange offers/minority buyouts
- Transactions involving “insiders” and related parties
- Court-appointed takeovers in hostile situations
- Liquidations
- Bankruptcy reorganizations
- Dissenting shareholder disputes
A number of our valuation engagements are due to the requirement for a fairness opinion. We have extensive experience in providing fairness opinions and valuations to publicly traded companies, financial sponsors, government agencies, families and privately-held businesses, boards of directors, and special committees and fiduciaries.
We are ideally suited to provide an objective, independent fairness opinion or valuation because of the following:
- Experience in many different types of transactions, including: M&A, joint ventures, management-led buyouts, recapitalization and financial restructurings
- Expert knowledge of accepted valuation approaches
- Deep sector knowledge across a broad range of industries
- Real world confirmation from very active corporate finance and M&A practice
- Our professionals have many man-years of experience
- Strong recommendations by law firms and advisors
- We are a targeted mid-market M&A and equity advisory firm
- We are 100% privately owned by our principal
- No conflicts of interest ensures objective opinions of value
- Established fairness opinion committee and valuation practice
- Assignments subject to rigorous review
- Principal involved from start to finish
