What determines a company's stock price? Placing a value on companies is a key tool for M&A analysis. This module will present the main techniques available to estimate a company's value, including multiples-based and cash flow-based valuation methods. These valuation tools will be presented using the most up-to-date Finance theory, and real-world examples.

Valuation analysis is a major part of the work that investment banks do when advising companies involved in M&A deals. This module will dive deeper into using comparable precedent M&A transactions to establish another perspective on a company’s expected valuation in an M&A context. The similarities and differences between comparable public companies analysis and transactions comparables analysis will be presented, as well as how to correctly calculate transaction valuation statistics. Lastly, we will take what we have learned about public company and transaction comparables to begin to develop a valuation summary for an existing public company.

This module will present how to build a discounted cash flow analysis, a fundamental valuation technique, as well as the concepts of financial forecasting, free cash flow, weighted average cost of capital, terminal value and present value.

Make sure you know how to get your Course Certificate, and find out more about Gies Online Programs.