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Valuing a Technology Company (USA)

Focus on the different techniques that can be deployed in assessing technology companies

Valuing a Technology Company – USA Online Training Course

A one-day course

  • Delivered online to maximise use of time
  • Flexible in terms of delivery
  • Understanding the Tech niche and the appropriate valuation technique
  • Identifying the key performance indicators
  • Evaluating the new metrics of Tech valuation
  • Practical examples of real Tech company valuations
  • Tech valuation examples from start-up to large companies

  • Gain a thorough review of the practical valuation of technology businesses.
  • Have copious use of practical examples throughout the course to illustrate the valuation techniques and problems.

Defining the Problems

  • Differences between traditional corporate valuation and technology valuation
  • Handling data problems that emerge with early-stage technology companies
  • Summary review of valuation techniques and applications to technology start-up businesses
    • Dividend based models
    • Main drivers of valuation; growth, risk and reinvestment rates
    • DCF model approaches
    • Cost of capital and risk discount rates
    • Cost to replicate models
    • Contributory asset charge calculations
    • Relief from royalty rates method
    • Multiples and benchmarking
    • Venture capital methods
  • Valuing early-stage development businesses and projects
  • A life cycle view of start-up companies
    • Start-up companies in context
    • Lifecycles and corporate cashflows
  • Characteristics of start-up technology companies and sectors
  • The key challenges with technology start-up companies
    • Visibility – a key valuation challenge
    • Understanding the technology and applications
    • Market growth and penetration rates
    • Which benchmarks to use for future performance
    • Likelihood of success
  • Case study example of early-stage technology valuation

Valuing start-up technology companies

  • Valuation issues – Intrinsic Value and using DCF
    • How to value existing assets in a start-up
    • Cash burn and the effect on existing assets
    • Estimating cashflows and expenditure patterns
    • Evaluating the expected growth rate
    • Estimating the market size and rate of maturity development
    • Assessing the competitive response
    • Combining growth rate with investment intensity and return on investment
    • The future of the business – high growth and growth phases
    • Applying the appropriate discount rate and varying the rate over time
    • Adjusting risk for small fast-growing businesses
    • Discount rates for pure equity-financed businesses
    • Evaluating the stable growth stage and calculating the terminal value
    • Inherent problems of using the DCF model to value technology companies
    • Assessing the likelihood of potential failure and adjusting the valuation figure
  • Case study example of using the DCF approach for technology valuation
  • Valuation issues – Relative Valuation
    • Problems with start-up multiple analysis
    • Pitfalls in using multiple approach for technology companies
    • Importance of using EBITDA if possible
    • Using revenue multiples
    • Examining the broad range of possible comparisons
    • Using statistical analysis to improve the multiple comparisons
    • Determining the starting point – revenue multiples vs profitability multiples vs other multiples
    • Which year? – Determining stability for multiple calculation and techniques for “normalising” multiples vs the sector

Valuation issues for a SaaS type business

  • Key valuation drivers
    • Financials
    • Customer acquisition
    • Operations
    • Niche
    • Customer base
  • SaaS metrics
    • Churn rate
      • Customer segment and monthly average churn rate
    • Customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (CLTV)
    • Monthly revenue rate (MRR) and annual recurring revenue (ARR)
    • Magic number!
  • Customer acquisition channels
  • Product lifecycle
  • Case study example of valuing a SaaS type business

Using the Real Options Approach

  • The problems inherent in using the NPV/DCF approach to valuation
  • Defining real options – patent rights, expansion option, abandonment option
  • Why real options are more applicable to technology companies
  • Basics of real option valuation using binomial trees and a lattice approach
  • Financial option pricing (Black Scholes) and the link to real options
  • Management options and the value of strategic flexibility
  • Using real options approach to improve the understanding of technology valuations
  • Case study example of using the real options approach to value a technology start-up business

Structuring an exit

  • Governance/shareholders agreements in minority and majority acquisition
    • Protecting VC’s investment
    • Exert influence to drive growth
    • Execute restructuring
    • Exits
      • Trade sale, M&A, secondary purchase, repurchase, earn-outs
    • Majority versus minority rights
    • Stress testing the assumptions
      • Haircuts to liquid market
      • Size of the market – possible restrictions on achieving exit
      • Controlling/veto/blocking powers for restructure
      • Potential for restructure and impact to valuation
      • Liquidity impact on the fund
      • Covenants/ lock ups/ gates/ redemptions
      • Liquidation preference
        • Multiples or accruing dividends
        • Non-participating, capped or uncapped
        • Anti-dilution protection
          • full ratchet and weighted average provisions

Case study: achieving a successful exit

The valuing a technology company webinar trainer is the Managing Director of an international advisory company specialising in advisory and development services to the corporate, banking and finance industry, which he has owned for the past 17 years. He is an experienced corporate finance professional with practical experience and extensive knowledge of corporate and structured finance in global financial markets.

He is a Visiting Fellow in the M&A department and Programme Director at Executive Development, Sir John Cass Business School, London, a member of the Visiting Faculty at Fuqua Business School and has previously worked as an advisor to the Overseas Development Administration in the UK, as well as EU PHARE and TACIS programmes throughout Europe and Russia.

The trainer’s main areas of expertise are corporate finance, M&A, corporate analysis and structured finance, asset securitization, risk management, valuation, corporate credit processes, project finance and treasury management. He currently works with many global corporate and banking clients in these areas and he also acts as Expert Witness for London law firms in respect of his areas of expertise.

The list of global clients is extensive and covers both European, Middle East, African and Asian markets. In the corporate market he works extensively with large corporate clients, private equity firms, private investors as well as public sector companies such as the NHS and major law firms. He provides advisory and development services to these organisations, either through the relevant departments or directly to the senior line management.

He is also a well-known figure within the various training and development companies within Europe and regularly gives seminars throughout the world on his specialist topic areas and is a recognized expert in this area by many organisations.

He was previously the Managing Director of a subsidiary of Union Plc, a London merchant bank having previously worked with several high profile global investment banks. He left Union Plc in 1996 to form his own international advisory Company.

The list of financial institutions and corporates with whom he has worked over recent years is extensive and includes: Allied Irish Bank, Alpha Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of China, Barclays, Bayern LB, BT plc, Citibank, China Construction Bank, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Danone, DECC, Deloitte, Dexia, Emirates Bank, E&Y, Euler Hermes, First Gulf Bank, FSA London, Garanti Bank, HBOS, Hohhot Bank Mongolia, HSBC, HVB, Iccrea Banca, Intesa SanPaolo, Central Bank of Ireland, KPMG, L’Oreal, Malta FSA, Mongolian Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley, Mubabdala, NHS and many others.

The valuing a technology company webinar is an online programme delivered using Zoom over two days but can also be delivered in modules over a longer period if required. The two-day programme has been designed to give a thorough review of the practical valuation of early-stage/start-up and later-stage technology businesses.  There will be copious use of practical examples throughout the day to illustrate the valuation techniques and problems.

Delegates will use Excel to utilise the various model approaches. 

  • Very strong case studies and interesting debates inspired by the instructor.
  • Very strong methodologies
  • The instructor was very good. Very clear and clearly has a lot knowledge
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