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Valuations
Services
If you are an engineering and consulting ("e/c") firm, and you
have need for a valuation - for any reason - we hope you'll take
advantage of our valuation services.
CREDENTIALS:
We, at EFCG,
believe ourselves to be the premier specialty
valuation/appraisal firm in the U.S. for environmental,
infrastructure, transportation and water and wastewater e/c
firms.
The confidence
in our strength lies in our understanding of the financial and
qualitative components of the e/c business and industry. Our
specialty is to work with a management team or an independent
board of shareholders, or trustees, to develop an approach to
valuation which makes sense, given the objectives to be
achieved, and to provide such valuation services over time.
We
are currently performing yearly (or quarterly) valuations for
approximately twenty firms. In addition, we have performed ad
hoc valuation services for some 100 other e/c firms. We would be
glad to provide you with references from any of these firms.
USES OF VALUATIONS:
Internal Ownership Transfer Processes: Some firms
establish their internal stock transfer values at book value;
some use a formula value (such as a multiple of book, or book
value plus some earnings' factors). There is no right or wrong
way (e.g. Book Value may undervalue your investment, while a
formula value by its nature is totally rigid, as one-time
aberrations may create temporary and unintendedly high or low
values). Consequently, for establishing periodic internal
transfer valuation, independent valuation by a knowledgeable
valuation expert as ourselves, may be your best option.
Furthermore, we can help you to better understand your capital
flow needs, how valuation can impact those needs, and help you
design an approach to valuation that is consistent with your
longer term needs and objectives, and we can provide the
valuations on a reliable basis going forward.
ESOP Valuation:
If you are currently utilizing an ESOP ("Employee Stock
Ownership Plan"), or if you are considering the use of an ESOP,
you will need to have an independent valuation. We provide such
valuations. While, technically, any ESOP appraiser can provide
ESOP valuations, we believe that an appraiser specializing in
the e/c business can provide a far more reliable valuation, and
one that is more consistent with achieving your objectives than
an appraiser who may "specialize" in "ESOP" valuations, but not
the e/c industry. It is our view that one cannot value a
personal services or e/c business using the same metrics as for
a manufacturing, technology or retailing business.
Phantom Stock/Stock Appreciation Rights (SAR's)/Stock Options
and Other Incentive Plans: If you are currently
using, or are thinking of using, a stock derivative instrument
(such as Phantom Stock, SAR, Stock Options, etc.) to incentivize
your employees, you are probably going to need a third-party,
objective, periodic valuation of your firm. We are currently
working with a number of e/c firms to provide such valuations.
M&A
Valuations: If you have ever wondered what your
firm would "sell for" in a "merger" or "acquisition" context, we
believe no appraiser can provide you a better, more realistic
understanding than we can of what you are "worth" - or what
steps you might take to enhance that worth. We believe we are
the most experienced M&A expert with respect to the e/c
industry. We've been involved with over fifty M&A transactions
in this field. We can help you better understand what your "M&A"
value is in today's marketplace - and how to improve it. We can
also help you realize that value, if that is your objective.
Having an annual evaluation of that potential might not be a bad
idea -- as well as knowing how to improve it - in order to
someday realize that full value.
Public Market Valuations: At some point, some of
you may wish to take advantage of the public equity markets.
Knowing what your valuation might be in that context could,
therefore, be helpful in better understanding that option. To
some extent, you might want to take such valuation into
consideration in establishing periodic internal valuation -
probably, however, taking into consideration certain appropriate
discounts for the additional cost of being public and/or the
relative lack of liquidity to which you, as a private firm,
might be subject.
Third Party Valuations - for Arbitration, Mediation or
Independent Viewpoints: When a divestiture, split
up, or merger occurs, it may be helpful to have a knowledgeable,
experienced and independent third party help establish the
respective values of the entities.
"Fair-Market Value" Confirmations: Boards of
Directors or trustees frequently want to be sure that the
valuations being used -- whether they are based on a simple or
complex formula, or any single or set of financial parameters --
reflect true "fair market value" ("FMV"). With our knowledge of
and experience in mergers and acquisitions in the e/c arena, our
on-going periodic analysis of the public company e/c firms, and
our valuation work for so many e/c firms, we feel we are in a
uniquely strong position to provide such assurance to
fiduciarily-sensitive entities.
Estate Tax Appraisals: Frequently, third party
valuations are required, or can be helpful to substantiate tax
valuation. We generally believe that when a significant
principal's estate needs to be valued, such valuation should
take into consideration the potentially severe negative impact
that such person's termination or demise might have, with
respect to the value of such entity. In fact, book value, as
conservative as that might frequently be, may well not represent
a real "floor" in valuation, since if liquidation were ever
required in such circumstances, the likelihood of realizing full
book value could well be significantly compromised.
Benchmarking: An annual or periodic valuation may
well be a helpful exercise for evaluating management's
performance. This can be even more effective when combined with
a periodic "Peer Analysis", wherein we compare your firm's
performance along roughly a hundred financial metrics, with
thirty or forty of your most comparable peer firms. |
