Fledgling business valuators from colleges across the country will be competing in the fourth annual Private Business Valuation Challenge, which gets underway on April 1. The competition offers a unique opportunity for U.S. university teams of three to five students to assess the stand-alone value of an actual private company—and win cash prizes. Twenty-three valuation experts holding senior-level positions in their firms will act as judges during the preliminary and final rounds of the contest and provide valuable feedback to all participants. Twenty-five teams from 20 universities are currently registered.
Data arsenal: To prepare for the competition, participants receive free access to extensive information and databases of Business Valuation Resources, LLC (BVR), including Pratt’s Stats, Public Stats, Economic Outlook Update, BVR Desktop Learning Center, Valuation Handbook—Risk Premium Toolkit, Business Valuation Update, and others. This material explains why private and smaller public companies and other private establishments and ventures usually exhibit significantly lower multiples of value than larger public firms. The materials also demonstrate how to calculate these differences in multiples.
The case study used by the students is a recently professionally completed Moss Adams LLP valuation report (names and locations are changed for confidentiality). Student teams update the Moss Adams valuation report by one year and create video presentations for judges to view online. The teams making the best presentations are invited to present their valuations in person during the final round in Seattle on April 24-25.
The participating universities include:
Arkansas State University | Santa Clara University |
California State University —Chico |
Seattle Pacific University |
California State University —Fullerton |
University of Baltimore |
Colorado State University | University of Maryland |
Denver University | University of Maryland (University College) |
Findlay University | University of North Carolina |
Lynn University | University of Northern Iowa |
Middle Tennessee State University | University of Oregon |
Northern Michigan University | University of Southern Indiana |
Purdue University | University of Tennessee |
BVWire wishes good luck to all of the teams!