What should a potential buyer be willing to pay for the business?
Closely-held companies typically have no established market to set a value on the company. Determining the value in a closely-held business can be important for tax, business and personal reasons. Simmons & White performs a detailed analysis employing tested valuation strategies to deliver an accurate valuation report. Our valuations are used for various business purposes such as:

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Sales
Buyers and sellers need an independent, realistic valuation. Buyers don’t want to pay more than the business is worth, while sellers want to ensure the value matches the price paid. An independent valuation ensures a fair transaction price.
Financial Statements
Due to the elimination of pooling accounting and changes for intangible asset amortization, properly allocating intangible assets after an acquisition is often a challenge. New accounting standards require special allocation techniques. Simmons & White can determine the market value of these intangible assets and work with your accounting firm or department to ensure proper allocation.
Estate and gift taxes
Incorrect valuations of closely-held business interests expose an estate to IRS challenges and penalties as well as disputes among the heirs. Simmons & White can help avoid these challenges to estate planning, gifting, and settlement with an independent valuation.
Income taxes
Determining the fair market value of stock in a closely-held business may be necessary to accurately assess tax liability and avoid tax penalties. Charitable contributions, S corporation elections, purchase price allocations, stock or option compensation are just some of the reasons for tax-related valuations.