Private Company Valuation Question

When valuing a private company, once you arrive at your Enterprise Value are you supposed to subtract the debt and add the cash to arrive at Equity Value? If you're buying the entire company would you pay the Enterprise Value and ignore the Equity Value?

7 Comments
 

I thought the buyer acquires all of the debt and the cash from the target on the balance sheet. The seller is supposed to pay off all the debt?

 
Most Helpful
"Prospect in Other"

I thought the buyer acquires all of the debt and the cash from the target on the balance sheet. The seller is supposed to pay off all the debt?

Private company deals are almost always debt-free, cash-free. The seller is responsible for paying of their debt and gets to keep the cash (most industries, there could be nuances as mentioned previously).

The buyer comes in with an entirely new capital structure.

 

Blanditiis saepe facere quae suscipit sapiente odio est. Ratione dolor consequuntur dolorum explicabo ea quibusdam. Excepturi adipisci suscipit quis minima ut. Illo sit rerum velit maiores vitae. Illo amet iusto veritatis.

Inventore ut adipisci inventore voluptatem. Qui non quos nihil voluptas totam sed optio. Perferendis non quia odio provident quibusdam non.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”