Enterprise Value formula vs. Enterprise Value from DCF?

This might be a really basic question.

But I was just wondering: the formula for Enterprise Value as we all know it is debt + equity + MI - cash - Inv in Unconsolidated Entities.

However, what is the difference between the enterprise value calculated using this formula vs. enterprise value that you calculate from DCF (i.e. a function of your free cash flow, wacc, proportion of debt & equity, cost of debt & equity, beta, etc.)

Is it just a difference in the calculation method because they may yield completely different results as the EV from DCF is usually heavily weighted on the TV which is based on your forecast and assumptions?

Thanks

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Think of it this way.

1) Your first formula, simply put as: Market Cap (Equity) + Net Debt +MI = EV. This is your Market Based EV. This is what your company is worth in the public markets.

2) DCF EV. You can call this the "Intrinsic EV". This is a valuation of the company based on a bottoms up analysis. The DCF EV varies wildly because it is dependent on who the investor is. For example an investor who is more bullish on the market demand of the target company would result in a higher DCF vs. the investor who is bearish on the market demand.

Finally, to answer your question, you can view the difference between the two approaches as market value vs. intrinsic value. If your DCF EV > Market EV, then an investor could reason that the asset is undervalued by the market and therefore this could be an opportunity to pick up the asset for cheaper than it is worth. Vice-versa, if the DCV EV Market EV, then the investor may view the asset as being overvalued and may not go through with the investment

Hope this helps.

 

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