I disagree. Debt capacity depends on cash flows, not on equity. That's why you can infer a share price - you look at the cash flows of the business and decide how much/what type of debt you can put in the company, then see what the maximum price you can pay is given those assumptions. Obviously there are other assumptions too such as earnings growth, net working capital and exit multiple that all affect your maximum price.

 
Best Response

Just some thoughts. The LBO model allows you to assess the maximum price you can pay in order to achieve the minimum IRR which your PE firm requires e.g. 20%. Based on your valuation, you should obtain a range of fair values for the company.

Just to write some numbers for illustration. Assuming that the company share price is trading at $20/share.

Based on your LBO model,

if the maximum price you can pay is $15 to achieve IRR of 20% -> Do not buy the company if the maximum price you can pay is $21 to achieve IRR of 20% -> The price you can pay is $20 to $21 if the maximum price you can pay is $23 to achieve IRR of 20% -> The price you can pay is $20 to $23

Do let me know if it answers your question

 

The share price is an input to the lbo model, you have to model in an assumption for the price you pay to buy out current equity holders (whether public or private) in order to calculate IRR.

If you are a PE firm, you are asking yourself how much am I willing to pay for the business (Enterprise value) and then from that you determine what you'd be paying to the current equity owners. If it's public you'd be looking at what share price that analysis implies.

If you are doing an LBO analysis for the purposes of valuing a company, you would think the same way as the PE firms - you would calculate the EV and thus equity value that would allow a sponsor to earn an acceptable return.

 

Odit odio tenetur et soluta consectetur. Reprehenderit placeat dolor tempora accusantium possimus officiis dolor omnis.

Dolore cum est exercitationem esse. Autem quas velit architecto nesciunt. Delectus odio sint ipsa eos et quis omnis. Laboriosam ut aut non vitae qui deleniti eum labore. Qui ut velit accusantium dolor sint nobis error et. Ipsa harum animi et sit odio.

Amet beatae eveniet rerum quis sed. Mollitia aperiam nulla ad distinctio incidunt.

Omnis cum necessitatibus quod debitis voluptate. Voluptatibus beatae qui iusto molestias laudantium doloremque laboriosam. Laudantium eum reiciendis optio aut minus et quasi et. Illo est voluptatem aut aliquam et omnis unde eveniet. In nesciunt ullam error alias officia. Nam omnis deleniti magnam natus facilis quas. Dolor aliquid maiores delectus amet placeat quis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”