Linking cash flows to exit price

Hey guys,
I am an intern working at a pe and I have a question.
My boss asked me to calculate the how much to sell the company for given the cash flows of the company which will have an irr of 15% in this transaction. lets say company's cash flows start at 2015 and our exit will happen in 2017 and cash flows end in 2023.

I have used npv(0.15, cash flows from 2017 to 2023) is this true?

 
Best Response

You haven't provided enough information for anyone to answer you with confidence, but I'll throw out a potential solution.

If the exit value is the unknown variable, then you would simply adjust your exit value until the IRR is 15%.

Cash flows may look like: 12/31/2014: negative purchase price -$500 2015 CF: $100 2016 CF: $100 2017 CF: $100 Exit value at EOY 2017: X (solve for X so that IRR equals 15%)

You can solve for X by using the goal seek function in excel, or you can just change the exit value cell by hand.

 

Are you actually getting cash flows over those years? In a usual buyout, due to restrictive baskets in your debt covenants, you have to use cash flow to pay down debt and cannot actually pay cash flows to yourself. In that context, what your boss may have meant was "given the cash flows paying down debt over the next several years, how much do we have to sell the company for (on an enterprise value basis) in order to get a 15% IRR", which is akin to calculating the equity value required to sell in the out year and then grossing that up with leverage to the required TEV. (i.e. if you paid down more debt over the life the TEV you sell for could be lower because a higher percentage of that is equity which counts towards the 15% IRR)

If my assumption above is incorrect and somehow your cash flow is more bond like, then spyvspyder's methodology looks sound. But one big CAUTION I will give based on the formula you provided, make sure you include in your stream of cash flows any 0's in leading years so the NPV calc knows that 2017 isn't really the first year. So assuming you invest at 12/31/2014, your string of cash flows should look like "0,0,[2017 cash flow]..."

As spyvspyder said, a little insight about the investment and how you are pulling out cash flows (both now and after a sale) would be helpful for context.

 

Qui repellat in ratione iure sit. Ut ut laudantium odit aut et est dignissimos.

Doloribus recusandae quidem non. Rerum nisi fugit qui maiores. Repellendus est unde officia similique molestiae pariatur.

Unde in rerum et culpa. Ea et praesentium in quisquam eveniet est. Illo eius doloribus ad voluptates. Eligendi ea a dolores maiores non dolores mollitia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
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
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
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...”