Valuation

You value the target by summing the appraised or marked-to-market value of its underlying physical or financial assets. The output: NAV (net asset value) per share. Compare to current market cap → gap.

You project free cash flows over an explicit forecast period (typically 5–10 years), discount them to present value at a cost of capital, and add a terminal value. The output: a per-share intrinsic value independent of current trading multiples.

You model the target as if a private equity buyer were acquiring it, applying typical PE leverage levels, holding period, and target IRR. The output: the maximum price a PE buyer could rationally pay — which becomes the implied take-out floor for your thesis.

You apply a peer-derived multiple (EV/EBITDA, P/E, EV/Sales, P/NAV) to the target's relevant financial metric to derive an implied valuation. Compare to current — the gap is the upside.

You apply multiples derived from comparable historical M&A transactions to the target's relevant financial metric. Unlike trading-multiple comparison (which uses public-market valuations), precedent-transaction multiples include control premiums.

You break the target into its constituent businesses or asset classes, value each separately against pure-play peer multiples, sum the parts, deduct net debt and friction, and divide by share count.