Customer Reviews

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (Wiley Finance)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I work for one of the largest banks in the US, and we use this book as a reference when we need to dig into the more arcane details of a project. If you do a lot of valuation work, this is a recommended text, but it is tome-like and a bit laborious to use, and I've found much of the advice it contains is rather ivory tower and not-so-practical in real world situations. If you are studying valuation theory, or do a lot of this work, particularly on publicly-held companies, you'll definitely want this textbook, though over time it might not be the one you reach for everyday. To accompany it, I would suggest also buying Horn's "Unlocking the Value of a Business" for everyday use, which is a more concise and user-friendly manual on privately-held company valuation, with a more lighthearted, less-academic tone, and Horn's credentials as an acquisitions dealmaker yield advice that is decidedly more practical.

Have used the book for years and this may be the best update yet. The case studies alone are simply fascinating. The global nature make it invaluable for everyone in business anywhere. New discussions on return on capital and growth are must-read.

It was suggested as reference book for my course. Once you start reading this book, you will get involved in concepts. Authors have used real world examples and very methodical in approaching the concepts.

This is it.....do not need additional book info on Valuations. Only practical experience can add to the respective work.

I work in the M&A field and use the books goodies every day.

Best Regards
André Rafnsson

My only complaint is that I did not buy this book earlier. I really found the content excellent and laid out in a helpful style, with plenty of illustrations so I could test my understanding of the words. Some of the more complex formulae (especially towards the end) lost me, but that was not a fault of the authors ~ more the reader. For any but the most experienced, this seems to be the best book on Valuation I have read, let alone bought and I have been in this market for over 30 years. Many of the concepts are well known, especially in the first part of the book ~ Fundamental principles ~ but even there, the wealth of detail and illustrations kept the text fresh and interesting. The second part was a excellent drive through the practical aspects of valuing a business and was followed, in the third group of chapters, by a review of Value Creation Principles. This is all good stuff and culminated in the last section with a number of more complex but practical examples and case studies. The only chapter I thought did not advance my knowledge & add value, was that on "Investor Communications"; not up to the standard of the rest of the book, was it written by an associate? Congratulations to Mr. Koller and his co-authors, they certainly offer value for money with this edition ~ its more than just a book on Valuation. Buying the Valuation Model case study CD adds value, but I found the links not atall easy, but a phone call solved the problem.

People buy this book to evaluate companies and make investment decisions, don't they? If that's most of the readers' goal, this book is pretty much useless.

The calculation of net present value (NPV) of companies is purely a concept, which sounds great but impossible to accurately capture quantitatively using a formula.

The difficult is in evaluating stable future cash flow, not on how to calculate the NPV. The evaluation of future cash flow depends on the history of a company, and much more importantly, on the company's business model, the management team, etc. Neither of these are clearly emphasized or discussed in this book. For example, R&D generates future cash flow, but should all R&D be treated equal? More leverage of a wise management is a great thing, but when is leverage good or bad?

If you are into value investing, read Graham's The Intelligent Investor. If you are a pro, read Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis 10 times. Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, albeit old, is also a much more useful reading than this one.

As a management consultant, this book bridges between management activities and financial performance.It makes sense of an organizations' day-to-day activities, from the investors'/organization owners' point of view.

I found this book to be a great read in learning about all the various aspects that go into the valuation of a company. It does a great job of making you look at what makes a company tick and how it affects a valuation.

The base of the book is the DCF (Discounted Cash Flows) model. It describes many of the formulas used. I am not a math major or anything so many of them were over my head. The authors did a good job of describing the formulas but if you don't have a good solid foundation it will take a while to break down the formulas.

I did come across many areas in the book that justifies any kind of forecasting is mediocre at best. It's not an exact science and any kind of model is just that - a model of a perfect world. The world is not perfect but perhaps a DCF model is the closest you'll get to being real in a perfect storm.

I had been recommended this book by many people, and it ended up confusing me more and I found it way too theoretical and conceptual. I think it is more helpful for people with a consulting background, or highly academic people who are adept at understanding various concepts and re-applying them. But if you are like myself where actual real world examples and doing it for yourself is more helpful, and you want the simple basics of just what you need to know versus an X number of variations on a topic. this book wont be for you either.

The contents of this book are absolute comprehensive
Step by step approach guiding you to thorough understanding.
Good structure and easy to read

One problem is a lack of step by step question, have to
buy another separate workbook for practice