To Discount or Not to Discount (That is the Question)
Value is relative. Some assignments require the valuation of a minority interest that may lack control and “marketability,” while others call for an appraisal of the entire entity on a controlling basis. How do these situations differ, and how are these differences...
A Recipe for Deducting Meals, Parties and Gifts Provided to Employees
Few things say "thank you" like food. As the holidays and year-end crunch approach, many Maine employers will bring pizza or donuts into the office, organize a holiday luncheon or provide their staff with free Thanksgiving turkeys. Employer-provided meals offer an...
What You Need to Know Before Making Year-End Charitable Contributions
Have you heard of “Giving Tuesday” yet? On December 1, 2015, many charities used “Giving Tuesday” as a catchy way to launch their year-end fundraising campaigns. It's a critical time of year for the not-for-profit sector. Historically, a significant amount of...
Chancery Adopts Merger Price Sans Cost Savings Reduction
Chancery Adopts Merger Price Sans Cost Savings Reduction Merlin Partners LP v. AutoInfo, Inc., 2015 Del. Ch. LEXIS 128 (April 30, 2015) In a Delaware statutory appraisal action, the Chancery once again determined that the merger price trumped values resulting from...
Valuing In-Kind Distributions of Closely Held Stock in Divorce
Which would you (or one of your clients) rather receive in a divorce settlement: cash or stock in a closely held business that is controlled by your former spouse? When divorce gets ugly, and it often does, cash might be a safer bet than in-kind distributions, but the...
Court Affirms Rightness of Expert’s ‘Marital Value’ Calculation
In re Honer, 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2531 (April 9, 2015) In a bitter California divorce, the valuation of two grocery stores was a sore point. The wife attacked the work of the husband’s expert because he used what he called the “marital value.” The appeals court...
How Purchase Offers Factor into the Valuation Equation
Have you ever heard a business owner brag, "I was offered $X million for my business!", or have you been lucky enough to receive an offer from another party to purchase your private business stock? It seems that such offers reveal how much an objective third party...
Must Joint Activities Be Treated as Partnerships?
For federal income tax purposes, an unincorporated joint venture, other contractual, or co-ownership arrangement, under which several participants conduct a business or investment activity and split the profits, is generally treated as a partnership. If the joint...
A Joint Expert Could Be Just What the Court Ordered
There is a common perception that financial expert witnesses are biased in favor of their clients' financial interests. In truth, credentialed professionals must adhere to various ethical standards that require them to be independent and objective when serving as an...
Equity Recap: An Optional Capital Infusion
Private equity funds offer a way to get a capital infusion for your Maine-based company for a period of time while maintaining a role in its operation and avoiding a sale or a merger. It's called equity recapitalization and it typically involves selling a minority or...