What are the two key items needed to apply the discounted cash flow (DCF) method to value a target company in a merger?

Correct answer: Pro forma statements forecasting incremental cash flows and a discount rate to apply to them.

Explanation

The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) approach values a company based on the present value of its future cash flows. Therefore, the essential inputs are the forecasts of those cash flows and an appropriate rate to discount them back to the present.

Other questions

Question 1

What is the primary motivation for most corporate mergers?

Question 2

How can tax considerations stimulate a merger between a profitable firm and a firm with large accumulated tax losses?

Question 3

What defines a horizontal merger?

Question 4

What type of merger occurs when a steel producer acquires an iron mining firm?

Question 5

What is a tender offer in the context of mergers and acquisitions?

Question 7

When using the equity residual method to value a target firm, what is the appropriate discount rate for the cash flows?

Question 8

If Hightech acquires Apex, and Apex's beta is 1.63, the risk-free rate is 6 percent, and the market risk premium is 5 percent, what is Apex's post-merger cost of equity?

Question 9

Based on the DCF analysis for the Apex subsidiary, which projects cash flows of dollar 6.4, dollar 8.8, dollar 9.8, and dollar 10.2 million for years 1-4 respectively, and a continuing value of dollar 139.0 million in year 5, what is the value of Apex's stock to Hightech if the discount rate is 14.2 percent?

Question 10

Given that the DCF value of Apex to Hightech is dollar 96.5 million and Apex's pre-merger market value is dollar 62.5 million, what are the estimated synergistic benefits from the merger?

Question 11

What is a 'white knight' in the context of merger defense?

Question 12

Which of the following best describes a 'poison pill' as a defensive tactic?

Question 13

What are 'golden parachutes' in the context of mergers?

Question 14

According to the empirical evidence on mergers, who are the primary beneficiaries of the value created?

Question 15

What is a joint venture?

Question 16

What is a leveraged buyout (LBO)?

Question 17

Which type of divestiture involves giving the stock of a subsidiary to the parent company's stockholders, creating a new, separate company?

Question 18

What is a 'carve-out'?

Question 19

Pizza Place's analysts project that a merger with Western Mountain Pizza will result in incremental cash flows of dollar 1.5 million in Year 1, dollar 2 million in Year 2, dollar 3 million in Year 3, and dollar 5 million in Year 4. Cash flows are expected to grow at a constant 6 percent after Year 4. The risk-free rate is 6 percent, the market risk premium is 4 percent, and Western’s post-merger beta is 1.5. What is the value of Western Mountain Pizza to Pizza Place?

Question 20

A 'congeneric' merger is best described as a combination of which of the following?

Question 21

What does the term 'breakup value' refer to in merger analysis?

Question 22

What is 'due diligence' in the context of a merger?

Question 23

When a large, publicly owned firm acquires a small, owner-managed firm, what is a common concern for the owner-manager that might be addressed during negotiations?

Question 24

What is the primary difference between a corporate alliance and a merger?

Question 25

What is risk arbitrage in the context of mergers?

Question 26

A conglomerate merger is one that involves which of the following?

Question 27

In a merger situation, what is the primary difference between an operating merger and a financial merger?

Question 28

Why might a firm's management be motivated to pursue a merger for personal incentives rather than for shareholder value maximization?

Question 29

What does a 'white squire' defense entail?

Question 30

What is a major reason that LBOs were prevalent in the 1980s merger wave?

Question 31

Which type of divestiture involves selling the assets of a division piecemeal rather than as a going concern?

Question 32

In the Hightech-Apex merger example, the bargaining range for the acquisition price is between which two values?

Question 33

What is the most likely legal justification for the Department of Justice to oppose a merger?

Question 34

In what merger wave did conglomerates become popular?

Question 35

What is the primary reason an acquiring firm's shareholders often do not benefit financially from a merger?

Question 36

What is the primary goal of the equity residual method in a DCF valuation of a merger target?

Question 37

Why are interest expenses typically incorporated into the cash flow forecast in a merger analysis, unlike in a standard capital budgeting analysis?

Question 38

What is the key difference between a merger and a spin-off?

Question 39

What type of synergy results from economies of scale in management, marketing, production, or distribution?

Question 40

In a friendly merger, why would both the acquiring and target firms each hire an investment bank to provide a fairness opinion?

Question 41

Which of the following is a primary reason for a firm to engage in a spin-off?

Question 42

What is the key characteristic of a financial merger?

Question 43

In the market multiple analysis of Apex, which had average net income of dollar 7.7 million and was compared to firms with an average P/E of 12.5, what is the estimated equity value?

Question 44

Which of the following is a primary role of an investment banker in arranging a merger?

Question 45

Why would a firm choose to do a corporate alliance, such as a joint venture, instead of a full merger?

Question 46

What is the primary risk associated with a leveraged buyout (LBO) transaction?

Question 47

What is a 'defensive merger'?

Question 48

The fifth and most recent merger wave is characterized by what primary driver?

Question 49

In a post-merger control situation, what is a noncompete agreement?

Question 50

What is a key finding from research on fairness opinions in friendly mergers?