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Business valuationToronto

Business valuation in Toronto

Independent valuations of private companies and shareholdings in Toronto and across the Greater Toronto Area. Every conclusion is tied to the company’s own numbers, with the reasoning set out so buyers, investors, courts and the CRA can follow it.

When a valuation is needed

Six situations, six different questions

The purpose of a valuation decides the standard of value, the depth of the work and who will read the report. We settle it before anything else.

Selling or buying a business

A supportable range before negotiations start, and a separate view of what a particular buyer could pay once synergies are counted.

Raising capital

A pre-money value you can defend with investors, including how SAFEs, convertible notes and new share classes affect it.

Shareholder buyouts and disputes

The value of an interest under your shareholder agreement, including whether minority and marketability discounts apply.

Separation and divorce

The value of a business interest for a family law settlement, with owner compensation and one-time items normalized and explained.

Tax and estate planning

Fair market value for an estate freeze, a rollover or a transfer between related parties, documented for the file.

Stock options and 409A

A price for option grants that meets Canadian rules and, for holders taxed in the U.S., the 409A safe harbor.

How we help

Business valuation services in Toronto

Business valuation services for private companies, founders and shareholders in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, and for the lawyers, accountants and investors who advise them. Each engagement pairs market evidence with a close reading of how the business makes money.

Valuations for a sale or acquisition

An independent view of value before a sale, purchase or merger, with the range and the assumptions behind it, built to hold up through negotiation and the buyer’s diligence.

M&A in Toronto

Startup and venture valuations

Pre-money values for financing rounds and for SAFE and convertible note conversions, for founders and the investors backing them.

Capital raising

409A and equity plan valuations

Fair market value for stock option and share plans, including 409A valuations for companies with U.S. employees or U.S. investors on the cap table.

What is a 409A valuation?

Shareholder and dispute valuations

The value of a shareholding in a buyout or a dispute, written so every party, and the court if it comes to that, can follow the reasoning.

Valuation in disputes and divorce

Family law valuations

The value of a business interest in a separation, set out so both sides and their lawyers can follow and test it.

Succession, restructuring and tax

Fair market value for a sale to family or management, an estate freeze or a reorganization, documented for the file and for the CRA.

Restructuring and turnaround

Valuation in Toronto

What shapes value in Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s financial centre, home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the head offices of most of the country’s largest banks and many of its pension funds and private equity firms. Private companies here are valued against a deep market of buyers and comparable transactions, and the people reading a valuation, from bankers and investors to opposing counsel, are used to testing one.

A valuation for a Toronto company is usually read by someone with a view of their own: a private equity buyer, a lender, a minority shareholder or the CRA. We set out each assumption and the evidence behind it, so the conclusion holds up when it is challenged.

Read how deal structure affects what a seller receives.

A deep pool of financial buyers

Private equity firms, family offices, search funds and pension-backed investors are active across the Greater Toronto Area’s mid-market. Their pricing sets the reference point for many private company valuations, and their diligence sets the standard a valuation is tested against.

Diverse sectors, different multiples

The GTA’s private companies span financial and professional services, technology, manufacturing, food processing, construction and distribution. Each trades on different metrics, so comparable companies and transactions have to be chosen for the business, not the city.

Shareholder agreements and minority interests

Many Toronto companies have several shareholders, often including investors or family members. Buy-sell clauses, discounts for minority or non-marketable interests and the way the agreement defines value can move the answer more than the method does.

Technology and recurring revenue

The Toronto-Waterloo corridor is a major North American technology cluster. Software and recurring-revenue businesses are valued on growth, retention and margins rather than current earnings, which calls for a different set of evidence.

Our view

A valuation is only as good as its reasoning

Any model will produce a number. What matters is whether it holds up when a buyer, an investor, the other side’s adviser or the CRA asks how it was reached.

We start with how the company makes money and what could change it, then choose the methods that fit the question. Every adjustment and assumption is written down, so the people who rely on the valuation can test it.

Watch: Valuation That Reflects Your Reality

How an engagement works

Five steps from first call to final report

Most valuations take one to three weeks once the information is in hand. You receive a written proposal with the scope, timing and fee before any work begins.

Need a valuation for a family law matter or a shareholder dispute? Tell us at the start. The valuation date, the standard of value and the form of the report depend on who will rely on it.

Presenting to a client team in a boardroom
  1. ScopeWe agree the purpose, the valuation date, the standard of value and who will rely on the report.
  2. InformationYou share financial statements, tax returns, forecasts and shareholder agreements, and we meet management to understand the business behind them.
  3. AnalysisWe normalize earnings and apply the approaches that fit: income, market or asset-based.
  4. ReviewWe walk you through the draft range and the key assumptions, and check the facts with you before anything is final.
  5. ReportYou receive the final report, and we answer questions from the buyers, lenders, advisers or courts who rely on it.

Need to know what your business is worth?

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Selected clients

Companies we have worked with

View selected work

170+Engagements since 2016
$300m+Transactions and financings advised
2016Founded in Vancouver
Battery X Metals logoBuildDirect logoCedar Coast Capital logoDraganfly logoHelios Wire logoIan Scott International logoKegshare logoKeirton logoQwick Media logoReship logoSubway logoUltimate Tools logo

Frequently asked questions

Business valuation questions we hear most often

An independent estimate of what a company or a shareholding is worth on a given date, based on its financial performance, its risks and prospects, and evidence from the market. The purpose of the valuation decides the standard of value and the depth of the work.

It depends on the purpose, the size and complexity of the business and the depth of report required. After a first conversation we send a written proposal with scope, timing and fees, so you know the cost before any work begins.

Most engagements take one to three weeks, depending on the complexity of the business and how quickly the information comes together.

The income approach, usually a discounted cash flow; the market approach, using comparable companies and precedent transactions; and asset-based methods where they fit. Where the approaches point to different values, the report explains how each result was weighted.

Three to five years of financial statements and tax returns, current results and any forecasts, your cap table and shareholder agreements, and details of owner compensation and one-time items.

Yes. We value early- and growth-stage companies for financing rounds, option grants and SAFE and convertible note conversions, where the market approach and the terms of each share class carry more weight than current earnings.

Yes. We prepare valuations for family law matters and shareholder disputes, written so both sides, their lawyers and, where needed, the court can follow and test the reasoning. Read how valuation works in disputes and divorce.

Yes. Our office is in Vancouver, and we value companies in Toronto, across the Greater Toronto Area and elsewhere in Ontario, including Ottawa. Most of the work is done remotely, with a shared data room and scheduled calls.

Have a question that isn’t covered here? Ask us directly.

Start a conversation

Talk to us about a valuation

Tell us what the valuation is for and when you need it. We will come back with the questions that matter for your situation.

What happens next

1We reply within 24 hours.
2A short call to understand the purpose, the timing and who will rely on the valuation.
3A written proposal with scope, timing and fee, before any work begins.

Office

Alphabridge Group Inc.555 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V7X 1M8

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