Question

The law gives dissenting shareholders (shareholders who disapprove of a merger or consolidation but who are outvoted by the other shareholders) a statutory right to be paid the fair value of the shares they held on the date of the merger or consolidation. Which of the following, as stated in class, is one source of authority to use as a guide in calculating the fair value of stock that is not publicly traded?

Answer 1

Although the question is incomplete, but either a cost, market or discounted cash flow approach can be used.

Answer 2

Answer: Fair value of unquoted company can be calculated or arrived at by getting the net value of assets less net value of liabilities.

Explanation: Generally, fair value of mostly quoted shares is arrived at by comparing the p/e ratios of quoted companies in the same or similar industry e.g Banking, ICT etc. and we then pick an average figure in relation to the chosen industry.

However, for an unquoted company which price is not easily available or ascertained, we can arrive at a fair share value by netting off value of assets and liabilities. This gives a hypothetical value that may be used to pay up a dissenting shareholder.