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Special Valuation Cases🔵 Intermediate

How Do You Value a Business That Isn't on the Stock Market?

How to Value Companies Not Listed on Stock Exchange

Private companies lack market prices, have illiquid shares, and are often controlled by founders. Three adjustments: illiquidity discount, control premium, and size premium.

Private EquityIlliquidity DiscountControl PremiumDLOM

Live Result

$1,000

ƒ: public_comparable_value * (1 - DLOM) * contr…raw: 1000.00

ƒ(x)

Use variable names from the panel above (e.g. FV, r, n) — or type numbers directly: 10000 / (1 + 0.08)^10

public_comparable_value

Value using public company comparables

public_comparable_value = 1000

DLOM% as decimal

Discount for Lack of Marketability (0–0.40)

DLOM = 0.20

control_adjustment% as decimal

1 + control premium (if buying control) or 1 (minority)

control_adjustment = 1.25

size_premium% as decimal

Additional return required for small company risk

size_premium = 0.03

💡 You can also enter values directly in the formula: 10000 / (1 + 0.08)^10

⬇ Export Calculation

Exports a plain .txt file with your expression, formula, all variable values, result, and educational notes — ready to paste into any report, Word doc, Notion, or Google Docs.

The exported file includes the formula in standard mathematical notation — you can paste it directly into Excel, Google Sheets, or back into FinanceSheep.

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Learn: How to Value Companies Not Listed on Stock Exchange

Special Valuation Cases · Educational Guide

The Core Idea

You want to buy a private bakery business. There's no stock market price to look at. Comparable listed companies trade at 12× EBITDA — but is that the right price? Private companies require special adjustments.

How It Works

Private firm value = comparable public value adjusted for (1) illiquidity, (2) control, and (3) size. DLOM (Discount for Lack of Marketability) = 15–35% for minority stakes. Control premium = 20–40% for buying a controlling stake. Small company size premium = 2–5% extra required return.

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Real-World Example: Public comparable value = $1,000M. Buying a minority stake → apply DLOM 20%: $800M. Buying control (majority) → no DLOM, add control premium 25%: $1,250M. Adjusted for small size (apply higher discount rate): maybe $900–$1,100M depending on stake bought.

How Do You Value a Business That Isn't on the Stock Market?

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