Enterprise & Equity Value Interview Questions for Finance

Enterprise Value (EV) is the total value of a company, including both its debt and equity, representing what it would cost to buy the whole business. 

Equity Value is the value of the company’s shares, representing what is available to the shareholders, and does not include debt.

In short, EV is the value of the entire company, while Equity Value is just the value of its stock.

In an acquisition, Enterprise Value shows the total value of the company, including both debt and equity, representing what a buyer would actually pay for the entire business. 

Equity Value, on the other hand, represents the value to shareholders and reflects the market value of the company’s stock.

Both are important because Enterprise Value gives a complete picture of the company’s worth, while Equity Value shows what shareholders receive.

Yes, Enterprise Value is more important in an acquisition because it reflects the total cost to acquire the company, including both debt and equity. It also accounts for any debt repayment that is often required, making it the true value an acquirer would pay. 

Equity Value only reflects the value for shareholders and doesn’t account for the company’s debt obligations.

Enterprise Value (EV) is determined by calculating the total value of a company, including its equity, debt, and cash, to represent the cost of acquiring the entire business.

The EV formula can get more complex if there are other adjustments to consider, like non-controlling interests or operating leases, but the general principle is to exclude non-core assets to reflect the true operational value of the company.

If a company has excess non-operating assets, such as investment properties or excess cash, these should be subtracted from the Enterprise Value (EV). Non-operating assets don’t contribute to the company’s core business, so they are excluded to reflect the true value of the company’s operations.

Diluted shares affect Equity Value, which is a component of Enterprise Value. 

When calculating Equity Value, you multiply the share price by the number of fully diluted shares, not just the basic shares outstanding.

If a company has dilutive securities (such as stock options, warrants, or convertible debt), these increase the number of potential shares, which raises the Equity Value. 

Since Enterprise Value is derived from Equity Value, any increase in Equity Value due to diluted shares results in a higher Enterprise Value.

In short, diluted shares can make the company appear more valuable when calculating its total worth (Enterprise Value), because they increase the number of shares used to calculate Equity Value, which in turn impacts EV.

The Treasury Stock Method is used to calculate the dilutive effect of stock options and warrants on a company's shares outstanding. 

1. Assume stock options or warrants are exercised: If employees or holders of these options/warrants choose to buy shares, the company receives cash in return.
2. Use that cash to "buy back" shares: The company would then use the cash it receives from the exercise of the options to buy back shares at the current market price.
3. Calculate the net effect: The method calculates how many shares are effectively added to the total shares outstanding after subtracting the number of shares the company could repurchase with the exercise proceeds.

Step 1: Calculate the Basic Equity Value by multiplying the current share price by the number of shares outstanding.

Step 2: Account for the dilutive effect of options. 

15 stock options are in-the-money, meaning the exercise price of $12 is lower than the current share price of $20. Since these options are attractive to the option holders, they will likely be exercised. When these options are exercised, the company will issue 15 new shares to the option holders. These newly issued shares increase the total number of shares outstanding.

Step 3: Calculate the proceeds from exercising options.

Step 4: Repurchase shares with the proceeds.

The company will use the $180 it received from exercising the options to repurchase shares at the current share price of $20. 

Step 5: Calculate the fully diluted share count.

Step 6: Calculate the fully diluted equity value.

The fully diluted equity value of InnovateX Solutions is $4,120. This takes into account the stock options and the repurchase of shares.

Debt is included in Enterprise Value because it represents part of the total cost of acquiring a company. Since an acquirer would need to assume the company’s debt, it is added to Equity Value to reflect the total value of the business.