Buyer-side opinion of value

Know what you’re buying. Understand what it’s worth to you.

Servizo Group helps prospective business buyers assess a proposed purchase price, understand the risks behind the earnings, and identify what must be verified before committing. A practical opinion of value connects the numbers to the business you will actually own.

Discuss an acquisition Explore the engagement

Price perspectiveOperating riskDeal assumptionsDecision clarity

A practical acquisition lens

A business is more than a multiple of earnings.

Financial records can conflict. A strong reported profit may depend on the seller’s unpaid work, a few key employees, or relationships that do not automatically transfer. A lower tax profit may tell only part of the story, too.

Servizo examines the available evidence, develops pricing scenarios, and explains the conditions behind each. The result is a clearer basis for an initial offer, a negotiating position, and the questions to resolve before closing.

Sustainable earnings

Do the financial statements and tax returns tell the same story? Which adjustments are supported, and what remains unresolved?

Revenue & people

Is revenue changing because of demand, staffing capacity, customer concentration, or collections—and who must stay for it to continue?

What transfers

Will owner responsibilities, key relationships, leases, and operating agreements continue under new ownership?

Price & protection

What price does the current evidence support, and what would need to be verified to justify paying more?

Who this is for

For buyers with a real opportunity—and consequential questions.

For individuals buying an established business, professionals considering ownership of a practice, and existing companies evaluating an acquisition. Especially useful when an attorney or accountant has recommended an independent perspective on the proposed price.

You have identified a target and want a perspective beyond the seller’s asking price.

You are considering an offer or letter of intent and need to make your assumptions explicit.

You want to understand how the business will operate under your ownership.

You need to prioritize the questions your diligence team should resolve.

What you take away

A pricing range—and the reasoning behind it.

A written buyer-side assessment and a results discussion connecting value, transaction considerations, and the operating work ahead. Depth is matched to the selected engagement.

Pricing scenarios & market context

A range supported by the available evidence, with lower, base, and upper cases where appropriate. Relevant market references provide context, with their limitations explained.

An earnings & operating assessment

Supported adjustments to seller’s discretionary earnings, unresolved differences among records, owner replacement needs, workforce dependence, revenue trends, and lease economics.

Negotiation & diligence priorities

Conditions for supporting a higher price, issues that could justify repricing or pausing, and considerations for contingent payments, holdbacks, or seller financing to discuss with your advisors.

Priorities for ownership

For the fuller assessment, practical priorities for the first 30, 60, and 100 days—protecting continuity, stabilizing cash flow, and monitoring the drivers of performance.

Two ways to begin

Match the depth to the decision.

Initial screening

Existing Information Pricing Screen

A broad initial assessment using the financial and market materials already available. Useful for deciding whether the proposed price appears reasonable enough to warrant further work.

High-level financial comparison and preliminary earnings adjustments
Broad pricing scenarios with explicit assumptions
Principal risks and prioritized unanswered questions
Concise written memorandum and results discussion

Existing information only; no supplemental seller request or independent verification.

A more developed assessment

Buyer-Side Pricing Assessment

A deeper review for an initial offer, letter of intent, or negotiating decision. Adds a focused supplemental information request and a fuller examination of the financial and operating picture.

One consolidated supplemental information request
Current performance, transferable earnings, people, revenue, and facility analysis
Pricing range and negotiating considerations where supported
Written assessment, results discussion, and one update from the consolidated response

Scope and fixed fee agreed in advance. Later diligence and expanded support are separately scoped.

How we work

Start with the decision. Build the evidence around it.

Define the decision

Discuss the target, your acquisition goals, the information available, and the intended use of the opinion. Agree on scope before work begins.

Examine the evidence

Compare financial and operating records, identify material differences, and assess sustainable earnings and transfer risks. The fuller assessment adds one focused supplemental request.

Review the decision

Walk through the written findings, pricing scenarios, and conditions for proceeding. Separate what the records support today from what still requires confirmation by your diligence team.

Before we begin

Clear scope. Useful inputs.

Start with the available records.

Historical profit and loss statements, tax returns, the purchase proposal, and available market comparisons establish the starting point. For the fuller assessment, a focused request may cover current results, owner duties, customers and revenue sources, staffing, the balance sheet, leases, and the assets and obligations included in the transaction.

Know the purpose of the opinion.

This is preliminary buyer-side pricing and decision support based on supplied information. It is not a certified appraisal, quality-of-earnings report, independent verification, or a report for lender or other third-party reliance.

Accounting, legal, tax, regulatory, and confirmatory diligence remain with the appropriate specialists. Negotiation support, additional information reviews, and later diligence are separately authorized and scoped.

Before the next commitment

Have an acquisition in mind?
Let’s look at the questions behind the price.

Share where you are in the process, what you know about the target, and the decision you need to make next.

Discuss an acquisition andrew.bernard@servizogroup.com