Page 9 | M&A and Dealmaking | The Vault Series

Insight on What Matters - So You Can Transform Your Business.

A Practical Guide to Tech M&A Valuation & Best Practices

26 February, 2020

The theoretical metrics of company valuations are well known: compare similar public companies, review precedent M&A transactions and throw in a discounted cash flow (DCF) model for good measure. Then how does this theoretical valuation model account for Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion when WhatsApp had $20 million in revenue, a 950x revenue multiple? Why is Airbnb worth $31 billion, which is more than Hilton at $27 billion. Why is Uber worth $72 billion, which is more than GM at $58 billion?