Business Valuation vs. Market Assessment: What’s the Difference?

A business valuation is a formal process used to estimate the economic value of an owner's interest in a company. These valuations are typically performed by professional appraisers for legal and financial purposes, including:

• Estate and gift taxation

• Shareholder disputes or deadlock

• Divorce litigation

• Buy-sell agreement planning

• Allocation of purchase price in an acquisition

Valuations play a key role in situations requiring legally defensible or highly detailed financial assessments.

What Is a Market Assessment?

A market assessment, on the other hand, estimates the potential multiple or price a business owner could expect if they were to sell in the current M&A landscape.

Unlike traditional valuations, a market assessment is built from:

• Recent comparable transactions

• Conversations with active acquirers

• Industry trends and current market demand

The goal is not a legal valuation, but a real-world estimate of market value—what a motivated buyer might actually pay based on today’s environment.

Our Complimentary Lower Middle Market Assessment

At CRI M&A Advisors, we specialize in lower-middle market businesses with enterprise values between $10 million and $250 million.

We offer a complimentary market assessment including:

• Research on comparable transactions

• Analysis of current buyer behavior

• Industry-specific insights that affect deal value

This service helps owners understand how the market views their company—and whether it’s the right time to explore a sale.

Interested in Your Business’s Market Value?

Call us at 334.328.0988 or email paul@crimaa.com to request your complimentary market assessment.