74 articles in this category
A profitable French SME is usually worth 4 to 7 times its adjusted EBITDA, less net debt. The three-step method to estimate your business, with sector multiples and a fully worked example.
Valuing parts sociales means moving from enterprise value to the value of a block of shares: net debt bridge, minority and illiquidity discounts, clauses in the articles and 2026 tax treatment.
A valuation opinion is the short-form business valuation: a reasoned range in a few pages, from 800 EUR excluding tax. Useful to decide, not enough for a bank, a judge or the tax authorities.
SCI shares are valued from the restated market value of the property, less debt and shareholder current accounts, then adjusted by a documented illiquidity discount. Method, discounts, usufruct.
Divorce or shareholder dispute: how the business is valued, what article 1843-4 of the French Civil Code provides, and how to choose between one-sided, joint adversarial and court-appointed expertise.
The data room gathers all the documents the buyer will review during due diligence. Typical structure, sections, tools, access management and the link with the representations and warranties to secure and speed up the sale.
Tax consolidation lets an acquisition holding offset the interest on its acquisition debt against the target's result. The 95% conditions, the tax leverage and the limit of the Charasse rule, explained by our firm.
A real-estate OBO means selling your premises to an SCI you control, financed by a loan, to free up cash while keeping the asset. Steps, tax cost and precautions against abuse of law.
Chartered accountant, lawyer, notary, sale adviser: who does what in a company transfer, how to coordinate the team, when to involve each one and what it costs to secure the operation.
Financing capacity, letter of intent, experience, motivation, guarantees: the grid of eight criteria to tell a serious buyer from a candidate who will waste your time, and the order in which to check them.
Vendor due diligence (VDD) is a seller-led tax and accounting review conducted before any buyer enters the data room. In a French business sale, it protects the sale price, limits the scope of representations and warranties (garantie d'actif et de passif), and keeps the seller in control of the financial narrative.
An earn-out bridges the valuation gap between seller and buyer, but a poorly structured clause creates three risks: unanticipated taxation, post-closing accounting manipulation, and a calculation dispute that can last years. Complete analysis by Cabinet Hayot Expertise, Paris.
Before signing a Letter of Intent on a French target, a buyer should validate 20 financial points: adjusted EBITDA, net debt, normative working capital, off-balance items, latent tax. The pre-LOI checklist for 2026.
A practical 2026 guide to French acquisition debt, holding structures, OBOs and management buy-outs for SME buyers, with bank criteria and tax structuring.
An earn-out theoretically aligns seller and buyer on the target's future performance. In practice, a poorly drafted clause is a litigation source: manipulable indicators, contested management scope, unfavourable taxation. A French CPA's playbook on building a balanced earn-out: robust indicators and 2026 tax watchpoints.
Our articles provide general guidance. A discovery meeting with Samuel HAYOT allows us to analyse your specific case.