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Fairness Opinions

January 2000

In book: The Handbook of Advanced Business Valuation (pp.309-336)
Edition: 1
Chapter: Fairness Opinions
Publisher: McGraw Hill

Authors:

Gilbert Matthews

Sutter Securities Financial Services, San Francisco

A fairness opinion is a special form of valuation report, usually a letter, that is often viewed as a "shield" against potential legal damages. It states that, in the view of the investment banker, based upon certain procedures followed and assumptions made, a specific transaction at a specific price is fair, from a financial point of view, to specific parties. This chapter discusses the fairness opinion process in detail.

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