VALUATION IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) SECTOR COMPANIES

It is believed in the market that “Technology has the shelf life of a banana.” If that happens then what factors drives the value of Information Technology based companies whose survival is totally dependent on that. The answer of this question is not so easy as it appears to be, As whatever the size of organizations, large or small, face the same dilemma: Scare resources, choosing and deploying the right resources at right time & at right place to maximize the organization performance.

"It has been observed that the Valuation trend in the high growth segment of IT industry (E-Commerce & Social Networking) is on an upswing and though there exist limited public listed companies in this segment, majorly all trade at very high valuation multiples with corresponding high volatility owing to their sensitive business models, prone to competition with new technology and recent developments. Where would their Valuations be stabilized would be decided in times to come."

REGISTERED VALUER UNDER COMPANIES ACT 2013

The Companies Act, 2013 has introduced the concept of ‘Registered Valuer’ to cover valuation in respect of any property, stock, shares, debentures, securities, goodwill or any other assets of the company including its net worth and liabilities.The Draft Rules provide that a Register of Valuers shall be maintained by the Central Government in which there shall be registered the names, address and other details of the persons registered as valuers.The eligibility criteria to be registered as a valuer have been provided in the Draft Rules. Though business valuations are required in varied situations such as court approved M&A, fresh issue of shares, transfer of shares etc., the concept of valuation as a code is new to India.The Companies Act, 1956,despite using the term ‘valuation’ in some sections,does not specify the basis on which such valuations shall be done or who will do them.

Sharing here a detailed article on Register Valuer under Companies Act 2013 which is published on Slideshare to be read or downloaded...

MODIFICATION OF PRICING GUIDELINES FOR FDI INSTRUMENTS WITH OPTIONALITY/ BUYBACK CLAUSE

As a relief, the recent RBI notification has allowed the optionality clauses in equity shares under FDI. However, it has also prescribed that exit value will be determined at the time of exercise of the buyback option so that the investor exits without any assured IRR (confirming with the basic principle that Equity Investor cannot be not guaranteed any assured exit price at the time of making such investment).

In this context, RBI has validated a new mechanism for valuation (capping exit from unlisted companies based on ROE and listed companies based on their prevailing market price) for cases where such shares were issued with optionality clause (under Buyback arrangement).

However, specifically for exit of compulsory convertible instruments, RBI has allowed use of any internationally accepted pricing methodology duly certified by a Chartered Accountant or a SEBI registered Merchant Banker which provides more flexibility and discretion to the foreign investors (compared to sole method of DCF prescribed till now). 


To know how we can assist you with our FDI Valuation Services, please contact:

Mr. Chander Sawhney
Vice President
Corporate Professionals
+911140622252, +919810557353,
Email:chander@indiacp.com

Mr. Pankaj Singla
Sr. Associate
Corporate Professionals
+9111406222293, +919971508320,
 Email:- pankaj@indiacp.com