Are all of the trademarks, copyrights, patents or other intangibles included in the sale price? For example, in the sale of a fast food chain, are the proverbial "secret recipes" included in the transaction price?

Sellers obviously look at their companies much differently than do prospective acquirers. Owners and company officers tend to place value on different factors than does a buyer.

Many public companies will stop at nothing to maximize earnings and therefore increase the price of their stock. Most private businesses take the opposite tack and try to minimize earnings to reduce their tax liability.  The less their tax obligation, the more discretionary money they have personally available.

By training and education, many business appraisers emphasize the numbers. They will look at the past, current and future numbers. They will consider all the basic financial figures such as:

So what does make up the value of a privately-held business? A business consists of tangible and intangible assets.