The partner of an internet provider with revenue of R$ 4.5 million a year had decided to sell. Part of the company's network was in a dangerous area of Rio de Janeiro, and that risk was no longer worth it. He wanted to invest in another region and another business model, and to end his involvement in the telecom sector.
To sell well, though, he needed something that isn't always clear from the inside: what the business is really worth.
The challenge
The risk wasn't theoretical. The area where part of the network was located had already been the target of an operation that took down 20% of the customer base. There was uncertainty about holding on to that part of the infrastructure and a direct impact on revenue, with cancellations and lost customers due to outside factors.
That made the valuation more complex. Measuring the operation's risk is a central step in any valuation, and because it was in a dangerous area, the risk had to be weighted more heavily.
How Vispe worked
We gathered all the documentation needed for the valuation and held targeted meetings to analyze margins and performance. With that information, we built the model that served as the basis for the assessment.
The technical edge, however, came in the structure of the sale. We designed a deal with zero tax: an agreement between buyer and seller through a quota assignment contract, keeping the seller as a partner until the acquisition was fully paid through profit distributions, which were tax-exempt at the time.
The results
The valuation hit the target of the purchase price agreed with the investor. The difference from the buyer's own valuation was less than 1%.
The client's reaction was mixed, and that's worth saying. He expected to take more out of the sale, and the report showed a different number. On the other hand, the strategy to bring taxes to zero was a positive surprise. The most important result was peace of mind: the partner sold at a fair price, with Vispe's support throughout the sale.
The valuation also pointed to what could increase the company's value in the future, such as the high cost of links and outsourced labor eating into the margin. Since the focus was the exit and he was in a hurry, it didn't make sense to change that at the time.
What changed
The client was able to leave the operation and is now running a business in another sector. The report was used exactly for its purpose: to give technical grounding to a fair, fast sale.