Article on reasons to get a business valuation

Plenty of businesses run smoothly — until they stop running smoothly between the partners.

A few days ago, we shared an article on the situations where a business valuation proves useful beyond a sale. One that comes up repeatedly — and one of the most delicate — has to do with the relationship between partners.

There doesn’t need to be an open conflict. It often starts with things that are entirely normal: different views on where the business should go, different ways of thinking about risk, or simply life stages that no longer line up the way they used to. For a while, all of this can be managed. But eventually a point comes when decisions must be made.

When two partners want different things

We recently spoke with a company where two 50/50 partners had worked together for years without friction. One wanted to keep investing and growing the business. The other preferred to stabilize things and gradually scale back their exposure.

There was no bad blood. But there was a decision they couldn’t keep putting off.

And that’s where the uncomfortable question comes up: what is my stake worth?

The problem is that, without a shared reference point, each person builds their own answer. One focuses on the business’s future potential. The other weighs the risks more heavily, or what it took to get here. Neither is entirely wrong — but they’re not quite talking about the same thing either.

The result tends to be predictable: conversations that go nowhere, some wear and tear on the relationship, and decisions that get delayed longer than they should.

When it’s not about someone wanting out, but about bringing order

There’s another scenario that’s becoming more common: groups of partners involved in several companies, with ownership stakes that have shifted over time. Businesses that have grown, new lines that have opened, decisions made at the time that no longer fit as well today.

In these cases, it’s not about someone wanting to leave. It’s about simplifying the structure, redistributing stakes, or separating businesses that have gone in different directions.

On paper, it sounds reasonable. But once you get into it, the same underlying problem shows up: how do you do this in the way everyone perceives it as fair?

Because, in the end, what’s being exchanged isn’t stakes on paper — it’s real value. And if there’s no agreement on what that value is, each side tends to defend their position — not out of bad faith, but because their interests diverge — and the process stalls.

The problem is not willingness — It’s the lack of a common starting point

In both scenarios, the same pattern repeats. The problem is rarely that the parties don’t want to reach an agreement. It’s that they don’t have a shared basis from which to start the conversation.

A well-framed valuation helps precisely here: it doesn’t resolve every difference, but it puts a reference point on the table. It allows the discussion to be structured, reduces the emotional weight, and lets people talk in more objective terms. And often, it helps everyone understand where the value comes from — which matters as much as, or more than, the final number.

Knowing this ahead of time, before any urgency sets in, is what allows a difficult conversation to be orderly instead of exhausting.

A technical example

A recent case: two 50/50 partners in an industrial company with €12M in revenue and €2.5M in EBITDA. One wanted to keep investing; the other wanted to reduce exposure. The first challenge was agreeing on the baseline. We worked with a valuation based on comparable transaction multiples (a range of 5.5x to 6.5x EBITDA on EV), cross-checked against a DCF at a 9% WACC, and adjusted for non-operating assets (an unused property) and net debt. The result was an equity value range of €12.3M to €14.8M. On this basis, the second partner’s gradual exit was structured: an initial purchase of 30% at a fixed price, plus an additional 20% via a two-year earn-out tied to EBITDA. Without the valuation, the same conversation had been stuck for months. With the range on the table, the deal closed in six weeks.

Want to dig into your own situation?

If you’d like to explore your specific situation in more detail, addwill’s Corporate Finance team — valuations, M&A, due diligence, turnaround services, and financial restructuring — is at your disposal. Reach out to us at dandreu@addwill.eu or gboleda@addwill.eu, and we’ll look together.

In upcoming articles, we’ll cover other situations where valuation plays a major role: management incentive plans, family succession processes, and strategic decision-making.

adwexecutive Seminar — October 2026

At Addwill, we’re organizing a seminar under the adwexecutive umbrella in October 2026, where we’ll cover in person both the reasons that justify a valuation and how to put these recommendations into practice day to day. For details and to register, visit www.addwill.eu.

Author:

Gerard Boleda

Partner, Controlling & Reporting Department, addwill