Today, there are a number of different models and methods used to estimate the equity value of a company. A common tool for valuating stock prices is the usage of different multiples. This is a method used to determine the value of a company, by examining and comparing the financial ratios of relevant peer groups. The disadvantage with this method is that it does not take all the important aspects, such as risk, investments and capital structure, into consideration. However, this study investigates if the key value, called discounted cash flow (DCF), can be integrated with the valuation of the multiples.

Bakgrund: Private Equity bolag är kända för sin förvaltande och finansiellt inriktade syn på förvärv av företag. Ofta hålls ett kortsiktigt förvaltningsperspektiv av PE investerare då dessa avser att avyttra målbolaget inom ett par år för att erhålla en god vinst. Det är av intresse att utföra en statistisk analys om vad som ligger som grund för när ett PE bolag väljer att genomföra ett uppköp och om man kan förutse när ett bolag är attraktivt för investering. Tidigare undersökningar har gjorts inom ämnet på den amerikanska tillverkningsindustrin, samt på enskilda länder i Europa men inga studier har utförts på den europeiska tillverkningsmarknaden i sin helhet.Syfte: Studien har avsett att undersöka huruvida det med hjälp av en modell byggd på finansiella nyckeltal går att förutsäga om ett europeiskt noterat tillverkningsbolag är attraktivt för uppköp av Private Equity investerare.Metod: Utredningen omfattar ett begränsat urval av 138 tillverkningsföretag, noterade på börser inom Europeiska Unionen, som genom en logistisk regressionsmodell byggd på finansiella nyckeltal förutser uppköp under perioden 2000-01-01 till 2010-11-15.Resultat: Attraktiva uppköpsbolag inom den europeiska tillverkningsindustrin visade sig ha ett lågt marknadsvärde över bokfört värde samt starka fria kassaflöden. Målbolagets storlek samt tillgångstyper hade marginellt inflytande på PE investerare.

Since the year 2005 listed companies are supposed to use international accounting standards when they set up their group accountancy. One thing that has changed with the new standards is the accounting of goodwill and long-lived intangible assets. Earlier companies were supposed to write of their goodwill during the years they had expected the extra profit to arise. According to the new regulation, an impairment test shall be done annually, as well as when there is an indication of decreased value. According to IAS 36 point 134, the company shall provide information in their accountancy about the impairment test.The aim of this study is to find out if some companies may be willing to reveal less information in their accountancy, and if there are any factors that affect this.

Title:Pecking-order i små tillverkande företag Level of thesis:Master´s dissertation in banking and auditing Authors:Mathias Klasén and Maria Waderoth Advisor:Joakim Winborg Background:The area of business financing has been well studied during the 1900´s. Many studies and theories are made with big corporations in mind, and the importance of small businesses wasn?t enlightened until the end of the 1900´s. Business financing has created a number of theories, among them Myers pecking-order theory. This theory implies that business managers prefer internal equity in front of debt and external equity.

Does goodwill affect the cost of capital? Goodwill is an asset which is characterized by much uncertainty regarding both what it is and how much it is really worth. Based on economic theory about information risk and principal-agent problems as well as theory regarding the cost of capital we test for the hypothesis that debt and equity investors perceive goodwill as something risky and hence demand compensation for taking on this extra risk. The proxies used for the cost of capital are cost of debt, beta and the EP-ratio. On a general level we find that increasing the level of goodwill seems to result in higher cost of capital as represented by the three proxies.

Mezzanine is a collective term for hybrid instruments on the leverage finance market, offered as an alternative to traditional debt. As a hybrid, mezzanine combines elements of debt and equity financing. Mezzanine appears, in its most common shape, as subordinated to the senior debt, but ranks higher than pure equity. Reminiscent of security interests, the main importance of subordination is upon the default of the borrower. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is partly to investigate the legal prerequisites for a solid subordination of mezzanine financing, and partly to explain the consequences of subordination in a default.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka huruvida den riskjusterade avkastningen från en traditionellt förvaltad lång indexportfölj kunde ha varit högre om portföljen hade förvaltats enligt en Equity Market Neutral-strategi. Vidare ämnar undersökningen att testa huruvida de skapade portföljerna uppvisar låg korrelation, dvs marknadsneutralitet, med underliggande marknad som är förenligt med strategin. För detta ändamål används Svenska Handelsbankens Månatliga Modellportfölj mellan åren 1998-2003. Vidare är syftet att utifrån analysen av undersökningens resultat kunna dra slutsatser om det kan finnas information i traditionella långa indexportföljer, liknande Handelsbankens Modellportfölj, som kan öka den riskjusterade avkastningen men som inte utnyttjas och som skulle kunna tas till vara via implementeringen av en Equity Market Neutral strategi. Undersökningen visade att portföljerna uppvisade såväl högre absolut- som riskjusterad avkastning jämfört med modellportföljen, och låg korrelationen gentemot marknaden sett över hela den undersökta perioden.

Scania?s discount rate - the return requirement of investments - refers to Scania?s WACC or weighted average cost of capital. The capital markets return requirement on equity and the credit market interest cost of borrowing is weighted to become the single discount rate, the WACC. The purpose of this study is to investigate which asset pricing model of APT and CAPM Scania should use in their WACC calculations. The company now uses a group WACC of 11 percent which is used in all company levels.

Background and problem: Higher and other demands are made on management control systems in organizations which have a superior non-financial objective. Systembolaget, a state-owned company with monopoly to sell alcoholic beverages in Sweden, combines two main objectives which can be considered as conflicting, one financial target and one superior non-financial public welfare target. The research questions are focused on the translation of information through the organization?s levels and if the management control system makes it possible to run the organization according to both of the two main conflicting objectives.Purpose and Delimitations: To describe, analyze and evaluate how management control can be used in an organization, which is not profit maximizing and has both non-financial and financial objectives. The essay does not try to describe or draw generalized conclusions regarding general perspectives on Systembolaget?s assignment and objectives.Method: A qualitative and evaluative case study based on interviews with five employees at different levels in Systembolaget has been carried through.

In a time when economic crises relieving one another, it is especially interesting to study how companies choose to finance their operations. Since there is a lack of studies that include banks, and their capital structures, with the rest of the finance market, it is uncertain whether the theories of capital structure are applicable. Therefore, this essay aims to study whether there is any correlation between the two variables debt-equity ratio and return on equity (ROE) for Swedish corporations on the finance market.In accordance with the theorems that the professors Modigliani and Miller filed, in 1958 and 1961, which describes a clear link between debts, increase corporate value through the tax shield and indirectly increased yields. Although these theorems are the foundation of the modern research they focus on perfect markets. Therefore, this paper has also chosen to place great emphasis on theories such as Trade-off and Pecking-order.

SummaryThe purpose of this thesis is to examine what effect the IFRS 2 has on earnings, equity, financial strength and return on equity for listed Swedish companies with active stock option plans. The purpose is further to investigate the companies? attitudes towards IFRS 2 and to find out if companies tend to deviate from stock option plans due to the changed accounting rules. We also want to examine the view of IFRS 2 from an auditor?s perspective.We have used a deductive approach and a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods with a view to get a completely clear picture within the field of study.

AbstractAuthors:Stefan Harrå and Magnus BjörkAdvisor: Markku PenttinenTitle: Accounting Consequences of the change in pension accounting Background to problem: When the revised IAS 19 comes into force January 1, 2013, it means that two of the three accounting principles for defined benefit pension plans are disappearing, including the corridor method. The corridor method has made it possible for companies to defer its actuarial gains and losses. Now that the corridor approach abolished then the unrecognized actuarial gains and losses immediately be covered by equity, which involves very large amounts of some companies. Why the amounts have grown so big is much because of the discount rate. The discount rate is a controversial parameter, and there is disagreement on how it should be fixed.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the accounting implications this will have for the company applied the corridor method, and if there is some parameters in the actuarial assumption that is more important than others.Methodology: The thesis has mainly been based on a qualitative research through qualitative interviews with a small sample that is affected by this change.

This thesis examines underpricing and the long run performance of IPO firms on the Swedish equity market during 1994-2010. We further investigate whether any correlation exist between underpricing and post-IPO performance during 36 months. We use a sample of 80 IPO firms. To examine the aftermarket performance we compare total return of each firm with a matching industry index. In order to strengthen our analysis, we run a second test, comparing actual return for each firm with expected return, adjusted for firm specific risk.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the development of profitability and capital structure in Swedish quoted companies during the period of 1990 to 2004. Further, the aim is to determine the relationship between profitability and leverage in order to conclude whether the choice of capital structure supports the pecking order theory or the trade-off theory of capital structure. The findings show that return on assets fluctuates between 3 and 11 percent and that return on equity fluctuates between 3 and 22 percent during the period. Further, the leverage and the cost of debt have decreased. This indicates lowered financial risk in Swedish quoted companies in the period between 1990 and 2004.

AbstractAuthors:Stefan Harrå and Magnus BjörkAdvisor: Markku PenttinenTitle: Accounting Consequences of the change in pension accounting Background to problem: When the revised IAS 19 comes into force January 1, 2013, it means that two of the three accounting principles for defined benefit pension plans are disappearing, including the corridor method. The corridor method has made it possible for companies to defer its actuarial gains and losses. Now that the corridor approach abolished then the unrecognized actuarial gains and losses immediately be covered by equity, which involves very large amounts of some companies. Why the amounts have grown so big is much because of the discount rate. The discount rate is a controversial parameter, and there is disagreement on how it should be fixed.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the accounting implications this will have for the company applied the corridor method, and if there is some parameters in the actuarial assumption that is more important than others.Methodology: The thesis has mainly been based on a qualitative research through qualitative interviews with a small sample that is affected by this change.