Valuation of Equity and Intangible Assets - An Empirical Study

The literature on equity valuation is replete with models with various combinations of earnings, book value, and dividends. However, a model based on all the three value drivers seems to be lacking. Also notable is the absence of a model that considers intangible assets as a determinant of equity value. This book evidences simultaneous value relevance of earnings, book value, dividends, and intangible assets, combines them to develop log-linear models of equity valuation, and estimates the model parameters. Furthermore, a multiplier is proposed to capture the influence of company-specific characteristics in the valuation model. The fact that the coefficient of intangible assets in the regression model is a measure of the marginal contributions of these assets to equity price discovery is used to recommend a method to value intangible assets of a company. The proposed models for valuation of equity and intangible assets are free from subjectivity and are consistent as the data on all the value drivers are gleaned from accounting statements and estimated values are independent of the person performing the valuation.