Transaction Opinions

Eton provides robust transaction opinions that bring fairness, transparency, and risk mitigation to your deal process. 

With 25+ years of experience in financial analysis and business valuations, our opinions are honest, unbiased, and hold up to legal scrutiny. Eton’s proven track record and commitment to accuracy help you make confident decisions, knowing all parties’ interests are protected.

Our Leadership

Chris Walton

Global Director Valuations & Transaction Opinions at Eton

What Eton Can Do For You

Eton has completed business valuations and offered transaction advisory for 1,000s of companies. We bring that expertise and experience to every step of your transaction advisory journey with us.

We work with boards of directors, attorneys, hedge funds, pension and private equity funds, family offices, and lenders, to provide robust, independent opinions on significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Typical Transaction Engagements:

  • Mergers & acquisitions
  • Divestitures
  • ESOP transactions
  • Recapitalizations and special dividends
  • Going private and insider transactions
  • Related-party transactions
  • Down-round financings
  • Debt financing & spin-offs

Industries we work with

Eton is industry agnostic. But, we’ve got extensive experience providing transaction opinions for industries like healthcare, technology, automotive, chemicals, consumer products, financial services, energy & infrastructure, and oil & gas.

Fairness Opinions

We provide unbiased analysis of the financial aspects of a transaction to determine whether the deal terms are fair to all involved.

Solvency Opinions

Our solvency opinions help you assess your acquisition target’s ability to meet its financial obligations after the transaction.

Business Valuations

Our opinion helps companies avoid subjecting the firm to undue financial distress and potentially fraudulent transfers.

Transaction Advisory

Our advisory services support you at every step of the M&A process, whether you’re buy-side or sell-side.

Our Transaction Opinion Experience

At Eton, we serve boards of directors at private and public companies, attorneys, hedge funds, pension and private equity funds, family offices, and lenders.

With our specialism in valuations and broad range of transaction experience, we can bring a confident objectivity to your decision-making process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a transaction opinion?

A transaction opinion is a professional assessment provided by financial advisory firms to evaluate the fairness and solvency of a proposed business transaction, such as mergers, acquisitions, or recapitalizations.

These opinions help ensure that the terms of a deal are equitable from a financial standpoint, protecting the interests of all parties involved, including shareholders and management teams.

There are two main types of transaction opinions:

  1. Fairness Opinions: These are evaluations of whether the price and terms of a transaction are fair to the company’s shareholders. They are often used in mergers, acquisitions, and other significant financial transactions to protect board members and fiduciaries against monetary judgments and reputational risks in case of litigation.
  2. Solvency Opinions: These assess the financial viability of a transaction, ensuring that the company will be able to continue servicing its debts and perform ongoing operations without resulting in a fraudulent conveyance.

Transaction opinions are typically prepared by independent advisors who conduct thorough due diligence, including financial modeling and industry analysis, to provide an unbiased perspective.

These opinions are crucial for decision-making, enhancing communication, and mitigating risks associated with complex transactions

Transaction opinions are important legally, for proving due diligence and fiduciary responsibility. They’re also important for making better decisions in the transaction process—without an objective, independent opinion, making an informed decision can be challenging.

A fairness opinion enhances transparency in corporate transactions by providing an independent and objective evaluation of the financial terms of a deal. This independent assessment is crucial for several reasons:

1. Objective Analysis:

Fairness opinions offer an unbiased evaluation of a transaction’s financial terms, which helps ensure that all parties involved have a clear understanding of the deal’s fairness from a financial perspective. This objectivity is essential in maintaining transparency and trust among stakeholders.

2. Disclosure and Communication:

By obtaining a fairness opinion, companies demonstrate their commitment to transparency by disclosing the opinion to shareholders and other stakeholders. This disclosure helps communicate that the transaction has been thoroughly evaluated by an independent third party, thereby enhancing stakeholder confidence.

3. Mitigation of Conflicts of Interest:

Fairness opinions help mitigate potential conflicts of interest by providing an independent assessment, particularly in transactions involving related parties or insiders. This independence ensures that the transaction is evaluated fairly and transparently, reducing the risk of biased decision-making.

4. Support for Corporate Governance:

Fairness opinions support best practices in corporate governance by providing boards of directors with the necessary tools to demonstrate that they have fulfilled their fiduciary duties.

This includes ensuring that decisions are made transparently and in the best interest of shareholders, thereby reducing the risk of reputational damage or litigation.

Overall, fairness opinions play a vital role in enhancing transparency by providing an independent, objective, and well-documented evaluation of corporate transactions, which is crucial for maintaining trust and confidence among stakeholders.

The time it takes to complete a fairness opinion typically ranges from a few weeks to a couple of months.

The exact duration depends on the complexity of the transaction, the availability of relevant financial data, and the thoroughness required in the analysis.

For straightforward deals, it might take as little as 2-4 weeks, while more complex transactions could take 6-8 weeks or longer.

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