Equity Business Breakfast: Company valuation
This Equity Breakfast edition focused on company valuation, exploring how investors assess what a company is truly worth and how valuation translates into the final purchase price. Through practical insights and real-life transaction examples, the discussion examined early-stage and mature company valuation methods, as well as differences between CEE and international investor approaches.
This edition of the Equity Breakfast was dedicated to the fundamentals and practice of company valuation, bringing together investors, founders and M&A experts to examine how businesses are valued in real transactions. The event explored key valuation methods, differences between early-stage and mature companies, and how international private equity and strategic investors assess companies in the CEE region compared to Western Europe. Through interactive discussions and real case studies, participants gained practical insights into value drivers, pricing mechanisms and typical deal structures.
Our esteemed guests
Covered topics
- The fundamentals and methods of company valuation – theory versus real-world practice
- How much a company was worth to an investor or strategic buyer
- Valuation differences between early-stage and mature companies
- International investor valuation practices, including differences between Western European and CEE companies
- Case study: company value vs. purchase price, adjustment mechanisms and typical payment structures – what portion of the purchase price was paid, when and under what conditions
Agenda
Registration, welcome coffee, breakfast and networking
8:15 - 9:00
Opening remarks (HUN)
Introductory thoughts on company valuation and transaction readiness.
Lenard Horgos – partner, Absolvo
9:00 - 9:15
Company valuation: methods, theory and reality (HUN)
What is taught in academia versus what is applied in real M&A transactions? Bridging valuation theory and market practice.
Levente Zsembery – CEO, X-Ventures; former president, HVCA
9:15 - 9:40
Startup valuation: pricing challenges in early-stage and high-growth companies (HUN)
In early stages, where limited historical financial data is available, company valuation must rely on fundamentally different approaches than in mature businesses.
The session explored how investors assess early-stage companies, the challenges they face, common valuation misconceptions among founders, and how gaps between investor and founder expectations can be bridged.
Zsolt Weiszbart - partner, Day One Capital
Virag Dezso – principal, Lead Ventures
Moderator: Jozsef Torok – investment director, Blue Planet Venture Capital
9:40 - 10:10
Coffee break
10:10 - 10:25
International investor valuation approaches (ENG)
This session examined how international private equity and strategic investors apply valuation methodologies, highlighting key differences between Western European and CEE companies.
Topics included valuation challenges specific to the CEE region, key value drivers, and sector attractiveness from an investor perspective.
Jakub Krajcovic – investment manager, Sandberg Capital
Timo Stahlbuhk – director, Proventis Partners
10:25 - 10:55
Company value vs. purchase price: adjustment mechanisms and deal structures (HUN)
Through a real-life transaction case study, the discussion explored how companies move from valuation to final purchase price, including price adjustment mechanisms, earn-outs and typical payment structures.
The case was based on the 2021 majority sale of TechTeamer / FaceKom - a leading provider of digital customer identification, electronic signature and virtual call center solutions for banks and large corporations - to a private equity fund, one of the top three technology transactions by deal volume in that year.
The session covered offer structures, differences in terms and conditions, and how valuation translated into the agreed transaction price.
Zsigmond Bodnar – founder and managing director, TechTeamer / FaceKom
Moderated by: Lenard Horgos – partner, Absolvo
10:55 - 11:40
Q&A and networking
Participants had the opportunity to ask questions in person and engage in one-on-one discussions with the experts during the networking session.
11:40 - 12:10
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