Valuation

Valuations play a fundamental role in many strategically important business activities, such as mergers and acquisitions, impairment testing, tax assessments, and litigation. We provide targeted valuation services grounded in state-of-the-art corporate finance methodologies.

Our business and asset valuations follow recognised standards, in particular the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and Swiss tax practice. Depending on the situation, we apply market-based approaches (comparable transactions and multiples), income-based approaches (typically the Discounted Cash Flow model, DCF), or asset-based approaches – individually or in combination.

We offer valuation services in the following areas:

  • Transactions: We value businesses and individual assets and support transactions with our expertise. In addition, we estimate the cost of capital (see also WACC), quantify efficiency potential, and assist with merger control (see also Competition Economics).
  • Investments and Projects: We assess investment proposals, particularly in the energy and digital sectors. We analyse economic viability and risks, and support structuring and decision preparation.
  • Law and Tax: We prepare robust valuations and expert reports for arbitration and court proceedings (see also Litigation and Arbitration). We also advise on tax-related valuation matters, including the valuation of privately held companies, employee participation schemes, and benefits in kind, as well as transfer pricing, estates, and gifts.
  • Regulation: We analyse appropriate rates of return, estimate the cost of capital accounting for leverage, financing costs, and demand and cost risks (see also WACC), and value regulated assets. We also review mergers with well-founded sectoral expertise as part of a Regulatory Due Diligence (see also Regulatory Due Diligence).

Our services cover both the preparation of complete valuations including their documentation and targeted support on specific valuation questions.

Swiss Economics works with Andersen Global.

Contact

Nina Schnyder is a Senior Economist with Swiss Economics.

Bastian Seiler is a Senior Economist with Swiss Economics.

Marco Salvi is a Managing Economist with Swiss Economics.

Matthias Hafner is a Principal with Swiss Economics.

Selected Projects

What is the appropriate cost of capital for Swiss electricity grids and renewables for 2027?

How high are the capital costs of renewable energy?

How are the capital costs in the energy sector calculated?

Do state-owned enterprises benefit from financing advantages?

What is the extent of regional value creation generated by an alpine solar installation?

How can processes of fund management be optimised?

How can the peer group for the calculation of the regulatory beta be determined?

What incentives do noise charges create for airlines?

 

What is the appropriate cost of capital for Swiss electricity grids and renewables for 2026?

How is the market for data centers developing? How should a provider's existing business model be evaluated? What recommendations can be derived for business development?

How have venture capital investments developed in Switzerland?

What is the investment need for a Swiss connection to the European hydrogen network? How could funding mechanisms look like? How can investments be secured?

Swiss Economics supported on the quantum case of an international arbitration

Does a damaged asset have to be written off?

How can intellectual property be valued?

How has the Swiss electricity market developed in recent years?

What are the critical points of the ordinances on the overarching decree?

What is the impact of debt structure and repayment schedule on cash flows, dividends and profit?

How does the regulatory framework of an airport affect its exposure to market risk?

How high should the financing cost rate for electricity grids and renewables be in future?

How has venture capital developed in Switzerland?

How would longer operating lifetimes affect the valuation of nuclear power plants?

Should the future market area manager in the Swiss gas market take on tasks related to supply security? If yes, how should the market area manager be capitalized, and how should the governance be structured?

How expensive are the basic supply requirements today and in ten years?

Should a canton react in the event of persistently high energy prices? If so, how and when?

What are appropriate bids for the hydropower reserve?

How can the cost of capital be set in a project- or company-specific manner in a pragmatic but coherent way?

What measures are being discussed at EU and Swiss level to combat high energy prices? Which of these are relevant for Switzerland? What measures could Switzerland take?

How can decentralized futures contracts be implemented on Synthetix' DeFI protocol?

How to organize a decentralized exchange for cryptocurrencies? What are the pros and cons of different automated market-makers?

How should the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of Swiss power grids be determined?

What are the net costs of the postal universal service obligation (USO) today and in ten years?

Swiss Economics advised the Irish Commission for Aviation Regulation on the appropriate return on capital in the context of its 2019 Determination of price caps for passenger tariffs at Dublin Airport    

Can the burden of the net cost of the universal service obligation in the Irish telecoms market be borne by the provider?

What is the value of an asset in the telecommunications sector?

Can regulatory benchmarking contribute to "Better Regulation"?

How will the Swiss railways infrastructure fund (BIF) evolve until 2050?

Publications

How cash flow projections influence a valuation under the income approach and how they can be assessed in practice.

In legal proceedings, damages assessments can sometimes differ significantly. This article explains why substantial differences in valuation may arise even when recognised valuation methods are applied.

Swiss Economics wurde vom Bundesamt für Energie (BFE) beauftragt, die bisherige Methodik zur Bestimmung des Peergroup-Betas der Erneuerbaren zu prüfen und ihm mit Blick auf die WACC-Festsetzung 2026 Alternativen aufzuzeigen.

Soll der Übertragungsnetzbetreiber Transelectrica in die Peergruppe Netz aufgenommen werden?

Study commissioned by SECO published in Grundlagen für die Wirtschaftspolitik Nr. 63

Seit dem 1. Januar 2025 werden Parteigutachten vor Schweizer Gerichten als Beweismittel anerkannt.[1] Durch diese Änderung gewinnen fundierte und nachvollziehbare Schadensbewertungen für den Ausgang von Streitfällen deutlich an Bedeutung.

In unserem neuen Blogbeitrag geben Matthias Hafner, Nina Schnyder und Michael Altorfer einen kompakten Überblick zu den wichtigsten Bewertungsmethoden.

 

Studie für das Bundesamt für Energie (BFE)

Is there a need for adjustment in the methodology for determining the WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) for Swiss grid operators? How should the WACC for renewables be set?

Zentrum für Schweizerisches und Internationales Steuerrecht (zsis), 2/2023, S. 41-53

Wolfram ChainScience Conference Proceedings [forthcoming]

The Journal of the British Blockchain Association, 6(1)

In an article for cash.ch, Helmut Dietl and Matthias Hafner discuss the potential of the Ethereum Merge.

What were the financial implications of the Corona pandemic for Swiss hospitals in 2020? What was the role of the Federal Council's ban on non-urgent interventions from March 16 to April 27, 2020?

Staking the cryptocurrency Ether is very attractive for long-term investors. But how does staking work? And what annual interest can one expect?

Expert report on behalf of Zurich Airport

Expert report on behalf of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ)

Study for CEER (Council of European Energy Regulators)

Expert report for the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ)

Der Schweizer Treuhänder 3/4-2015

In: Postal and Delivery Innovation in the Digital Economy. Edited by M. Crew and T. Brennan, Springer, pp. 155-168

Study for Schweizerische Treuhandkammer

In: The Role Of The Postal And Delivery Sector In A Digital Age. Edited by M. Crew and T. Brennan, Edward Elgar, pp. 204-213

In: Studien zur Freizeit- und Tourismusforschung. Hrsg: S. Kübelböck and F. Thiele, MetaGIS-Fachbuch, pp. 155-170

Review of Law and Economics 9(1), pp. 125-150

In: Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, pp. 294-305

In: GSTF Journal on Business Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 219 - 224

Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, 12(2), 108-129

Journal of Regulatory Economics 39(1), 89-110