Valuing consumer brands

March 2013
  • Print-friendly version
Valuing consumer brands

At a glance

Mergers and acquisitions for retail and consumer product companies can be influenced by the brands involved in the transaction. Such "brand-rich" transactions can bring accounting complexities that requires close attention to the valuation and purchase accounting process.

For many consumer products companies, M&A transactions are often driven by the underlying brands. However, as a recent publication from PwC reveals, brand-rich transactions can be fraught with accounting complexities.

Brands: What’s in a name? provides important guidance to consider when planning a consumer products transaction. This publication explains how keeping a careful eye on the valuation and purchase accounting issues can provide better insight into the potential accretive or dilutive impact of a deal, help improve and streamline post-deal accounting and even reduce the risk of impairment in some cases.

Key issues to consider:

  • Determining whether you acquired a business or simply an asset or group of assets
  • Selecting an appropriate valuation methodology
  • Accounting for defensive assets
  • Determining useful lives and amortization
  • Considerations regarding pre-deal diligence