valuation
Market value is the price observed (or hypothetically observed) in an actual market for an asset or for a company's equity. It is evidence, not a guarantee of [intrinsic value](/resources/glossary/intrinsic-value), and it is only as good as the market's liquidity and the lot size being priced.
Market value starts from a transaction or a quote: someone was willing to trade at that price, in that size, on that venue, on that day. For a liquid listed name, the market value of equity is market capitalisation. For a building, it is what comparable sales and bids imply. For a private mid-market company, there is often no continuous market—only episodic deals—so "market value" is inferred from trading multiples and precedents, not read off a ticker.
That distinction matters. A closing price for 200 shares does not automatically equal the price of a 30% block, let alone 100% control.
| Label | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Market value of equity | Observed or estimated price of ordinary shares |
| Market value of debt | Traded price of bonds, or par plus adjustments if untraded |
| Market value of the firm | Often used loosely for enterprise value; prefer EV |
| Fair value (IFRS 13 / ASC 820) | Exit price in an orderly transaction between market participants |
| Intrinsic value | Analyst's fundamental estimate, which may differ from the quote |
IVS uses market value as a defined basis of value: an estimated exchange price between willing parties, after proper marketing, without compulsion. That is closer to an appraisal standard than to a last print on an exchange.
Northpane Packaging plc is invented, illustration only. Last print €18.40; 40 million diluted shares; average daily volume 80,000 shares.
| Concept | Figure |
|---|---|
| Screen market value of equity | €736m |
| 3% block (theoretical, at last print) | €22.1m — may move the print |
| 100% take-private at 25% premium | €920m equity value, plus net debt for EV |
The screen value is real for small lots. It is not automatically the equity value a bidder will pay for control, nor the fair value a fund would mark a large untraded stake.
Public-market investors live in market value; they mark to market daily. Deal professionals use market value as a reference (trading comps, unaffected share price in a bid) and then adjust for control, synergies, and information the market does not have. Private processes manufacture a market: two or three credible bidders are the market for that asset on that timetable.
Markets gap, gap down, and exclude information. They also embed sentiment and index flows that have little to do with the firm's cash. IFRS 13's "orderly transaction" assumption fails in firesales. For private companies, the absence of a market is not a licence to invent precision; it is a reason to show a range.
Dazur uses public market value as a calibration tool for listed peers, not as a verdict on a private owner-managed firm. When we say "the market", we mean the buyers who can actually close—not last week's multiple on a mega-cap that does not compete for the same asset.