February 24, 2009
Survey: Rising Demand for Fairness Opinions
This recent survey finds that a majority of senior executives expect demand for – and scrutiny of – fairness opinions to increase in the US and Europe. Here is a summary of key results from the survey:
– 68% of respondents believe boards have become more concerned with potential shareholder lawsuits over the past five years
– Majority believe fairness opinions can help protect a company and its directors against such shareholder suits
– 72% of US respondents and 78% of European obtain fairness opinions for M&A transactions
– 69% of respondents say they would obtain a fairness opinion for related-party transactions
– 46% would obtain a fairness opinion for restructurings
– 56% of European respondents say they would not feel comfortable relying on a fairness opinion from the deal banker, compared to only 30% of US respondents
– 69% of European respondents compensated their fairness opinion providers with non-contingent fees, compared to 40% of US respondents