Market-based valuation multiples: Evidence from agribusiness sector

Abstract

This article investigates the choice of multiples in valuing the agribusiness firms in Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. The agribusiness industry typically employs homogenous business models and produces standardized products, thus rendering excellent empirical settings to reveal the value drivers of such traditional industries. It was discovered that commonly adopted methodologies in valuation multiples are associated with pitfalls which may hamper the reliability of the valuations. Our findings also showed that price-to-earnings multiple leads to the best valuation performance, while price-to-sales multiple produces the worst results. Moreover, this research showed that growth prospect is an effective control factor in multiples valuation.