MergerPlace.com Glossary of Business Terms

Our Glossary of Business and financial terms is designed to help you better understand the business process. Whether you're starting a business, buying or selling a business, financing a business or operating a business, you have to understand the terms that professionals frequently use. If there is a business term that you've heard that we haven't listed, please let us know, and we'll add it to the MergerPlace.com Glossary.

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Valuation

Determination of the value of a company's stock based on earnings and the market value of assets.

Valuation Opportunity Cost

The potential increase in firm value associated with investments that are for gone due to capital rationing.

Valuation reserve

An allowance to provide for changes in the value of a company's assets, such as depreciation.

Value Added

Value added is the risk adjusted return generated by an investment strategy: the return of the investment strategy minus the return of the benchmark.

Value additivity principal

When the value of a whole group of assets exactly equals the sum of the values of the individual assets that make up the group of assets.

Value broker

A discount broker whose rates are a percentage of the dollar value of each transaction.

Value date

In the market for Eurodollar deposits and foreign exchange, the delivery date of funds traded.

Value dating

When value or credit is given for funds transferred between banks.

Value Line investment survey

A proprietary service that ranks stocks for timeliness and safety.

Value Maximization

Increases in owners' wealth achieved by maximizing of the value of a firm's common stock.

Value-added tax

Method of indirect taxation that levies a tax is at each stage of production on the value added at that specific stage.

Value-at-risk model (VaR)

Procedure for estimating the probability of portfolio losses exceeding some specified proportion based on a statistical analysis of historical market price trends, correlations, and volatilities.

Vanilla issue

A security issue that has no unusual features.

Variable

An element in a model.

Variable annuities

Investment contracts whose issuer pays a periodic amount linked to the investment performance of an underlying portfolio.

Variable cost

A cost that is directly proportional to the volume of output produced. When production is zero, the variable cost is equal to zero.

Variable rated demand bond (VRDB)

Floating-rate bond that periodically can be sold back to the issuer.

Variable-price security

A security that sells at a fluctuating market-determined price stocks and bonds are example.

Variable-rate CDs

Short-term certificate of deposits that pay interest periodically on roll dates. On each roll date, the coupon on the CD is adjusted to reflect current market rates.

Variable-rate demand note

A note that is payable on demand and bears interest tied to a money market rate.

Variable-rate loan

Loan made at an interest rate that fluctuates depending on a base interest rate, such as the prime rate or LIBOR.

Variance

A measure of dispersion of a set of data points around their mean value. The mathematical expectation of the average squared deviations from the mean. The square root of the variance is the standard deviation.

Velda Sue

Stands for Venture Enhancement and Loan Development Administration for Smaller Undercapitalized Enterprises. A federal agency that buys and pools small business loans made by banks, and then issues securities that are bought by large institutional investors.

Velocity

The number of times a dollar is spent, or turns over, in a specific period of time. Velocity affects the amount of economic activity generated by a given money supply.

Vendor

Seller or supplier.

Venture capital

An investment in a start-up business that is perceived to have excellent growth prospects but does not have access to capital markets. Type of financing sought by early-stage companies seeking to grow rapidly.

Venture capital limited partnership

A partnership between a startup company and a brokerage firm or entrepreneurial company that provides capital for the new business in return for stock in the company and a share of the profits.

Vertical acquisition

Buying or taking over a firm in the same industry in which the acquired firm and the acquiring firm represent different steps in the production process.

Vertical analysis

Dividing each expense item in the income statement of a given year by net sales to identify expense items that rise more quickly or more slowly than a change in sales.

Vertical merger

When one firm acquires another firm that is in the same industry but at another stage in the production cycle. For example, the firm being acquired serves as a supplier to the firm doing the acquiring.

Vest

Become applicable or exercisable. A term mainly used on the context of employee stock ownership or option programs. Employees might be given equity in a firm but they must stay with the firm for a number of years before they are entitled to the full equity. This is a vesting provision. It provides incentive for the employee to perform.

Vesting

Nonforfeitable ownership (or partial ownership) by an employee of the retirement account balances or benefits contributed on the employees behalf by an employer. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 established minimum vesting rights for employees based on their years of service-full vesting in five years or 20% vesting per year starting by the end of the third year.

Visible supply

New muni bond issues scheduled to come to market within the next 30 days.

Volatility

A measure of risk based on the standard deviation of the asset return.

Volume discount

A reduction in price based on the purchase of a large quantity.

Voluntary bankruptcy

The legal proceeding that follows a petition of bankruptcy.

Voluntary liquidation

Liquidation proceedings that are supported by a company's shareholders.

Voluntary plan

A pension plan supported partially by the employee by pension contributions deducted from each paycheck.

Voting certificate

Certificates issued by a voting trust to stockholders in exchange for their common stock, which represent all the rights of common stock except voting rights.

Voting rights

The right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors.

Voting stock

The shares in a corporation that entitle the shareholder to vote.

Voting trust certificate

A trust in which control of a corporation is given to a few individuals, usually to support reorganization of a corporation without interference.

 

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