Boards & DirectorsIndependent judgment where management has an interest.
Management brings you a recommendation. The deal advisor's interest is in the transaction completing. The auditors face constraints on what they can opine on. The bank's house view is shaped by the bank's book. When you need an independent fairness opinion in the UAE, or a valuation the record can stand on, the difficulty is structural: the parties around the table each hold an interest in the outcome, and the quality of your decision rests on information none of them can give you clean.
What you engage us for
You engage Avior for the analysis none of those parties can produce. Fairness opinions built on multiple methodologies, with explicit assumptions and a clear statement of the conditions under which the conclusion holds. Independent valuation on a material acquisition, divestiture, or merger. Validation of related-party transactions where governance failures most often occur. Strategic review of the full option set, including the options management has not put in front of you. IPO preparation before the narrative reaches regulators and the market.
How we work
The opinion stands on its analysis. The conclusion we deliver does not move because the deal does or does not close, and we state the conditions under which it holds. Board governance in the UAE and GCC is tightening, and the personal and regulatory cost of a governance failure is more visible than it was five years ago. The principal builds the analysis and carries it into the room. You have direct access to the person who did the work, not a presentation layer.
Questions
What clients ask first.
What is a fairness opinion, and when does a board commission one?
A fairness opinion is an independent view on whether the financial terms of a transaction are fair to the company and its shareholders. Boards commission one on material acquisitions, disposals, and mergers, and on related-party transactions, particularly where management or a major shareholder has an interest in the outcome.
Can you advise the board when management has already appointed a deal advisor?
Yes, and that is the usual case. The deal advisor works for the transaction. We report to the board or its committee, build the analysis independently, and carry it into the room ourselves.
How do you build a valuation the board can rely on?
On more than one methodology, typically discounted cash flow, trading comparables, and precedent transactions, with every material assumption stated. We set out the range, the conditions under which the conclusion holds, and what would change it.
How are fees for a board mandate set and disclosed?
Fees are agreed in writing before work begins and disclosed to the board in full. Where any component is linked to a transaction, we state it plainly so the board can weigh it alongside the opinion.
Governance without independent analysis is procedure without substance.