Titelaufnahme

This master thesis describes the development as well as the application of the so called Greenfield Approach which is used for the valuation of intangibles. The first part of the thesis deals with the issue of business valuations. It gives an introduction of the main valuation approach, the discounted cash flow approach and its variations. The second part of the thesis is a presentation of the problems concerning the rising significance of intangible assets along the business world. It provides an introduction of the research questions which are answered in the main part as well as the conclusion. The third part of the thesis contains a detailed description of the valuation of intangible assets according to IFRS 3 – business combinations. It provides definitions and gives an overview of the purchase-price-allocation process under IFRS 3. The main part of the thesis consists of the historical background and the development of the Greenfield Approach. The Greenfield Approach is a modified form of the Income Approach which is used to obtain the fair value of intangible assets, mostly governancegranted licenses. It is based on a hypothetical start-up scenario where it is assumed that the company only possesses the intangible asset and therefor has to create a functional company around the intangible asset. Key factors which need to be considered in the valuation are such as, the market share of the company, operating costs, capital costs which are necessary to operate the business as well as the determination of the period in which a mature revenue share can be achieved. In this part of the thesis practical examples of the application as well as the views of the IFRS and US-GAAP regarding the Greenfield Approach are provided. The final part of the thesis summarizes and answers the research questions which were introduced in the first part of the thesis.