Multiples for Valuation Estimates of Life Science Companies in Sweden

Abstract: Market multiples are a common and simple tool for estimation of corporate value. It can express temporal dynamics and differences in markets, industries and firms. Despite their practical usefulness, some critical problems remains which continue to be debated. This thesis investigates if there exists characteristics for explaining market capitalization by market multiples within the life science industry in Sweden. The approach follows well known theory of multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicated only a linear relationship between the market cap and the R\&D expenditures of a company. This does not mean that the other explanatory variables does not have effect on market cap only that there is no linear relationship that could be statistically proven.