Measuring Synergies of Banks’ Cross-Border Mergers by Real Options: Case Study of Luminor Group AB

Applying the real options valuation to measure merger and acquisition (M&A) synergy is highly debatable, with questions arising from the usefulness of this approach in real-world settings. Understanding the full benefits (and possible limits) of real options applications to measure synergy in cross-border merger activities remains a challenge. The main objective of the paper is to explore multiple types of synergies in the recent, highly strategic cross-border merger—the Luminor Group AB deal—and to value those synergies with the real options application. The research found that the sum of values of different types of synergies in M&A deals as the market value added provided by this deal could be valued with real options applications. A real options application may serve as a decision-making tool and at the same time be a useful valuation method of M&A deal synergies. The implications of this paper are twofold. First, the research contributes to corporate financing by providing relevant synergy measurement models in M&A deals. Second, the paper contributes to “grand challenges’’ research topics of international businesses by illustrating how a group of multinational banks solved the problem of income inequality across countries, and balanced inequality within their networks through a cross-border merger.

Value Maximizing Decisions in the Real Estate Market: Real Options Valuation Approach

The real estate market of EU countries has undergone a severe global financial crisis 2008–2009, recovered successfully later, and now experiencing significant uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic event. Significant volatility of the real estate business is once again evident, just as it was following the global financial crisis. The paper aims to provide a case study of a real estate project by giving insight into the Latvian real estate project that had been experiencing similar economic uncertainty, to demonstrate hybrid real options valuation (ROV) method to adapt real estate investments to changing circumstances and to develop the decision-making solution to similar EU real estate problems during the pandemic. The paper provides the “step-by-step” ROV application’s methodology in real estate development projects. The presented methodology is a powerful managerial risk management tool for the executives of similar real estate development projects in the EU countries struggling to make investment decisions in the pandemic and post-pandemic period. Since any estimation includes assumptions, ROV results should be interpreted and perceived as approximations only. The future works can provide robust ROV analyses and interpretations regarding the demand for real estate, showing quantitatively how competition can impact strategic investment decisions.

Application of Option Models in Evaluation of Innovative Projects of the Aviation Industry

The implementation of investment projects with a high-risk component, as well as innovative projects, is necessary for enterprises, despite the low values of the performance criteria. The theory of managerial options (real options valuation) is a tool that allows one to identify and evaluate additional opportunities (options) inherent in the project, which increase the efficiency of the original project and make it more attractive to potential investors. The mechanism considered in the study, in which the option to increase production volumes is used, allows an initially unprofitable project to be brought to a qualitatively new level.

The Appraisal of Assets’ Fair Value Using the Real Options Technique

The goal of this paper is to analyse and systematise the possible approaches to real options valuation, especially when considering the practical aspects of their application in real-life valuation problems. Therefore, the paper sets the following tasks: To outline the concept of fair value and analyse the traditional approaches to its calculation in the context of asset valuation To define the real-option approach to fair value estimation and analyse its theoretical background To determine the role of the real options approach in the traditional system of valuation techniques To analyse the practical aspects of their application in valuation problems considering the corresponding examples To provide the real-life example of this technique applied in current market conditions using the recent data. The object of this research is the option pricing models, and the subject is their application in estimation of real options embedded in corporate valuations, particularly considering the side.

Valuation of Decision Flexibility and Strategic Value in Coal Gasification Projects with the Option-To-Switch between Different Outputs

Coal gasification has been promoted as a sophisticated clean energy technology alternative to coal burning these days. Aside from the usual technical difficulties, economic issues of such projects—especially valuation challenges—are important problems that practitioners usually struggle with. This is because of the major extent of managerial flexibility linked with specific characteristics of coal gasification projects, in particular, possibilities to mothball/restart manufacturing lines, or change between different outputs. The value of such flexibilities may be well assessed by real options valuations. The aim of this paper is to show that for the coal gasification technologies the real options valuation is more suitable than traditional discounted cash flow technique. This approach was applied to calculate an integrated plant that can produce either electricity or methanol. As the valuation approach the multiplicative stochastic process was used. As a consequence, binomial lattices of end-product (electricity and methanol) were developed. Then, in regard to them (reference instruments), two corresponding lattices of net cash flows (consecutive instruments) were created. In the end, two trees of switching option value were developed—one for electricity production as an initial mode, and the second for methanol production, delivering expanded net present (strategic) value.