Private equity and valuation calculators

PE-helper (private equity calculators) is a free set of seven valuation and deal models: simplified DCF, full DCF, LBO, IRR and NPV, MOIC, WACC and merger accretion/dilution. Each calculator has its own page with the formulas, sensitivity tables, a plain-English explanation, share links and Excel export with live formulas. No sign-up is needed. Everything runs in your browser: calculator inputs stay in your browser and are not stored on our servers. Advertising cookies may be used after you give consent.

Start with a simple DCF See the worked examples

PE-helper Fox says:

Change one input at a time and watch what moves. That's how you learn the model.

PE-helper Fox

Calculators

Simple DCF Calculator
Discounted cash flow, simplified
Value a business from one free cash flow figure, one growth rate and a terminal value.
DCF Calculator
Discounted cash flow, full 10-year model
Build ten years of revenue, margins, capex and working capital into unlevered free cash flow, then discount it.
LBO Calculator
Leveraged buyout
A five-year buyout financed with debt and a 100% cash sweep: what return does the investor's equity earn?
Simplified LBO Calculator
Leveraged buyout, simplified
A fixed five-year buyout with one debt tranche and a 100% cash sweep: the quick read on sponsor IRR and MOIC.
IRR and NPV Calculator
Internal rate of return and net present value
The yearly return and today's value of an investment with five yearly cash flows.
MOIC Calculator
Multiple on invested capital
How many times you get your money back, and the annual return that implies over the holding period.
WACC Calculator
Weighted average cost of capital
The blended cost of a company's debt and equity, with a re-levered beta (CAPM cost of equity).
Accretion/Dilution Calculator
Merger accretion and dilution
Does an acquisition raise (accretion) or lower (dilution) the buyer's earnings per share?

Worked examples

Two fictional companies, invented for teaching. They are not real company data. Figures in € millions.

Fictional case

Northfield Instruments – a full DCF

Assumptions. Revenue of 1,000 growing 8% a year for ten years, a 25% EBITDA margin, D&A of 4% and capex of 5% of revenue, working capital of 10% of each revenue increase, 25% tax, a 9% WACC, 2% terminal growth, net debt of 500 and 100 million shares.

What drives the result. Free cash flow grows from 151 in year 1 to 302 in year 10. The ten years of cash flow are worth 1,332 today, but the terminal value is worth 1,934: about 59% of the enterprise value of 3,266. After net debt, equity is 2,766, or €27.66 per share.

One insight. Because most of the value sits in the terminal value, the discount rate matters a lot: at an 8% WACC the value per share rises to roughly €34, at 10% it falls to roughly €23. A one-point change in WACC moves the answer by about 20% either way. Check the sensitivity table after loading.

Open this example in the DCF calculator

Fictional case

Harbour Packaging – an LBO

Assumptions. LTM revenue of 500 with a 22% EBITDA margin (EBITDA 110), growing 6% a year. A sponsor pays 10x EBITDA (EV 1,100), borrows 5x EBITDA (550) at 8%, pays 2% fees and exits after five years at 10x. D&A and capex are 3% of revenue each, working capital 10% of the revenue change, tax 25%.

What drives the result. The sponsor puts in 572. All free cash flow repays debt, which falls from 550 to 278. Year-5 EBITDA of 147 at 10x gives an exit EV of 1,472 and exit equity of 1,194: a 2.09x MOIC and a 15.9% IRR. The bridge shows the gain of 622 comes from EBITDA growth (372) and debt paydown (272), less fees (22); there is no multiple expansion.

One insight. Exit multiple versus leverage: moving the exit multiple by one turn either way (9x to 11x) moves the IRR from 12.8% to 18.6%. Moving leverage by one turn either way (4x to 6x) moves it only from 14.5% to 17.8%, and adds risk. In this case the exit price matters more than the debt.

Open this example in the LBO calculator