Fair value
The price a willing buyer and seller would agree on today, defined under IFRS 13 and central to the IPEV guidelines.
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Fair value is defined in line with IFRS 13 as the price at which an asset would change hands between knowledgeable, willing and independent parties in an orderly transaction at the measurement date. Three points follow. It is market based rather than specific to one investor. It is hypothetical, because most private companies have no observable price. And it is measured as of a date, so it must move as conditions move.
This is why the price of the last financing round is a starting point rather than a permanent answer. When the market or the company changes, the fair value changes with it. The discipline that keeps a valuation aligned to fair value over time is calibration.
For the full standard and how it shapes private-market valuation, see IPEV 2025, Fair Value and Calibration.
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