Samuel Nicholls

Biography

Sam manages engagements related to the valuation of business entities and business interests and the analysis of privately held and publicly traded equity and debt securities.

Sam has performed the following types of valuation and economic analyses: noncontrolling and controlling equity ownership in businesses; debt instruments; mergers and acquisitions (appraisal rights, breach of fiduciary duty, and fairness opinions); equity and debt security valuations for estates; equity and debt security valuations for gift tax purposes (business succession planning); family limited partnerships and holding companies; lost profits/economic damages claims for commercial disputes; buy-sell agreement valuations; restricted stock and blockage discount analysis; and employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) formation and adequate consideration.

Sam has prepared these valuation and economic analyses for the following purposes: litigation (breach of fiduciary duty, adequate consideration for disputed mergers and acquisitions in Delaware Chancery Court and other state courts, federal tax disputes, trust disputes, forensic analysis, economic damages, and dispute resolution); taxation planning and compliance (federal income, gift, and estate tax); fairness opinions for transactions; transaction pricing and structuring; strategic planning and management information; ESOP transactions and annual ESOP valuation updates; and personal goodwill calculations for transactions.

Sam has valued the following types of business entities and securities: privately held business enterprises, fractional ownership interests in privately held businesses, publicly traded securities, multiple classes of preferred and common stock in complex capital structures, and interest-bearing debt instruments.

He has performed business valuations, economic analyses, and financial advisory services for clients in the following industries, among others: agricultural (automated inspection system manufacturing for quality control, fruit and vegetable wholesaling, poultry processing and wholesaling, and timberland and sawmills); basic materials (cement and asphalt production, chemicals, metals fabrication, polymer products, and sand and gravel mining for construction); consumer discretionary (automobile dealerships, cosmetics wholesaling, educational services, event planning, leisure product manufacturing, and national fast-casual and full-service restaurant chains); consumer staples (funeral homes); energy (electrical transmission and distribution equipment, oil and gas exploration and production platforms and equipment, pipeline construction and maintenance, and refineries); financial (hedge funds, insurance subrogation, investment management, mutual fund companies, and savings and loans); health care (biotech and diagnostics); industrial (agricultural equipment; aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services; capital equipment; chemical manufacturing; construction and earthmoving equipment; defense and aerospace prime contracting and subcontracting; electrical transmission and distribution equipment; engineering and construction services; pollution control equipment; and road and highway paving services); real estate (real estate holding companies); and transportation (barge services, cruise ship chandlers, maritime ports, self-driving vehicles, and trucking).

Sam has significant experience in many areas of business valuation. He previously served for 12 years as an investment research analyst with investment banks and investment managers and for 3 years as a venture capital associate. He has been a professor of investment banking since 2012 for the Investment Banking Institute, teaching live, in-person courses for class sizes averaging 15 students. As an investment research analyst, Sam served as a generalist analyzing publicly traded companies in all sectors and as a sector expert focused on the industrial and life sciences sectors. As a venture capital associate, Sam performed research and valuations of prospective investments in early-stage private companies, monitored existing holdings, performed debt recapitalizations, structured transactions of limited partnership interests, and assisted with fund accounting.

Previous Experience

Prior to joining Willamette Management Associates, Sam was a buyside investment research analyst at Carret Asset Management (founded by an early pioneer in value investing), a senior research analyst and director of research at W. Quillen Securities, an associate research analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison (now part of Bank of Montreal), and a venture capital associate at Rockefeller & Company and Wolfensohn Partners. Sam wrote hundreds of research reports disseminated to institutional investors through Thomson/Reuters and has been interviewed on Bloomberg live TV.

Education

• Master of Business Administration, finance, Yale School of Management
• Bachelor of Arts, government, Hamilton College

Professional Affiliations

Sam is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (“ASA”) of the American Society of Appraisers in business valuation.