This dissertation relates to the study of valuing a business. Edcon, a well known listed retailer, was found its market values to be lower than its net asset value at 2002 financial year-end, while all of the major competitors of Edcon had a market value considerably in excess of net asset value. It was possible that Edcon's share was underpriced at year-end recently, as it was known that Edcon was a well-managed company with sound fundamentals. The "true" value of Edcon was investigated in this dissertation. Two valuation models, Discounted Free Cash Flow and Economic Profit model, were used and simple assumptions had to be made in order to arrive at a consensus valuation in this dissertation. Finally, all valuation performed in this case revealed that the share of Edcon was underpriced at year-end, and it was concluded that investors using these fundamental valuation methods and buying the shares could have made a profit.

Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.