In a simple envelope auction, someone offered to pay $24 for an envelope containing a $20 bill with a card labeled 'Control' because investment banks train analysts that acquiring control of a company yields a 20% premium, despite control having no value unless it changes the company's cash flows or risk

factualpending

Speaker

Aswath Domodaran

Evidence Quote

I tried this in investment bank last week. In investment banks, you're trained. If you put a control into a company, there's a 20% premium. I don't know where that came from. The guy offered me $24.

Source

Valuation in Four Lessons | Aswath Damodaran | Talks at GoogleTalks at Google
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:45:13 AM

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