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 Google— Talks at Google
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:45:13 AM

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