SYDNEY - s4story -- Two companies, same earnings, 35% apart in value: LCC Asia Pacific guide shows how an organised approach to intellectual property drives company valuation

LCC Asia Pacific has released Intangible DNA® and Company Valuation, a guide for boards, chief executives and shareholders on why businesses with the same reported earnings can be valued very differently in a sale, and what separates the ones that command the higher price.

The guide builds on the firm's Intangible DNA® framework, trademarked in 2021, which describes the fusion of a company's intellectual property, proprietary know-how and operating experience. It argues that acquirers increasingly read a company's approach to innovation as evidence of whether its earnings will survive a change of owner, and price accordingly.

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"Boards tend to think of intellectual property as a legal matter and review it when something goes wrong," said Nicholas Assef, Founder and Managing Director of LCC Asia Pacific. "A buyer sees it differently. When a company records what it learns, secures what it creates and can prove it owns the assets that produce its margins, the buyer reads that as evidence the business is future-proofed, and pays for it. Two companies can be equally inventive, but only the organised one gets paid for what it knows."

"The uncomfortable part is that most of the gap is avoidable. Assignments, registrations and documentation are modest costs with 12 to 24 months' notice. Almost none of it can be fixed once a data room is open."

The guide draws on recent research from IP Australia, the European Patent Office and WIPO, which reports that global investment in intangible assets passed USD 10 trillion in 2025 and that intangibles now account for approximately 92% of the market value of S&P 500 companies.

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Topics covered include traditional IP rights, the accounting rules that keep most intangible assets off the balance sheet, how IP enters a valuation, where value is lost in due diligence, a six-step preparation programme and questions for boards.

Intangible DNA® and Company Valuation is available at lccib.com.

About LCC Asia Pacific
LCC Asia Pacific is a sector-focused boutique investment banking and strategic advisory firm, established in Sydney in 2004 and named International Boutique Investment Banking Firm of the Year at The M&A Advisor's awards in New York in 2019. The firm advises clients from the Fortune 100 to start-ups in the engineering, services, aerospace, defence and industrial technology sectors. Intangible DNA® and Deal Craft® are registered trade marks of LCC Asia Pacific Pty Limited.