Cogent Valuation

What Cogent Valuation does

Cogent Valuation, legally organized as GKTR LLC, is a privately held business valuation and financial advisory firm founded in 1991 and headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. The firm operates three California offices — Los Angeles (Westlake Village), Orange County (Costa Mesa), and San Francisco — staffed by Managing Directors who average more than 40 years of full-time valuation experience and remain actively involved from start to finish on every engagement. Over its 35+ year history, Cogent has delivered more than 10,000 valuation opinions and served more than 5,000 clients, with work spanning closely-held businesses to corporations valued in the hundreds of billions.

The firm's practice is organized around five core service areas: Transaction Opinions (fairness and solvency opinions for M&A, LBOs, and restructuring), Tax & Estate Planning (gift/estate tax, IRC Section 409A, charitable contributions, corporate reorganizations), Fair Value Reporting (FASB 820, 718, and 805 compliance, impairment testing, fresh start accounting), Employee Stock Ownership Plans (transactions, annual administration, phantom stock), and Dispute Resolution (expert testimony, shareholder disputes, litigation consulting). It also provides specialized valuations of business interests (common and preferred stock, partnership and LLC interests, options, warrants, carried interests), intangible assets (patent portfolios, brands, music catalogs, film rights), and operates a dedicated service line for AI-sector companies. Industry coverage spans industrials and manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, technology and software, real estate, and media/entertainment/gaming.

Cogent generates revenue through fee-based professional service engagements, with pricing determined by scope, complexity, and requirements rather than disclosed publicly. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, targeting attorneys, CPAs, investment bankers, and investment advisors and their clients on matters where analysis must withstand challenge before auditors, the IRS, the DOL, boards, or courts. The firm augments referral-driven origination with a content marketing program of valuation research articles and quarterly industry update reports published since 2012. The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent, institutional investor, or external capital, and operates as a senior-led boutique with a small professional headcount.

Name

Cogent Valuation

Legal name

GKTR LLC

Website

https://cogentvaluation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cogent Valuation is a privately held, senior-led business valuation and financial advisory firm founded in 1991, serving attorneys, CPAs, investment bankers, and their clients with fairness opinions, ESOP valuations, fair value reporting, tax planning, and litigation support across industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Valuation Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHANAA

Business Valuation (Private Companies & Equity Interests)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Valuation, Appraisal & Forensic Services

SECONDARYFSAEAHAA

Business Valuation (Private Company & Enterprise)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Valuation, Appraisal & Fairness Opinions

SECONDARYFSAEAHAN

ESOP & Equity Compensation Valuation (ESOP, options, warrants)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Valuation, Appraisal & Fairness Opinions

SECONDARYFSAEAHAB

Financial Reporting Valuation (ASC 820/805, IFRS 13/3)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Valuation, Appraisal & Fairness Opinions

SECONDARYBPAHANAB

Intangible Asset Valuation (IP, Brand, Customer, Technology)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Valuation, Appraisal & Forensic Services

SECONDARYBPAHADAF

Valuation & Fairness Opinions

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Strategy & Corporate Finance Advisory

Keywords

• Business valuation services
• Financial advisory
• Mergers and acquisitions
• ESOP valuations
• Fairness opinions

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlake Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Valuation and Financial Advisory Services: Cogent Valuation generates revenue through professional service fees for providing independent valuation and financial advisory opinions. Services include transaction opinions (fairness and solvency opinions for M&A, LBOs and restructuring), tax and estate planning valuations, fair value reporting for financial compliance, ESOP valuations, and dispute resolution including expert testimony. Work spans companies from closely-held businesses to corporations valued in the hundreds of billions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Cogent Valuation provides independent business valuation and financial advisory opinions across five core practice areas: Transaction Opinions (fairness and solvency opinions for M&A, LBOs, restructuring), Tax & Estate Planning (gift/estate tax, IRC 409A, charitable contributions), Fair Value Reporting (FASB 820/718/805 compliance), Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs, stock options, phantom stock), and Dispute Resolution (expert testimony, litigation consulting). The firm also provides specialized valuations for intangible assets and equity securities.

Product overview

Cogent Valuation is a business valuation and financial advisory firm offering five core practice areas: Transaction Opinions (M&A, LBOs, restructuring), Tax & Estate Planning (gift/estate tax, IRC 409A, charitable contributions), Fair Value Reporting (GAAP/FASB compliance), Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs, stock options, phantom stock), and Dispute Resolution (expert testimony, litigation consulting). The firm also provides specialized valuations for business interests (equity securities, options, warrants), intangible assets (patents, trademarks, IP), and serves clients across industries including AI, technology, healthcare, real estate, and media. The company was founded in 1991 and operates from three California offices (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transaction Opinions

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mercer Capital: Mercer Capital is a closely-held business valuation and financial advisory firm specializing in private company, ESOP, and intangible asset valuations — directly comparable to Cogent's core practice mix and mid-sized professional services model.
• Empire Valuation Consultants: Empire is a specialized business valuation and financial advisory firm serving M&A, ESOP, tax, and litigation needs — directly comparable in service mix and client profile to Cogent.
• Stout: Stout is a global advisory firm offering valuation, transaction advisory, and dispute consulting services, including business valuation, ESOPs, and intangible asset appraisals — a closely comparable peer across multiple Cogent practice areas.
• Valuation Research Corporation (VRC): VRC is a national business valuation firm providing independent valuations for ESOPs, financial reporting, tax, M&A, and litigation support — overlapping directly with Cogent across virtually all five practice areas.
• American Appraisal: American Appraisal (a division of Duff & Phelps/Kroll) provides business enterprise and intangible asset valuations, overlapping Cogent's intangible asset, fair value, and financial reporting practices.
• Andersen (valuation practice): Andersen provides independent business valuation services alongside tax and advisory offerings, competing for the same private-company and ESOP valuation mandates as Cogent.

Broad incumbents

• Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps): Kroll is a large diversified advisory firm offering business valuation, fairness opinions, ESOP, and intangible asset valuation services as part of a broader portfolio — competing for mid- and large-cap mandates Cogent also targets.
• Deloitte (Valuation Services): Deloitte's Valuation practice offers fairness opinions, ESOP valuations, intangible asset, and financial reporting valuations to large-cap and mid-market clients — a scaled competitor for the most complex mandates.
• BDO USA (Valuation & Business Analytics): BDO's Valuation & Business Analytics practice serves middle-market clients with ESOP, financial reporting, and M&A valuation services — competing for the same mid-market and ESOP mandates as Cogent.
• Houlihan Lokey: Houlihan Lokey is a global investment bank with a dedicated Financial Advisory Services / Valuation practice; multiple Cogent MDs previously served at Houlihan, and it competes for the largest fairness opinion and transaction valuation mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cogent-valuation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cogent Valuation