大多数企业出卖者实际上只有两样东西可以卖:资产和这些资产产生利润的能力。这里企业使用资产创造利润的能力,指它的商誉。术语商誉是世界上用得最不恰当的字眼之一。商誉与企业名声、社会影响,以及顾客所持看法密切相关。商誉价值是企业超过资产价值的净值。商誉本身是一种财产,尽管它是无形的东西,但它能买能卖,有价值。对许多企业来说,确定商誉价值的来源是不困难的。这种产生利润的能力也许来自不同的无形资产,例如来自专利权、著名商标、专营许可证、客户名单,以及有利可图的合同。许多无形资产是可以自由转让的;也有不能转让的。商誉来源,实际上也许把企业所有者的专门技术和顾客名单计算在内。顾客名单也许可以转让,但所有者的专门技术(或个性)很可能无法转让。大多数购买者意识到有个重要获利要素是不能转让的。如果购买者不能把商誉转让过来,就要比企业所有者承担更大风险,而购买价格会降低。由于这个原因,其他所有财产都相等的服务性企业,比生产或推销产品的企业,价钱卖得便宜。说商誉代表资产产生利润的能力,是不很正确的。任何资产都能产生利润。如果购买者获得经拍卖出售的亏本企业的资产,对其投入现金,现金就会带回一些利润。商誉真正所代表的是资产在其他方面获得超额利润的生产能力。因此,商誉是衡量企业产生超额利润能力的尺 Most business sellers actually have only two things to sell: the ability of assets and those assets to make a profit. The ability of a company to use assets to generate profits here refers to its goodwill. The term goodwill is one of the most inappropriate words in the world. Goodwill is closely linked to corporate reputation, social impact, and customer perceptions. Goodwill value is the net worth of an organization over the value of its assets. Goodwill itself is a property, though it is intangible, it can be bought, sold, and valuable. For many businesses, it is not difficult to determine the source of the goodwill value. This ability to generate profits may come from different intangibles, such as patents, well-known trademarks, franchise licenses, customer lists, and lucrative contracts. Many intangible assets are freely transferable; they can not be transferred. The source of the goodwill, in fact, may include the business owner’s expertise and customer list. The customer list may be transferable, but the owner’s expertise (or personality) is likely to not be transferable. Most buyers realize that there is an important element of profit is not transferable. If the buyer can not transfer the goodwill, it is more risky than the owner of the business, and the purchase price will be lower. For this reason, all other service businesses that are equal in property are cheaper to sell than those that produce or market the product. The ability of goodwill to generate profits on behalf of assets is not very correct. Any asset can generate profits. If the purchaser receives the assets of a loss-making enterprise that has been sold through auction, cash will bring back some profit. What really represents goodwill is the ability of the asset to generate excess profits in other respects. Therefore, goodwill is a measure of an enterprise’s ability to generate excess profits