This chapter presents the differences and similarities between M&A and formal valuation. The actual art of deal making and the science of formal valuation are like two brothers on a teeter‐totter. They relate and depend on one another more than either realizes. However, unfortunately, they each think they know what the other does. They usually do not, at least entirely and when they occasionally try to switch sides, the results can be disastrous. Furthermore, the value of an economic asset is its ability to produce earnings or return on investment to its owner in the future. Therefore, business valuation in an M&A context is a combination of six steps, a mix of art and science. The science is very similar to that in formal valuation, with one big exception that M&A bankers value businesses, and formal valuators usually value entities that own businesses. Additionally, sales‐side M&A valuations are done and reported predominantly by the use of multiples applied to normalized trailing EBITDA or EBITDA, which do after all take into account growth, but by applying an appropriate multiple to trailing EBTDA earnings.