Equity value is the portion of enterprise value attributable to the equity holders of the business, calculated as enterprise value minus net debt and minus other debt-like items, plus cash. Equity value is what the seller actually receives at completion (subject to working capital adjustments, escrow, holdback, and earnout mechanics).
The translation between enterprise value and equity value is one of the most consequential calculations in any deal. Disagreements about what constitutes “debt” or “debt-like items” frequently shift hundreds of thousands of dollars at completion.