What is a deferred payment in a secondary?

Deferrals are one way a buyer can show a higher headline price, so two bids at the same price can pay very different amounts. Comparing them means putting each on a present-value basis. Until the money arrives, the seller also carries the risk that the buyer does not pay.

Say a buyer offers $90 million, half now and half next year. If the seller can earn 10% elsewhere, that is worth about $86 million today.

Money paid later is worth less than money paid now, so the headline price can overstate what the seller gets.