Bemidji Distributing Co., Inc. - Page 22




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          another distributor or from taking over a business that his                 
          daughters could sell at his death.  In short, we are persuaded              
          that the likelihood (and certainly the ability) of Mr. Langdon's            
          reentering the business should not be discounted.                           
               Mr. Chouravong also applied an additional 24.2-percent                 
          discount on the basis of various cumulative "risk" factors.  We             
          cannot discern a risk factor in a covenant not to compete, other            
          than that the covenant will be violated.  However, the covenant             
          provided for remedies in the case of breach, including injunctive           
          relief and money damages.  The entire value of the covenant was             
          paid "up front".  A covenant is not like an investment on which a           
          return is earned over time.  The only return bargained for is the           
          grantor's forbearance.  If Mr. Langdon died before the 5 years              
          expired, he would still be unable to compete.  A discount for               
          risk thus also seems inappropriate.                                         
               It may be that Mr. Chouravong was attempting to derive the             
          present value of BDC's operating profits for the life of the                
          covenant as an outer limit to the value of the covenant.  See               
          Buckley v. Commissioner, supra.  If so, however, he has failed to           
          persuade us of an appropriate discount rate, and we decline to              
          invent one out of whole cloth.                                              
               On the other hand, we agree with respondent that (1) the               
          allocation of $1 million by the purchase agreement to the                   
          covenant was not the result of arm's-length bargaining, and (2)             






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