FINA 4315 -- Midterm III
Salinas Corporation has net income of $15 million per year on net sales of $90 million per year. It currently has no long-term debt but is considering a debt issue of $20 million. The interest rate on the debt would be 7%. Salinas Corp. currently faces an effective tax rate of 40%. What would be the annual interest tax shield to Salinas Corp. if it goes through with the debt issuance? A. $560,000 B. $1,400,000 C. $8,000,000 D. $20,000,000
A. $560,000
When considering the impact of distress costs on capital structure, which of the following facts should lead ABC Corporation to set a higher target debt ratio than XYZ Corporation (all else equal)? A. ABC's cash flows from operations are less volatile than XYZ's. B. ABC is a computer software firm, and XYZ is an electric utility. C. ABC operates in a more competitive industry than XYZ. D. ABC's assets have lower resale values than XYZ's assets.
A. ABC's cash flows from operations are less volatile than XYZ's.
Which of the following statements are correct? I. Going-concern value of a firm is equal to the present value of expected future cash flows to owners and creditors. II. When an acquiring firm purchases a target firm's equity, the acquirer need not assume the target's liabilities. III. The market value of a public company reflects the worth of the business to minority investors. IV. The fair market value of a business is usually the lower of its liquidation value and its going-concern value. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III only E. II, III, and IV only F. None of the above.
A. I and III only
Which of the following statements concerning risk are correct? I. Systematic risk is measured by beta. II. The risk premium increases as unsystematic risk increases. III. Systematic risk is the only part of total risk that should affect asset prices and returns. IV. Diversifiable risks are market risks you cannot avoid. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. I and II only D. III and IV only E. I, II, and III only F. None of the above.
A. I and III only
Which of the following would not be considered a cost of financial distress? A. Lack of interest tax shields B. Bankruptcy costs C. Excessive risk-taking by shareholders D. Loss of customers or suppliers
A. Lack of interest tax shields
Which one of the following is an example of systematic risk? A. The Federal Reserve unexpectedly announces an increase in target interest rates. B. A flood washes away a firm's warehouse. C. A city imposes an additional one percent sales tax on all products. D. A toymaker has to recall its top-selling toy. E. Corn prices increase due to increased demand for alternative fuels. F. None of the above.
A. The Federal Reserve unexpectedly announces an increase in target interest rates.
Unsystematic risk: A. can be effectively eliminated by portfolio diversification. B. is compensated for by the risk premium. C. is measured by beta. D. is measured by standard deviation. E. is related to the overall economy. F. None of the above.
A. can be effectively eliminated by portfolio diversification.
Under the simplifying assumptions of Modigliani and Miller, an increase in a firm's financial leverage will: A. increase the variability in earnings per share. B. reduce the operating risk of the firm. C. increase the value of the firm. D. decrease the value of the firm.
A. increase the variability in earnings per share.
The pre-tax cost of debt: A. is based on the current yield to maturity of the firm's outstanding bonds. B. is equal to the coupon rate on the latest bonds issued by a firm. C. is equivalent to the average current yield on all of a firm's outstanding bonds. D. is based on the original yield to maturity on the latest bonds issued by a firm. E. has to be estimated as it cannot be directly observed in the market. F. None of the above.
A. is based on the current yield to maturity of the firm's outstanding bonds.
Which of the following is NOT a likely financing policy for a rapidly growing business? A. Adopt a modest dividend payout policy that enables the company to finance most of its growth externally. B. Borrow funds rather than limit growth, thereby limiting growth only as a last resort. C. Maintain a conservative leverage ratio to ensure continuous access to financial markets. D. If external financing is necessary, use debt to the point it does not affect financial flexibility. E. None of the above.
B. Borrow funds rather than limit growth, thereby limiting growth only as a last resort.
Which of the following factors favor the issuance of debt in the financing decision? I. Market signaling II. Distress costs III. Management incentives IV. Financial flexibility A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and IV only D. I, II, and III only E. I, II, and IV only F. None of the above.
B. I and III only
Which of the following factors favor the issuance of debt in the financing decision? I. Market signaling II. Distress costs III. Tax benefits IV. Financial flexibility A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and IV only D. I, II, and III only E. I, II, and IV only F. None of the above.
B. I and III only
The after-tax cost of debt generally increases when: I. a firm's bond rating improves. II. the market-required rate of interest for the company's bonds increases. III. tax rates decrease. IV. bond prices rise. A. I and III only B. II and III only C. I, II, and III only D. II, III, and IV only E. I, II, III, and IV F. None of the above.
B. II and III only
Which of the following statements is/are correct? I. Going-concern value of a firm is equal to the present value of expected net income. II. When a buyer values a target firm, the appropriate discount rate is the buyer's weighted-average cost of capital. III. The liquidation value estimate of terminal value usually vastly understates a healthy company's terminal value. IV. The value of a firm's equity equals the discounted cash flow value of the firm minus all liabilities. A. II only B. III only C. I and II only D. II and III only E. II, III, and IV only F. None of the above.
B. III only
The capital structure weights used in computing the weighted-average cost of capital: A. are based on the book values of total debt and total equity. B. are based on the market value of the firm's debt and equity securities. C. are computed using the book value of the long-term debt and the book value of equity. D. remain constant over time unless the firm issues new securities. E. are restricted to the firm's debt and common stock. F. None of the above.
B. are based on the market value of the firm's debt and equity securities.
The weighted-average cost of capital for a firm is the: A. discount rate which the firm should apply to all of the projects it undertakes. B. rate of return a firm must earn on its existing assets to maintain the current value of its stock. C. coupon rate the firm should expect to pay on its next bond issue. D. minimum discount rate the firm should require on any new project. E. rate of return shareholders should expect to earn on their investment in this firm. F. None of the above.
B. rate of return a firm must earn on its existing assets to maintain the current value of its stock.
The excess return earned by a risky asset, for example with a beta of 1.4, over that earned by a risk-free asset is referred to as a: A. market risk premium. B. risk premium. C. systematic return. D. total return. E. real rate of return. F. None of the above.
B. risk premium.
The basic lesson of the M&M theory is that the value of a firm is dependent upon: A. the firm's capital structure. B. the total cash flow of the firm. C. minimizing the marketed claims. D. the amount of marketed claims to that firm. E. the size of the stockholders' claims. F. None of the above.
B. the total cash flow of the firm.
Which of the following is/are helpful for evaluating the effect of leverage on a company's risk and potential returns? I. Estimated pro forma coverage ratios II. The recognition that financing decisions do not affect firm or shareholder value III. A range of earnings chart and proximity of expected EBIT to the breakeven value IV. A conservative debt policy that obviates the need to evaluate risk A. I only B. III only C. I and III only D. II and III only E. IV only F. None of the above.
C. I and III only
The interest tax shield has no value when a firm has: I. no taxable income. II. debt-equity ratio of 1. III. zero debt. IV. no leverage. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. I, III, and IV only D. II, III, and IV only E. I, II, and IV only F. None of the above.
C. I, III, and IV only
The dividend growth model can be used to compute the cost of equity for a firm in which of the following situations? I. Firms that have a 100 percent retention ratio II. Firms that pay an unchanging dividend III. Firms that pay a constantly increasing dividend IV. Firms that pay an erratically growing dividend A. I and II only B. I and IV only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III only E. I, III, and IV only F. None of the above.
C. II and III only
Which of the following statements are correct? I. Liquidation value of a firm is equal to the present worth of expected future cash flows from operating activities. II. When an acquiring firm purchases a target firm's equity, the acquirer must assume the target's liabilities. III. The market value of a public company reflects the worth of the business to minority investors. IV. The fair market value of a business is usually the lower of its liquidation value and its going-concern value. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III only E. II, III, and IV only F. None of the above.
C. II and III only
Which of the following factors favor the issuance of equity in the financing decision? I. Market signaling II. Distress costs III. Management incentives IV. Financial flexibility A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and IV only D. II, III, and IV only E. I, II, and IV only F. None of the above.
C. II and IV only
Which of the following is NOT an implication of the pecking order theory of capital structure? A. On average, a firm's stock price drops when it announces an equity issue. B. Firms may want to maintain a reserve of cash or unused borrowing capacity. C. More-profitable firms (all else equal) should have higher debt ratios. D. Firms may fail to undertake positive-NPV projects if they would have to be financed with a new issue of equity.
C. More-profitable firms (all else equal) should have higher debt ratios.
The cost of equity for a firm: A. tends to remain static for firms with increasing levels of risk. B. increases as the unsystematic risk of the firm increases. C. can be estimated from the capital asset pricing model or the dividend growth model. D. equals the risk-free rate plus the market risk premium. E. equals the firm's pre-tax weighted-average cost of capital. F. None of the above.
C. can be estimated from the capital asset pricing model or the dividend growth model.
The best financing choice is the one that: A. sets the debt-to-assets ratio equal to 1. B. trades off the tax disadvantage of debt against the signaling effects of equity. C. maximizes expected cash flows. D. ignores the false comfort of financial flexibility. E. results in the lowest possible financial distress costs.
C. maximizes expected cash flows.
Homemade leverage is: A. the incurrence of debt by a corporation in order to pay dividends to shareholders. B. the exclusive use of debt to fund a corporate expansion project. C. the borrowing or lending of money by individual shareholders as a means of adjusting their level of financial leverage. D. best defined as an increase in a firm's debt-equity ratio. E. the term used to describe the capital structure of a levered firm. F. None of the above.
C. the borrowing or lending of money by individual shareholders as a means of adjusting their level of financial leverage.
Ginormous Oil entered into an agreement to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Slick Company for $60 per share. The number of outstanding shares at the time of the announcement was 82 million. The book value of liabilities on the balance sheet of Slick Co. was $1.46 billion. What was the cost of this acquisition to the shareholders of Ginormous Oil? A. $1.46 billion B. $3.46 billion C. $4.92 billion D. $6.38 billion E. $8.38 billion F. None of the options are correct.
D. $6.38 billionThe value of the bid to Ginormous's shareholders is the value of the assets acquired in the merger. This would include the value of the equity acquired and the liabilities that accompany the equity. Therefore, the cost of the acquisition was ($60 × 82 million shares) + $1.46 billion = 6.38 billion.
According to the pecking order theory of capital structure, why do firms avoid issuing equity? A. Because fees associated with issuing new equity are so high B. Because they want to avoid dilution of earnings per share C. Because they don't want to commit to paying dividends on the new equity D. Because equity issuance signals that managers believe their stock is overvalued, which causes the price of the stock to fall
D. Because equity issuance signals that managers believe their stock is overvalued, which causes the price of the stock to fall
Which of the following are examples of diversifiable risk? I. An earthquake damages Oakland, California. II. The federal government imposes an additional $1,000 fee on all business entities. III. Employment taxes increase nationally. IV. Toymakers are required to improve their safety standards. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. II and III only D. I and IV only E. I, III, and IV only F. None of the above.
D. I and IV only
Which of the following statements are correct? I. Using the same risk-adjusted discount rate to discount all future cash flows adjusts for the fact that the more distant cash flows are often more risky than cash flows occurring sooner. II. If you can borrow all of the money you need for a project at 5%, the cost of capital for this project is 5%. III. The best way to obtain the cost of debt capital for a firm is to use the coupon rates on its bonds. IV. A firm's weighted-average cost of capital is NOT the correct discount rate to use for all projects undertaken by the firm. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. I and II only D. I and IV only E. I, II, and III only F. None of the above
D. I and IV only
Which of the following statements are correct concerning diversifiable, or unsystematic, risks? I. Diversifiable risks can be largely eliminated by investing in 50 unrelated securities. II. There is no reward for accepting diversifiable risks. III. Diversifiable risks are generally associated with an individual firm or industry. IV. Beta measures diversifiable risk. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. I and IV only D. I, II, and III only E. I, II, III, and IV F. None of the above.
D. I, II, and III only
According to the pecking order theory proposed by Stewart Myers of MIT, which of the following are correct? I. For financing needs, firms prefer to first tap internal sources such as retained profits and excess cash. II. There is an inverse relationship between a firm's profit level and its debt level. III. Firms prefer to issue new equity rather than source external debt. IV. A firm's capital structure is dictated by its need for external financing. A. I and III only B. II and IV only C. I, III, and IV only D. I, II, and IV only E. I, II, III, and IV F. None of the above.
D. I, II, and IV only
Financial leverage: I. increases expected ROE but does not affect its variability. II. increases breakeven sales, like operating leverage, but increases the rate of earnings per share growth once breakeven is achieved. III. is a fundamental financial variable affecting sustainable growth. IV. increases expected return and risk to owners. A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and IV only D. II, III, and IV only E. I, II, III, and IV F. None of the above.
D. II, III, and IV only
Unitron Corp. is considering project Z, which costs $50 million and offers an annual after-tax cash flow of $7.5 million in perpetuity. The project is in an industry that has greater market risk than Unitron's typical projects. Unitron's company weighted-average cost of capital, based on its typical projects, is 15%. Should Unitron Corp. accept project Z? A. Yes, because the NPV of the project is positive. B. Yes, because a zero-NPV project is marginally acceptable. C. No, because a zero-NPV project is a waste of resources. D. No, because the NPV of the project is negative.
D. No, because the NPV of the project is negative. Use the equation for a perpetuity to solve for the IRR: 7.5/IRR = 50 IRR = 15% Since the IRR is 15%, it would have an NPV of zero at a WACC of 15%. However, this project is riskier than the firm's average projects, so the WACC would be higher than 15%, which would make the NPV negative.
Which of the following statements regarding interest tax shields is correct? A. Taxes are reduced by the amount of a firm's interest-bearing debt. B. Taxable income is reduced by the amount of a firm's interest-bearing debt. C. Taxes are reduced by the amount of the interest on a firm's debt. D. Taxable income is reduced by the amount of the interest on a firm's debt.
D. Taxable income is reduced by the amount of the interest on a firm's debt.
A firm is considering an average-risk project with an IRR of 6%. The firm's cost of debt (KD) is 5%, its cost of equity (KE) is 12%, and its tax rate (t) is 20%. The target debt ratio (D/(D+E)) for the project, in market values, is 0.5. The firm should: A. accept the project only if it can be completely financed with equity B. accept the project only if it can be completely financed with debt C. accept the project regardless of the financing method D. reject the project regardless of the financing method
D. reject the project regardless of the financing method The project should be rejected because the IRR of 6% does not meet the hurdle of 8%.
Total risk is measured by _____ and systematic risk is measured by ____. A. beta; alpha B. beta; standard deviation C. WACC; beta D. standard deviation; beta E. standard deviation; variance F. None of the above.
D. standard deviation; beta
In general, the capital structures used by non-financial U.S. firms: A. typically result in debt-to-asset ratios between 60 and 80 percent. B. tend to converge to the same proportions of debt and equity. C. tend to be those that maximize the use of the firm's available tax shelters. D. vary significantly across industries. E. None of the above.
D. vary significantly across industries.
The term "financial distress costs" includes which of the following? I. Direct bankruptcy costs II. Indirect bankruptcy costs III. Direct costs related to being financially distressed, but not bankrupt IV. Indirect costs related to being financially distressed, but not bankrupt A. I only B. III only C. I and II only D. III and IV only E. I, II, III, and IV F. None of the above.
E. I, II, III, and IV
When investment returns are less than perfectly positively correlated, the resulting diversification effect means that: A. making an investment in two or three large stocks will eliminate all of the unsystematic risk. B. making an investment in three companies all within the same industry will greatly reduce the systematic risk. C. spreading an investment across five diverse companies will not lower the total risk. D. spreading an investment across many diverse assets will eliminate all of the systematic risk. E. spreading an investment across many diverse assets will eliminate some of the total risk. F. None of the above.
E. spreading an investment across many diverse assets will eliminate some of the total risk.
The discount rate assigned to an individual project should be based on: A. the firm's weighted-average cost of capital. B. the actual sources of funding used for the project. C. an average of the firm's overall cost of capital for the past five years. D. the current risk level of the overall firm. E. the risks associated with the use of the funds required by the project. F. None of the above.
E. the risks associated with the use of the funds required by the project.
(True or False) A beta greater than 1 is indicative of an above-average level of diversifiable (unsystematic) risk.
False
(True or False) All else equal, a terminal value based on a no-growth perpetuity would be higher than a terminal value based on a perpetuity with 2 percent growth.
False
(True or False) All else equal, if two competing firms in industry X are valuing the same plant in industry Y for a potential acquisition, the firm with the more volatile stock should arrive at a lower valuation for the plant.
False
(True or False) An acquirer should never consider a target that would reduce the acquirer's earnings per share.
False
(True or False) Asset betas measure financial risk and business risk.
False
(True or False) Failing to include real options in a project valuation could cause the NPV of the project to be overestimated.
False
(True or False) In business valuation, a typical discount for lack of marketability is about 10 percent.
False
(True or False) In reality, the cost of equity is always less than the cost of debt because firms are not obligated to pay out cash to shareholders.
False
(True or False) The M&M irrelevance proposition assures financial managers that their choice between equity or debt financing will ultimately have no impact on firm value.
False
(True or False) The adjusted present value (APV) method of valuation is superior to the standard WACC method of valuation because the WACC method makes no adjustment for interest tax shields.
False
(True or False) Acquisitions create shareholder value, on average.
True
(True or False) An acquirer should be willing to pay a higher control premium for a poorly managed company than for a well-managed company.
True
(True or False) An average-risk project that has an NPV of zero when its cash flows are discounted at the weighted-average cost of capital will provide sufficient returns to satisfy both stockholders and bondholders.
True
(True or False) Debt financing results in lower after-tax earnings relative to equity financing.
True
(True or False) If the maturity of a company's liabilities is less than that of its assets, the company incurs a refinancing risk.
True
(True or False) In some instances, additional debt financing can encourage managers to act more in the interests of owners.
True
(True or False) In venture capital valuation, the post-money valuation is equal to the pre-money valuation plus the amount of the venture capitalist's investment.
True
(True or False) The evidence indicates that, on average, a company's stock price declines when it announces a new issue of equity.
True
(True or False) When a company is in financial distress, its shareholders may have an incentive to undertake excessively risky investments.
True
(True or False) When an acquirer purchases all of a target firm's equity, it must assume the target's liabilities.
True
(True or False) When an acquirer values a potential target, it should discount the target's cash flows at the target's cost of capital.
True
(True or False) When projected cash flows are in nominal dollars, they should be discounted with a nominal discount rate.
True
The following table presents forecasted financial and other information for Havasham Industries: 2015 2016 2017 Projected EBIT $317 $339 $363 Earnings after tax 197 210 225 Free cash flow 135 144 155 Havasham's WACC 8.2% Expected growth rate in FCFs after 2017 4.0% Warranted MV firm/FCF in 2017 19.4 Warranted P/E in 2017 18.7 What is an appropriate estimate of Havasham's terminal value as of the end of 2017 using the perpetual-growth equation as your estimate? a) $161 million b) $363 million c) $3,690 million d) $3,888 million e) $5,357 million f) None of the options are correct.
f) None of the options are correct. FCF2018 = 155 × (1 + 0.04) = $161 million. Terminal value2017 = FCF2018/(KW− g ) = $161 million/(0.082 − 0.04) = $3,833 million.