Hardmon Enterprises is currently anall-equity firm with an expected return of 16%. It is considering a leveraged
Question:
Hardmon Enterprises is currently an all-equity firm with an expected return of 16%. It is considering a leveraged recapitalization in which it would borrow and repurchase existing shares. Assume perfect capital markets.
a. Suppose Hardmon borrows to the point that its debt-equity ratio is 0.50. With this amount of debt, the debt cost of capital is 6%. What will the expected return of equity be after this transaction?
b. Suppose instead Hardmon borrows to the point that its debt-equity ratio is 1.50. With this amount of debt, Hardmon's debt will be much riskier. As a result, the debt cost of capital will be 8%. What will the expected return of equity be in this case?
c. A senior manager argues that it is in the best interest of the shareholders to choose the capital structure that leads to the highest expected return for the stock. How would you respond to this argument?
Corporate Finance The Core
ISBN: 9781292158334
4th Global Edition
Authors: Jonathan Berk, Peter DeMarzo