Two different companies are considering rights offerings. The current market price per share is $48 in both cases. To allow for fluctuations in market price, company X wants to set a subscription price of $42, whereas company Y feels a subscription price of $41.50 is in order. The number of rights necessary to purchase an additional share is 14 in the case of company X and 4 in the case of company Y.
a. Which company (potentially) will have the greatest percentage increase in shares outstanding? Is it the larger stock issue in absolute terms?
b. In which case is there less risk that the market price will fall below the subscription price?