Problems and Questions

1. BMD Inc is a firm with no debt on its books currently and a market value of equity of $ 2
billion. Based upon its EBITDA of $ 200 million, it can afford to have a debt ratio of 50%, at
which level the firm value should be $ 300 million higher.

a. Assuming that the firm plans to increase its leverage instantaneously, what are some of
the approaches it could use to get to 50%?

b. Is there a difference between repurchasing stock and paying a special dividend? Why
or why not?

c. If BMD has a cash balance of $ 250 million at this time, will it change any of your
analysis?

2. MiniSink Inc. is a manufacturing company that has $ 100 million in debt outstanding and 9
million shares trading at $ 100 per share. The current beta is 1.10, and the interest rate on the
debt is 8%. In the latest year, MiniSink reported a net income of $ 7.50 per share, and analysts
expect earnings growth to be 10% a year for the next 5 years. The firm faces a tax rate of 40%
and pays out 20% of its earnings as dividends (the treasury bond rate is 7%).

a. Estimate the debt ratio each year for the next 5 years, assuming that the firm maintains
it current payout ratio.

b. Estimate the debt ratio each year for the next 5 years, assuming that the firm doubles
its dividends and repurchases 5% of the outstanding stock every year.

3. IOU Inc. has $ 5 billion in debt outstanding (carrying an interest rate of 9%), and 10 million
shares trading at $ 50 per share. Based upon its current EBIT of $ 200 million, its optimal debt
ratio is only 30%. The firm has a beta of 1.20, and the current treasury bond rate is 7%.
Assuming that the operating income will increase 10% a year for the next five years and that the
firm's depreciation and capital expenditures both amount to $ 100 million annually for each of
the five years, estimate the debt ratio for IOU if

a. it maintains its existing policy of paying $ 50 million a year in dividends for the next 5
years.

b. it eliminates dividends.

4. DGF Corporation has come to you for some advice on how best to increase their leverage over
time. In the most recent year, DGF had EBITDA of $ 300 million, owed $ 1 billion in both book
value and market value terms, and had a net worth of $ 2 billion (the market value was twice the
book value). It had a beta of 1.30, and the interest rate on its debt is 8% (the treasury bond rate is
7%). If it moves to its optimal debt ratio of 40%, the cost of capital is expected to drop by 1%.
 a. How should the firm move to its optimal? In particular, should it borrow money and
take on projects or should it pay dividends/repurchase stock?

b. Are there any other considerations that may affect your decision?

5. STL Inc. has asked you for advice on putting together the details of the new debt issues it is
planning to make. What information would you need to obtain to provide this advice?

6. Assume now that you have uncovered the following facts about the types of projects STL
takes:

a. The projects are primarily infrastructure projects, requiring large initial investments
and long gestation periods.

b. Most of the new projects will be in emerging markets, and the cash flows are expected
to be in the local currencies, when they do occur.

c. The magnitude of the cash flows will, in large part, depend upon how quickly the
economies of the emerging markets grow in the long term.

How would you use this information in the design of the projects?

7. You are attempting to structure a debt issue for Eaton Corporation, a manufacturer of
automotive components. You have collected the following information on the market values of
debt and equity for the last ten years:

Market Value of
Year Debt
Equity
1985 1824.9 436
1986 2260.6 632
1987 2389.6 795
1988 1960.8 655
1989 2226 836
1990 1875.9 755
1991 2009.7 795
1992 2589.3 833
1993 3210 649
1994 3962.7 1053

In addition, you have the following information on the changes in long term interest rates,
inflation rates, GNP, and exchange rates over the same period.

Long Bond GNP Weighted Inflation

Year
Rate Growth Dollar Rate
1985 11.40% 6.44% 125.95 3.50%
1986 9.00% 5.40% 112.89 1.90%
1987 9.40% 6.90% 95.88 3.70%
1988 9.70% 7.89% 95.32 4.10%
1989 9.30% 7.23% 102.26 4.80%
1990 9.30% 5.35% 96.25 5.40%
1991 8.80% 2.88% 98.82 4.20%
1992 8.10% 6.22% 104.58 3.00%
1993 7.20% 5.34% 105.22 3.00%
1994 8.00% 5.97% 98.6 2.60%

Using this information,

a. Estimate the duration of this firm's projects. How would you use this information in
designing the debt issue?

b. How cyclical is this company? How would that affect your debt issue?

c. Estimate the sensitivity of firm value to exchange rates. How would you use this
information in designing the debt issue?

d. How sensitive is firm value to inflation rates? How would you use this information in
designing the debt issue?

e. What factors might lead you to override the results of this analysis?

8. Repeat the analysis in problem 7 for a private firm that has provided you with the following
estimates of operating income for the ten years for which you have the macro economic data:

Operating
Year
Income
1985 463.05
1986 411.696
1987 483.252
1988 544.633
1989 550.65
1990 454.875
1991 341.481
1992 413.983
1993 567.729
1994 810.968
9. Assuming that you do this analysis with both firm value and operating income, what are the
reasons for the differences you might find in the results, using each? When would you use one
over the other?

10. Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company, has a debt ratio of 10.30% and is considering
increasing its debt ratio to 30%. Its cost of capital is expected to drop from 14.51% to 13.45%.
Pfizer had earnings before interest and taxes of $ 2 billion in 1995, and a book value of capital
(debt + equity) of approximately $ 8 billion. It also faced a tax rate of 40% on its income. The
stock in the firm is widely held, but the corporate charter includes significant anti-takeover
restrictions.

a. Should Pfizer move to its desired debt ratio quickly or gradually? Explain.

b. Given the choice in part a, explain how you would move to the optimal?

c. Pfizer is consider using the excess debt capacity for an acquisition. What are some of
the concerns it should have?

11. Upjohn, which is also a major pharmaceutical company, is considering increasing its debt
ratio from 11% to 40%, which is its optimal debt ratio. Its beta is 1.17, and the current treasury
bond rate is 6.50%. The return on equity was 14.5% in the most recent year, but it is dropping, as
health care matures as a business. The company has also been mentioned as a possible takeover
target, and is widely held.

a. Would you suggest that Upjohn move to the optimal ratio immediately? Explain.

b. How would you recommend that Upjohn increase its debt ratio?

12. U.S. steel companies have generally been considered mature in terms of growth, and often
take on high leverage to finance their plant and equipment. Steel companies in some emerging
markets often have high growth rates and good growth prospects. Would you expect these
companies to also have high leverage? Why or why not?

13. You are trying to decide whether the debt structure that Bethlehem Steel has currently is
appropriate, given its assets. You regress changes in firm value against changes in interest rates,
and arrive at the following equation

Change in Firm Value = 0.20% - 6.33 (Change in Interest Rates)

a. If Bethlehem Steel has primarily short term debt outstanding, with a maturity of 1 year,
would you deem it appropriate?

b. Why might Bethlehem Steel be inclined to use short term debt to finance longer term
assets?
14. Railroad companies in the United States tend to have long term, fixed rate, dollar
denominated debt. Explain why.

15. The following table summarizes the results of regressing changes in firm value against
changes in interest rates for six major footwear companies

Change in Firm Value = a + b (Change in Long Term Interest Rates)

Slope
Company Intercept
Coefficient
LA Gear -0.07 -4.74
Nike 0.05 -11.03
Stride Rite 0.01 -8.08
Timberland 0.06 -22.50
Reebok 0.04 -4.79
Woverine 0.06 -2.42

a. How would you use these results to design debt for each of these companies?

b. How would you explain the wide variation across companies? Would you use the
average across the companies in any way?

16. You have run a series of regressions of firm value changes at Motorola, the semiconductor
company, against changes in a number of macro-economic variables. The results are summarized
below

Change in Firm Value = 0.05 - 3.87 (Change in Long Term Interest Rate)

Change in Firm Value = 0.02 + 5.76 (Change in Real GNP)

Change in Firm Value = 0.04 - 2.59 (Inflation Rate)

Change in Firm Value = 0.05 - 3.40 ($/DM)

a. Based upon these regressions, how would you design Motorola's financing?

b. Motorola, like all semiconductor companies, is sensitive to the health of high

technology companies. Is there any special feature you can add to the debt to reflect this
dependence?

17. Assume that you are designing the debt that will be issued by Compaq Computer. Knowing
what you do about the business - it is high growth, high risk and extremely volatile what type
of debt would you suggest that Compaq use? Why?
18. Heavily regulated companies in the United States, such as power and phone utilities, are
governed by regulatory agencies that grant them rate increases based upon inflation. They are
also restricted in terms of investment policy, and cannot diversify into other businesses. What
type of debt would you expect these firms to issue? Why?

19. ACM Inc. is a mining company, that holds large stakes in copper, zinc and magnesium mines
around the world. Historically, its revenues and earnings have gone up in periods of high
inflation, and down during periods of deflation or low inflation. What type of debt would you
recommend for ACM Inc.? What special features would you consider adding to this debt?

20. In this chapter, we have argued that firms with substantial cash flows in foreign currencies
should consider using debt denominated in those currencies. Can you think of good reasons for
such firms to continue to issue debt denominated in the local currency and in local markets?

21. A CFO of a small manufacturing firm, with long term assets, argues that it is better to use
short term debt, because it is cheaper than long term debt. This, in turn, he notes, reduces the cost
of capital. Do you agree? Why or why not?

22. GF Technology Inc. is in the business of manufacturing disk drives for computers. While the
underlying business is risky, the managers of GF Technology believe that their cash flows are
much more stable than perceived by the market, largely because of several long term contracts
that the firm has with major computer manufacturers. They are considering the use of convertible
bonds to raise funds for the firms. Would you concur? Why or why not?

23. VisiGen Inc. is a bio-technology firm involved in gene therapy. It is trying to raise funds to
finance its research, and is weighing the pluses and minuses of issuing stock versus warrants.
What would your advice be?