A Butcher Timber Company hired your consulting firm to help them estimate the cost of equity. The yield on the firm's bonds is 8.75%, and your firm's economists believe that the cost of equity can be estimated using a risk premium of 3.85% over a firm's own cost of debt. What is an estimate of the firm's cost of equity from retained earnings?
a. 12.60%
b. 13.10%
c. 13.63%
d. 14.17%
e. 14.74%