1.Suppose Microsoft has no debt and an equity cost of capital of 9.2%. The average debt-to-value ratio for the software industry is 13%. What would its cost of equity be if it took on the average amount of debt for its industry at a cost of debt of 6%?
2.Global Pistons (GP) has common stock with a market value of $200 million and debt with a value of $100 million. Investors expect a 15% return on the stock and a 6% return on the debt. Assume perfect capital markets.
a. Suppose GP issues $100 million of new stock to buy back the debt. What is the expected return of the stock after this transaction?
b. Suppose instead GP issues $50 million of new debt to repurchase stock.
i. If the risk of the debt does not change, what is the expected return of the stock after this transaction?
ii. If the risk of the debt increases, would the expected return of the stock be higher or lower than in part (i)?
3.Hubbard Industries is an all-equity firm whose shares have an expected return of 10%. Hubbard does a leveraged recapitalization, issuing debt and repurchasing stock, until its debt-equity ratio is 0.60. Due to the increased risk, shareholders now expect a return of 13%. Assuming there are no taxes and Hubbard’s debt is risk free, what is the interest rate on the debt?