Firms A and B are identical except for their capital structure. A carries no debt, whereas B carries £300m of debt on which it pays a 5% interest rate. Assume no transaction costs, no taxes and risk-free debt. The relevant numbers are provided in the following table (in £ m):
A B
Value of Firm 400 500
Debt 0 300
Equity Earnings before interest 50 50
Interest payment
Interest rate Not Applicable 5%
Earnings after interest
Return on Equity
Debt/Equity Ratio
Cost of Capital
a. Reproduce the above table in your answer booklet filling the blank spaces. Explain your calculations.
b. Consider an investor holding a stake y, with 0
c. Suppose now that we were to allow for the presence of corporate taxes. Assuming that each firm pays a third of its earnings after interest in taxes, what would be the difference in the value of the two firms? How does this compare with the case of no taxes? Discuss your findings.