CHAPTER 14
CAPITAL STRUCTURE: BASIC CONCEPTS
Answers to Concepts Review and Critical Thinking Questions
1.Assumptions of the Modigliani-Miller theory in a world without taxes: 1) Individuals can borrow at
the same interest rate at which the firm borrows. Since investors can purchase securities on margin, an individual’s effective interest rate is probably no higher than that for a firm. Therefore, this assumption is reasonable when applying MM’s theory to the real world. If a firm were able to borrow at a rate lower than individuals, the firm’s value would increase through corporate leverage.
As MM Proposition I states, this is not the case in a world with no taxes. 2) There are no taxes. In the real world, firms do pay taxes. In the presence of corporate taxes, the value of a firm is positively related to its debt level. Since interest payments are deductible, increasing debt reduces taxes and raises the value of the firm. 3) There are no costs of financial distress. In the real world, costs of financial distress can be substantial. Since stockholders eventually bear these costs, there are incentives for a firm to lower the amount of debt in its capital structure. This topic will be discussed in more detail in later chapters.
2.False. A reduction in leverage will decrease both the risk of the stock and its expected return.
Modigliani and Miller state that, in the absence of taxes, these two effects exactly cancel each other out and leave the price of the stock and the overall value of the firm unchanged.
3.False. Modigliani-Miller Proposition II (No Taxes) states that the required return on a firm’s equity
is positively related to the firm’s debt-equity ratio [R S= R0+ (B/S)(R0– R B)]. Therefore, any increase in the amount of debt in a firm’s capital structure will increase the required return on the firm’s equity.
4.Interest payments are tax deductible, where payments to shareholders (dividends) are not tax
deductible.
5.Business risk is the equity risk arising from the nature of the firm’s operating activity, and is directly
related to the systematic risk of the firm’s assets. Financial risk is the equity risk that is due entirely to the firm’s chosen capital structure. As financial leverage, or the use of debt financing, increases, so does financial risk and, hence, the overall risk of the equity. Thus, Firm B could have a higher cost of equity if it uses greater leverage.
6.No, it doesn’t follow. While it is true that the equity and debt costs are rising, the key thing to
remember is that the cost of debt is still less than the cost of equity. Since we are using more and more debt, the WACC does not necessarily rise.
7.Because many relevant factors such as bankruptcy costs, tax asymmetries, and agency costs cannot
easily be identified or quantified, it’s practically impossible to determine the precise debt/equity ratio that maximizes the value of the firm. However, if the firm’s cost of new debt suddenly becomes much more expensive, it’s probably true that the firm is too highly leveraged.deductible
8.It’s called leverage (or “gearing” in the UK) because it magnifies gains or losses.
B-2    SOLUTIONS
9.Homemade leverage refers to the use of borrowing on the personal level as opposed to the corporate
level.
10.The basic goal is to minimize the value of non-marketed claims.
Solutions to Questions and Problems
NOTE: All end-of-chapter problems were solved using a spreadsheet. Many problems require multiple steps. Due to space and readability constraints, when these intermediate steps are included in this solutions manual, rounding may appear to have occurred. However, the final answer for each problem is found without rounding during any step in the problem.
Basic
1.  a.  A table outlining the income statement for the three possible states of the economy is shown
below. The EPS is the net income divided by the 2,500 shares outstanding. The last row shows the percentage change in EPS the company will experience in a recession or an expansion economy.
Recession Normal Expansion
EBIT£5,600£14,000£18,200
Interest        0        0        0
NI£5,600£14,000£18,200
EPS£  2.24£  5.60£  7.284
% EPS–60–––+30
b.If the company undergoes the proposed recapitalization, it will repurchase:
Share price = Equity / Shares outstanding
Share price = £150,000/2,500
Share price = £60
Shares repurchased = Debt issued / Share price
Shares repurchased =£60,000/£60
Shares repurchased = 1,000
The interest payment each year under all three scenarios will be:
Interest payment = £60,000(.05) = £3,000
CHAPTER 14  B-3 The last row shows the percentage change in EPS the company will experience in a recession or an expansion economy under the proposed recapitalization.
Recession Normal Expansion
EBIT£5,600£14,000£18,200
Interest  3,000  3,000  3,000
NI£2,600£11,000£15,200
EPS£1.73£  7.33£10.13
%∆EPS–76.36–––+38.18
2.  a.  A table outlining the income statement with taxes for the three possible states of the economy is
shown below. The share price is still £60, and there are still 2,500 shares outstanding. The last row shows the percentage change in EPS the company will experience in a recession or an expansion eco
nomy.
Recession Normal Expansion
EBIT£5,600£14,000£18,200
Interest000
Taxes    1,960 4,900  6,370
NI£3,640£9,100£11,830
EPS£1.46£3.64£4.73
%∆EPS–60–––+30
b.  A table outlining the income statement with taxes for the three possible states of the economy
and assuming the company undertakes the proposed capitalization is shown below. The interest payment and shares repurchased are the same as in part b of Problem 1.
Recession Normal Expansion
EBIT£5,600£14,000£18,200
Interest3,0003,0003,000
Taxes    910 3,850  5,320
NI£1,690£7,150£9,880
EPS£1.13£4.77£6.59
%∆EPS–76.36–––+38.18
Notice that the percentage change in EPS is the same both with and without taxes.
3.  a.Since the company has a market-to-book ratio of 1.0, the total equity of the firm is equal to the
market value of equity. Using the equation for ROE:
ROE = NI/£150,000
B-4    SOLUTIONS
The ROE for each state of the economy under the current capital structure and no taxes is:
Recession Normal Expansion
ROE.0373.0933.1213
%∆ROE–60–––+30
The second row shows the percentage change in ROE from the normal economy.
b.If the company undertakes the proposed recapitalization, the new equity value will be:
Equity = £150,000 – 60,000
Equity = £90,000
So, the ROE for each state of the economy is:
ROE = NI/£90,000
Recession Normal Expansion
ROE.0222.1156.1622
%∆ROE–76.36–––+38.18
c.If there are corporate taxes and the company maintains its current capital structure, the ROE is:
ROE.0243.0607.0789
%∆ROE–60–––+30
If the company undertakes the proposed recapitalization, and there are corporate taxes, the ROE for each state of the economy is:
ROE.0144.0751.1054
%∆ROE–76.36–––+38.18
Notice that the percentage change in ROE is the same as the percentage change in EPS. The percentage change in ROE is also the same with or without taxes.
4.  a.Under Plan I, the unlevered company, net income is the same as EBIT with no corporate tax.
The EPS under this capitalization will be:
EPS = €220,000/150,000 shares
EPS = €1.47
Under Plan II, the levered company, EBIT will be reduced by the interest payment. The interest payment is the amount of debt times the interest rate, so:
NI = €220,000 – .10(€1,500,000)
NI = €70,000
CHAPTER 14  B-5 And the EPS will be:
EPS = €70,000/60,000 shares
EPS = €1.17
Plan I has the higher EPS when EBIT is €220,000.
b.Under Plan I, the net income is €650,000 and the EPS is:
EPS = €650,000/150,000 shares
EPS = €4.33
Under Plan II, the net income is:
NI = €650,000 – .10(€1,500,000)
NI = €500,000
And the EPS is:
EPS = €500,000/60,000 shares
EPS = €8.33
Plan II has the higher EPS when EBIT is €650,000.
c.To find the breakeven EBIT for two different capital structures, we simply set the equations for
EPS equal to each other and solve for EBIT. The breakeven EBIT is:
EBIT/150,000 = [EBIT – .10(€1,500,000)]/60,000
EBIT = €250,000
5.We can find the price per share by dividing the amount of debt used to repurchase shares by the
number of shares repurchased. Doing so, we find the share price is:
Share price = €1,500,000/(150,000 – 60,000)
Share price = €16.67 per share
The value of the company under the all-equity plan is:
V= €16.67(150,000 shares) = €2,500,000
And the value of the company under the levered plan is:
V = €16.67(60,000 shares) + €1,500,000 debt = €2,500,000