FIN CH 16

what action generally occurs first in a bankruptcy reorganization?

filing proofs of claim

under Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005, how long after a firm files for bankruptcy protection do creditors have to wait before submitting their own reorganization plan to the court?

180

the optimal capital structure maximizes

shareholder value

principal payment on long-term debt is a

marketed claim against a firm's cash flows

homemade leverage is

the use of personal borrowing to alter the individual's degree of financial leverage

minimizing the WACC will

maximize the value oft he firm's cash flows (WACC is the discount rate for the firm's overall cash flows)

financial leverage

the extent to which a firm relies on debt

the effect of financial leverage depends on the company's EBIT

when EBIT is relatively high, leverage is beneficial

M&M Proposition I

it is completely irrelevant how a firm chooses to arrange its finances, no optimal capital structure

M&M proposition II

cost of equity depends on required rate of return, cost of debt, debt-equity ratio.

as a firm raises its D/E ratio, increase in leverage raises the risk of the equity and therefore

the required rate of return or cost of equity

business risk

the equity risk that comes from the nature of the firm's operating activities (not affected by capital structure)

as the firm begins to rely on debt ifnancing

required return on equity rises (debt financing increases the risks borne by stockholders)

financial risk

extra risk that arises from the use of debt financing (dependent on firm's cap. structure)

total systematic risk of the firm's equity has two parts

business and financial risk

states that a firm's cost of equity capital is directly/proportionally related to the firm's capital structure

M&M proposition II

equity risk most related to the daily operations of a firm

business risk

as debt-equity ratio rises, so does the probability

that the firm will be unable to pay its bondholders what was promised to them

direct bankruptcy costs

legal and administrative expenses associated

indirect bankruptcy costs

the costs of avoiding a bankruptcy filing incurred by a financially distressed firm

financial distress costs

direct/indirect costs associated with going bankrupt or experiencing financial distress

static theory of capital structure

firms borrow up to the point where the tax benefit from an extra dollar in debt is exactly equal to the cost that comes from the increased probability of financial distress

implications of the pecking order

no target capital structure, profitable firms use less debt, companies will want financial slack

unlevered cost of capital refers to the cost of capital for

an all-equity firm

reorganization

when a business is unable to meet financial obligations and forced into using legal proceedings to restructure in order to continue as a viable business

absolute priority rule determines

which parties receive payment first in a bankruptcy proceeding

value of a firm is maximized when the

weighted average cost of capital is minimized

optimal capital structure has been achieved when the

debt-equity ratio results in the lowest possible weighted average cost of capital

relationship between a levered and unlevered capital structure (ignore taxes)

at the break even point, there is no advantage to debt

what makes the capital structure of a firm irrelevant

homemade leverage

homemade leverage is most associated with

M&M proposition I w/ no tax

according to M&M proposition II, without taxes

required return on assets is equal to the WACC

M&M prop II without taxes

firm's cost of equity is a linear function with a slope equal to Ra - Rd

the business risk of a firm has a

positive relationship with the firm's cost of equity

according to M&M prop U w/ tax

firm's weighted average cost of capital decreases as the firm's d/e ratio increases

value of a firm increases as firm's debt increases because of the interest tax shield (which proposition? )

M&M prop I w/ taxes

PV of interest tax shield is expressed as

Tc X D

Interest tax shield is a key reason why

net cost of debt to a firm is generally less than the cost of equity

bankruptcy is a

legal proceeding

what has the greatest tendency to increase % of debt included in optimal capital structure of a firm?

low probability of financial distress

optimal capital structure

will vary over time as taxes and market conditions change

basic lesson of M&M theory is that the value of a firm is dependent upon

total cash flow of the firm

which form of financing do firms prefer to use first according to the pecking order theory?

internal funds

according to pecking-order theory

firms stockpile internally generated cash

corporations in the US tend to

underutilize debt

in general, capital structures used by US firms

vary significantly across industries

firm is technically insolvent when

it is unable to meet its financial obligations

under a CH. 7 bankruptcy, a trustee will assume control of a firm's assets until

those assets can be liquidated

highest priority when assets are distributed in a bankruptcy proceeding

payment of employee wages

firms may file for CH. 11 bankruptcy in an attempt to gain

competitive advantage

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

permits key employee retention plans only in an employee has another job offer

financial distress can be defined in several ways

business failure(termination of business), legal bankruptcy, technical insolvency (when firm unable to meet fin. obligations), accounting insolvency (insolvent on the books)

firms that cannot make required payments to creditors have two options

liquidation (termination of firm, selling assets) OR reorganization - is the firm worth more dead or alive?

sequence of events of a bankruptcy

petition is filed in court, trustee elected by creditors to take over assets and attempt liquidation, proceeds distributed, remaining proceeds distributed to shareholders

absolute priority rule

administrative exp, S&W, employee benefit plans, consumer claims, gov tax claims, payment to creditors, then preferred stockholders, then common stock

bankruptcy reorganization

petition filed, judge approves/denies, corp continues to run business, corp submits reorg plan, creditors/shareholders divided into classes, plan accepted/confirmed, payments made to creditors/shareholders, firm operates according to provisions of the reo

interest tax shield

tax savings obtained from interest expense

unlevered cost of capital

cost of capital for a firm that has no debt

____ is sold as last resort for financing

equity

effects of leverage (in a world with no taxes/bankruptcy)

^ risk to shareholders because ^leverage=great variability of eps and roe, ^ expected rate of return (greater return due to greater risk)

how much debt a firm has is irrelevant

firm value cannot be higher if WACC is constant across all debt levels

since interest is tax deductible, as debt increases...(M&M II)

more cash flows are reserved for the shareholders and debt holders. increases the value of the firm

annual interest tax savings

D(Rd)(Tc)

the lower the WACC

higher the value of the firm

M&M II. optimal capital structure is where...

debt is maximized

M&M case III: as debt increases,

risk of bankruptcy and associated costs increase

companies that lower the business risk

can have more debt outstanding, they can handle increased financial risk

rules of the pecking order

internal financing first (no floatation cost), next issue debt (lower floatation), new equity last (most expensive to issue)