Debt Policy at Ust, Inc.

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Debt Policy at UST, Inc. 1. What are the primary business risks associated with UST inc.? What are the attributes of UST Inc.? Evaluate from the viewpoint of a bondholder. Agency cost: When a firm has leverage, managers may make decisions that benefit shareholders but harm the firm’s creditors and lower the value of the firm. - Dependent on the leverage of UST - Debt overhang problem: Not taking on enough positive NPV projects. When a firm faces financial distress, it may choose not to finance new, positive NPV projections - Over investment: Taking on too much negative NPV projects. Shareholders can gain from decisions that increase the risk of the firm sufficiently, even if they have a negative NPV. Leverage gives shareholders an incentive to replace less risker assets with riskier ones – asset substitution. 2. Why is UST Inc. considering a leveraged recapitalization after such a long history of conservative debt policy? - take advantage of tax shield - Value of levered firm increases with tax shield - Value of levered firm = Value of unlevered firm + taxshield - Value of equity increases, therefore share prices increase - Less likelihood of hostile takeovers - Agency benefits: owners/managers have a stronger incentive to work harder, managers will be motivated to run the firm as efficiently as possible when the firm commits to making future interest payments - Information benefits of leverage: o credible signal of positive information o issuing equity: prior to issuing equity, the price of a stock generally rises, immediately after equity is issued, there is a decline in the share’s price. 3. Should ST Inc. undertake the $1 billion recapitalization? Calculate the marginal (or incremental) effect on UST’s value, assuming that the entire recapitalization is implemented immediately (January 1, 1999). a. Assume a 38% tax rate. b.

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