HLM plc, an all-equity-financed business, has just paid a dividend totalling 1.5 million. This amount has been
Question:
HLM plc, an all-equity-financed business, has just paid a dividend totalling £1.5 million. This amount has been paid on a regular basis for many years and the market expects this to continue. The business has 10 million ordinary shares currently quoted at £1 each. The directors have identified the opportunity to invest £1 million in one year’s time, and a similar amount in two years’ time, in a project that will generate an annual cash flow of £0.4 million for ever, starting in three years’ time. The only possible way of financing this investment is by paying a reduced dividend for the next two years. If the directors were to announce their intention to make this investment and to publish full details of it and the financing method, what would (in theory) immediately happen to the share price? Ignore taxation.
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