9. Determining the optimal capital structure Aa Aa Understanding the optimal capital structure Review this situation: Transworld Consortium Corp. is trying to identify its optimal capital structure. Transworld Consortium Corp. has gathered the following financial information to help with the analysis. Debt Ratio Equity Ratio EPS DPS Stock Price 30% 70% 1.55 0.34 22.35 40% 60% 1.67 0.45 24.56 1.72 0.51 25.78 50% 50% 27.75 60% 40% 1.78 0.57 70% 30% 1.84 0.62 26.42 Which capital structure shown in the preceding table is Transworld Consortium Corp.'s optimal capital structure? O Debt ratio = 50%; equity ratio 50% O Debt ratio = 40%; equity ratio 60% Debt ratio 30%; equity ratio = 70% O Debt ratio = 70%; equity ratio = 30% O Debt ratio = 60%; equity ratio = 40% Consider this case: Globex Corp. currently has a capital structure consisting of 30% debt and 70% equity. However, Globex Corp.'s CFO has suggested that the firm increase its debt ratio to 50%. The current risk-free rate is 2.5%, the market risk premium is 8%, and Globex Corp.'s beta is 1.25. If the firm's tax rate is 40%, what will be the beta of an all-equity firm if its operations were exactly the same? Now consider the case of another company: U.S. Robotics Inc. has a current capital structure of 30% debt and 70% equity. Its current before-tax cost of debt is 6%, and its tax rate is 40%. It currently has a levered beta of 1.25. The risk-free rate is 2.5%, and the risk premium on the market is 8% U.S. Robotics Inc. is considering changing its capital structure to 60% debt and 40% equity. Increasing the firm's level of debt will cause its before-tax cost of debt to increase to 8%. Use the Hamada equation to unlever and relever the beta for the new level of debt. What will the firm's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) be if it makes this change in its capital structure? Which of the following statements regarding a firm's optimal capital structure are true? Check all that apply. The optimal capital structure maximizes the firm's EPS. The optimal capital structure maximizes the firm's stock price. The optimal capital structure minimizes the firm's cost of equity. The optimal capital structure minimizes the firm's cost of debt. The optimal capital structure minimizes the firm's WAC