An all-equity firm has a return on assets of 13.3 percent. The firm is considering converting to a debt-equity ratio of .35. The cost of debt is 8.6 percent. Ignoring taxes, what will the cost of equity be if the firm switches to the levered capital structure?

a.

17.03 percent

b.

15.28 percent

c.

16.01 percent

d.

15.56 percent

e.

14.95 percent