Eastern Communications Corporation (ECC) is a Canadian Industrial company with several electronics divisions. The firm would like you to calculate the weighted average cost of capital as they are considering a new expansion project. You have been provided with the firm's most recent financial statements as well as the following additional information: Eastern Communications Corporation $millions Assets Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity Cash & short-term securities $10 Bonds, coupon =9%, paid semi-annually (maturity 15 years, $1,000 face value) $10 Accounts Receivable 8 Preferred Stock (Par value $20 per share) 2 Inventories 7 Common Stock (1,000,000 shares outstanding) 10 Plant & Equipment 25 Retained Earnings 28 Total $50 Total $50 The financial manager has gathered the following information for the firm: Debt: The bonds are currently selling at a quoted price of 102.4. New debt would be issued at par ($1,000) with flotation costs of 2.5% Preferred Shares: The existing preferred shares are currently selling for $25 per share. The firm can sell new $100 par value preferred shares with a 12% annual dividend. The market price is expected to be $95 per share. Flotation costs for new preferred shares are estimated at 3%. Common Equity: The firm's common shares currently sell for $18 per share. The firm does not have enough cash on hand to finance the equity portion of the projects. ECC has a tax rate of 40% and a beta of 1.79. You have observed the following from the market: an 8% market risk premium and a 2% risk free rate. Flotation costs for new common shares are estimated at 5%. The financial manager of ECC is evaluating equipment purchases with a total capital cost of $480,000 and shipping costs for equipment of $20,000. The present value of the after-tax operating cash flows will be =$389,044, present value of CCA tax shield will be $107,776, and present value of terminal (ending) cash flows will be $19,998. a) Calculate the discount rate the firm should use to evaluate projects with the same level of risk as the firm. (14 marks) b) Would this expansion create value for ECC? Perform a NPV analysis. Assume the asset class will remain open. (9 marks)