Kinetic Corporation is considering acquiring High Tech Systems. Jim Smith, the vice president of finance at Kinetic, has been assigned the task of estimating a fair acquisition price for High Tech. Smith is aware of several approaches that could be used for this purpose. He plans to estimate the acquisition price based on each of these approaches, and has collected or estimated the necessary financial data.

High Tech has 10 million shares outstanding. Smith has estimated that the post-merger free cash flows from High Tech, in millions of dollars, would be 15, 17, 20, and 23 at the end of the following four years. After Year 4, he projects the free cash flow to grow at a constant rate of 6.5 percent a year. He determines that the appropriate rate for discounting these estimated cash flows is 11 percent. He also estimates that after four years High Tech would be worth 23 times its free cash flow at the end of the fourth year.

Smith has determined that three companies Alpha, Neutron, and Techno are comparable to High Tech. He has also identified three recent takeover transactions -- Quadrant, ProTech, and Automator that are similar to the takeover of High Tech under consideration. He believes that price-to-earnings, price-to-sales, and price-to-book value per share of these companies could be used to estimate the value of High Tech. The relevant data for the three comparable companies and for High Tech are as follows:

Kinetic Corporation is considering acquiring High Tech Systems. Jim Smith, the vice president of finance at Kinetic, has been assigned the task of estimating a fair acquisition price for High Tech. Smith is aware of several approaches that could be used for this purpose. He plans to estimate the acquisition price based on each of these approaches, and has collected or estimated the necessary financial data.

High Tech has 10 million shares outstanding. Smith has estimated that the post-merger free cash flows from High Tech, in millions of dollars, would be 15, 17, 20, and 23 at the end of the following four years. After Year 4, he projects the free cash flow to grow at a constant rate of 6.5 percent a year. He determines that the appropriate rate for discounting these estimated cash flows is 11 percent. He also estimates that after four years High Tech would be worth 23 times its free cash flow at the end of the fourth year.

Smith has determined that three companies Alpha, Neutron, and Techno are comparable to High Tech. He has also identified three recent takeover transactions -- Quadrant, ProTech, and Automator that are similar to the takeover of High Tech under consideration. He believes that price-to-earnings, price-to-sales, and price-to-book value per share of these companies could be used to estimate the value of High Tech. The relevant data for the three comparable companies and for High Tech are as follows:

Valuation Variables	Alpha	Neutron	Techno	High Tech
Current Stock Price ($)	44.00	23.00	51.00	31.00
EPS ($)	3.01	1.68	2.52	1.98
Sales/share ($)	20.16	14.22	18.15	17.23
Book value/share ($)	15.16	7.18	11.15	10.02

The relevant data for the three recently acquired companies are given below:

Valuation Variables	Quadrant	Protech	Automator
Stock price pre-takeover	24.90	43.20	29.00
Acquisition stock price ($)	28.00	52.00	34.50
EPS ($)	1.40	2.10	2.35
Sales/share ($)	10.58	20.41	15.93
Book value/share ($)	8.29	10.14	9.17

While discussing his analysis with a colleague, Smith makes two comments. Smiths first comment is: If there were a pre-announcement run-up in Quadrants price because of speculation, the takeover premium should be computed based on the price prior to the run-up. His second comment is: Because the comparable transaction approach is based on the acquisition price, the takeover premium is implicitly recognized in this approach.While discussing his analysis with a colleague, Smith makes two comments. Smiths first comment is: If there were a pre-announcement run-up in Quadrants price because of speculation, the takeover premium should be computed based on the price prior to the run-up. His second comment is: Because the comparable transaction approach is based on the acquisition price, the takeover premium is implicitly recognized in this approach.

1. What is the present value per share of High Tech stock using the discounted cash flow approach if the terminal value of High Tech is based on using the constant growth model to determine terminal value?What is the present value per share of High Tech stock using the discounted cash flow approach if the terminal value of High Tech is based on using the constant growth model to determine terminal value?

2. What is the value per share of High Tech stock using the discounted cash flow approach if the terminal value of High Tech is based on using the cash flow multiple method to determine terminal value?

3. The average stock price of High Tech for the three relative valuation ratios (if it is traded at the mean of the three valuations) is closest to _____________

4. Taking into account the mean takeover premium on recent comparable takeovers, what would be the estimate of the fair acquisition price of High Tech based on the comparable company approach?

5. The fair acquisition price of High Tech using the comparable transaction approach is _______________

6. Are Smiths two comments about his analysis correct?

Both of his comments are correct.

Both of his comments are incorrect.

His first comment is correct, and his second comment is incorrect.

His first comment is incorrect, and his second comment is correct.

Explain your answer

What is the value per share of High Tech stock using the discounted cash flow approach if the terminal value of High Tech is based on using the cash flow multiple method to determine terminal value?

The average stock price of High Tech for the three relative valuation ratios (if it is traded at the mean of the three valuations) is closest to

Taking into account the mean takeover premium on recent comparable takeovers, what would be the estimate of the fair acquisition price of High Tech based on the comparable company approach?

The fair acquisition price of High Tech using the comparable transaction approach is _______________

Are Smiths two comments about his analysis correct?

Both of his comments are correct.

Both of his comments are incorrect.

His first comment is correct, and his second comment is incorrect.

His first comment is incorrect, and his second comment is correct.

Explain your answer