Merk and Company Ltd has decided to use the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) to discount the free cash flows associated with project evaluation. You have been given the task of determining the after-tax WACC of the firm. You are informed that Merk and Company Ltd uses the following securities to fund its operations:

• 7,000 individual bonds with a face value of $1000 that will mature in 10 years time offer a coupon that is paid halfyearly. The coupon rate for these bonds is 8% per annum. The current market interest rate for these bonds is 9% per annum.

• The beta of Merk Ltd is 1.2, the risk-free rate is currently 4% per annum, and the market risk premium is 6%. Currently 800,000 ordinary shares are outstanding and each share is trading at a market price of $5.

• 400,000 preference shares, which pay an annual dividend of 1% on a stated value of $100. Each preference share is trading at a market price of $10.

• The company tax rate is 30 percent.

• Compute the WACC based on the above information.