Question

Hawar International is a shipping firm with a current share price of $5.50 and 10 million shares outstanding. Suppose Hawar announces plans to lower its corporate taxes by borrowing $20 million and repurchasing shares.

a) With perfect capital markets, what will the share price be after this announcement?

Suppose that Hawar pays a corporate tax rate of 30%, and that shareholders expect the change in debt to be permanent.

b) If the only imperfection is corporate tax rate of 30%, what will the share price be after this announcement?

c) Suppose the only imperfections are corporate taxes and financial distress costs. If the share price rises to $5.75 after this announcement, what is the PV of financial distress costs Hawar will incur as the result of this new debt?