Stephenson Real estate Recapitalization

Stephenson Real Estate Company was founded 25 years ago by the current CEO, Robert Stephenson. The company purchases real estate, including land and buildings, and rents the property to tenants. The company has shown a profit every year for the past 18 years, and the shareholders are satisfied with the companys management. Prior to founding Stephenson Real Estate, Robert was the founder and CEO of a failed alpaca farming operation. The resulting bankruptcy made him extremely averse to debt financing. As a result, the company is entirely equity financed, with 15 million shares of common stock outstanding. The stock currently trades at $41.50 per share.

Stephenson is evaluating a plan to purchase a huge tract of land in the southern United States for $70 million. The land will subsequently be leased to tenant farmers. This purchase is expected to increase Stephensons annual pretax earnings by $18 million in perpetuity. Kim Weyand, the companys new CFO, has been put in charge of the project. Kim has determined that the companys current cost of capital is 12.5 percent. She feels that the company would be more valuable if it included debt in its capital structure, so she is evaluating whether the company should issue debt to entirely finance the project. Based on some conversations with investment banks, she thinks that the company can issue bonds at par value with an 8 percent coupon rate. Based on her analysis, she also believes that a capital structure in the range of 70 percent equity/30 percent debt would be optimal. If the company goes beyond 30 percent debt, its bonds would carry a lower rating and a much higher coupon because the possibility of financial distress and the associated costs would rise sharply. Stephenson has a 40 percent corporate tax rate (state and federal).

1. If Stephenson wishes to maximize its total market value, would you recommend that it issue debt or equity to finance the land purchase? Explain. 2. Construct Stephensons market value balance sheet before it announces the purchase. Market Value Balance Sheet Assets Equity Total assets Debt & Equity 3. Suppose Stephenson decides to issue equity to finance the purchase. a. What is the net present value (NPV) of the project? (Hint: Calculate the after-tax increase in earnings as a result of the land purchase as a perpetuity.) b. Construct Stephensons market value balance sheet after it announces the purchase will be financed with equity. (Hint: The market value of equity increases by the market value or NPV of the land purchase.) Market Value Balance Sheet Old assets NPV of project Equity Total assets Debt & Equity What would be the new price per share of the firms stock? How many shares will Stephenson need to issue in order to finance the issue? c. Construct Stephensons market value balance sheet after the equity issue, but before the purchase has been made. Market Value Balance Sheet Cash Old assets NPV of project Equity Total assets Debt & Equity How many shares of common stock does Stephenson have outstanding after the new equity issue? What is the price per share of the firms stock? d. Construct Stephensons market value balance sheet after the purchase has been made. Market Value Balance Sheet Old assets PV of project Equity Total assets Debt & Equity 4. Suppose Stephenson decides to issue debt to finance the purchase. a. What will the market value of the Stephenson company be if the purchase is financed with debt? (Hint: VL = VU + tCB.) b. Construct Stephensons market value balance sheet after both the debt issue and the land purchase. What is the price per share of the firms stock after the debt issue? Market Value Balance Sheet Value unlevered Debt Tax shield Equity Total assets Debt & Equity 5. Which method of financing maximizes the per-share stock price of Stephensons equity? Explain.