You are the Chief Financial Officer of Hilton Ltd, a large manufacturing company operating within the Asian-pacific region. The CEO, Mr Ray Ellis, has just returned from a shareholders engagement event to promote the companys upcoming right issue of shares. He was confronted with some questions relating to issue of shares and whether there were any pros and cons to issuing shares via rights, bonus or by private placement. Issues related to the companys earnings per share (EPS) also came up during the event. Mr Ellis was unimpressed with both the questions and his inability to respond in a comprehensive manner. He promised the shareholders that he would email them with clear responses to the issues raised, after he consulted with his Chief Financial Officer. In consulting you, Mr Ellis would like to know your thoughts on the following: What is the difference between rights issue and bonus issue of shares? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods of issuing shares? Should Hilton Ltd consider a private placement and is there any benefit to having a private placement instead of a rights issue? What effects does a bonus issue of shares made in the middle of a financial year have on the EPS calculations of a company?

Required Write a short memorandum format report to the CEO of Hilton Ltd to answer his questions. Your report should cover all four questions raised by Mr Ellis. Each question should be answered under a sub-heading within the report with appropriately cited references.