You are working in the finance department of Supertech Ltd (SUT). The Company has spent $5 million in research and development over the past 12 months developing cutting-edge battery technology which will be incorporated into the electric vehicle market. SUT now need to choose between the following three options for bringing the product to market. These options are:

Option 1: Manufacturing the product in-house and selling directly to the market

Option 2: Licensing another company to manufacture and sell the product in return for a royalty

Option 3: Sell the patent rights outright to the company mentioned in option 2

cover in your memo:

a) Analyse base case figures for the three options and using NPV as the investment decision rule;

b) Provide recommendations based on the base-case analyses;

c) Provide recommendations on further analyses and discuss factors that should be considered prior to making a final decision on the three options (Note. You do NOT have to undertake any further financial analyses).

Further details for the various options are as follows:

Option 1: Manufacturing the product in-house and selling directly to the market Three months ago, SUT paid an external consultant $1.5 million for a production plan and demand analysis. The consultant recommended producing and selling the product for five years only as technological innovation will likely render the market too competitive to be profitable enough after that time. Sales of the product are estimated as follows:

Year	Estimated sales volume (units)
1	5,600
2	4,800
3	4,200
4	3,600
5	3,300

In the first year, it is estimated that the product will be sold for $55,000 per unit. However, the price will drop in the following three years to $38,000 per unit and fall again to $30,000 per unit in the final year of the project, reflecting the effects of anticipated competition and improving technology in the market. Variable production costs are estimated to be $30,000 per unit for the entire life of the project.

Fixed production costs (excluding depreciation) are predicted to be $3 million per year and marketing costs will be $2.2 million per year.

Production will take place in factory space the company owns and currently rents to another business for $2.5 million per year. Equipment costing $87 million will have to be purchased. This equipment will be depreciated for tax purposes using the prime cost method at a rate of 10% per annum. At the end of the project, the company expects to be able to sell the equipment for $37 million.

Investment in net working capital will also be required. It is estimated that accounts receivable will be 30% of sales, while inventory and accounts payable will each be 25% of variable and fixed production costs (excluding depreciation). This investment is required from the beginning of the project because credit sales, inventory stocks and purchases on trade credit will begin building up immediately. All accounts receivable will be collected, suppliers paid and inventories sold by the end of the project, thus the investment in net working capital will be returned at that point.

Option 2: Licensing another company to manufacture and sell the product in return for a royalty Lighting Batteries Ltd (LIB), a multinational corporation, has expressed an interest in manufacturing and marketing the product under license for 5 years. For each unit sold, LIB will pay $2,300 royalty fees per unit to SUT as part of its licensing agreement. Due to LIBs international reach and strong distribution networks, it is estimated that they can sell 10% more units each year than SUT.

Option 3: Sell the patent rights outright to the company mentioned in option 2 As an alternative to a licensing arrangement, LIB has offered to buy the patent rights to the product design from SUT for $46 million. This amount would be paid in 4 (four) equal annual instalments, with the first payable immediately.