Which of the following statements is false?
A) Even though firms have not issued new equity, the market value of equity has risen
over time as firms have grown.
B) While firms seem to prefer debt when raising external funds, not all investment is
externally funded.
C) To receive the full tax benefits of leverage a firm needs to use 100% debt financing.
D) If bankruptcy is costly, these costs might offset the tax advantages of debt financing.
Answer:
Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
If managed effectively, Rearden Metal will have assets with a market value of $200
million, $300 million, or $400 million next year, with each outcome being equally
likely. Managers, however, may decided to engage in wasteful empire building, which
will reduce Rearden’s market value by $20 million in all cases. Managers may also
increase the risk of the firm, changing the probability of each outcome to 50%, 5%, and
45% respectively.
Suppose that the managers at Rearden Metal will engage in empire building unless that
behavior increases the likelihood of bankruptcy. If Rearden has $190 million in debt
due in one year, then the expected value of Rearden’s assets are closest to:
A) $265 million
B) $280 million