c. Mr. Duncan has decided to eliminate preferred stock as one of the alternatives
and focus on the others. EduSoft’s investment banker estimates that EduSoft
could issue a bond-with-warrants package consisting of a 20-year bond and 27
warrants. Each warrant would have a strike price of $25 and 10 years until
expiration. It is estimated that each warrant, when detached and traded
separately, would have a value of $5. The coupon on a similar bond but without
warrants would be 10%.
1. What coupon rate should be set on the bond with warrants if the total package is
to sell for $1,000?
Answer: If the entire package is to sell for $1,000, then
The 27 warrants each have an estimated value of $5, so
Therefore, the bonds must carry a coupon rate that will cause each bond to sell for $865. The
straight-debt rate is rd = 10%, so if the coupon were set at 10 percent, the bonds would sell at par, not at
$865. The coupon must therefore be below 10 percent, and it is found by solving for PMT
Therefore, the required coupon rate is $84/$1,000 = 8.4%. With an 8.4% coupon,
c. 2. When would you expect the warrants to be exercised? What is a
stepped-up-exercise price?
Answer: Generally, a warrant will sell in the open market at a premium above its expiration
value, which is the value of the warrant if exercised. Thus, prior to expiration, an
However, note that in order to force warrant holders to exercise and thus to bring
in equity capital, some warrants contain step-up provisions, whereby the strike price
Mini Case: 20 – 1
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