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The common stock and debt of Northern Sludge are valued at $70 million and $30 m

ID: 2688340 • Letter: T

Question

The common stock and debt of Northern Sludge are valued at $70 million and $30 million, respectively. Investors currently require a 16% return on the common stock and an 8% return on the debt. If Northern Sludge issues an additional $10 million of common stock and uses this money to retire debt, what happens to the expected return on the stock? Assume that the change in capital structure does not affect the risk of the debt and that there are no taxes. (Do not round intermediate calculations.)

New return on equity %

Explanation / Answer

Existing WACC = We * Re + Wd*Rd = .70 *16 + .30*8 = 11.2 + 2.4 = 13.6% With the issue of new stock the capital structure becomes 80 mil common stock and 20 mil debt. WACC = We * Re + Wd*Rd 13.6% = .80 *Re + .20*8 Re = 14% So answer is 14% so expected return is 14%