Simcox Financial is considering raising additional capital to finance a takeover of one of the firm’s major competitors. Reuben Mellum, an analyst with Simcox, has put together the following schedule of costs related to raising new capital:
Amount of New Debt (in millions) |
After-tax Cost of Debt |
Amount of New Equity (in millions) |
Cost of Equity |
$0 to $149 |
4.2% |
$0 to $399 |
7.5% |
$150 to $349 |
5.0% |
$400 to $799 |
8.5% |
Assuming that Simcox has a target debt to equity ratio of 65% equity and 35% debt, what are the marginal cost of capital schedule breakpoints for raising additional debt capital and equity capital, respectively?
|
Breakpoint for new debt capital |
Breakpoint for new equity capital |
A) |
$428.6 million |
$533.3 million | | |
B) |
$428.6 million |
$615.4 million | | |
C) |
$375.0 million |
$615.4 million | | |
A breakpoint is calculated as the amount of capital where component cost changes / weight of component in the WACC. The breakpoint for raising new debt capital occurs at ($150 / 0.35) = $428.6 million, and the breakpoint for raising new equity capital occurs at ($400 / 0.65) = $615.4 million. |