Tag Equity (finance)

External sources for financing Pearlparadise.com

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Let’s use Portia as an ongoing example. Portia can consider using external financing, which refers to funds invested by outside investors and lenders. External financing is divided into equity and debt financing. Portia can either borrow money with the agreement to repay the borrowed sum plus interest or can obtain funds in exchange for equity, or use a combination of equity and debt financing.

Portia can consider debt as a source of external financing. Debt financing increases her financial risk because debt must be repaid regardless of whether or not the firm makes a profit. If debt is not repaid according to an agreed upon schedule, creditors may even force the enterprise into bankruptcy. Alternatively, equity investors are not entitled to more than what is earned by the enterprise.

When borrowing from the bank, an entrepreneur has number of options. The following types of loans are generally available:

Lines of credit – this is when bank agrees to make money available to the business. Agreement is made for up to a certain amount and is not guaranteed, but only in place if the bank has sufficient funds available. Such agreement is generally made for a period of 1 year.

Revolving credit agreement – this is similar to the lines of credit but the amount is guaranteed by the bank. A commitment fee of less than 1% of the unused balance is generally charged. Therefore, such arrangement is generally more expensive for the borrower.

Term loans – such loans are generally used for the financing of equipment. The loan is generally corresponds to the useful life of the equipment.

Mortgages – such loans are long-term loans and are available for purchase of the property which is used as collateral for the loan.

Portia can also consider equity financing. Private equity investors include venture capital firms and business angels. Venture capital firms raise a fund and then select portfolio of businesses in which to invest. Portfolios generally include start ups and existing businesses.

In exchange for investment, venture capital firms obtain partial ownership of the business. Convertible preferred stock or convertible debt is usually preferred. This is because the venture capital firm would like to have the senior claim on assets in case of liquidation but still wants to have an option to convert it to common stock if the business becomes successful.

Business angels, which are also referred to as informal venture capital, are wealthy private individuals who invest in the firms in their individual capacity. A very small percentage of start ups manage to get such funding. Therefore, entrepreneurs should have other options available as well.

There are also government supported financing options available to Portia which are specific to Portia’s location.

Further, Portia can use personal sources of funds. The “personal” sources could be personal savings, credit cards, borrowing from friends and relatives or any other way of obtaining money such as selling an asset, such as a car or a summer house, to free up funds for investment in the enterprise.

Personal savings are usually the leading source of “personal” funds. Credit cards are often used but needed to be used with extreme caution as interest rates on outstanding amounts can be incredibly high.

Borrowing from friends and family is also very tricky and should be done with extreme care. If Portia’s business fails or does not perform as expected and money is not repaid when agreed than it can destroy or severely damage relationships. When borrowing from friends and family, it is a good guideline to ensure that it is seen as an investment rather than a gift by the lending side of the transaction. An agreed upon deal should be put in writing since memory is not always reliable. Moreover, the amount borrowed should be repaid as soon as possible.

Overall, Portia has a number of the sources of external financing to choose from. Portia needs to evaluate upsides and downsides of each option and consider all options in light of the unique situation of the business to choose the best option or combination of options.

 

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Sources of financing

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When it comes to sources of financing, firms at any stage of the company’s life cycle have three options from which to choose:

  1. Internal financing – using retained profits.
  2. External financing – using funds invested by outside investors and lenders. Investors include the common stockholders, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
  3. Spontaneous financing – such as accounts payable, which increase automatically with increases in sales. Accounts payable, which is also called trade credit, are funds payable to suppliers.

Further, an entrepreneur needs to take into account certain variables when making a decision on optimal sources of financing. Particularly, entrepreneurs need to decide if they are willing to give up part of the voting control which will be inevitable if equity financing is chosen. Entrepreneurs also need to decide if they are willing to take on bigger financial risk which is inevitable when debt financing is selected.

Debt financing increases financial risk because debt must be repaid regardless of whether or not the firm makes a profit. If debt is not repaid according to an agreed upon schedule, creditors may even force the enterprise into bankruptcy. Alternatively, an equity investor is not entitled to more than what is earned by the enterprise.

Personal Sources of Financing

It is most likely that entrepreneurs will have to invest some of his or her “personal” money or money from “personal” sources to ensure that others will even consider investing in the enterprise. The “personal” sources of financing could be personal savings, credit cards, borrowing from friends and relatives or any other way of obtaining money such as selling an asset, such as a car or a summer house, to free up funds for investment in the enterprise.

Personal savings are usually the leading source of “personal” funds. Credit cards are often used but needed to be used with extreme caution as interest rates on outstanding amounts can be incredibly high.

Borrowing from friends and family is also very tricky and should be done with extreme care. If the business fails or does not perform as expected and money is not repaid when agreed than it can destroy or severely damage important relationships. When borrowing from friends and family, it is a good guideline to ensure that it is seen as an investment rather than a gift by the lending side of the transaction. Agreed upon deals should be put in writing since memories are not always reliable. Moreover, the amount borrowed should be repaid as soon as possible.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is usually a strategy that entrepreneurs follow to survive at the beginning stages of business establishment and growth.A bootstrapping or bootstrap financing refers to a situation when entrepreneur uses his or her initiative to find capital or use capital more efficiently to survive.

It includes minimization of the company’s investments and refers to such situations as leasing instead of buying, adapting just-in-time inventory system, operating business from home, obtaining free publicity instead of paying for advertising and using other people’s resources as much as possible, while paying as little as possible.

Other examples of bootstrap financing include factoring and trade credit. Factoring refers to the situation when the business sells its accounts receivable to a financial institution at a discount rate. Factor refers to the financial institution which business is to purchase accounts receivable from other companies. Trade credit refers to situations when suppliers provide their products and services on credit. Suppliers usually extend interest free credit for 30 days or less commonly for 60 or 90 days interest free credit.

Borrowing from the Bank

When borrowing from the bank, an entrepreneur has a number of options. The following types of loans are generally available:

Lines of credit – this is when the bank agrees to make money available to the business. Agreement is made for up to a certain amount and is not guaranteed but only in place if the bank has sufficient funds available. Such agreement is generally made for a period of 1 year.

Revolving credit agreement – this is similar to the lines of credit but the amount is guaranteed by the bank. A commitment fee of less than 1% of the unused balance is generally charged. Therefore, such an arrangement is generally more expensive for the borrower.

Term loans – such loans are generally used for financing of equipment. The loan generally corresponds to the useful life of the equipment.

Mortgages – such loans are long-term loans and are available for purchase of the property which is used as collateral for the loan.

When banks consider loaning money, they generally will have to consider certain requirements before they will even consider loaning the funds. Such requirements include the request of a business plan to learn whether or not the entrepreneur have their “own skin in the game”.

Other considerations include the entrepreneur’s own net worth which refers to personal assets less personal liabilities. The projected annual income of the entrepreneur is also considered.

If the company is not a start up, the historical financial statements may be requested. Further, pro forma financial statements may be requested which include pro forma income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements.

It is advisable for the entrepreneur to cultivate a good relationship with the banker since intuitive judgments also play a role when bankers decide whether or not they should lend money to the particular borrower. However, this is only valuable if all other considerations discussed above are attended to.

Banks use different methods to evaluate the appropriateness of the potential borrower. One of such methods, the five C’s method, is discussed below.

Five Cs of credit:

  1. Capital – businesses position with regards to debt versus equity
  2. Collateral – whether or not the entrepreneur has assets that can be sold to cover debt
  3. Character – borrower’s history of meeting obligations
  4. Capacity – ability to repay the loan. This is judged by such indicators as projected cash flows
  5. Conditions – conditions surrounding this particular lending opportunity such as market conditions and transaction conditions

Venture Capital

In exchange for investment, venture capitalists obtain partial ownership of the business. Convertible preferred stock or convertible debt is usually preferred. This is because venture capital firm would like to have the senior claim on assets in case of liquidation but still have an option to convert it to common stock if the business becomes successful.

Angel Investors

Angel Investors, which are also referred to as informal venture capital, are wealthy private individuals who invest in the firms in their individual capacity. Very small percentage of start ups manage to get such funding. Therefore, entrepreneur should have other options available as well.

Government Programs

There are also government supported financing options available which are specific to an entrepreneur’s location.

Other

Other less feasible options exist. One example is to obtain funding from large corporation which is willing to invest in the enterprise.

 

Residual theory of dividends

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Residual theory of dividends purports that dividends must only be distributed after firm undertakes all acceptable investments. To determine whether any retained earnings are left to be distributed to shareholders, the three steps described below are undertaken.

Step 1 – The optimal level of capital expenditures is determined by finding the intersection between the investment opportunities schedule and the weighted marginal cost of capital schedule.

Step 2 – Taking into account the optimal capital structure proportions, the amount of financing that must come from equity is determined.

Step 3 – Retained earnings are used to cover necessary expenditures in proportion to a company’s capital structure equity percentage. If retained earnings do not cover the portion that must come from equity then new stock is issued.

The dividends are only distributed if retained earnings were enough to cover the equity portion of the investment (the second portion of investment is covered by debt) and only if there are any funds left in the retained earnings after investment expenditure is covered.

The residual theory of dividends also implies that if companies do not have investments with internal rate of returns (IRR) higher than weighted marginal cost of capital (WMCC) or Net present value (NPV) higher than zero than all retained earnings should be distributed as dividends.

Test yourself:

ABC Company has a capital structure of 35% of debt and 65% of equity. ABC’s retained earnings in this financial period are $2,000,000. The new investment required, which were determined by the intersection of IOS and WMCC, is $2,400,000. Determine if ABC will be able to distribute any dividends.

Solution:

The funds required to cover new investment is $2,400,000. The amount that must come from equity is $2,400,000*.65=$1,560,000. The rest of the amount, which is $840,000 (2,400,000-1,560,000) will come from debt. The ABC Company has $2,000,000 of retained earnings. Since only $1,560,000 is required to cover portion of funds that must come from equity, $440,000 (=$2,000,000-$1,560,000) is left in the retained earnings and can be distributed to shareholders as dividends.

Test yourself:

BCD Company has a capital structure of 35% of debt and 65% of equity. BCD’s retained earnings in this financial period are $1,000,000. The new investment required, which were determined by the intersection of IOS and WMCC, is $2,400,000. Determine if BCD Company will be able to distribute any dividends in this financial period.

Solution:

The funds required to cover new investment is $2,400,000. The amount that must come from equity is $2,400,000*.65=$1,560,000. The rest of the amount, which is $840,000 (2,400,000-1,560,000), will come from debt. The firm has $1,000,000 in retained earnings. The additional common stock needs to be issued to the amount of $560,000 to obtain enough funds that must come from equity. Since retained earnings were completely used to cover the expenditures associated with investment, there can be no dividends that BCD Company can distribute to shareholders during this financial period.

From the above two examples it is evident how under the residual theory of dividends, dividends are only distributed if there is any money left in the retained earnings after all acceptable investments are undertaken.

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Weighted Marginal Cost of Capital (WMCC)

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Weighted Marginal Cost of Capital – WMCC – is the WACC applicable to the next dollar of the total new financing. Related to the concept is the break point concept. Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) may change over time due to changes in the volume of financing. This occurs as the volume of financing increases, the risk increases and providers of funds require higher return on the funds that they make available.

The WACC of the next dollar of the total financing may be different from the WACC of the last dollar of the total financing.

Related articles: Break Point, Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)

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(WACC) Weighted average cost of capital (ra)

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Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) (ra) is a very simple concept. Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) refers to the weighted cost of both debt and equity financing, according to the firm’s specific optimal mix of financing (debt and equity). Knowing the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) enables better decision making about proposed projects.

The formula for weighted average cost of capital (WACC) (ra) is as follows:

WACC=(wd*rd)+(we*re)+(ws*rn or rr)

Where:

wd = a weight for the long-term debt

we = a weight for the preferred stock

we = a weight for the common stock

rd = the cost of long-term debt

re = the cost of preferred stock

rn = the cost of new common stock

rr = the cost of retained earnings

All sources of capital and their weights must be taken into account.

Example

Project Omega was proposed with an expected return of 9% and the firm’s cost of capital for debt financing is 7% and cost of capital for equity financing is 12%. Further, the optimal mix of debt and equity of the firm is 40 percent of debt and 60 percent of equity. Then, the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is calculated as follows:

weighted average cost of capital (WACC) = 7% * 0.40 + 12% * 0.60

2.8 + 7.2 = 10%

The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 10%.

Given the information above, the proposed project with expected return of 9% should be rejected as it is below the firm’s 10% weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

When making investment decisions, business must only choose projects that bring returns higher than the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

Test yourself

Company ABC has the following sources of capital:

Long-term debt at 7% after-tax cost with weight of 35% in the capital structure.

Preferred stock at 9% after-tax cost with weight of 10% in the capital structure.

Common stock at 14% after-tax cost with weight of 55% in the capital structure.

REQUIRED: Find the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

SOLUTION:

weighted average cost of capital (WACC) =7%*.35+9%*.10+14%*.55

WACC=2.45+.9+7.7

WACC=11.05%

Calculating weights

As per above, to calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) we need to know the weight of each source of financing. When calculating weights, market values or book values can be used. Market values evaluate the proportion of capital at the market value and book values evaluate the proportion of capital at the book (accounting) value. It is better to use market values, as it is a more realistic value.

Further, when calculating weights, we can use either target or historical proportions. Target proportions refer to the optimal capital mix that a business would like to achieve. Historical proportion refers to the proportion based on the past. The target proportion is preferred.

***

Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is a VERY important concept to understand. It is one of the central concepts in business and finance. The basic idea of weighted average cost of capital (WACC) concept is that it shows us the expected average cost of funds in the long-term. Make sure you are comfortable with explanations and calculations of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) before progressing to the next section.

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The cost of capital

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What is the cost of capital? It is the required rate of return a business must earn on its investments (capital budgeting projects) to maintain the market value of the firm’s shares and to attract funds.

It is a measure used to determine whether or not certain project will decrease or increase the firm’s value in the market place and, consequently, whether or not it should be recommended.

If NPV is more than zero and IRR is greater than the cost of total capital, then a proposed project will increase the market value of the firm and it should be recommended.

If, however, NPV is less than zero and IRR is lower than the cost of all capital, then a proposed project will decrease the market value of the firm and it should not be recommended.

Therefore, if a firm’s risk is assumed to be constant, than any projects with the rate of return higher than the cost of all capital will increase the market value of the firm and any projects with the rate of return below the cost of capital of the enterprise will decrease market value of the firm.

In the discussions that follow we assume that the cost of all capital is measured on the after-tax basis and that a firm’s acceptance of the project does not affect FINANCIAL and BUSINESS RISKS.

FINANCIAL RISK is the chance that a firm will not be able to meet its financial obligations, which can result in bankruptcy. Financial risk is directly affected by a firm’s capital structure (its mix of debt and equity financing). The more debt the firm uses in its capital structure mix, the higher the financial risk.

BUSINESS RISK is the chance that a firm will not be able to cover its operating costs. There are three factors that affect business risk. These are increases in operating leverage, revenue instability and cost instability.

1 – Increase in operating leverage refers to higher use of fixed operating costs.

2 – Increase in revenue instability (or decrease in revenue stability) refers to deterioration of stability of sales of the firm.

3 – Lastly, increase in cost instability (decrease in cost stability) refers to how predictable are costs of the firm, such as labour and raw materials’ costs.

Business risk must be taken as is and the capital structure mix the firm chooses does not influence it.

Firms usually try to maintain an optimal mix of financing (debt and equity) referred to as the target capital structure. Firms have various sources of capital and the cost of capital may be different for each source of financing. When determining the cost of capital, it is helpful to determine an average cost of all sources of capital, which is called the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

 

Capital structure decisions

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Capital structure decisions refer to the decisions businesses have to make with regards to the mix of financing they use. The mix consists of debt and/or equity as sources of capital. In other words, it is a structure of the liabilities and equity side of the balance sheet, excluding current liabilities. Enterprises usually try to maintain a certain optimal mix of financing (debt and equity), referred to as the target capital structure.

The modern approach to capital structures is largely influenced by the work of Franco Modigliani and Merton H. Miller. This is also known as the M and M, or MM work. Their work published in 1958 in American Economic Review (June 1958) entitled “The Cost of Capital, Corporation Finance, and the Theory of Investment” suggests that under condition of perfect markets, capital structure decisions do not affect the value of the firm. Any increase in Return on Equity goes hand in hand with increase in risk. Therefore, weighted average cost of capital (WACC) stays constant.

In their later work, Franco Modigliani and Merton H. Miller introduced taxes into the model. Their further conclusion was that if corporate taxes are present then the value of the enterprise will increase continuously as more debt is added to capital structure.

This is possible because debt interest payments are tax deductible. However, it is evident that personal taxes will decrease the advantage gained. As a result, it is still profitable to use debt financing. However, the advantage gained is lessened by the existence of personal taxes versus existence of just corporate taxes.

Theoretically, enterprises can increase the value of the firm by finding the optimum capital structure (mix of equity and debt). The optimum capital structure refers to capital structure decisions according to which the weighted average cost of capital is at its minimum value and, as a result, the value of the firm is maximized.

Therefore, the optimum capital structure is in line with the main objective of the business, which is the maximization of wealth of the owners of the business. However, it is important to note that the optimal capital structure exists only in theory.

Sources of capital

Sources of capital include debt and equity. Equity is further subdivided into preferred stock and common stock. In turn, common stock is even further subdivided into new common stock and retained earnings.

When making capital structure decisions, it is important to keep in mind that generally debt is the least expensive source of capital. This is due to the fact that the lender takes much less risk than suppliers of the equity capital. This is occurs because:

(1) Debt has obligatory scheduled payments. Whereas, equity suppliers, especially in case of common stock, will only be paid when company can afford to do so.

(2) In case of liquidation, lenders have priority claim on assets of the company over equity suppliers.

(3) If firm misses obligatory interest or principal payments, lenders can force the firm into bankruptcy. Therefore, lenders have more power in ensuring that payments will be made on time.

Moreover, interest on debt is tax deductible, which makes it an even cheaper source of capital for the firm. Overall, and as stated above, debt is generally the cheapest source of capital for the firm.

How capital structure decisions affect the risk of a company?

Enterprises deal with three types of risks: financial risk, business risk and total risk. The capital structure directly affects the financial and total risk of the firm.

FINANCIAL RISK – a chance that firm will not be able to meet its financial obligations, which can result in bankruptcy. Financial risk is directly affected by the firm’s capital structure (its mix of debt and equity financing). The more debt the firm uses in its capital structure mix, the higher the financial risk.

BUSINESS RISK – a chance that firm will not be able to cover its operating costs. There are three factors that affect business risk. These are an increase in the degree of operating leverage, revenue instability and cost instability. Capital structure decisions do not affect business risk.

TOTAL RISK – a combination of financial and business risk. Since capital structure decisions affect financial risk, the total risk is also affected.

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