Wm Wrigleys Jr Company Case Study

With different level of the debt of the company according to Exhibit 3, we would predict by comparing to its peer Warner. Lambert Company at 32.4% debt to total capital ratio still maintain at weak AAA level. AHP had much better financial performance e.g. Earnings per Share and Return on Equity. With 50% Debt to Total Equity ratio, AHP may receive lower rating at AA level and we do not expect them to go lower than BBB rating even with 70% Debt to Total Equity

they must pay interest payments or risk bankrupting of the firm. It also helps reduce

Andrea Winfield considered issuing bonds was not a good option for financing the acquisition. She was particularly concerned about the increasing long-term debt and annual cash layout of $ 6.25 million for 15 years. We believe that her concerns are justified, because the Company had already significant amount of debt that could result in higher risks and stock price

Aside from the two aforementioned proposals the company can raise its leverage in other ways. By conducting DuPont analysis and understanding operating leverage we see that purchasing fixed assets and decreasing stockholder’s equity will raise the equity multiplier and the firm’s operating leverage. In this instance we recommend against this approach as the firm already has a large amount of excess cash above what they require to fund new positive NPV projects and purchase new assets. Investors would rather see their capital returned to them in the form of share repurchases and dividends as it is evident by the company’s cash stockpile that they can

The mixture of debt-equity mix is important so as to maximize the stock price of the Costco. However, it will be significant to consider the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) as well so that it can evaluate the company targeted capital structure. Cost of capital (OC) may be used by the companies as for long term decision making, so industries that faced to take the important of Cost of capital seriously may not make the right choice by choosing the right project(Gitman’s, ).

Torres’ common-size financial statements also show the changing composition of Costco’s financing structure over time. The fact that interest expense consistently fell over the five year span from -0.35% of net sales in 1997 to -0.09% in 2001 demonstrates Costco’s ability to reduce its overall amount of debt during these years. Exhibit nine’s balance sheet portion supports this reduction, documenting an increase in total current liabilities from 35.86% of total assets in 1997 to 40.76% in 2001 and an increase in accounts payable from 25.46% of assets in 1997 to 27.03% in 2001. This signifies that the company’s debts or obligations due within one year increased, further corresponding with the fact that short-term borrowing increased from 0.46% of assets in 1997 to 1.93% in 2001. With an increase in short-term borrowing it is logical to expect to see a decrease in long-term borrowing. The income statement proves that this is indeed the case, documenting a decrease in long-term debt from 16.74% of sales in 1997 to 8.52% in 2001. This relates back to the decrease in Costco’s interest expense on the income statement, representing the company’s decision to switch to short-term and away from long-term methods. Furthermore, the decrease in long-term debt helped account for a decrease in total liabilities from

In January 1980, the management of the Marriott Corporation found itself in an interesting dilemma: not only did the corporation have considerable excess debt capacity, but projections of future operations and cash flows indicated that this capacity was on the rise. For Marriott, excess debt capacity was viewed as comparable to unused plant capacity because the existing equity base could support additional productive assets. Management was therefore faced with two problems. First, it needed to determine the amount of funds that would be available if Marriott's full debt capacity were utilized. Second, management needed to decide whether to invest excess funds in new or existing businesses, or to return them to the companies shareholders

William Wrigley Jr. Company is exploring whether it is optimal to recapitalise with taking on $3 billion of debt. Three options are revised; borrow and repurchase shares, dividend payouts or continue to function with full equity. Debt will provide a tax shield of $1.2 billion given the tax rate is 40%, this should increase the market share price to $61.53 per share. The viable method for the company is to utilize this debt to repurchase shares. The will not only increase Wrigley’s market value, via the debt shield, but also signal to market that management believes Wrigley’s is undervalued, something the dividend payment won’t achieve.

On the other, although the majority of the information shown in the case study presents arguments for the fact that it was inevitable that Woolworths would fail as a business, it is also shown that the company was once a reputable company and generated high levels of consumer demand through the customer being able to buy “pick-n-mix sweets, a DVD, a magnifying headlight and a cheese grater “ in the same store. The revenue generated within the first six months of 2008 was £1107 million, which suggested that the firm was able to sell efficiently to an extent. If the financial department at Woolworth’s had evaluated the balance sheet and income statement from previous years, they would have potentially been able to minimize the risk of the high expenses, reduced profit margins and overall prevent the administration of the company that occurred in 2008. This point therefore indicates that it was not entirely inevitable that Woolworths would fail as a business, as measures could have been carried

c. How should FPL choose between dividends and share repurchases as alternative modes of payment?

Our analysis attempts to answer the question, “What are the things a company must consider when analyzing a new investment or project?” According to the text, a firm’s first objective when deciding to take on new debt should be that its return on net assets (RONA) should be greater than its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Since we are working with an income statement only and do not have an amount for net assets, we will instead use return on invested capital (ROIC), which measures how well a company is using its money to generate returns. Comparing a company 's return on capital (ROIC) with its cost of capital (WACC) reveals whether invested capital was used effectively. From our spreadsheet calculations we see that using our estimated operating profit provides us with a 19.9% return on invested capital with only a 7.2% weighted average cost for that same capital. If these numbers are even close to correct, George should definitely make the move.

In June 2002 Blanka Dobrynin, a managing director of Aurora Borealis hedge fund, considers the possible gains from increasing the debt capitalization of The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Blanka suggests Wrigley raise the amount of $3 billion in debt of the capitalization while Wrigley has been conservatively financed and remained no debt at the end of 2001. This report is aiming to analyze whether Wrigley should use $3 billion debt recapitalization to either pay dividends or to repurchase shares.

First, a large share repurchase will significantly increase shareholders’ percentage ownership of BKI. BKI has been under levered for decades. The company acquisitions of several small manufacturers made shareholders’ equity be diluted even more. In other words, shareholders, especially the main shareholders in Blaine’s board, are paying for BKI’s over-liquidity. This share repurchase will not only give the board more flexibility to allot dividends, but will lead to a stable development of BKI’s business in the long run.

From 1993 until the start of 1995, MCI’s stock had outperformed the S&P. However, in 1995, the stock’s performance was poorer than the S&P. With shareholder’s getting restless, the idea of a stock repurchase was being considered. Depending on which option MCI chooses—stock repurchase with debt issuance or open market repurchase program—the message being sent could be different. Let’s consider option one—MCI issues debt and uses the proceeds to repurchase stock. According to the article “Raising Capital: Theory and Evidence” by Clifford Smith, the market would likely react very positively to this leverage-increasing event. Because of the information disparity between a

The advantage of debt financing is that interests paid on such debt are tax deductible. If a company has the intention of maintaining a permanent debt, the present value of the tax shield can be obtained by discounting them by the expected rate of return demanded by the investors who hold the debt (this is a perpetuity, where in reality would be the maximum possible present value for the tax shield). This tax shield value reduces the tax bill and increases the cash payment to investors, increasing the value of their investments.