Does anybody know why we are using the coupon rate in the below question to calculate the debt cost portion of the WACC formula? Everything I’ve read, states that you need to use YTM, but we aren’t given enough information in this question. Would we use the coupon rate instead of YTM on a bond if YTM can’t be calculated?
Nippon Post Corporation (NPC), a Japanese software development firm, has a capital structure that is comprised of 60% common equity and 40% debt. In order to finance several capital projects, NPC will raise USD1.6 million by issuing common equity and debt in proportion to its current capital structure. The debt will be issued at par with a 9% coupon and flotation costs on the equity issue will be 3.5%. NPC’s common stock is currently selling for USD21.40 per share, and its last dividend was USD1.80 and is expected to grow at 7% forever. The company’s tax rate is 40%. NPC’s WACC based on the cost of new capital is closest to:
A) 9.6%. B) 13.1%. C) 11.8%. kd = 0.09(1 - 0.4) = 0.054 = 5.4% kce = [(1.80 × 1.07) / 21.40] + 0.07 = 0.16 = 16.0% WACC = 0.6(16.0%) + 0.4(5.4%) = 11.76% Flotation costs, treated correctly, have no effect on the cost of equity component of the WACC.