Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

In mid-2012, AOL Inc. had $200 million in debt, total equity capitalization of $

ID: 2613380 • Letter: I

Question

In mid-2012, AOL Inc. had $200 million in debt, total equity capitalization of $3.1 billion, and an equity beta of 0.97 (as reported on Yahoo! Finance). Included in AOL's assets was $1.6 billion in cash and risk-free securities. Assume that the risk-free rate of interest is 2.9% and the market risk premium is 3.9%.

a. What is AOL's enterprise value? Correct answer is 1.7 billion

b. What is the beta of AOL's business assets? Correct answer is 1.77

c. What is AOL's WACC? Correct answer is 9.803%

I know how to calculate a) and c), but not b).

In addition the same question has been asked before, but the answer to b) has been incorrect.

Explanation / Answer

EV = market value of common stock + market value of preferred equity + market value of debt + minority interest - cash and investments.

Market value of common stock = 3.1 billion

market value of debt = 0.2 billion

cash and investment = 1.6 billion

= 3.1 + 0.2 - 1.6 = 1.7 billion

b)

Asset beta = B/(1+(1-T)*(R)), where "B" is the company's beta, "T" is the tax rate and "R" is the debt to equity ratio.

B = company beta = 0.97 t = tax rate = 30% assumption, r = debt to equity ratio = 0.065

0.97/(1+(1-0.3)*0.065

= 8.84

as debt to equity ratio is very low = 0.065

Hire Me For All Your Tutoring Needs
Integrity-first tutoring: clear explanations, guidance, and feedback.
Drop an Email at
drjack9650@gmail.com
Chat Now And Get Quote