Working Capital Management, Financial Management

Assignment Help:
The management of Nelson plc wish to estimate their firm’s equity beta. Nelson has had a stock market quotation for only two months and the financial management feels that it would be inappropriate to estimate beta from the actual share price behavior over such a short period. Instead it is proposed to ascertain, and where necessary adjust, the observed equity betas of other companies operating in the same industry, and with the same operating characteristics as Nelson, as these should be based on similar levels of systematic risk and be capable of providing an accurate estimate of Nelson’s beta

Three companies have been identified as firms having operations in the same industry as Nelson with identical operating characteristics. However, only one company, Oak plc, operates exclusively in the same industry as Nelson. The other two companies have some dissimilar activities or opportunities in additional to those which are the same as those of Nelson.

Details of the three companies are as follows;

a. Oak plc has an observed equity beta of 1.12. The capital structure at market value is 60% equity, 40% debt.

b. Beech plc has an observed equity beta of 1.11. It is estimated that 30% of the current market value of Beech is caused by risky growth opportunities which have an estimated beta of 1.9. The growth opportunities are reflected in the observed beta. Beech’s other activities are the same as Nelson’s. Beech is financed entirely by equity.


c. Pine plc has an observed equity beta of 1.14. Pine has two divisions, East and West. East’s operating characteristics are considered to be identical to those of Nelson. The operating characteristics of West are considered to be 50% more risky than those of East. In terms of financial valuation East is estimated as being twice as valuable as west. The capital structure of Pine at market values is 75% equity, 25% debt.

Nelson is financed by equity. The tax rate is 40%.

Required

a. Assuming all debt is virtually risk-free, make three estimate of the equity beta of Nelson plc. The three estimates should be based, separately, on the information provided for Oak, Beech and Pine.

b. Explain why the estimated beta of Nelson, when eventually determined from observed share price movements, may differ from the value derived from the approach in (a) above.

c. State the reason why a company has a very volatile share price and is generally considered to be extremely risky can have a lower beta value, and therefore lower financial risk, than an equally geared firm whose share price is much less volatile.

Related Discussions:- Working Capital Management

Macro-economic analysis, Macro-Economic Analysis Measuring the Level o...

Macro-Economic Analysis Measuring the Level of Economic Activity Gross National Product (GNP) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are the two most widely used aggregates

What does high inflation have on the value of a business, What impact does ...

What impact does high inflation have on the value of a business? Besides causing distortion (as it unequally affects all goods and services), inflation enhances the uncertainty

Features of government securities, Features of government securities: ...

Features of government securities: Issuers The government securities are issued by the central government, state governments, and semi-government authorities like municipa

Financial mangement enviroment, 1. role financial intermediaries 2. nature ...

1. role financial intermediaries 2. nature and role of money markets

Agency relationships, conflicts between shareholders and government in agen...

conflicts between shareholders and government in agency relationship

The authority and duties of shareholders, The authority and duties of membe...

The authority and duties of members (shareholders) Members and shareholders shall together and severally protect, conserve and actively exercise the supreme authority of the co

Explain the random walk model for exchange rate forecasting, Explain the ra...

Explain the random walk model for exchange rate forecasting. Can it be consistent along with the technical analysis? Answer:  The random walk model assumes that the current excha

Stock market indicators, Stock Market indicators: Stock indices can be ...

Stock Market indicators: Stock indices can be organized by weighting the sample of stocks. The stock indicators can be of four types: price-weighted average, volume-weighted av

Explain significance of international financial management, Why is it impor...

Why is it important to study international financial management? Answer:  We are now living in a world in which all the main economic functions, that are production, consumption,

Determine the objectives of profit maximisation, Determine the objectives o...

Determine the objectives of Profit maximisation Profit maximisation remains one of the key objectives for the managers of the companysince many managers' compensations are lin

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd