Blaine Capital Structure Case - Prajwal Kumar

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Pennsylvania State University *

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Finance

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Feb 20, 2024

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Blaine Kitchenware, Inc.: Capital Structure 1. Do you believe Blaine’s current capital structure and payout policies are appropriate? Why or why not? Blaine’s current capital structure and payout policies are not appropriate. BKI is too conservative in terms of financing strategy, it only borrowed twice during the establishment of the company until now and the debt was paid off within a short-term period. Although the company originally seemed to pride itself in not doing a financing strategy, it is evident that it has a long-term effect on the value of the company. In 2016, BKI incurred any financing thus by taking on 100% of equity in their capital structure. When no debt occurs, the company is under-levered, and it misses the opportunity to gain the interest tax shield. The company will never reach its full potential by acting this conservatively with its financing, and in return, this affects its shareholders and payout policies. Besides that, BKI is over-liquid, and it will influence the return on equity to become lower and increase the cost of capital. From 2004 to 2006, the payout ratio of BKI has risen from 35% to 52.9%, this is because the spending of cash on common dividend, the company dividend per share has risen slightly over the past three years. However, the company issued new shares with some of its acquisitions, and the number of shares then rose accordingly which subsequently reduced the earnings per share of the company. The 100% equity approach may be the safest idea to BKI, but without the debt financing, the company cannot take advantage to maximize the value of the company and the tax shield. Although debt financing is riskier, it leads to an optimal financial structure and due to BKI's refusal to do so, we think that their capital structure and payout policy are not the most appropriate to the company.
2. Should Dubinsky recommend a large share repurchase to Blaine’s board? What are the primary advantages and disadvantages of such a move? Dubinsky should recommend a large share repurchase to Blaine’s board, a large repurchasing of shares. The main reason is that BKI is over-liquid and under-levered. BKI’s financial posture is too conservative as they have only twice borrowed records beyond seasonal working capital needs. Although the company has very conservative roots, it needs to realize the need to acquire leverage and stock repurchase. The primary advantage of share repurchase of stock is that the stockholders remain will have a higher owner percentage, reducing the risk of company takeover by other companies. Therefore, the payout ratio can descend and earnings per share can ascend. With stock repurchase, the issue of shares will decrease and therefore both dividends and earnings per share will increase in the future. The stock repurchase has two main effects on the company's stock. On the one hand, the number of shares outstanding is being reduced and buying pressure increases as the company is physically buying its stock. On the other hand, by buying millions of dollars of its stock, management also measures the market that they are confident in their business operations, which encourages investors to buy. The market thinks that management will only buy their stock if they believe that the value per share will increase in the medium to long term. However, there still will be some disadvantages to the stock repurchase. One of the disadvantages of this process is that many people view it as a sign that the company has no profitable opportunity in the current business and that is the reason, they are using excess cash for the buyback of stocks which creates a negative image about the company in minds of long-term investors who are looking for capital appreciation due
to growth in the company. Lastly, stockholders who offer their shares for repurchase may be at a disadvantage if they are not fully aware of all the details. As such, an investor may file a lawsuit with the company, which is seen as a risk. 3. Consider the following repurchase proposal: Blaine will use RM209 million of cash from its balance sheet and RM50 million in new debt-bearing interest at the rate of 6.75% to repurchase 14.0 million shares at a price of RM18.50.per share. How would such a buyback affect Blaine? Consider the impact on BKI’s earnings per share and ROE, interest coverage, and debt ratios. By deciding to buy back some of its shares, the company aims to make its financial foundation stronger. This move is expected to bring about some cool improvements. First off, the earnings per share (EPS) are predicted to shoot up by a whopping 25%. This means that each share you own could potentially make you more money. The Return on Equity (ROE), which is a measure of how well the company is using its money to make more money, is set to increase to 22%. That's a sign of solid financial health. Plus, the plan is to boost family ownership in the company, adding a sense of commitment and stability to its ownership structure. Looking at a metric called the Total Interest Expense (TIE), it's expected to be an impressive 23 times. This means the company is in a strong financial position, maintaining a AAA credit rating. Having a top-notch credit rating is like having a golden ticket – it makes it easier for the company to borrow money on good terms. Another cool thing is that the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) is projected to drop from 7.82% to 7.62%. Now, that might sound a bit technical, but it means the average cost of the company's money is going
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down. This reduction in financial cost not only lowers the risk for the company but also makes the company more valuable in the eyes of investors. So, in simple terms, the plan to buy back shares isn't just about reducing the number of shares out there; it's a strategic move to make the company financially stronger, more valuable, and even more secure in its credit standing. D) - Suppose Dubinsky obtains data from a banker on default spreads over a 10-year Treasury note (summarized on spreadsheet posted on Canvas.) Compute BKI's cost of capital at each indicated debt level. What is Blaine's optimal capital structure? The optimal capital structure for BKI is 20% debt and 80% Equity, as we can see in the table below it is the point where WACC is lowest. To achieve this result.