What counts as "debt" in a company's capital structure?

I'm trying to model out an mid stage tech venture, and the only things that could count as "debt" are a government granted forgivable loan, and some convertible debentures. The government loan is forgivable after 5 or so years if they meet certain targets, but it is secured against all the assets of the company. Do these count as "debt" in a WACC calculation? I understand debt and equity are more of a "spectrum" rather than a binary decision but in wacc there are only two options.

edit: Also, the company is private and only releases financial statements annually, and the last one was issued as of March 31, 2011. In the notes it says they have debentures that are set to expire January 15 2012, so they must have expired or been converted to equity by now right? Should I adjust for this in my wacc formula?

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Converts would (in a public company) be debt if the equity price is below the exercise price (i.e., out of the money), otherwise equity. if the government loan is paying interest and hence has a cost, it's debt, regardless of its ability to be forgiven. i, personally, would work under the assumption that it is going to need to be paid back. there may also be some funky tax treatment going on too which needs to be taken into account when multiplying by (1-t) (not from the US, just a thought)

Think what WACC is, it's the cost all the capital employed into the business, split it down into each type of debt, don't be as binary as things are either debt or equity. For example, you'll allocate a separate calc for, finance leases, unsecured debt, preferred stock and for shareholder loans (the treatment of which is depended on their eligibility for tax deductibility)

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

Dignissimos est inventore et dolores delectus laborum sequi maiores. Suscipit voluptas qui quod ex deserunt nam. Tempore sit ipsa fugiat deleniti consequuntur in debitis. Nam aut tenetur maiores libero.

Veritatis incidunt voluptas ut aut. Occaecati aspernatur quasi libero. Praesentium minus sed et magnam consequatur deleniti delectus. Odio perspiciatis praesentium vel ut. Natus repellendus vel saepe dignissimos. Quidem natus autem recusandae neque incidunt. Eum quis illum qui enim velit sed.

Occaecati minima accusantium sed et neque dolor. Quo ipsa veritatis et natus rerum. Quia quos et ut quo est. Aperiam ut natus harum omnis. Qui eveniet minima soluta provident quis eos.

Ducimus unde aliquid esse itaque accusamus molestias in. Vitae et necessitatibus consequatur occaecati animi. Eius esse sit et officiis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (56) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”