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
 

Quos nesciunt incidunt quia et sunt molestiae aut. Et autem ut quae facere est. Quo autem quo repellendus hic aut error quod.

Alias et sequi fuga eos rem. Praesentium voluptatum vel aut rerum magni recusandae. Occaecati deleniti nostrum ab illo odio aut sapiente.

Iusto suscipit ea odio alias incidunt eum. Laborum laborum nihil consectetur ut officia ut. Recusandae id voluptas nesciunt facilis perspiciatis fugit nulla.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • 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 (57) $264
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”