Equity Stake Calculation In Equity Investment

Hi all,

I got a quick finance question.

Let's say Company B is investing equity in Company A. Company A holds 100% equity stake in the project.

Based on unlevered DCF analysis, NPV of this project is $100m (aka the enterprise value/equity value).

The total cost required to start this project is $60m. And Company A is looking for an equity investor who can inject $50m. The remaining $10m will be sourced via debt.

In this case, if Company B invests $50m, what would Company B's equity stake in Company A be?

1) 50% ($50m equity investment / $100m unlevered NPV valuation)

2) 55.6% ($50m equity investment / ($100m NPV less $10m debt)

Thanks much,

MK

2 Comments
 

One issue with this question is that the future value of cash flows will actually be $160m. This is because NPV is the value of future cash flows minus your initial investment. As you mentioned, the initial investment is $60m, and if the NPV is $100m, therefore future cash flows must be worth $160m.

But, regardless, the answer should be A. The reason being is because debt should not be part of the equity stake as the creditors don’t actually own any part of the project. They are merely a lender and don’t have an equity stake in the project.

 

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