Stumped on technical

"Company A has EBITDA of £60 in 2015 and is valued at 10x EBITDA. It issues £360 in debt. It's financial conditions worse in 2016 is now EBITDA of £40. It is now valued at 8x EBITDA in 2016. How much is the debt worth now?"

Initial thoughts were that it'd be worth 320? Since if the company is only worth 320 and was sold, debt holders would only be able to claim on that 320.

 

It depends on what they did with the debt issuance proceeds. If they invested it into the business (or paid a dividend), and the business is still only worth 320, the debt is trading at 89 cents on the dollar. If the cash is still on the BS, debt should still trade at par.

 

i say it still stays at 360 without being impaired

Enterprise value = 600 = equity + debt - cash Enterprise value = 600 = ? equity + ? debt - ? cash +360 debt - 360 cash (issue of new debt has no impact on enterprise value since the new debt is offset by the new cash raised from the debt issue)

-----business deteriorates----

Enterprise value = ? equity + ? debt -? cash + 360 debt - 360 cash = 320 just means the equity got impaired, but you still have 360 of debt

to drive this point home, i can use "dummy numbers"

  1. Enterprise value = 600 = 600 equity + 100 debt - 100 cash
  2. Issue 360 debt, Enterprise value = 600 = 600 equity + 460 (100+360) debt - 460 (100+360) cash ( debt raised goes to cash)
  3. Business deteriorates, Enterprise value = 320 = 320 equity (280 equity impairment) + 460 debt - 460 cash ( note debt does not get impaired)

of course when equity gets impaired, debt gets a haircut, but typically it would have to be quite major since you still have a nice equity cushion

-
 
Best Response
yelloweat:
i say it still stays at 360 without being impaired

Enterprise value = 600 = equity + debt - cash Enterprise value = 600 = ? equity + ? debt - ? cash +360 debt - 360 cash (issue of new debt has no impact on enterprise value since the new debt is offset by the new cash raised from the debt issue)

-----business deteriorates----

Enterprise value = ? equity + ? debt -? cash + 360 debt - 360 cash = 320 just means the equity got impaired, but you still have 360 of debt

to drive this point home, i can use "dummy numbers"

    - Enterprise value = 600 = 600 equity + 100 debt - 100 cash - Issue 360 debt, Enterprise value = 600 = 600 equity + 460 (100+360) debt - 460 (100+360) cash ( debt raised goes to cash) - Business deteriorates, Enterprise value = 320 = 320 equity (280 equity impairment) + 460 debt - 460 cash ( note debt does not get impaired)

of course when equity gets impaired, debt gets a haircut, but typically it would have to be quite major since you still have a nice equity cushion

I don't think this is right. I've asked around since i've asked this question and the first commenter seems to be right. If debt is greater than EV and the company is sold, the value of the company equals the value of the debt. In financial distress, the creditors would be paid with what the company has, not what it totally owes and pays it out in order of claims on the assets, which is why you perform a waterfall analysis.

 

Even if the EV is 320 it has more than 320 in assets, because EV at the core is the value of the company's OPERATING assets, and total amount it can repay debt holders is EV (operating assets) PLUS cash. What im saying is that if they issued debt for cash, they have more than 320 to repay debt holders....still dont understand your argument on how im wrong...thanks for the MS

-
 

The EV would be 320 which can be different from your Book value of EV. EV of 320 based on market multiple would mean if you were to sell your business today including its equity and debt you will receive 320. Implying that the debt becomes the headache of the incoming investor. That 320 is a cash out for your equity, meaning that the value of equity is down from 600 (assuming no debt back then) to 320. The rest all is debt. Therefore the value of your debt would be 600-320=280. Your incoming investor is valuing your debt at 280 and therefore deducted the same from your payout to pay it back to the debt holders.

 

yelloweat is right on this one. At the very least, you should ask the interviewer Ncm55's question about what has happened with the $360 cash. It impacts the answer.

  • Companies with large cash balances can trade at depressed multiples.
  • Companies in decline don't necessarily burn through their cash.
 

Ut vel debitis id id soluta sit commodi. Non exercitationem autem inventore.

Officia quas et est tempora delectus illo. Officia ea nihil et recusandae corrupti culpa quia. Et aperiam ipsa consequatur.

Illum qui saepe ut beatae. Sit accusantium temporibus reiciendis deserunt laboriosam rem nihil. Aspernatur vel voluptatem qui. Tempore eos veniam dolorem ipsam assumenda. Aperiam ut sed magni at ea atque. Harum aut provident sunt est qui.

Sit error perferendis aspernatur illo et occaecati rerum. Ex quod ut aut. Eius sunt ipsa rem quasi dicta aperiam eaque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”