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CHAPTER 30
FINANCIAL DISTRESS
Answers to Concepts Review and Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Financial distress is often linked to insolvency. Stock-based insolvency occurs when a
firm has a negative net worth. Flow-based insolvency occurs when operating cash flow
is insufficient to meet current obligations.
2.
Financial distress frequently can serve as a firm’s “early warning” sign for trouble. Thus,
it can be beneficial since it may bring about new organizational forms and new operating
strategies.
3.
A prepackaged bankruptcy is where the firm and most creditors agree to a private
reorganization before bankruptcy takes place. After the private agreement, the firm files
for formal bankruptcy. The biggest advantage is that a prepackaged bankruptcy is
usually cheaper and faster than a traditional bankruptcy.
4.
Just because a firm is experiencing financial distress doesn’t necessarily imply the firm
is worth more dead than alive.
5.
Liquidation occurs when the assets of a firm are sold and payments are made to creditors
(usually based upon the APR). Reorganization is the restructuring of the firm's finances.
6.
The absolute priority rule is the priority rule of the distribution of the proceeds of the
liquidation. It begins with the first claim to the last, in the order: administrative expenses,
unsecured claims after a filing of involuntary bankruptcy petition, wages, employee
benefit plans, consumer claims, taxes, secured and unsecured loans, preferred stocks and
common stocks.
7.
Bankruptcy allows firms to issue new debt that is senior to all previously incurred debt.
This new debt is called DIP (debtor in possession) debt. If DIP loans were not senior to
all other debt, a firm in bankruptcy would be unable to obtain financing necessary to
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continue operations while in bankruptcy since the lender would be unlikely to make the
loan.
8.
One answer is that the right to file for bankruptcy is a valuable asset, and the financial
manager acts in shareholders’ best interest by managing this asset in ways that maximize
its value. To the extent that a bankruptcy filing prevents “a race to the courthouse steps,”
it would seem to be a reasonable use of the process.
9. As in the previous question, it could be argued that using bankruptcy laws as a sword
may simply be the best use of the asset. Creditors are aware at the time a loan is made of
the possibility of bankruptcy, and the interest charged incorporates it. If the only way a
firm can continue to operate is to reduce labor costs, it may be a benefit to everyone,
including employees.
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10. There are four possible reasons why firms may choose legal bankruptcy over private
workout: 1) It may be less expensive (although legal bankruptcy is usually more
expensive). 2) Equity investors can use legal bankruptcy to “hold out.” 3) A complicated
capital structure makes private workouts more difficult. 4) Conflicts of interest between
creditors, equity investors and management can make private workouts impossible.
Solutions to Questions and Problems
NOTE: All end of chapter problems were solved using a spreadsheet. Many problems require
multiple steps. Due to space and readability constraints, when these intermediate steps are
included in this solutions manual, rounding may appear to have occurred. However, the final
answer for each problem is found without rounding during any step in the problem.
Basic
1.
Under the absolute priority rule (APR), claims are paid out in full to the extent there are
assets.
In this case, assets are $15,500, so you should propose the follows.
Distribution of
Original claim
liquidating value
$3,000
$3,000
Secured mortgage notes
6,000
6,000
Senior debentures
5,000
5,000
Junior debentures
9,000
1,500
0
0
Trade credit
Equity
2.
There are many possible reorganization plans, so we will make an assumption that the
mortgage bonds are fully recognized as senior debentures, the senior debentures will
receive junior debentures in the value of 65 cents on the dollar, and the junior debentures
will receive any remaining value as equity. With these assumptions, the reorganization
plan will look like this:
Original claim
Mortgage bonds
Reorganized claim
$10,000
Senior debenture
$10,000
Senior debentures
$6,000
Junior debenture
$3,900
Junior debentures
$4,000
Equity
$1,100
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