Forums › Ask ACCA Tutor Forums › Ask the Tutor ACCA AFM Exams › Using market value to calculate cost of debt for WACC
- This topic has 3 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 2 months ago by John Moffat.
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- October 19, 2024 at 8:55 am #712549
Hello sir, my question is why we use the current market value of debt in order to calculate our cost of debt. I understand as I remember in you F9 lectures you mentioned that it represents our cost of rasing new debt which makes sense to me but when we use this cost of debt in our WACC calculation surely, we can underestimate our actual cost of debt or interest payments because let’s say if I issued a debt at nominal value of 100 with 10% interest payments with maturity of 5 years and redemption at the nominal value. My interest payments or cost of debt would be 10% but if the market value changes to say 110 the IRR or cost of debt would come to 7.53%.
Now it is mentioned in the study hub and as I recall in one of your lectures as well that the reason we do not include our interest payments in Investment appraisal is because it is reflected in our WACC. But if we look at the above example that I gave discounting at WACC would understate our cost of debt and I have not seen anywhere a satisfactory explanation for this. Hopefully you can clear up the confusion. Thank u!October 19, 2024 at 10:30 am #712551Using the current MV gives us the return that investors are currently requiring (because the determine the current market value) and is therefore the best estimate of the return we would have to offer if we were to raise more debt finance.
Even if we were not raising more finance, we could but back the current debt and cancel it. However we would have to pay the current market value to buy them back, and the rate of interest we would save would therefore be determined using the current MV. Leaving the debt and continuing to pay interest on it would be effectively costing us the same rate of interest as calculated using the current MV.
October 19, 2024 at 1:11 pm #712553Thank u sir that makes much more sense
October 19, 2024 at 6:06 pm #712562You are welcome 🙂
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