LilyMac Studios, a national chain of photography studios, is considering opening up a chain of coffee shop/ art galleries. While the existing operations of the firm have a beta of 1.17, the new chain is expected to have a beta of 0.8. LilyMac currently has 500,000 shares of common stock outstanding, which are selling for $ 63.72 per share, with annual dividends on common shares of $5.00/share, and dividends growing at 6.00% annually for an indefinite period of time. Also LilyMacy has a $ 10 million bond issue, selling at 104 percent of par. The expected market risk premium is 6 percent, and the current risk- free rate is 5.5 percent. The bonds pay an 8 percent semiannual coupon and mature in 20 years. Determine the cost of equity with flotation costs using the simple average of equity cost determined on the basis of the constant growth method and CAPM.
The current operations of the firm produce EBIT of $ 18 million per year, and the chain’s operations are expected to add $ 25 million per year to that. The new chain will be funded with 65 percent equity and 35 percent debt, and estimated flotation costs are expected to be 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively. What should be the WACC for the new chain of coffee shops?