Case Scenario:
Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s second largest auto maker, has a big problem. At the end of May, 2006 the company announced a recall affecting roughly one million of its vehicles world wide. The problem has to with the steering mechanism of the affected vehicles that could fail under pressure and cause drivers to lose control. Toyota has refused to disclose the full cost of this recall.
Further financial information and news releases about Toyota can be found on their web site or go to finance.Yahoo.com and then click in succession on the headings: finance, industries, auto manufacturers, Toyota Motor, key statistics, balance sheet, Annual Data
Make the following assumptions. Toyota will need approximately $925 million in order to take care of the full cost of this recall. This sum needs to be raised so that the company has this additional cash to support the manufacturing of the new parts, their global distribution, the dealers’ costs of contacting the affected customers and then making the replacement plus the public relations and advertising campaigns needed to stress the reliability and safety of Toyota vehicles.
You should also assume that the current cash, accounts receivables and other current assets (all listed in the Balance Sheet) are all committed to current operations.
As a senior financial manager, I need to recommend the best sources for this $925 million in a five page paper. Be specific on the amount to be raised from each source and justify both your selection of each source as well as the amount you intend to raise from this source. Do not overlook the issue of debt/equity balancing.