6.4 Hybrids of debt and equity
Companies may raise long-term funds using instruments that contain both debt and equity characteristics. For example, redeemable preference shares that have a fixed redemption date are basicallythe same as loans. Although they may be shown as part of shareholders' equity in the position statement, analysts will count them as debt when working out the leverage ratio.
Another example is convertible notes . These are debt instruments that can be converted into shares at some future date. The holder (lender) gets a fixed interest security that carries an option to acquire a predetermined number of shares, or have the debt paid in cash. This is a useful way for an investor to reduce risk when investing in a new company, and is useful to the issuing company, as the debt will be replaced by equity at a predetermined date. One disadvantage is that the issuing company loses some control over its financial structure as the note holders can individually decide whether they will convert their notes into shares.
The characteristics of debt and equity finance are compared in the following table:
|
Debt finance |
Equity finance |
Relationship/ownership |
Lenders are creditors |
Shareholders are owners |
Claims on assets |
Lenders have preferential claims in a liquidation |
Shareholders have only a residual claim after creditors are paid |
Rate of return |
Lenders usually require a lower rate of return |
Shareholders want a higher rate due to greater risk |
Interest/dividend payments |
Interest rates are fixed and must be paid (are part of any net loss) |
Dividend payments are not fixed and may vary with the amount of net profit and the cash available |
Tax implications |
Interest expense is tax deductible |
Dividends are not tax deductible |
Maturity date of debt/ equity |
Principal debt must be repaid by a predetermined future date, in a lump sum or by instalments |
Shares have no expiry date and are issued in perpetuity |
Can you see that it is difficult to slot hybrid securities neatly into either category?