F3 Exam Dumps : Financial Strategy

Pre-acquisition:

Company X: earnings = $50m, P/E = 10 → value = 50 × 10 = $500m; shares = 100m → price = $5

Company Y: earnings = $15m, P/E = 10 → value = 15 × 10 = $150m; shares = 50m → price = $3

Combined earnings = 50 + 15 = $65m

Post-acquisition assumptions:

Earnings increase by 10% → 65 × 1.10 = $71.5m

Combined P/E remains 10 → total market value = 71.5 × 10 = $715m

We want X’s new share price to be 10% higher than $5 → target price = $5.50.

Share price = total value ÷ total X shares after issue:

5.50=715Total shares⇒Total shares=7155.5=130m5.50 = \frac{715}{\text{Total shares}} \Rightarrow \text{Total shares} = \frac{715}{5.5} = 130\text{m}5.50=Total shares715​⇒Total shares=5.5715​=130m

X currently has 100m shares, so must issue 30m new shares to Y’s shareholders.

Y has 50m shares → each Y share must get:

30m50m=0.6 X shares per Y share\frac{30m}{50m} = 0.6 \text{ X shares per Y share}50m30m​=0.6 X shares per Y share

Check options:

B: 3 X for 5 Y → 3/5 = 0.6 X per Y ✔

So that exchange ratio gives exactly 30m new X shares and hence a 10% increase in X’s share price.

Correct answer: B – 3 shares in Company X for 5 shares in Company Y.

In CIMA F3, rights issues and post-issue valuation are taught under the learning outcomes relating to financing decisions, equity issuance, and shareholder value analysis. The Theoretical Ex-Rights Price (TERP) represents the price a share should trade at immediately after the rights issue when the “value dilution” and “value added” of the project are taken into account.

According to the financial strategy principles taught in F3, the TERP is calculated by adding:

The current market value of equity,

The cash raised from the rights issue, and

The net present value (NPV) of the investment project,

then dividing by the total number of shares after the issue. This reflects the CIMA F3 view that share prices should adjust to reflect both new financing inflows and future economic benefits associated with positive-NPV projects.

Step-by-step application of the F3 method

(1) Current shareholders’ equity value:

(2) Rights issue price:

Rights issued at a 10% discount:

(3) Number of new shares issued:

(4) Total shares after issue:

(5) Total value after issue and project:

Add value of cash raised and NPV:

(6) TERP formula:

Rounded to two decimal places:

This calculation follows the CIMA F3 principle that positive-NPV projects increase shareholder wealth, and therefore must be added to the total post-issue company valuation before dividing by the enlarged share capital.

This question examines loan covenant compliance, a topic covered in CIMA F3 under Debt Finance, Financial Risk, and Dividend Policy. Loan covenants are contractual restrictions imposed by lenders to protect their interests. Breaching a covenant can trigger penalties or loan repayment demands, so directors must assess compliance carefully using projected financial information.

The company has two covenants:

Interest cover must not fall below 4 times

Retained earnings for the year must not fall below $5.00 million

Step 1: Interest Cover Covenant

CIMA F3 defines interest cover as:

From the projections:

EBIT = $25.00 million

Interest = $3.20 million

Since 7.8 > 4, the company meets the interest cover covenant.

Step 2: Retained Earnings Covenant

Earnings after tax are projected at $15.26 million.

The most recent dividend per share is $0.10, and dividends are planned to increase by 8%:

With 100 million shares in issue:

Retained earnings for the year:

Since $4.46 million < $5.00 million, the company breaches the retained earnings covenant.

Conclusion (CIMA F3 Interpretation)

Interest cover covenant: Complied with

Retained earnings covenant: Breached

Under CIMA F3 guidance, directors must recognise that even when profitability appears strong, dividend policy can cause covenant breaches if distributions are excessive.