Capital Structure

What is a capital structure?

Capital structure refers to the way a company finances its overall operations and growth through the use of different sources of funds. In the simplest terms, it is the mix of debt and equity a company uses to fund its business activities.

Debt is the money borrowed from lenders, such as banks or bondholders, which must be repaid with interest. Equity, on the other hand, represents the ownership in the company, including funds raised by issuing stock to investors and the company's retained earnings.

The goal of a well-designed capital structure is to strike the optimal balance between debt and equity that minimises the cost of financing while maximising the company's value. These are foundations on which a company is built and carefully managing this structure determines how it funds its day-to-day activities, expansion and future prospects.

In private equity, funds acquire companies using a combination of both equity (investors’ capital committed to the fund) and debt (provided by banks either directly or via syndicated loan markets, as well as via bond markets), influencing their capital structures.

Key takeaways

• Capital structure refers to the mix of debt and equity a company uses to finance its operations and growth. The goal is to strike an optimal balance that minimises financing costs while maximising value.
• Debt financing generally has a lower cost than equity due to tax-deductible interest and debt holders' higher priority claim on assets, but comes with increased default risk. Equity is more expensive but has the potential to deliver superior returns.
• Key components of a capital structure include senior debt, subordinated debt, hybrid instruments like mezzanine financing and preferred stock, and equity. The optimal mix depends on factors like industry, growth prospects, profitability, assets and management risk tolerance.
• Private equity firms use leverage to amplify returns by minimising their own capital outlay. This allows them to acquire larger companies and potentially realise substantial returns if performance improves, but also increases financial risk for the acquired companies.

Why capital structure matters in financial management

Capital structure decisions are crucial in financial management because they significantly impact a company's financial health, risk profile and overall value.

Private equity firms leverage debt to amplify returns, enabling them to acquire larger companies with smaller equity investments. By minimising their capital outlay, PE firms can potentially generate higher returns on invested equity if the company performs well and its value increases.

In a leveraged buyout (LBO), the acquired company's cash flows typically repay the debt, and the PE firm seeks to enhance the company's performance and cash generation to service this obligation. If the company's performance improves significantly, the PE firm can realise substantial returns upon exit, as sale or public offering proceeds would first repay the debt, with the remaining funds accruing to the PE firm and its investors.

However, loading a balance sheet with debt comes with risk. As a company's debt burden increases, so does the likelihood of defaulting on loans or bonds if earnings decline. Simultaneously, a company's capital structure can influence its value by affecting its cost of capital, the weighted average of debt and equity financing costs.

Debt financing generally costs less than equity financing due to interest payments being tax-deductible and debt holders' priority claim on company assets in case of bankruptcy. This latter feature, known as the liquidation preference, is the order in which investors and creditors are repaid if the company is liquidated or sold. In private equity, debt holders have a higher claim on company assets than equity holders, meaning that in a liquidation or sale, proceeds will first repay the debt, with the remaining funds distributed to equity holders.

Equity investors therefore require higher returns to compensate for the increased risk they assume in the capital structure. Because debt is less expensive than equity, it can reduce a company's overall cost of capital. Optimising the structure involves balancing the debt-to-equity ratio to minimise the cost of capital while managing the business's default risk and potential for bankruptcy.

Components of capital structure

A company's capital structure is composed of various types of financing, each with its own characteristics, risks and rewards.

The main components of a capital structure are:

Senior debt

Senior debt is borrowed money that a company must repay first if it goes out of business. It is called "senior" because it takes priority over other unsecured or junior obligations. Common examples include bank loans and bonds. Because of its lower risk profile, senior debt generally has lower interest rates compared to other forms of financing.

Subordinated debt

Subordinated debt, also known as junior debt, is repaid after senior debt has been satisfied. If a company goes bankrupt, subordinated debt lenders are second in line to be repaid after senior debt holders. Because subordinated debt carries higher risk for lenders, it generally comes with higher interest rates compared to senior debt.

Hybrid financing

Hybrid financing instruments combine characteristics of both debt and equity. They provide companies with flexibility in managing their capital structure and can be attractive to investors due to unique features that offer equity upside potential with a blend of fixed income. Examples of hybrid financing include:

• Mezzanine debt: The hybrid nature of mezzanine financing comes from its debt component, typically unsecured and subordinated, coupled with equity-like features. These equity features often include warrants or conversion rights, which can be exercised under certain conditions to convert the debt into equity.
• Convertible bonds: These are bonds that can be converted into a predetermined number of common stock shares at a specified price.
• Preferred stock: This represents ownership in a company, but with a fixed dividend and a higher claim on assets and earnings than common stock.

Equity

Equity represents ownership in a company and is the residual claim on the company's assets after all debts have been paid. Equity investors assume the highest risk among capital providers, as they are last in line to be repaid in case of bankruptcy, but they also have the potential for unlimited upside if the company performs well.

Optimal capital structure

Achieving the optimal mix involves balancing the benefits of debt (tax deductibility of interest and lower cost) with its drawbacks (financial risk and potential bankruptcy costs).

Several factors influence a company's optimal capital structure:

• Industry dynamics: Companies in stable industries can usually handle more debt than those in volatile or cyclical industries.
• Growth prospects: High-growth companies may rely more on equity to fund expansion, while mature companies may use more debt.
• Profitability: Profitable companies can service more debt and benefit more from the tax deductibility of interest.
• Asset tangibility: Companies with more tangible assets can often secure more debt, as these assets can serve as collateral.
• Management's risk tolerance: Conservative senior management teams may prefer less debt, while more aggressive management may be comfortable with higher leverage.

Capital structure formula

A simple formula can be used to calculate the proportion of debt and equity in a company's capital structure. The most common of these is the debt-to-equity ratio, which is calculated as:

Total debt / Total equity

Where:

• Total debt = Short-term debt + Long-term debt
• Total equity = Shareholders' equity (including common stock, preferred stock and retained earnings)

For example, if a company has $50 million in total debt and $100 million in total equity, its debt-to-equity ratio would be:

$50 million / $100 million = 0.5 or 50%

Capital structure example

For illustrative purposes, let’s use an example. Suppose a private equity firm wants to acquire a company valued at $100 million. Instead of investing the entire $100 million in equity, the firm uses $70 million of debt and only $30 million of its own equity. If the company's value grows to $150 million, the private equity firm's equity value would increase to $80 million (the $150 million company value minus the $70 million debt). This represents a 167% return on the firm's $30 million equity investment, even though the company's value only increased by 50%. Had the PE firm financed the deal entirely with equity, its return would be 50% - a sizeable differential.

This demonstrates how impactful debt can be in magnifying private equity’s returns. However, fund managers must carefully balance this with the added financial risk that higher leverage imposes on portfolio companies.