...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY UST Inc. is a principal producer of moist smokeless tobacco products, controlling roughly 77% of the overall market, and widely known for its conservative debt policy and high dividend payout. UST also has an exceptional financial performance as net sales has been growing at 11% compounded annual growth rate, and cash flows have been growing at 12% compounded annual growth rate for the past 10 years. However, UST’s board of directors approved a plan to borrow up to $1 billion over five years to accelerate its stock buyback program in December 1998. Although this debt policy benefited UST in term of additional tax shield and rise in stock market price, however, the debt would directly increase financial distress and weaken UST’s cash flow. This report is prepared to consider debt policy for assessing a leverage recapitalization for UST and evaluate effect of dividend payment from buyback policy. After carefully evaluation of available information and using finance literature and relevant course lectures to conduct financial methodologies, including Unlevered beta, Value of levered firm with Financial Distress, Weighted Average Cost of Capital Analysis for Capital Structure Choice, and Proforma, I recommend UST to implement its one billion dollars buyback program in a period of five years. OVERVIEW OF UST Over the years, UST has been named the most profitable company in America in 1998 by Dreman Asset Management as measured by return on equity, return on...
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...Case 1 – Debt Policy at UST Inc. 1) UST is the dominant producer of moist smokeless tobacco, or moist snuff, controlling approximately 77% of the market. UST has been one of the most profitable companies in corporate America with low debt compared to other companies in the tobacco industry and the company has been recognized by Forbes in terms of profitability by achieving return of capital of 92.1%. Price elasticity of its products is also important while evaluating. Smokeless tobacco industry has a relatively steep demand curve and should be considered as having an inelastic consumer demand. UST has products outside of its core operations in the wine and premium cigar market also. The company built itself strong brand name recognition over the years by providing premium products. Tobacco industry does not allow new competitors to enter the market due to strict legal regulations and advertisement bans. So, we can think that UST will hold its position in the market in the long run. Although for the past couple of years, UST faced market share erosion due to price-value brands which offer low priced products. UST have been criticized for lacking innovation and new product offering. The company also has lack of international (geographical) diversity. Also, there is a chance of a cultural shift against tobacco, and UST is unlikely to expand to international market We can say that; UST is in a good position in terms of brand name and market position, capability to generate...
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...Harvard Business School 9-200-069 Rev. May 3, 2001 Debt Policy at UST Inc. In December 1998, UST Inc.’s board of directors approved a plan to borrow up to $1 billion over five years to accelerate its stock buyback program.1 For UST Inc., the leading producer of moist smokeless tobacco products and a company widely known for its conservative debt policy and high dividend payout (uninterrupted cash dividends since 1912), this announcement generated considerable attention on Wall Street. Investors eagerly awaited the subsequent actions of Vincent Gierer, Jr., UST’s Chairman and CEO. In 1997, UST had suspended its stock repurchase program, approved in 1996, because of legislative and legal issues confronting the tobacco industry.2 In November 1998, the company signed the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement resolving its potential state Medicaid liability and reinstated its repurchase program.3 Management believed that this agreement represented significant progress with respect to the legal and legislative matters confronting the company, permitting UST to proceed with its business strategy and potential recapitalization. The Smokeless Tobacco Market The U.S. smokeless tobacco industry generated $2 billion of retail revenue in 1998 with approximately 5 million consumers of moist smokeless tobacco and 7 million consumers of chewing tobacco including loose leaf, twist, plug and dry. Moist smokeless tobacco consumption approximated 50% of the total...
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...What are the primary business risks associated with UST inc.? What are the attributes of UST Inc.? Evaluate from the viewpoint of a bondholder. . UST Inc. is a long standing market leader in producing moist smokeless tobacco products. They were a key innovator in the market and have a long standing trusted and recognised brand name. They are known for their conservative debt policy and high dividend payouts. UST has maintained an A-1 credit rating, the highest rating for commercial papers. They have been name as one of the most profitable companies, beating out icons such as Coca-cola and Microsoft. This is due to their premium products, strong brand name, historical pricing flexibility, the continued growth of moist smokeless tobacco market and the high barriers of entry for competitors. In 1998, the financial performance of the company is quite profitable. Comparing against the tobacco industry, UST’s gross profit margin, average return on assets, and return of equity are well above the industry medians. looking at their debt capitalization of around 17% compared to the industry median of 65.7%. They have achieved high return rates with low financial leverage, Over the last ten years, their net sales and gross profit have been at a steady growth due to their premium pricing strategy. They’ve taken an aggressive stance by introducing price increases annually or even bi-annually. But they are getting those results with increasing sales and revenues, which means...
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...of a fixed income investor examine the critical issues to make a" buy "or "pass" Decision. Positive points: UST was one of the most profitable companies in America. Average ROA is 54%, average ROE is 103% and GPM is 80%.EBITDA/Interest Coverage 105.6. UST is the first and leading producer of moist smokeless tobacco. UST has very conservative debt policy and stably growing free operational cash flows. Should UST undertake a billion $ recapitalization? Calculate the marginal (or incremental) effect on UST's value, assuming the entire recap is implemented immediately Yes, UST will be able to make interest payments and get a good (A) credit rating (EBITDA Interest coverage will be 829.37/70.5=11.7) and by issuing debt UST can increase the firm value through interest tax shield. Also issuing debt and recapitalization will increase the value of each share. The results of recapitalization are in the spreadsheet below. 1988 1999(no debt) 1999(after recapitalisation) Sales 1,423.20 1494.36 1494.36 Gross Profit 1,139.70 1191.00 1191.00 EBITDA 785 829.37 829.37 EBIT 753.3 796.49 796.49 Interest Expense 2.2 0 70.5 A Rating Pretax Earnings 755.5 796.49 725.99 Taxes 287.09 302.7 275.9 Net Income 468.4 493.8 450.1 Total Debt 100 0 1000 Shareholders’ Equity 468.3 468.3 Shares 185.5 185.5 158.2 Stock price 34.88 36.62 36.62 Market Value of UST 6470.24 6793.75 5793.75 Shares repurchased 27.304 P Value of the Tax Shield 380 Increase in firm value...
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...Nike recently released an advertisement video on July 13th, 2015, “Short A Guy,” the hit video has been seen on TV and has over three million views on YouTube. As a company, Nike has set out to have the gear that will make the customer look as nice as they play. Top flight athletes all across the country use their gear, and in this advertisement it showed the likes of Mike Trout, Andrew Luck, and Anthony Davis all wearing Nike apparel playing their own respective sports. Trying to get the audience to buy their athletic gear, this advertisement clearly appeals to those who are interested in athletics and does so through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Throughout this advertisement, the audience is taken through a variety of settings and that is the context for this particular piece. Nike's mission statement is "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world." Through the ad they are trying to inspire athletes but also sell them on their clothing to take them over the top as players. As the advertisement plays, it shows the different settings and all the people wearing Nike apparel. Also, it showed the famous athletes in the video wearing Nike gear, and they would tell the kid they are, “Short a Guy.” As he would go from sport to sport, he changed clothes into different sports gear that Nike sells. The audience the author is trying to target are people that enjoy athletics, and that’s why the use of well-known celebrities is key to this ad. Seeing these...
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...In today’s society, we don’t hear cases about monsters scaring children and transforming into heroes. Monsters that turn into heroes come off as rare in the fiction world where most people only see one side of a monster. Two works that suggest monsters becoming heroes are The Cat in the Hat and Monsters Inc. At first, these monsters come about as scary looking but that’s not how these selctions end up; finishing with a twist in the end with monsters showing a care for human children. While written 40 years apart, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat and Pete Docter’s film Monsters Inc. demonstrate responsible behavior in interactions with children and show the flawed characters who though their journey have monster heroes who interact with human children and then accept responsibility for the messes they have created. The Cat in the Hat and Monsters Inc. portray a child’s adventure as a result of showing up unexpectedly. The Cat enters out of the blue introducing himself to the two children and begins creating chaos around the house because he’s being a careless cat. The Cat unlocks a crate and frees the two identical creatures with blue hair who rally round the Cat...
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...The advertisement gets the audience attention effectively by utilizing the rhetorical element of pathos. The advertisement does this by using an overweight boy so that the viewers can in a way relate to this boy struggle of trying to lose weight and be active. By doing so the advertisement makes the audience feel empathy for the boy. The advertisement also appeals to your emotions by staying in just a single shot of just the boy jogging; by doing so you get a full view of the facial expression visually see he is motivated. The advertisement does not include any background music. All the audience can hear are the boy light steps, heavy breathing, and the voice of the man speaking. Although, there is no background music the advertisement still manages to be upbeat and inspiring to the audience. The advertisement effectively uses the rhetorical element of ethos. The ethos is effective because the brand Nike has been around since 1962 and is recognized worldwide to the public. The company is highly respected in many parts of the athletic industry. The brand also has a long list of spokespeople and commercials that built credibility to the brands name. By choosing an average overweight boy, Nike is using someone is can be relatable to mass audience. The audience can feel as though that they can trust the boy using Nike because the boy is just like the audience. Although it is a critical aspect for Nike to have credibility when selling their products such as using celebrity endorsers...
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...Nike has been around much longer than most would think and continues to be the leading trend setter in athletic wear. Nike was started in January of 1964. The athletic company began as just a small clothing distributing company out of the truck of Phil Knight’s, owner and CEO of Nikes, Car. The Saying you started from the bottom is very true when it comes to Nike who now leads in sales of all athletic gear compared to Adidas who at the time of 1964 was the most popular athletic company. From starting in a truck of a car no one would suspect that this company would not only be defined as the definition of ‘cool’ when purchasing clothing and shoes from stores all over the United States but yet the brand that carries our pop culture. Nike started with two key people that pushed this company Bill Bowerman , Co founder of Nike and olympic track coach, his search for lighter and much more durable racing shoes for his Oregon State track runners. Combined with Phil Knight's need to make a living while still living out his passion for the athletics. The two became friends over track and the desire to find products that gave a better performance than what was available to them at that time, between the two of them, the seed was planted and from that came the most influential sporting company. A key moment in Nike history was when Phil Knight traveled to Japan on a world-tour searching for a call on his life trying to decided what he was meant to do with this new goal on a random whim he...
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...ADVANCED MARKETING STRATEGY 362MKT Example on Nike Dr. Eric Chu 362Mkt‐2012 Example Company Background • NIKE, Inc. is the world’s leading innovator in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. The mission of Nike is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. 362Mkt‐2012 Example Product Market • Garment Industry – The garment industry consists of different categories of wearing apparels that serve both beauty, comfortable and body protection. – Product categories could involve men wear, kids wear, sports wear, ladies, … 362Mkt‐2012 Example Market Audit (1) • External Environment – By STEEPLE • Social factor: people are more concern with health, fashion and beauty. Diverse segments are emerging in the garment industry. (Opportunity) • Technology: different material by nano technology could help to build more comfortable garment for consumer market. Different material available lead to better design for manufacturers. (Opportunity) • Legal: pirated products costs a lot of money for litigations in the industry. (Threat) 362Mkt‐2012 Example Market Audit (2) • External Environment – By 5‐forces • Supplier: supplier marketing in the garment industry are mainly small low costs manufacturers in the area and many suppliers are available. Suppliers bargaining power to the industry is low. (Opportunity) • Buyer: Information transparency increase and there are lot more competitive products for customers to choose...
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...There are numerous sneakers launched by distinct identified and unknown organizations for gamers each and every yr. Some sneakers are extremely unique and a few are costly. Nike, Reebok Jordan,Adidas are best brand identify who promote favourite sneakers for gamers. This 12 months Jordan business also reviled new sinkers and 1 is most latest Air Jordan and quickly its colorway are releasing quickly. An additional current release of jordan business Air Jordan XX9. The two Michael Jordan and Tinker Hatfield collectively launched Air Jordan series which gets to be most promoting footwear from the 12 months. At exact same time Jordan launched an additional pair of footwear Air Jordan III which can be depending on Chicago Bulls-themed edition which seems desirable for red lining and white brand.Shortly, it's turn out to be well-known as well as Michael says 17 from the 29 Air Jordan footwear. Jordan organization unveiled the 2nd edition of Air Jordan within a particular occasion which was black shade with 23 inch brand created for basketball gamers and athletes. Additionally, it attracts thoughts of player as well as other folks. Its reputation can also be raised to best. Nike announced that Jordan Brand endorser Russell Westbrook will launch air jordan shade way maybe throughout Oklahoma City Thunder's video games inside the 2014 NBA gaming. Nike also additional that Air Jordan XX9 will likely be greatest suit for basket ball gamers which might assist within the taking part in battle...
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...Blue jeans! The most popular clothes in all the time. We see people wearing this invention on every day and any occasion. There is no fashion trend has been worn for this long as blue jeans. Jeans are an icon of fashion item, and they manufactured in many fits such as skinny, slim, straight, boot cut, low waist, anti-fit, and the classic. Jeans pants have increasing fashionable. The word "jeans" came from a material called Jean which is named by sailors from Genoa in Italy and they wore clothes made from it. Do you ever thought about jeans? How had it made and how it was invented? Jeans was invented by Jacob W. Davis in partnership with Levi Strauss & Co. In 1831, Jacob W. Davis was born and he was trained and worked as a tailor. He owned a tailor shop which is making tents, horse blankets and wagon covers for trains. Jacob was using a really heavy cotton fabrics named "Duck" and "Denim" which he is buying them from Levi Strauss & Co. The history of jeans is begun in San Francisco. One day, a lady customer came to his shop and asked for a clothes for her husband which has obesity and he couldn't find him a suitable clothes in shops. The lady has requested Jacobs two pants to be made as strong as possible. The tailor thinks about the copper rivets that he is using them on horses blankets and he put them on the pockets of the trousers so they don't tear. Then, these pair of pants get liked by people and became a very popular for heavy work. He had come up with an unusual way of...
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...Nike, Inc. is the world's largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel and other sports equipment. The company employed about 56,500 people worldwide and in 2014, Nike's global revenue amounted to about 27.8 billion U.S. dollars. The North American region of Nike generated the largest portion of the company's revenue that year, approximately 12.3 billion U.S. dollars. Of that 12.3 billion U.S. dollars, the Oregon based company's athletic footwear segment generated about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars. Nike, Inc. is the world's largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel and other sports equipment. The company employed about 56,500 people worldwide and in 2014, Nike's global revenue amounted to about 27.8 billion U.S. dollars. The North American region of Nike generated the largest portion of the company's revenue that year, approximately 12.3 billion U.S. dollars. Of that 12.3 billion U.S. dollars, the Oregon based company's athletic footwear segment generated about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars. Statistics and Facts on Nike Statistics and Facts on Nike A new range of Nike apparel products assist the body’s natural ability to regulate temperature when running in a variety of conditions. The innovations are informed by Nike’s "Nature Amplified" design ethos — an approach focused on the body in motion and fueled by scientific data and athlete insights — to keep runners comfortable, protected and focused on performing at their best. Nike designers...
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... Demand And Supply Sneakers or running shoes. Giving the economic situation the world is currently in, the market of certain products can be greatly affected depending on the demand and supply of these products. Sneakers or running shoes as it is, has an increasingly demand and supply curve considering the fact that, the world is highly increasing in both the youth and old age population. A high percentage of Americans strive to stay healthy which involve being physically fit. Running as we know, is what must people do to stay physically fit. This causes a high demand and supply for sneakers or running shoes. The demand an supply of sneakers can be influence by numerous factors. Demand, demand is the quantity of good or services buyers are willing and able to by at a particular time. There can be numerous factors influencing the demand for sneakers or running shoes. Price: price could be an important factor influencing the demand for running shoes. When the prices of running shoes dramatically increases, the demand for running shoes would decrease. on the hand , if prices for running shoes are reduced, demand will increase. Income could also be and important factor affecting the demand for sneakers. As consumer income rises, the demand for running shoes rises and decreases when consumer income decreases. The type of population. If the population has a high percentage of youths that like exercising, the demand for sneakers would increase. on the other hand, say...
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...Nike, Inc is an American company started by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Based out of Beaverton, Oregon, Nike was founded in 1964 under the name Blue Ribbon Sports. Bowerman and Knight changed the name of the company to Nike after the Greek goddess of victory in 1971. The Nike company designs, develops, and manufacturers athletic and active wear products including footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. The company started with one pair of running shoes and has grown into a multinational billion-dollar business that provides everything one may need to be active. Nike's success is in great part to the company's strong and ever evolving marketing strategies that continually meet the needs of their target demographics in unique and emotional...
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