Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T06:27:21.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Creditor Coordination, Liquidation Timing, and Debt Valuation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2011

Max Bruche*
Affiliation:
CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros, Casado del Alisal 5, 28014 Madrid, Spain. bruche@cemfi.es

Abstract

This paper derives closed-form solutions for values of debt and equity in a continuous-time structural model in which the demands of creditors to be repaid cause a firm to be put into bankruptcy. This allows discussion of the effect of creditor coordination in recovering money on the values of debt, equity, and the firm, as well as on optimal capital structure. The effects of features of bankruptcy codes that prevent coordination failures between creditors, such as automatic stays and preference law, are also considered. The model suggests that such features, while preventing coordination failures, can decrease welfare.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. W., and Sundaresan, S.. “Design and Valuation of Debt Contracts.” Review of Financial Studies, 9 (1996), 3768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, P., and Scharfstein, D. S.. “Optimal Debt Structure and the Number of Creditors.” Journal of Political Economy, 104 (1996), 125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bris, A., and Welch, I.. “The Optimal Concentration of Creditors.” Journal of Finance, 60 (2005), 21932212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bris, A.; Welch, I.; and Zhu, N.. “The Costs of Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 Liquidation versus Chapter 11 Reorganization.” Journal of Finance, 61 (2006), 12531303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broadie, M.; Chernov, M.; and Sundaresan, S.. “Optimal Debt and Equity Values in the Presence of Chapter 7 and Chapter 11.” Journal of Finance, 62 (2007), 13411377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruche, M., and Naqvi, H.. “A Structural Model of Debt Pricing with Creditor-Determined Liquidation.” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 34 (2010), 951967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixit, A. K. “The Art of Smooth Pasting.” In Fundamentals of Pure and Applied Economics, Vol. 55, Lesourne, J. and Sonnenschein, H., eds. Reading, UK: Harwood Academic Publishers (1993).Google Scholar
Fan, H., and Sundaresan, S. M.. “Debt Valuation, Renegotiation, and Optimal Dividend Policy.” Review of Financial Studies, 13 (2000), 10571099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
François, P., and Morellec, E.. “Capital Structure and Asset Prices: Some Effects of Bankruptcy Procedures.” Journal of Business, 77 (2004), 387411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franks, J. R., and Torous, W. N.. “An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Firms in Reorganization.” Journal of Finance, 44 (1989), 747769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galai, D.; Raviv, A.; and Wiener, Z.. “Liquidation Triggers and the Valuation of Equity and Debt.” Journal of Banking and Finance, 31 (2007), 36043620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gertner, R., and Scharfstein, D.. “A Theory of Workouts and the Effects of Reorganization Law.” Journal of Finance, 46 (1991), 11891222.Google Scholar
Goldstein, I., and Pauzner, A.. “Demand-Deposit Contracts and the Probability of Bank Runs.” Journal of Finance, 60 (2005), 12931327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hackbarth, D.; Hennessy, C. A.; and Leland, H. E.. “Can the Trade-Off Theory Explain Debt Structure?Review of Financial Studies, 20 (2007), 13891428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, O. Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure. Clarendon Lectures in Economics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haugen, R. A., and Senbet, L. W.. “The Insignificance of Bankruptcy Costs to the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure.” Journal of Finance, 33 (1978), 383393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hege, U., and Mella-Barral, P.. “Repeated Dilution of Diffusely Held Debt.” Journal of Business, 78 (2005), 737786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemsley, D., and Nissim, D.. “Valuation of the Debt Tax Shield.” Journal of Finance, 57 (2002), 20452073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kloeden, P. E., and Platen, E.. Numerical Solution of Stochastic Differential Equations. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag (2000).Google Scholar
La Porta, R.; Lopez-de-Silanes, F.; Shleifer, A.; and Vishny, R. W.. “Law and Finance.” Journal of Political Economy, 106 (1998), 11131155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leland, H. E. “Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure.” Journal of Finance, 49 (1994), 12131252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LoPucki, L. M. “The Debtor in Full Control: Systems Failure under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code?American Bankruptcy Law Journal, 57 (1983), 99126 and 247–273.Google Scholar
Mella-Barral, P.The Dynamics of Default and Debt Reorganization.” Review of Financial Studies, 12 (1999), 535578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mella-Barral, P., and Perraudin, W.. “Strategic Debt Service.” Journal of Finance, 52 (1997), 531556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M. H. “Debt and Taxes.” Journal of Finance, 32 (1977), 261275.Google Scholar
Moraux, F.Valuing Corporate Liabilities When the Default Threshold Is Not an Absorbing Barrier.” Working Paper, Université de Rennes (2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, S., and Shin, H. S.. “Unique Equilibrium in a Model of Self-Fulfilling Currency Attacks.” American Economic Review, 88 (1998), 587597.Google Scholar
Morris, S., and Shin, H. S.. “Global Games: Theory and Applications.” In Advances in Economics and Econometrics, Dewatripont, M.; Hansen, L. P.; and Turnovsky, S. J., eds. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press (2003).Google Scholar
Morris, S., and Shin, H. S.. “Coordination Risk and the Price of Debt.” European Economic Review, 48 (2004), 133153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naqvi, H. M. “The Valuation of Corporate Debt with Default Risk.” RMI Working Paper No. 08/03 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Titman, S.The Effect of Capital Structure on a Firm’s Liquidation Decision.” Journal of Financial Economics, 13 (1984), 137151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varma, P., and Cantor, R.. “Determinants of Recovery Rates on Defaulted Bonds and Loans for North American Corporate Issuers: 1983–2003.” Journal of Fixed Income, 14 (2005), 2944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolridge, F. H. Administration Procedure. Bristol, UK: Jordans (1987).Google Scholar