Bailey and Sons has a levered beta of 1.10, its capital structure consists of 40% debt and 60% equity, and its tax rate is 40%. What would Bailey's beta be if it used no debt, i.e., what is its unlevered beta? a. 0.79 b. 0.67 c. 0.71 d. 0.64 e. 0.75

Option A. 0.79

Explanation:

All we have to do is convert the levered beta into unlevered beta (100% equity financed). So we will use the following formula to find unlevered beta:

Unlevered Beta = Levered Beta /  (1   +  (1+T)* D/E)

Here,

Tax rate is 40%

Debt is 40%

Equity is 60%

And Levered Beta is 1.10

Now by putting values, we have:

Unlevered Beta =     1.10   / (1   +  (1 - 0.4)* 40% / 60%)

Unlevered Beta =     1.10  / (1 +   0.6 * .667)

Unlevered Beta =     1.10  / (1 +    0.4)

Unlevered Beta =     1.10  / (1.4)

Unlevered Beta =     0.786 which after rounding off we have 0.79