This thesis investigates the relationship between sustainability performance and capital structure, measured using the ESG (environmental, social and governance) rating and the debt ratio. In the pursuit of analysing the relationship between the ESG rating and the debt ratio, this study investigates publicly listed companies within the EU/EEA due to its mutual legislative framework on sustainable finance. This research has the intention of shedding light upon if a company can use sustainability ratings to alter their optimal debt levels, operate at higher efficiency with access to cheaper capital, and help the manager maximize firm value. This could help them in decision making processes of financing their business through receiving a better understanding of how the ESG rating affects the capital structure. This knowledge would allow management to better understand how the investments necessary in acquiring the ESG rating affect firm value as well as how they affect the dynamics of financing the firm. This is a deductive and quantitative research based on secondary data, gathered using Thomson Reuters (Eikon) database. Furthermore, this research is a cross-sectional study analysing companies in year 2019. No clear relationship between the two concepts has been found, arriving at the conclusion that the optimal capital structure is not influenced by sustainability initiatives. However, sustainability initiatives should always be encouraged since these generate other beneficial effects. Finally, this research contributes to the current field of knowledge on the topic through analysing the results using the Trade-off Theory, Pecking Order Theory, Agency Theory, Legitimacy Theory and Stakeholder Theory. The results are somewhat aligned with the Trade-off Theory of capital structure and the Pecking Order Theory as well as other more traditional financial theories. One can conclude that sustainability performance is not of importance when it comes to the firm's ability to raise capital or the firm’s capital structure. This tells us that there is still a long way to go and that action needs to be taken before sustainability becomes an essential and well-integrated factor considered in investment decisions. The results may be undesirable, but they also give a fair picture of the financial sector’s priorities as of now and highlight the need for sustainable objectives to align with financial profitability.

The concept of capital has been a much debated issue throughout economic, accounting and finance history. In economics it was defined as the financial resources utilised by companies while other definitions indicated it represented the actual capital goods themselves. This dualistic meaning of capital has led to various interpretations of the concept of capital and these different interpretations can also be found in the cost of capital model. The cost of capital model is a decision-useful financial tool employed by management to make decisions regarding the financing of projects, performance measurement and risk and return management. The two main forms of funding are debt and equity resources. The cost of capital model was built on the accounting interpretation and classification of the different debt and equity sources of funding. As time went by the financial markets became more sophisticated and new innovative instruments were introduced to help raise financing for companies. Some of these sophisticated instruments and accounting book entries are normally not included in discussion on capital structure and the cost of capital model. The aim of this research is to unbundle and understand the different dimensions of the cost of capital with special focus on the impact of accounting classification on hybrid financial instruments and certain accounting book entries. The balance sheet items that have revealed themselves as grey areas of the accounting classification and the hidden constituents of the cost of capital include accounting book entries such as deferred tax and accumulated depreciation, hybrid financial instruments and the effect of cash. Currently these instruments pose questions as to their proper debt-equity classification or can have an impact on the capital structure of an organisation. An adjusted model will be presented that will incorporate any hidden areas related to the debt-equity accounting classification schema. The introduction of these items into the cost of capital model will make it more robust and it will become an even more decision-useful tool for management and analysts a like. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Financial Management / unrestricted

A company's need for an effective and suitable corporate strategy is higher than ever due tofierce and increasing competition in the current business landscape. In order for companies tofinance their chosen corporate strategy, as for instance conduct investments for growth, theyneed proper funding. Moreover, the capital structure defines and outlines a company’s availablemix of debt and equity. Financial theories and studies further conclude that it is paramount forcompanies to understand the relationship between the corporate strategy and the capital structurein order to remain competitive. However, the current amount of empirical studies that have beenconducted in this area is very limited. Therefore, this study has analysed and examined therelationship between the corporate strategy and the capital structure for small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) in the Swedish manufacturing industry. Indeed, the purpose of the study is toexamine this relationship. The study has been executed by conducting five case studies where five different SMEs in theSwedish manufacturing industry have been analysed. The companies represent both familyownership as well as ownerships via external investors. The five case studies consisted of semistructuredinterviews with the CEO of each firm. A questionnaire was also provided to the fiverespondents, which enhanced the possibility to benchmark the results from the companies. The results of the study indicate that the relationship between the corporate strategy and thecapital structure differs depending on a company’s type of ownership. In conclusion, forexternally owned companies (e.g. owned by private equity companies), the corporate strategytends to drive the choice of capital structure. On the other hand, for companies owned by thefounding families, the relationship seems to be inverted where the capital structure rather drivesthe choice of corporate strategy. / Ett företags behov av en effektiv och passande företagsstrategi är högre än någonsin på grund avhård och ökande konkurrens på den nuvarande marknaden. För att ett företag skall kunnafinansiera sin valda företagsstrategi, som exempelvis att genomföra investeringar för tillväxt,krävs det en väl avvägd finansiering. Vidare definierar och beskriver kapitalstrukturen ettföretags tillgänglighet gällande dess mix av skulder och eget kapital. Samtidigt visar finansiellteori och studier på området att det är av största vikt för företag att de förstår sambandet mellandess företagsstrategi och kapitalstruktur för att de skall kunna förbli konkurrenskraftiga. Dock ärantalet studier som är gjorda på området mycket begränsade. Således har denna studie analyseratoch undersökt sambandet mellan företagsstrategin och kapitalstrukturen för små och medelstoraföretag (SMEs) inom den svenska tillverkningsindustrin. Studien har utförts genom att genomföra fem fallstudier där fem olika små och medelstoraföretag inom den svenska tillverkningsindustrin har analyserats. Företagen representerar bådefamiljeägda företag samt företag ägda av externa investerare. De fem fallstudierna bestod avsemistrukturerade intervjuer med VDn för respektive bolag. Ett frågeformulär distribueradesockså till de fem respondenterna för att kunna möjliggöra en jämförelse av resultaten från bolagen. Resultaten av studien indikerar att sambandet mellan företagsstrategin och kapitalstrukturenvarierar beroende på typ av ägarskap av ett bolag. Sammanfattningsvis så tenderar valet avföretagsstrategi att driva valet av kapitalstruktur för bolag ägda av externa investerare(exempelvis bolag ägda av private equity-företag). Å andra sidan tenderar förhållandet snararevara inverterat för företag ägda av sina grundarfamiljer, där kapitalstrukturen snarare driver valetav företagsstrategi.

This thesis’ aim is to study four Swedish real estate companies between the years 2006-2015 to see whether their capital structure and investment strategies have changed over the years. The data upon which the thesis is based, is gathered from the four companies’ annual reports. These years are of interest due to the changing economic environment, both in Sweden and the world, during this time period. The time period includes one financial crisis and a never before experienced interest rate environment with rates around zero percent. Traditional capital structure- and diversification theories have been overviewed and serves as the base for the discussion regarding the results from the gathered data. Two hypotheses have been constructed to study this topic:  The low interest rate environment has provided the real estate sector with access to more capital, which has led to real estate companies increasing their financial leverage, i.e. the capital structure has changed.  The accessibility of capital in the market, combined with funds actively seeking return on capital in real estate, increases the competition and decreases yield spreads, which in turn leads to real estate companies investing capital in markets associated with higher risks. The result indicates that the hypotheses are incorrect. The real estate companies have not increased their financial risk through an increase in their long term debt at the end of the studied time period. However, the companies have increased their borrowing but the financial risk has not increased since their equity has increased proportionally. The studied real estate companies have not been mainly investing in markets associated with higher risk. Increased investment volumes have been observed all over Sweden. The investment strategies differ between the companies; some invest mainly in the bigger cities while some invest mainly in smaller cities. / Uppsatsen handlar om hur kapitalstrukturen samt fastighetsinnehavet (geografiskt och fastighetstyp) hos fyra svenska fastighetsbolag har förändrats under tidsperioden 2006-2015. Data från de fyra fastighetsbolagens årsredovisningar ligger till grund för studien. Dessa år har studerats på grund av det förändrade ekonomiska läget i både Sverige och världen med gott finansiellt klimat, en finanskris och ett tidigare aldrig upplevt ekonomiskt klimat med räntor kring 0 procent. Traditionella kapitalstruktur- och diversifieringsteorier har behandlats och ligger till grund för diskussionen kring resultatet av den insamlade datan. Två hypoteser har konstruerats för att undersöka detta ämne:  Fastighetsbolagens långfristiga skulder har ökat de senare åren av tidsperioden till följd av ränteläget dessa år eftersom kostnaderna för kapital under denna tid har minskat. Detta har ökat företagens finansiella risk i slutet av perioden jämfört tidsperiodens start.  Det låga ränteläget i slutet av tidsperioden har medfört att fastighetsbolagen har sökt nya marknader för att kunna få avkastning på sitt kapital, d.v.s. sökt sig till marknader med högre risk utanför Sveriges storstäder. Resultatet pekar på att hypoteserna inte stämmer. Fastighetsbolagen har inte ökat sin finansiella risk till följd av ökad lånefinansiering i slutet av tidsperioden. Däremot stämmer det att bolagen har ökat sina långfristiga skulder mot tidsperiodens slut, dock ökar inte den finansiella risken eftersom det egna kapitalet ökar proportionellt med deras ökade belåning. De studerade fastighetsbolagen har inte endast sökt sig till marknader med högre risk i mindre städer i Sverige, utan en ökning av investeringsvolymer har observerats i hela Sverige. Investeringsstrategierna skiljer sig åt mellan fastighetsbolagen, en del investerar främst i storstäderna medan andra investerar kapital i mindre städer

Finansiering utgör en viktig del i att möjliggöra omställning mot miljövänligare företag. Möjligheten att anskaffa kapital och övergå till ett miljövänligare företag är samtidigt emellanåt bristfälligt. Det gäller även för industriföretag där branschen är inne i en omställning mot Industri 4.0, vilket förväntas bidra till miljövänligare företag. I den här studien undersöks sambandet mellan miljöprestation i västerländska industriföretags och företagens finansiering. Utifrån tidigare forskning om finansiering med anknytning till finansieringsbeslut, samt hur hållbarhetsmått kan ha inverkan vid finansiering, har industriföretagen analyserats. Studien utgår från en kvantitativ metod, där sekundärdata har hämtats från Thomson Reuters Refinitiv Eikon. Med insamlad data analyseras industriföretags kapitalstruktur gentemot deras miljöprestation genom en multivariat regressionsanalys. Studiens resultat påvisar inget statistiskt signifikant samband mellan industriföretags kapitalstruktur och deras miljöbetyg. Av den anledningen konstateras det att miljöprestation inte har något statistiskt signifikant samband med företagens tillvägagångssätt vid finansiering. Därtill konstateras det även utifrån studiens analys att informationsasymmetrin är densamma oberoende på miljöprestation. Studien bidrar med ökad förståelse beträffande sambandet mellan industriföretags miljöprestation och hur de finansierar sig. / Financial opportunities are an important part of the transition towards environmentally friendly companies. The ability to raise capital for this transition in companies is at the same time, to some extent, inadequate. These inadequacies also affect industrial companies, a sector in transition towards “Industry 4.0”, which is expected to lower the environmental impact in the industry. This study examines the relation between environmental performance of industrial companies in western countries and their financing decisions. The industrial companies have been analyzed with regard to previous studies related to financial decisions and the effect of sustainable measures on financial opportunities. The study applies a quantitative method and uses secondary data collected from Thomson Reuters Refinitiv Eikon. With the gathered data the capital structure of the industrial companies have been analyzed compared to their environmental performance, by using a multivariate regression analysis. The findings of the study shows that environmental performance has no significant correlation with industrial companies capital structure. The findings also implies that information asymmetry, risk and uncertainties are not affected by the company's environmental performance. This study contributes to an extended understanding about the relation between environmental performance and industrial companies financing.

Following no strict legal or institutional definition, restructurings relate to renegotiations of within the firm - as a nexus of contracts - combined agreements. This cumulative dissertation focuses on renegotiations that are triggered by financial distress and that are conducted with current or potential debt- and shareholders. In form of a literature review, the first manuscript systematizes the bargaining dynamics between existing capital providers and their influence on the choice for in- or out-of-court firm reorganizations in Germany and the United States. How the renegotiations of existing payment obligations are reflected in financial instruments accounting according to the IFRS and the capital structure of the distressed firm is further elaborated in a case-based instructional resource. The second part of the dissertation discusses restructurings through the acquisition of the distressed target. Specifically, the phenomenon of negative goodwill is studied that arises in business combinations with acquisition costs that are lower than the fair value of the targets’ net assets. For the exemplary case of Germany, manuscripts three and four examine the frequency, materiality and reasons for the by the IASB as anomalous acclaimed phenomenon together with investors’ reactions to such transactions.:I. Restructuring Under Distress, Essays on Corporate Finance and Financial Reporting: An Overview 1. Introduction 2. Overview and Findings References II. Capital Structure and the Choice Between In- and Out-of-Court Reorganization: A Literature Review 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Background on Reorganization Choices 3. Methodology 4. Analysis 5. Research Implications and Discussion 6. Conclusion References III. The Hardest Cycle Climb at TCC: A Financial Instruments Case 1. Case Manuscript 2. Case Guidance 3. Case Solutions References IV. Frequency of and Reasons for Bargain Purchases: Evidence From Germany 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Background 3. Empirical Evidence 4. Conclusion and Avenues for Future Research References V. Does Underpayment Pay the Acquirer? An Event Study on Bargain Purchases 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Background 3. Prior Literature 4. Sample Selection 5. Methodology 6. Results 7. Conclusion References

Die vorliegende kumulative Dissertationsschrift beschäftigt sich mit finanzwissenschaftlichen Fragestellungen im Bereich der Unternehmensbewertung. Dabei wurden aktuelle Themen diskutiert, die in Theorie oder Praxis ungelöste Probleme darstellen. Hervorzuheben ist an dieser Stelle, dass sich die ersten drei Artikel mit dem Werteinfluss der Zinsschanke auf den Wert von fremdfinanzierungsbedingten Steuerersparnissen (Tax Shield) beschäftigen. Die drei darauf folgenden Artikel beschäftigen sich schwerpunktmäßig mit der konsistenten Modellierung von Finanzierungspolitiken und dem Werteinfluss der Insolvenzmöglichkeit von Unternehmen. Der siebte und achte Artikel haben die Kapitalstruktur und weitere wichtige Parameter für die Unternehmensbewertung zum Thema.:1. Thematische Einordnung und Forschungsbeitrag 1 2. Die Bewertung der Zinsschranke 14 3. Zinsschranke, Unternehmensbewertung und APV-Ansatz - eine Anmerkung zum Beitrag von Förster/Stöckl/Brenken (ZfB 2009, S. 985 ff.) 59 4. Der Einfluss der Zinsschranke auf den Unternehmenswert 84 5. Tax Shield, Insolvenz und Zinsschranke 109 6. Tax Shield, Insolvenzwahrscheinlichkeit und Zinsschranke - eine empirische Analyse 169 7. The Impact of Credit Rating and Frequent Refinancing on Firm Value 211 8. Zur Überprüfung von Kapitalstrukturtheorien in einer von Krisen geprägten Zeit 258 9. Die Kapitalmarktdaten von www.finexpert.info und der Fachverlag Gruppe 300

This cumulative dissertation extends the literature strand on dynamic trade-off models in corporate finance. While Kane et al. (1984) and Fischer et al. (1989) have been probably first in developing dynamic trade-off models incorporating the effects of debt financing, it was Leland (1994) that really started the contingent claims revolution in corporate finance (Strebulaev and Whited, 2011, p. 25). Over the last 25 years, a whole strand of literature extended Leland's basic model to shed light on various financial decisions. To just provide some examples: Goldstein, Ju, and Leland (2001) based their model on a stochastic EBIT-process and allowed for an option to increase debt in order to understand the dynamic adjustment of capital structures. Strebulaev (2007) included external shocks into his capital structure models and gave indications on how capital structure tests shall be conducted. The contributions achieved in the essays of this dissertation focus on (i) more realistic conditions of default, (ii) an improved understanding of observed debt maturities and (iii) capital structures, (iv) the risk of applying the Equity IRR in financial decision making, as well as (v) the optimal choice between project financing and corporate financing.

The world's economies are in a turbulent phase where rising inflation has hit the global and Swedish economy hard. The Central Bank of Sweden has raised the policy rate expansively in recent months, with the intention of curbing inflation. Swedish real estate companies have experienced significant debt growth in recent years, making them very sensitive to interest rate increases. The increasing financing costs are challenging for real estate companies and it is of great importance that the companies continue to maintain earnings, that interest rates do not rise too much and that they continue to have sufficient access to financing. The credit rating of real estate companies is a crucial component of their financing, as it measures the long-term risk of default and can affect the company's cost of borrowing. The purpose of the paper is to investigate what different financing options Swedish real estate companies have during a recession and how the financial strategy and risk management differs depending on the company's credit rating. Furthermore, the study will investigate how the capital structure changes depending on the measures taken. The study is based on a qualitative study conducted with semi-structured interviews to gain a comprehensive understanding of the research area. The interviews were primarily conducted with real estate companies, both rated and unrated, and all rated companies in the study have an investment grade rating. This was followed by interviews with the major Swedish banks involved in lending to real estate companies and the credit rating agencies that carry out official ratings for real estate companies. The results show that the financing options differ depending on the credit rating of the real estate company. The biggest difference is identified between companies with a credit rating in the A segment and companies with a credit rating in the triple B segment. Financing costs have increased for all companies but significantly more for companies in the triple B segment. As a result, the capital market is to a greater extent inaccessible to the triple B companies and therefore these companies choose to focus on bank financing. The study has also shown that it is of great importance for real estate companies to make a long-term decision on their financing strategy and the extent to which their credit rating is important for their financing. The study found that there are two groups of attitudes towards the credit rating. Either companies use all means to defend their credit rating, or they put their efforts into strengthening the balance sheet and maintaining bank covenants. The market conditions have also affected the capital structures of real estate companies. High inflation and rising interest rates result in higher yield requirements, which leads to falling property values and rising LTV ratios for real estate companies. Real estate companies work actively to reduce their LTV ratios by selling properties, increasing share capital, reducing the pace of investment and suspending dividends. An excessively high LTV ratio can lead to a credit rating downgrade and, depending on how the company perceives this, the actions of real estate companies may differ. / Världens ekonomier befinner sig i en turbulent period där den stigande inflationen har slagit hårt mot den globala och svenska ekonomin. Den svenska centralbanken har under de senaste månaderna höjt styrräntan expansivt i syfte att dämpa inflationen. De svenska fastighetsbolagen har haft en betydande skuldtillväxt de senaste åren, vilket gör dem mycket känsliga för räntehöjningar. De ökande finansieringskostnaderna är utmanande för fastighetsbolagen och det är av stor vikt att bolagen fortsätter att upprätthålla intjäningen, att räntorna inte stiger för mycket och att de fortsätter att ha tillräcklig tillgång till finansiering. Fastighetsbolagens kreditbetyg är en avgörande komponent i deras finansiering, eftersom det mäter den långsiktiga risken för betalningsinställelse och kan påverka bolagets lånekostnader. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka olika finansieringsalternativ svenska fastighetsbolag har under en lågkonjunktur samt hur den finansiella strategin och riskhanteringen skiljer sig åt beroende på bolagets kreditvärdighet. Vidare kommer studien att undersöka hur kapitalstrukturen förändras beroende på vilka åtgärder som vidtas. Studien baseras på en kvalitativ studie som genomförts med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att få en djupare förståelse för forskningsområdet. Intervjuerna har främst genomförts med fastighetsbolag, både med och utan kreditbetyg, och samtliga företag som innehar ett kreditbetyg i studien har ett betyg inom investment grade segmentet. Därefter följde intervjuer med de svenska storbanker som är involverade i utlåning till fastighetsbolagen och de kreditvärderingsinstitut som utför officiella kreditvärderingar av fastighetsbolagen.  Resultatet visar att finansieringsalternativen skiljer sig åt beroende på fastighetsbolagets kreditvärdighet. Den största skillnaden identifieras mellan bolag med kreditbetyg i A segmentet och bolag med kreditbetyg i trippel B segmentet. Finansieringskostnaderna har ökat för samtliga bolag men betydligt mer för bolagen i trippel B segmentet. Som en följd av detta är kapitalmarknaden i större utsträckning otillgänglig för trippel B företagen och därför väljer dessa företag att öka sin finansiering från banker. Studien har också visat att det är av stor vikt för fastighetsbolagen att fatta ett långsiktigt beslut gällande sin finansieringsstrategi och i vilken utsträckning deras kreditbetyg är viktigt för deras finansiering. Undersökningen visade att det finns två grupper av attityder till kreditbetyget. Antingen använder bolagen alla medel för att försvara sitt kreditbetyg, eller så lägger de sina ansträngningar på att stärka balansräkningen och upprätthålla bankcovenanterna. Marknadsförhållandena har också påverkat fastighetsbolagens kapitalstruktur. Hög inflation och stigande räntor leder till högre avkastningskrav, vilket leder till fallande fastighetsvärden och stigande belåningsgrader för fastighetsbolagen. Fastighetsbolagen arbetar aktivt med att sänka sina belåningsgrader genom att sälja fastigheter, ta in mer aktiekapital, minska investeringstakten och dra in utdelningar. En alltför hög belåningsgrad kan leda till en nedgradering av kreditbetyg och beroende på bolagets syn på detta kan fastighetsbolagens åtgärder skilja sig åt.

This thesis explores if Scandinavian publicly listed firms’ financial leverage was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst theory suggests that financial leverage is positively affected by uncertainty and reduced profitability, previous empirical research finds weak evidence of listed firms reducing financial leverage during crises. We follow the work by Demirgüç-Kunt, Martinez Peria and Tressel (2020) and D’Amato (2020) and run fixed effect panel data regression analyses. Our results are in line with the previous empirical studies regarding the financial crisis as we do not find significant change in means in financial leverage between the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic for listed firms. For our complete sample, we find that the pandemic had no significant impact on total debt to total assets but a significant impact on long-term debt to total assets. However, the results are varying amongst the countries. Therefore, further research is advised. We also find that, increases in growth opportunities, and profitability affect financial leverage negatively, whilst asset structure and firm size have positive effects on financial leverage. The results for liquidity are mixed. Overall, the findings are in line with previous research.