Jiminy’s cricket farm issued a 20-year, 7 percent semiannual coupon bond 4 years ago. the bond currently sells for 104 percent of its face value. the company’s tax rate is 23 percent. a. what is the company’s pretax cost of debt?

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.