Auswirkungen des derzeitigen Hochzinsniveaus auf die Kapitalkosten und welche Implikationen ergeben sich dadurch für die Unternehmensbewertung

Abstract

The scientific paper focuses on a detailed examination of the effects on company valuation due to changes in the interest rate landscape. The Ukraine conflict and the significant rise in inflation urged central banks to significantly raise key interest rates, currently to 5.5% in the USA and 4.5% in Europe. These measures have big impacts on the economy and particularly on company valuations. This work aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of company valuation, examining in detail the three most common methods: market-based, capital-based, and cost-based approaches. Special emphasis is placed on the discount rate, which is determined by the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and plays a significant role in the capital-based method. The individual components of the WACC calculation are explained in detail, with a thorough discussion of methods for determining the cost of equity, particularly the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The current interest rate landscape has significant impacts on the individual components in the determination of WACC. An example of this is the determination of the risk-free rate, which typically uses the yield of the 10-year German government bond as a reference. Due to the increase in key interest rates in Europe, the yield on government bonds has also significantly increased. In recent years, adjustments such as the market risk premium have been made to compensate for the low yield of the German government bond or the adaptation of company planning calculations. These measures must now be gradually reversed to avoid distortion in the calculations.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christa Hangl (Supervisor)