In Early 2011 Giant Inc

Multiple Choice

In early 2011 Giant Inc.'s management was considering making an offer to buy Micro Corporation. Micro's projected operating income (EBIT) for 2011 was $30 million, but Giant believes that if the two firms were merged, it could consolidate some operations, reduce Micro's expenses, and raise its EBIT to $35 million. Neither company uses any debt, and they both pay income taxes at a 35% rate. Giant has a better reputation among investors, who regard it as very well managed and not very risky, so its stock has a P/E ratio of 12 versus a P/E of 9 for Micro. Since Giant's management would be running the entire enterprise after a merger, investors would value the resulting corporation based on Giant's P/E. If Micro has 10 million shares outstanding, by how much should the merger increase its share price, assuming all of the synergy will go to its stockholders?

A) $7.94
B) $8.36
C) $8.80
D) $9.26
E) $9.75