In corporate finance, a leveraged recapitalization is a change of the capital structure of a company, a substitution of equity for debt —e.g. by issuing bonds to raise money, and using that money to buy the company's stock or to pay dividends. Such a maneuver is called a leveraged buyout when initiated by an outside party, or a leveraged recapitalization when initiated by the company itself for internal reasons. These types of recapitalization can be minor adjustments to the capital structure of the company, or can be large changes involving a change in the power structure as well.
Leveraged recapitalizations are used by privately held companies as a means of refinancing, generally to provide cash to the shareholders while not requiring a total sale of the company. Debt (in the form of bonds) has some advantages over equity as a way of raising money, since it can have tax benefits and can enforce a cash discipline. The reduction in equity also makes the firm less vulnerable to a hostile takeover.
However, there can be a downside, since this form of recapitalization can lead a company to focus on short-term projects that generate cash (to pay off the debt and interest payments), which in turn leads the company to lose its strategic focus.[1]
Downes, John; (2003). Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms. Barron's. ISBN 0-7641-2209-6.
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