Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-1 Chapter 17 Real Options

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-2 Real options The application of derivatives theory to the operation and valuation of real investment projects A call option is the right to pay a strike price to receive the present value of a stream of future cash flows An investment project is the right to pay an investment cost to receive the present value of a future cash flow stream Investment ProjectCall Option Investment Cost=Strike Price Present Value of Project=Price of Underlying Asset

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-3 Investment and the NPV rule NPV rule: –Compute NPV by discounting expected cashflows at the opportunity cost of capital –Accept a project if and only if its NPV is positive and it exceeds the NPV of all mutually exclusive alternative projects. Example under certainty: –Invest in a $10 machine, that will produce one widget/year forever at a cost of $0.90/widget. The widget will sell at $0.55 next year and the price will increase at 4% per year. Risk-free rate is 5% per year. The investment can occur anytime. Should it? If yes, when?

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-4 Investment and the NPV rule (cont.) Example under certainty: (cont.) –Static NPV: NPV Invest today = $27 NPV Wait five years = $30.49 NPV Wait years = $35.03

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-5 Investment and the NPV rule (cont.) The project as an option: –The decision to invest is analogous to the decision to exercise an American option early Exercise price ~ investment cost Underlying asset ~ value of the project –Tradeoff between three factors: Dividends foregone by not exercising: cashflows from selling widgets Interest saved by deferring the payment of exercise price Value of the insurance lost by by exercising (the implicit put option): since no uncertainty, there is no insurance value –S = $55 (=$0.55/( )), K = $28 (=$10 + $0.90/0.05), r = (=ln1.05),  = 0,  = (=ln1.05 – ln1.05) C = $35.03

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-6 Investment under uncertainty Example: –A project requires an intial investment of $100, and is expected to generate a perpetual cashflow stream, with a first cash flow $18 in one year, expected to grow at 3% annually. Assume a discount rate of 15%. If the project can be delayed for up to two years, should the project be accepted? If yes, when? –Static NPV: $18/(0.15 – 0.03) – $100 = $50 –Trade-off between three factors: Foregone initial cashflow: $18 Interest savings: $7 (7% x $100) Value of preserved insurance: Is it more than the loss due to delay? Loss of $11 if delayed

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-7 Investment under uncertainty (cont.) Example: (cont.) –What is the value of the insurance? Need to know the volatility of cashflows:

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-8 Investment under uncertainty (cont.) Example: (cont.) – S = $150, K = $100, r = 6.766% (=ln1.07),  = 0.5, t = 2 years,  = (=ln(1+($18/$50))), p* = C = $55.80 > $50

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 17-9 Real options in practice The decision about whether and when to invest in a project ~ call option The ability to shut down, restart, and permanently abandon a project ~ project + put option Strategic options: The ability to invest in projects that may give rise to future options ~ compound option Flexibility options: Ability to switch between inputs, outputs, or technologies ~ rainbow option

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Real options in practice (cont.) Peak-load electricity generation –Plant idle when price of electricity is less than the cost of fuel –Plant online when electricity price spikes or fuel price declines –Similar to owning a strip of call options on electricity expiring daily, with a strike price of cost of variable inputs –Spark spread: S elec – H x S gas, where H is plant efficiency measure –Profit = max(S elec – H x S gas, 0), a European exchange option – –By rewriting using put-call parity: Static NPVOption Not to Operate

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Real options in practice (cont.) Research and development –Costs incurred to acquire technology to be used in future projects –Projects in the future only undertaken if they have positive NPV

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Real options in practice (cont.)

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction as an option Incur the extraction costs to realize the value of the resource: defer investment and stop and start production Example: Single-barrel extraction under certainty –A plot of land contains one barrel of oil that can be extracted by paying $ Currently, oil sells for $15/barrel, effective annual lease rate  is 4%, and effective annual risk-free rate is 5% –How much is the land worth? $1.40 (= $15 – $13.60) [no real options, immediate extraction] $1.796 [considering real options, trigger price $ at t = ] If the lease rate of an extractive commodity is zero, it is best to leave the commodity underground forever

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction as an option (cont.) Example: Single-barrel extraction under uncertainty –The same example as before, but oil price volatility is 15% –How much is the land worth? $ [considering real options, trigger price $ ] When uncertainty is introduced, the optimal exercise time is later, and the project value, and trigger price is higher

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction as an option (cont.)

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction as an option (cont.) Example: Valuing an infinite oil reserve –Example 17.1: Suppose S 0 = $15, r = 5%,  = 4%, c = $8, and the investment cost I is $180 The value of the producing well is $15/0.04 – $8/0.05 = $215. Per barrel extraction cost is  (c/r + I) = $13.60 CallPerpetual [$15/0.04, $8/ , , ln(1.05), ln(1.04)] = [$44.914, $ ] The value of the well is $ Extraction occurs when S = 0.04 x $ = $ –Example 17.2: Assumptions above + oil price volatility  = 0.15 CallPerpetual [$15/0.04, $8/ , 0.15, ln(1.05), ln(1.04)] = [$94.639, $ ]

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction with the option to shut down and restart production

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction with the option to shut down and restart production (cont.)

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide Commodity extraction with the option to shut down and restart production (cont.)