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Valuing convertible bonds and the option to exchange bonds for stock

John D. Finnerty

Journal of Corporate Finance, 2015, vol. 31, issue C, 91-115

Abstract: The value of a conventional convertible bond is the value of a straight bond plus the value of the option to exchange it for a specified number of shares of common stock. First, I develop a closed-form contingent-claims convertible bond valuation model that quantifies the value of the exchange option when the short-term riskless rate, the firm's credit spread, and its share price are stochastic. I model the firm's decision to force early conversion as a stopping time problem in which the firm forces conversion as soon as the conversion value reaches the forced conversion barrier. I empirically validate the model by comparing model and market prices for a sample of 148 corporate convertible bonds issued between 2006 and 2010. The average median and mean pricing errors are −0.18% and 0.21%, respectively, which are within the average bid–ask spread for convertible bonds during the sample period. I use the model to quantify the disruptive impact that the prohibition on short selling during the recent financial crisis had on convertible bond prices.

Keywords: Valuation; Convertible bond; Exchange option; Stopping time; Empirical validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C29 G12 G13 G30 G32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:corfin:v:31:y:2015:i:c:p:91-115

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.12.012

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