Table Of Contents
What is Debenture?
Debentures are the company's acknowledgment of the debt borrowed by the particular corporate entity towards the fund provider, i.e., an investor in the form of debt. These are the debt instrument that corporates are using to fulfill their capital requirement by giving assets as mortgage/security. Presently, in India, all the debentures have the first charge over the assets of the company.
Let us take an example of Debenture.
The promoter group of XYZ floats ABC Ltd by issuing the equity share capital of $500 million by issuing shares of 50 million each for $10. Also, they bought machinery and equipment by issuing non-convertible Debentures (NCDs) of $300 crore.
Here, Equity share capital is the basic capital owned by the public and promoters. While NCDs are the debt taken from the public is an example of the Debenture.
Explanation of Debenture in Video
Comparative Table
Basis | Shares | Debentures |
---|---|---|
Structure | Shares are the ownership capital of the company. | Debentures are the debt for the company. |
Dividend Right | Shares have, by default, dividend-right in the profit of the company. | Debenture holders have the right to receive interest against the debt fund given by them. |
Voting Right | Shareholders have voting right in the annual general meeting of the company. | Debenture holders do not have the right to vote in the general meeting. |
Conversion | Shares are not convertible to debt or such other structure of the capital. | Debentures can be issued with the option of getting converted into shares. |
Risk holder | From an investor's point of view, Shareholders are the highest risk owner of the company. | From an investor's point of view, investment in debentures is one of the most secure instruments of investment. |
Lien | Shareholders do not have any lien on the assets of the company. | In general, debenture holders have a lien in favor of them against all the assets of the company. |
Owner/Creditor | Shareholders are the Owners of the company. | Debenture holders are the creditor of the company. |
Right at the time of liquidation | Shareholders have the residual right at the time of liquidation. | Debenture holders have the first right on the asset of the company after repaying the statutory dues and employee payments. |
Leverage | Shares do not give any leverage benefit to the company. | Debentures give the leverage benefit to the company. |
Compulsion to issue | For every company, to issue share capital is mandatory and needed to be maintained throughout the life of the company. | Every company doesn't need to issue Debenture for issues. |
Compulsion of return | For the company, it is not mandatory to declare a dividend. | For the company, it is mandatory for the company for payment and repayment of interest and debt. |
Example | An example is equity share capital and preference share capital. | Examples are non-convertible debentures, convertible debentures, 2nd charge debentures, etc. |
Disclosure in financial statement | The share capital is to be disclosed under "Shareholders funds "on equity and liabilities side in the balance sheet. | Debentures are to be disclosed under long term borrowings under Non-Current Liabilities in equity and liabilities side in the balance sheet. |
Conclusion
Like the two sides of the coin, shares and debentures have advantages and disadvantages. They are the most common source for raising capital. With one ownership fund and another debt fund, corporates use both based on their requirements.
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