Topic 2: Business Combinations
-
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 112
-
Removed by SAB 112
-
Removed by SAB 112
-
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
-
Removed by SAB 103
A. Acquisition Method
1. Removed by SAB 103
2. Removed by SAB 103
3. Removed by SAB 103
4. Removed by SAB 103
5. Removed by SAB 112
6. Debt issue costs
Facts: Company A is to acquire the net assets of Company B in a transaction to be accounted for as a business combination. In connection with the transaction, Company A has retained an investment banker to provide advisory services in structuring the acquisition and to provide the necessary financing. It is expected that the acquisition will be financed on an interim basis using “bridge financing” provided by the investment banker. Permanent financing will be arranged at a later date through a debt offering, which will be underwritten by the investment banker. Fees will be paid to the investment banker for the advisory services, the bridge financing, and the underwriting of the permanent financing. These services may be billed separately or as a single amount.
Question 1: Should total fees paid to the investment banker for acquisition-related services and the issuance of debt securities be allocated between the services received?
Interpretive Response: Yes. Fees paid to an investment banker in connection with a business combination or asset acquisition, when the investment banker is also providing interim financing or underwriting services, must be allocated between acquisition related services and debt issue costs.
When an investment banker provides services in connection with a business combination or asset acquisition and also provides underwriting services associated with the issuance of debt or equity securities, the total fees incurred by an entity should be allocated between the services received on a relative fair value basis. The objective of the allocation is to ascribe the total fees incurred to the actual services provided by the investment banker.
FASB ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, provides guidance for the portion of the costs that represent acquisition-related services. The portion of the costs pertaining to the issuance of debt or equity securities should be accounted for in accordance with other applicable GAAP.
Question 2: May the debt issue costs of the interim “bridge financing” be amortized over the anticipated combined life of the bridge and permanent financings?
1. Interpretive Response: No. Debt issue costs should be amortized by the interest method over the life of the debt to which they relate. Debt issue costs related to the bridge financing should be recognized as interest cost during the estimated interim period preceding the placement of the permanent financing with any unamortized amounts charged to expense if the bridge loan is repaid prior to the expiration of the estimated period. Where the bridged financing consists of increasing rate debt, the guidance issued in FASB ASC Topic 470, Debt, should be followed.1
7. Removed by SAB 112
8. Business combinations prior to an initial public offering
Facts: Two or more businesses combine in a single combination just prior to or contemporaneously with an initial public offering.
Question: Does the guidance in SAB Topic 5.G apply to business combinations entered into just prior to or contemporaneously with an initial public offering?
Interpretive Response: No. The guidance in SAB Topic 5.G is intended to address the transfer, just prior to or contemporaneously with an initial public offering, of nonmonetary assets in exchange for a company’s stock. The guidance in SAB Topic 5.G is not intended to modify the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 805. Accordingly, the staff believes that the combination of two or more businesses should be accounted for in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 805.
9. Removed by SAB 112
B. Removed by SAB 103
C. Removed by SAB 103
D. Financial Statements Of Oil And Gas Exchange Offers
Facts: The oil and gas industry has experienced periods of time where there have been a significant number of “exchange offers” (also referred to as “roll-ups” or “put-togethers”) to form a publicly held company, take an existing private company public, or increase the size of an existing publicly held company. An exchange offer transaction involves a swap of shares in a corporation for interests in properties, typically limited partnership interests. Such interests could include direct interests such as working interests and royalties related to developed or undeveloped properties and indirect interests such as limited partnership interests or shares of existing oil and gas companies. Generally, such transactions are structured to be tax-free to the individual or entity trading the property interest for shares of the corporation. Under certain circumstances, however, part or all of the transaction may be taxable. For purposes of the discussion in this Topic, in each of these situations, the entity (or entities) or property (or properties) are deemed to constitute a business.
One financial reporting issue in exchange transactions involves deciding which prior financial results of the entities should be reported.
Question 1: In Form 10-K filings with the Commission, the staff has permitted limited partnerships to omit certain of the oil and gas reserve value information and the supplemental summary of oil and gas activities disclosures required by FASB ASC Subtopic 932-235, Extractive Activities — Oil and Gas — Notes to Financial Statements, in some circumstances. Is it permissible to omit these disclosures from the financial statements included in an exchange offering?
Interpretive Response: No. Normally full disclosures of reserve data and related information are required. The exemptions previously allowed relate only to partnerships where value-oriented data are otherwise available to the limited partners pursuant to the partnership agreement. The staff has previously stated that it will require all of the required disclosures for partnerships which are the subject of exchange offers.2 These disclosures may, however, be presented on a combined basis if the entities are under common control.
The staff believes that the financial statements in an exchange offer registration statement should provide sufficient historical reserve quantity and value-based disclosures to enable offerees and secondary market public investors to evaluate the effect of the exchange proposal. Accordingly, in all cases, it will be necessary to present information as of the latest year-end on reserve quantities and the future net revenues associated with such quantities. In certain circumstances, where the exchange is accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting, the staff will consider, on a case-by-case basis, granting exemptions from (i) the disclosure requirements for year-to-year reconciliations of reserve quantities, and (ii) the requirements for a summary of oil and gas producing activities and a summary of changes in the net present value of reserves. For instance, the staff may consider requests for exemptions in cases where the properties acquired in the exchange transaction are fully explored and developed, particularly if the management of the emerging company has not been involved in the exploration and development of such properties.
Question 2: If the exchange company will use the full cost method of accounting, does the full cost ceiling limitation apply as of the date of the financial statements reflecting the exchange?
Interpretive Response: Yes. The full cost ceiling limitation on costs capitalized does apply. However, as discussed under Topic 12.D.3, the Commission has stated that in unusual circumstances, registrants may request an exemption if as a result of a major purchase, a write-down would be required even though it can be demonstrated that the fair value of the properties clearly exceeds the unamortized costs.
Question 3: How should “common control accounting” be applied to the specific assets and liabilities of the new exchange company?
Interpretive Response: Consistent with SAB Topic 12.C.2, under “common control accounting” the various accounting methods followed by the offeree entities should be conformed to the methods adopted by the new exchange company. It is not appropriate to combine assets and liabilities accounted for on different bases. Accordingly, all of the oil and gas properties of the new entity must be accounted for on the same basis (either full cost or successful efforts) applied retrospectively.
Question 4: What pro forma financial information is required in an exchange offer filing?
Interpretive Response: The requirements for pro forma financial information in exchange offer filings are the same as in any other filings with the Commission and are detailed in Article 11 of Regulation S-X.3 Rule 11-02(b) specifies the presentation requirements, including periods presented and types of adjustments to be made. The general criteria of Rule 11-02(b)(6) are that pro forma adjustments should give effect to events that are (i) directly attributable to the transaction, (ii) expected to have a continuing impact on the registrant, and (iii) factually supportable. In the case of an exchange offer, such adjustments typically are made to:
(1) Show varying levels of acceptance of the offer.
(2) Conform the accounting methods used in the historical financial statements to those to be applied by the new entity.
(3) Recompute the depreciation, depletion and amortization charges, in cases where the new entity will use full-cost accounting, on a combined basis. If this computation is not practicable, and the exchange offer is accounted for as a transaction among entities under common control, historical depreciation, depletion and amortization provisions may be aggregated, with appropriate disclosure.
(4) Reflect the acquisition in the pro forma statements where the exchange offer is accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting, including depreciation, depletion and amortization based on the measurement guidance in FASB ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations.
(5) Provide pro forma reserve information comparable to the disclosures required by FASB ASC paragraphs 932-235-50-3 through 932-235-50-11B and FASB ASC paragraphs 932-235-50-29 through 932-235-50-36.
(6) Reflect significant changes, if any, in levels of operations (revenues or costs), or in income tax status and to reflect debt incurred in connection with the transaction.
In addition, the depreciation, depletion and amortization rate which will apply for the initial period subsequent to consummation of the exchange offer should be disclosed.
Question 5: Are there conditions under which the presentation of other than full historical financial statements would be acceptable?
Interpretive Response: Generally, full historical financial statements as specified in Rules 3-01 and 3-02 of Regulation S-X are considered necessary to enable offerees and secondary market investors to evaluate the transaction. Where securities are being registered to offer to the security holders (including limited partners and other ownership interests) of the businesses to be acquired, such financial statements are normally required pursuant to Rule 3-05 of Regulation S-X, either individually for each entity or, where appropriate, separately for the offeror and on a combined basis for other entities, generally excluding corporations. However, certain exceptions may apply as explained in the outline below:
A. Acquisition Method Accounting
-
If the registrant can demonstrate that full historical financial statements of the offeree businesses are not reasonably available, the staff may permit presentation of audited Statements of Combined Gross Revenues and Direct Lease Operating Expenses for all years for which an income statement would otherwise be required. In these circumstances, the registrant should also disclose in an unaudited footnote the amounts of total exploration and development costs, and general and administrative expenses along with the reasons why presentation of full historical financial statements is not practicable.
-
The staff will consider requests to waive the requirement for prior year financial statements of the offerees and instead allow presentation of only the latest fiscal year and interim period, if the registrant can demonstrate that the prior years’ data would not be meaningful because the offerees had no material quantity of production.
B. Common Control Accounting
The staff would expect that the full historical financial statements as specified in Rules 3-01 and 3-02 of Regulation S-X would be included in the registration statement for exchange offers accounted for as transactions among entities under common control, including all required supplemental reserve information. The presentation of individual or combined financial statements would depend on the circumstances of the particular exchange offer.
Registrants are also reminded that wherever historical results are presented, it may be appropriate to explain the reasons why historical costs are not necessarily indicative of future expenditures.
E. Removed by SAB 103
F. Removed by SAB 103
Footnotes
1
As noted in FASB ASC paragraph 470-10-35-2, the term-extending provisions of the debt instrument should be analyzed to determine whether they constitute an embedded derivative requiring separate accounting in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging.
2
See SAB 40, Topic 12.A.3.c.