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Investment in Kemrock Industries and Exports Ltd.
6 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2013
Investment in Kemrock Industries and Exports Ltd.

NOTE 2 — INVESTMENT IN KEMROCK INDUSTRIES AND EXPORTS LTD.

Beginning with our fiscal year ended May 31, 2007, we began purchasing shares of Kemrock Industries and Exports Limited (“Kemrock”) common stock. By May 31, 2011, we had acquired a total of approximately 3.2 million shares of Kemrock common stock, for an accumulated cost of approximately $24.2 million, which represented approximately 18% of Kemrock’s outstanding shares at that time. Our investment in Kemrock common stock had been classified in other long-term assets on our balance sheet and included with available-for-sale securities, which are carried at fair value based on quoted market prices.

During fiscal 2012, we increased our ownership in Kemrock to over 20% of Kemrock’s outstanding shares of common stock and changed our accounting for this investment to the equity method. Additionally, during fiscal 2012, we entered into three other, separate agreements with Kemrock. First, we agreed to loan Kemrock $15.0 million, which was to be repaid in cash, or alternatively, goods and commercial materials, no later than September 15, 2012. The loan was classified as a note receivable and was included in prepaid and other current assets in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Second, we entered into a global depository receipt (“GDR”) Purchase Agreement with Kemrock, whereby we purchased 693,072 GDRs of Kemrock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $7.2 million. The GDRs were included in our investment in Kemrock, which had a carrying value at the end of fiscal 2012 of $42.2 million, and were classified as other long-term assets in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Lastly, during fiscal 2012 we invested $22.7 million in 5.5% convertible bonds issued by Kemrock. Our investment in Kemrock’s convertible bonds was accounted for as an available-for-sale security and was classified in other long-term assets in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The convertible feature embedded in the convertible bonds is accounted for as a derivative under the guidance in ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.”

At the time of our investment in Kemrock’s convertible bonds, Kemrock was in the midst of major capital expansion for new projects and upcoming technologies, and there were no indications of any adverse business, economic, competitive, or market factors. However, on August 8, 2012, the price of Kemrock’s common stock plunged below our carrying value, declining by approximately 40% from its May 31, 2012 per share price of 531.0 rupees. We later learned that the dramatic drop in Kemrock’s stock price was related to Kemrock’s announcement of declining sales and income, a liquidity problem at Kemrock that stemmed from its explosive growth, combined with the overall tightening of lending practices of banks and credit markets in India. At that time, we also learned that Kemrock was in the process of renegotiating its credit agreements with its banks. Compounding these difficulties for Kemrock was the deterioration in the exchange rate of the Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar and euro, which had a negative impact on Kemrock’s gross profit margin and cash flow as Kemrock procures the majority of its raw material supplies outside of India, but sells its products in Indian rupees. The market value of shares of Kemrock common stock continued to decline significantly, and dropped from 531.0 rupees per share as of May 31, 2012 to 56.70 rupees per share as of November 30, 2012; the majority of which began to occur during the month of August 2012. By the end of our fiscal year ended May 31, 2013, the market value of shares of Kemrock common stock had continued its decline to 43.85 rupees per share.

We account for our equity method investment in Kemrock under ASC 323, “Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures.” As outlined in ASC 323-10-35-32, a decline in the quoted market price below the carrying amount, when combined with other evidence of a loss in value, may be indicative of a loss in value that is other than temporary. Acting upon the premise that a write-down may be required, we considered all available evidence to evaluate the realizable value of our equity investment, including the decline in the market price of shares of Kemrock stock, the financial condition and near term prospects of Kemrock, and the overall economic situation in India. As a result of these factors, we determined that it was appropriate to record an impairment loss during the three and six month periods ended November 30, 2012 of approximately $10.1 million and $42.2 million, respectively, on our equity method investment. Additionally, we recorded a loss of $5.0 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2012 for the amount deemed uncollectible on our then-outstanding $10.0 million loan to Kemrock. As the value of the embedded conversion derivative is directly correlated to the market value of Kemrock stock, we wrote-down the embedded conversion feature derivative and recorded an approximate $0.8 million and $9.0 million charge to earnings during the three and six month periods ended November 30, 2012, respectively. The investment losses were classified in other (income) expense, net and the loss recorded on the loan was included in selling, general and administrative expense in our Consolidated Statements of Income. By the end of our fiscal year ended May 31, 2013, we wrote-down our entire equity-method investment in Kemrock for $42.2 million, the full value of the embedded conversion feature for $9.0 million and the full value of our convertible debt investment for $13.7 million.