20-F 1 bbu201720-f.htm 20-F Document
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 20-F
(Mark One)
 
 
o
 
REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) or (g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
OR
ý
 
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017
OR
o
 
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
OR
o
 
SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Commission file number: 001-37775
Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
Translation of Registrant's name into English)
Bermuda
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
73 Front Street Hamilton, HM 12 Bermuda
(Address of principal executive offices)
Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
73 Front Street
Hamilton, HM 12
Bermuda
Tel: +441-294-3309
(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.
Title of each class
 
Name of each exchange on which registered
Limited Partnership Units
 
New York Stock Exchange
Limited Partnership Units
 
Toronto Stock Exchange
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.
None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.
None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:
66,185,798 Limited Partnership Units as of December 31, 2017.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.        Yes o No ý
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.        Yes o No ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.        Yes ý No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).        Yes ý No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of "accelerated filer," "large accelerated filer," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o
 
Accelerated filer o
 
Non-accelerated filer ý
 
Emerging growth company o
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
o U.S. GAAP
 
ý International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board
 
o Other
If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.        Item 17 o Item 18 o
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).        Yes o No ý



Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

i
Brookfield Business Partners

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Brookfield Business Partners
ii


INTRODUCTION AND USE OF CERTAIN TERMS
We have prepared this Form 20-F using a number of conventions, which you should consider when reading the information contained herein. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, in this Form 20-F all financial information is presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB, other than certain non-IFRS financial measures which are defined under "Use of Non-IFRS Measures".
In this Form 20-F, unless the context suggests otherwise, references to "we", "us" and "our" are to our company, the Holding LP, the Holding Entities and the operating businesses, each as defined below, taken together on a consolidated basis. Unless the context suggests otherwise, in this Form 20-F references to:
•
"assets under management" mean assets managed by us or by Brookfield on behalf of our third party investors, as well as our own assets, and also include capital commitments that have not yet been drawn. Our calculation of assets under management may differ from that employed by other asset managers and, as a result, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other asset managers;
•
"attributable to the partnership" and "attributable to unitholders" means attributable to parent company prior to spin-off on June 20, 2016 and to limited partner, general partner and redemption-exchange unitholders post spin-off. Post spin-off, equity is also attributable to preferred shareholders and Special LP unitholders;
•
"Australia" means Australia and New Zealand;
•
"Backlog" represents an estimate of revenue to be recognized in future financial periods from contracts currently secured. Backlog is not indicative of future revenue, as we cannot guarantee that the revenue projected in our backlog will be realized or that it will exceed cost and generate profit. Projects may remain in our backlog for an extended period of time. Furthermore, variations in projects may occur with respect to contracts included in our backlog that could reduce the dollar amount of our backlog and the revenue and profits that we eventually realize;
•
"BBU General Partner" means Brookfield Business Partners Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management;
•
"Bermuda Holdco" means Brookfield BBP Bermuda Holdings Limited;
•
"boe" or "BOE" means barrels of oil equivalent, with six thousand cubic feet of natural gas being equivalent to one barrel of oil;
•
"boe/d" or "BOE/d" means barrels of oil equivalent per day;
•
"Brookfield" means Brookfield Asset Management and any subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, other than us;
•
"Brookfield Asset Management" means Brookfield Asset Management Inc.;
•
"CanHoldco" means Brookfield BBU Canada Holdings Inc.;
•
"CBCA" means the Canada Business Corporations Act;
•
"CDS" means Clearing and Depository Services Inc.;
•
"CGU" means cash generating units;
•
"Company EBITDA" means Company FFO excluding the impact of realized disposition gains, interest expense, cash taxes, and realized disposition gains, current income taxes and interest expense related to equity accounted investments;
•
"Company FFO" means funds from operations, which is calculated as net income excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, breakage and transaction costs, non-cash valuation gains or losses and other items;
•
"Consortium" means our company and the various institutional clients of Brookfield Asset Management;
•
"DTC" means the Depository Trust Company;
•
"EBITDA" means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization;

1
Brookfield Business Partners

•
"FATCA" means Foreign Account Tax Compliance provisions of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010;
•
“GP Units” means general partnership units in our company;
•
"GrafTech" means GrafTech International Ltd.;
•
"Holding Entities" means the primary holding subsidiaries of the Holding LP, from time to time, through which it indirectly holds all of our interests in our operating businesses, including CanHoldo, US Holdco and Bermuda Holdco;
•
"Holding LP" means Brookfield Business L.P.;
•
"Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement" means the amended and restated limited partnership agreement of the Holding LP;
•
"IASB" means the International Accounting Standards Board;
•
"incentive distribution" means the distribution payable to holders of Special LP Units as described under "Related Party Transactions—Incentive Distributions";
•
"LIBOR" means the London Interbank offered rate;
•
"Licensing Agreement" means the licensing agreement which our company and the Holding LP have entered into;
•
"limited partners" means the holders of our units;
•
"Limited Partnership Agreements" means our Limited Partnership Agreement and Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement;
•
"Managing General Partner Units" means the general partner interests in the Holding LP having the rights and obligations specified in the Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement;
•
"Master Services Agreement" means the master services agreement among the Service Recipients, the Service Providers, and certain other subsidiaries of Brookfield Asset Management who are parties thereto;
•
"Mboe" or "MBOE" means thousand barrels of oil equivalent;
•
"MBOE/d" or "MBOE/d" means thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day;
•
"McDaniel" means McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd;
•
"Mcf" means one thousand cubic feet;
•
"MI 61-101" means Multilateral Instrument 61-101—Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions;
•
"MMboe" means million barrels of oil equivalent;
•
"MMbtu" means one million British thermal units;
•
"MMcf/d" means million cubic feet per day;
•
"NAREIT" means National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc.;
•
"NI 51-102" means National Instrument 51-102—Continuous Disclosure Obligations;
•
"Non-Resident Subsidiaries" means the subsidiaries of Holding LP that are corporations and that are not resident or deemed to be resident in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act;
•
"Non-U.S. Holder" means a beneficial owner of one or more units, other than a U.S. Holder or an entity classified as a partnership or other fiscally transparent entity for U.S. federal tax purposes;
•
"NYSE" means the New York Stock Exchange;
•
"NYSE Euronext" means NYSE Euronext Inc.;
•
"oil and gas" means crude oil and natural gas;

Brookfield Business Partners
2

•
"operating businesses" means the businesses in which the Holding Entities hold interests and that directly or indirectly hold our operations and assets other than entities in which the Holding Entities hold interests for investment purposes only of less than 5% of the equity securities;
•
"our business" means our business of owning and operating business services and industrial operations, both directly and through our Holding Entities and other intermediary entities;
•
"our company" or "our partnership" means Brookfield Business Partners L.P., a Bermuda exempted limited partnership;
•
"our Limited Partnership Agreement" means the amended and restated limited partnership agreement of our company;
•
"our operations" means the business services and industrial operations we own;
•
"parent company" means Brookfield Asset Management;
•
"REALPAC" means the Real Property Association of Canada;
•
"Redemption-Exchange Mechanism" means the mechanism by which Brookfield may request redemption of its redemption-exchange units in whole or in part in exchange for cash, subject to the right of our company to acquire such interests (in lieu of such redemption) in exchange for units of our company;
•
"redemption-exchange units" means the non-voting limited partnership interests in the Holding LP that are redeemable for cash, subject to the right of our company to acquire such interests (in lieu of such redemption) in exchange for units of our company, pursuant to the Redemption-Exchange Mechanism;
•
"Relationship Agreement" means the agreement under which Brookfield Asset Management has agreed that we will serve as the primary entity through which Brookfield will own and operate its business services and industrial operations;
•
"Sarbanes-Oxley Act" means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;
•
"SEC" means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;
•
"Service Providers" means the affiliates of Brookfield that provide services to us pursuant to our Master Services Agreement, which are expected to be Brookfield Asset Management (Barbados) Inc., Brookfield Asset Management Private Institutional Capital Adviser (Private Equity), L.P., Brookfield Canadian Business Advisor L.P., Brookfield Canadian GP L.P. and Brookfield Global Business Advisors Limited, which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Brookfield Asset Management, and unless the context otherwise requires, any other affiliate of Brookfield that is appointed by Brookfield Global Business Advisor Limited from time to time to act as a Service Provider pursuant to our Master Services Agreement or to whom the Service Providers have subcontracted for the provision of such services;
•
"Service Recipients" means our company, the Holding LP, the Holding Entities and, at the option of the Holding Entities, any wholly-owned subsidiary of a Holding Entity excluding any operating business;
•
"Special LP Units" means special limited partnership units of the Holding LP;
•
"spin-off" means the special dividend of our units by Brookfield Asset Management completed on June 20, 2016;
•
"Tax Act" means the Income Tax Act (Canada), together with the regulation thereunder;
•
"TSX" means the Toronto Stock Exchange;
•
"unitholders" means the holders of our units;
•
"units" or "LP Units" means the non-voting limited partnership units in our company;
•
"US Holdco" means Brookfield BBP US Holdings LLC;
•
"U.S. Holder" means a beneficial owner of one or more of our units that is for U.S. federal tax purposes (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (iv) a trust (a) that is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and all substantial decisions of which one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control or (b) that has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person;
•
“Westinghouse” means Westinghouse Electric Company; and

3
Brookfield Business Partners

•
“Westinghouse Acquisition” means the transaction described under "History and Development of our Company”
Historical Performance and Market Data
This Form 20-F contains information relating to our business as well as historical performance and market data for Brookfield Asset Management and certain of its operating platforms. When considering this data, you should bear in mind that historical results and market data may not be indicative of the future results that you should expect from us.
Financial Information
The financial information contained in this Form 20-F is presented in United States dollars and, unless otherwise indicated, has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS. All figures are unaudited unless otherwise indicated. In this Form 20-F, all references to "$" are to United States dollars, references to "A$" are to Australian dollars, references to "R$" are to Brazilian Reais, references to "£" are to British Pounds and references to "C$" are to Canadian dollars.
Use of Non-IFRS Measures
Our company evaluates its performance using net income attributable to parent company. In addition to this measure reported in accordance with IFRS, we also use Company FFO and Company EBITDA (defined below) to evaluate our performance. When determining Company FFO and Company EBITDA, we include our proportionate share of Company FFO and Company EBITDA of equity accounted investments, respectively. We believe our presentation of Company FFO and Company EBITDA is useful to investors because it supplements investors' understanding of our operating performance by providing information regarding our ongoing performance that excludes items we believe do not directly affect our core operations. Our presentation of Company FFO and Company EBITDA also gives investors comparability of our ongoing performance across periods.
We define Company FFO as net income excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, breakage and transaction costs, non-cash valuation gains or losses and other items. Company FFO is presented net to unitholders. Our definition of Company FFO may differ from the definition of FFO used by other organizations, as well as the definition of funds from operations used by the Real Property Association of Canada ("REALPAC") and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc. ("NAREIT"), in part because the NAREIT definition is based on U.S. GAAP, as opposed to IFRS. Company FFO has limitations as an analytical tool as it does not include depreciation and amortization expense, deferred income taxes and non-cash valuation gains/losses and impairment charges.
We define Company EBITDA as Company FFO excluding the impact of realized disposition gains, interest expense, current income taxes, and realized disposition gains, current income taxes and interest expense related to equity accounted investments. Company EBITDA is presented net to unitholders. Company EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool as it does not include realized disposition gains, interest expense, and current income taxes, as well as depreciation and amortization expense, deferred income taxes and non-cash valuation gains/losses and impairment charges.
Company FFO and Company EBITDA do not have a standard meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Because Company FFO and Company EBITDA have these limitations, Company FFO and Company EBITDA should not be considered as the sole measures of our performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our results as reported under IFRS. However, Company FFO and Company EBITDA are key measures that we use to evaluate the performance of our operations.
For a reconciliation of Company FFO and Company EBITDA to net income attributable to unitholders, see page 82 of this Form 20-F. We urge you to review the IFRS financial measures in this Form 20-F, including the financial statements, the notes thereto, and the other financial information contained herein, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our company.


Brookfield Business Partners
4

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Form 20-F contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, rules and regulations. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, include statements regarding our operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods, and include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “seeks”, “intends”, “targets”, “projects”, “forecasts”, “likely”, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”.
Although these forward-looking statements and information are based upon our beliefs, assumptions and expectations that we believe are reasonable, the reader should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
•
changes in the general economy;
•
general economic and business conditions that could impact our ability to access capital markets and credit markets;
•
the cyclical nature of most of our operations;
•
exploration and development may not result in commercially productive assets;
•
actions of competitors;
•
foreign currency risk;
•
our ability to complete previously announced acquisitions or other transactions, on the timeframe contemplated or at all;
•
risks associated with, and our ability to derive fully anticipated benefits from, future or existing acquisitions, joint ventures, investments or dispositions;
•
actions or potential actions that could be taken by our co-venturers, partners, fund investors or co-tenants;
•
risks commonly associated with a separation of economic interest from control;
•
failure to maintain effective internal controls;
•
actions or potential actions that could be taken by our parent company, or its subsidiaries (other than the partnership);
•
the departure of some or all of Brookfield's key professionals;
•
pending or threatened litigation;
•
changes to legislation and regulations;
•
possible environmental liabilities and other contingent liabilities;
•
our ability to obtain adequate insurance at commercially reasonable rates;
•
our financial condition and liquidity;
•
alternative technologies could impact the demand for, or use of, the businesses and assets that we own and operate and could impair or eliminate the competitive advantage of our businesses and assets;
•
downgrading of credit ratings and adverse conditions in the credit markets;
•
changes in financial markets, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates or political conditions;
•
the impact of the potential break-up of political-economic unions (or the departure of a union member);
•
the general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our limited partnership units; and
•
other risks and factors discussed in this Form 20-F in Item 3.D., "Risk Factors" and as detailed from time to time in other documents we file with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States.
We qualify any and all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary factors.
We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When evaluating our forward-looking statements or information, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, that may be as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

5
Brookfield Business Partners

PART I
ITEM 1.    IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not applicable.
ITEM 2.    OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not applicable.
ITEM 3.    KEY INFORMATION
3.A.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The following tables present selected financial data for our company as at and for the periods indicated:
 
Year Ended December 31,
(US$ Millions, except per unit amounts)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
2013
Statements of Operating Results Data
Revenues
$
22,823

 
$
7,960

 
$
6,753

 
$
4,622

 
$
4,884

Direct operating costs
(21,876
)
 
(7,386
)
 
(6,132
)
 
(4,099
)
 
(4,440
)
General and administrative expenses
(340
)
 
(269
)
 
(224
)
 
(179
)
 
(199
)
Depreciation and amortization expense
(371
)
 
(286
)
 
(257
)
 
(147
)
 
(125
)
Interest expense
(202
)
 
(90
)
 
(65
)
 
(28
)
 
(27
)
Equity accounted income, net
69

 
68

 
4

 
26

 
26

Impairment expense, net
(39
)
 
(261
)
 
(95
)
 
(45
)
 
(4
)
Gain on acquisitions/dispositions, net
267

 
57

 
269

 
—

 
101

Other income (expenses), net
(108
)
 
(11
)
 
70

 
13

 
(4
)
Income (loss) before income tax
223

 
(218
)
 
323

 
163

 
212

Current income tax expense
(30
)
 
(25
)
 
(49
)
 
(27
)
 
(43
)
Deferred income tax (expense) recovery
22

 
41

 
(5
)
 
9

 
45

Net income (loss)
$
215

 
$
(202
)
 
$
269

 
$
145

 
$
214

Attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Limited partners
$
(58
)
 
$
3

 
$
—

 
$
—

 
$
—

General partner
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

Brookfield Asset Management Inc.(2)
—

 
(35
)
 
208

 
93

 
184

Non-controlling interests attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Redemption-Exchange Units held by Brookfield Asset Management Inc.(1)
(60
)
 
3

 
—

 
—

 
—

Special Limited Partners
142

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

Interest of others in operating subsidiaries
191

 
(173
)
 
61

 
52

 
30

Net income (loss)
$
215

 
$
(202
)
 
$
269

 
$
145

 
$
214

Basic and diluted earnings per limited partner unit (3) (4)
$
(1.04
)
 
$
0.06

 
 
 
 
 
 
____________________________________
(1) 
For the periods subsequent to June 20, 2016.
(2) 
For the periods prior to June 20, 2016.
(3) 
Comparative figures for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 are not representative of performance, as units were spun out on June 20, 2016.
(4) 
Average number of partnership units outstanding on a fully diluted time weighted average basis, assuming the exchange of redemption exchange units held by Brookfield Asset Management for limited partnership units, for the year ended December 31, 2017 was 113.5 million (2016: 92.9 million).

Brookfield Business Partners
6

(US$ Millions)
Statements of Financial Position Data
December 31,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
 
December 31,
2015
Cash and cash equivalents
$
1,106

 
$
1,050

 
$
354

Total assets
$
15,804

 
$
8,193

 
$
7,635

Borrowings
$
3,265

 
$
1,551

 
$
2,074

Equity Attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
Limited partners
$
1,585

 
$
1,206

 
$
—

General partner
—

 
—

 
—

Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
—

 
—

 
1,787

Non-controlling interests attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
Redemption-Exchange Units, Preferred Shares and Special Limited Partnership Units held by Brookfield Asset Management Inc
1,453

 
1,295

 
—

Interests of others in operating subsidiaries
3,026

 
1,537

 
1,297

Total equity
$
6,064

 
$
4,038

 
$
3,084

3.B.    CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS
Not applicable.
3.C.    REASONS FOR THE OFFER AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not applicable.
3.D.    RISK FACTORS
Your holding of units of our company involves substantial risks. You should carefully consider the following factors in addition to the other information set forth in this Form 20-F. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations and the value of your units would likely suffer.
Risks Relating to Our Operations
Risks Relating to our Operations Generally
Our company has a limited operating history and the historical financial information included herein does not fully reflect the operating results we would have achieved during the periods presented, and therefore may not be a reliable indicator of our future financial performance.
Our company was formed on January 18, 2016 and completed its separation from Brookfield on June 20, 2016, and accordingly has a limited operating history as a standalone company. Our limited operating history makes it difficult to assess our ability to operate profitably and make distributions to unitholders. Although most of our assets and operating businesses have been under Brookfield's control prior to the formation of our company, their combined results as reflected in the historical financial statements included in this Form 20-F may not be indicative of our future financial condition or operating results. We urge you to carefully consider the basis on which the historical financial information included herein was prepared and presented.
The completion of new acquisitions can have the effect of significantly increasing the scale and scope of our operations, including operations in new geographic areas and industry sectors, and the Service Providers may have difficulty managing these additional operations. In addition, acquisitions involve risks to our business.
A key part of our company's strategy involves seeking acquisition opportunities. For example, a number of our current operations have only recently been acquired. We have also recently announced additional acquisitions, such as our proposed acquisition of Westinghouse. Acquisitions may increase the scale, scope and diversity of our operating businesses. We depend on the diligence and skill of Brookfield's and our professionals to effectively manage us, integrating acquired businesses with our existing operations. These individuals may have difficulty managing additional acquired businesses and may have other responsibilities within Brookfield's asset management business. If any such acquired businesses are not effectively integrated and managed, our existing business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

7
Brookfield Business Partners

Future acquisitions, which may include Westinghouse, will likely involve some or all of the following risks, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations: the difficulty of integrating the acquired operations and personnel into our current operations; potential disruption of our current operations; diversion of resources, including Brookfield's time and attention; the difficulty of managing the growth of a larger organization; the risk of entering markets and/or industries in which we have little experience; the risk of becoming involved in labour, commercial or regulatory disputes or litigation related to the new enterprise; risk of environmental or other liabilities associated with the acquired business; and the risk of a change of control resulting from an acquisition triggering rights of third parties or government agencies under contracts with, or authorizations held by the operating business being acquired. While it is our practice to conduct extensive due diligence investigations into businesses being acquired, it is possible that due diligence may fail to uncover all material risks in the business being acquired, or to identify a change of control trigger in a material contract or authorization, or that a contractual counterparty or government agency may take a different view on the interpretation of such a provision to that taken by us, thereby resulting in a dispute.
We may acquire distressed companies and these acquisitions may subject us to increased risks, including the incurrence of additional legal or other expenses.
As part of our acquisition strategy, we may acquire distressed companies. This could involve acquisitions of securities of companies in event-driven special situations, such as acquisitions, tender offers, bankruptcies, recapitalizations, spinoffs, corporate and financial restructurings, litigation or other liability impairments, turnarounds, management changes, consolidating industries and other catalyst-oriented situations. For example, we recently announced our proposed acquisition of Westinghouse, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017. Acquisitions of distressed companies involve substantial financial and business risks that can result in substantial or total losses. Among the problems involved in assessing and making acquisitions in troubled issuers is the fact that it frequently may be difficult to obtain information as to the condition of such issuer. If, during the diligence process, we fail to identify issues specific to a company or the environment in which we operate, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that may result in other reporting losses.
As a consequence of our company's role as an acquirer of distressed companies, we may be subject to increased risk of incurring additional legal, indemnification or other expenses, even if we are not named in any action. In distressed situations, litigation often follows when disgruntled shareholders, creditors and other parties seek to recover losses from poorly performing investments. The enhanced litigation risk for distressed companies is further elevated by the potential that Brookfield or our company may have controlling or influential positions in these companies.
We operate in a highly competitive market for acquisition opportunities.
Our acquisition strategy is dependent to a significant extent on Brookfield's ability to identify acquisition opportunities that are suitable for us. We face competition for acquisitions primarily from investment funds, operating companies acting as strategic buyers, commercial and investment banks and commercial finance companies. Many of these competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than are available to us. Some of these competitors may also have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of acquisitions and to offer terms that we are unable or unwilling to match. To finance our acquisitions, we will need to compete for equity capital from institutional investors and other equity providers, including Brookfield, and our ability to consummate acquisitions will be dependent on such capital continuing to be available. Increases in interest rates could also make it more difficult to consummate acquisitions because our competitors may have a lower cost of capital, which may enable them to bid higher prices for assets. In addition, because of our affiliation with Brookfield, there is a higher risk that when we participate with Brookfield and others in joint ventures, partnerships and consortiums on acquisitions, we may become subject to antitrust or competition laws that we would not be subject to if we were acting alone. These factors may create competitive disadvantages for us with respect to acquisition opportunities.
We cannot provide any assurance that the competitive pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations or that Brookfield will be able to identify and make acquisitions on our behalf that are consistent with our objectives or that generate attractive returns for our unitholders. We may lose acquisition opportunities in the future if we do not match prices, structures and terms offered by competitors, if we are unable to access sources of equity or obtain indebtedness at attractive rates or if we become subject to antitrust or competition laws. Alternatively, we may experience decreased rates of return and increased risks of loss if we match prices, structures and terms offered by competitors.

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We may not be able to complete proposed acquisitions on our anticipated timeframe, or at all.
We can provide no assurance that we will be able to complete our previously announced acquisitions on our anticipated timeframe, or at all. We regularly enter into agreements to make acquisitions, which are often subject to a number of closing conditions. These conditions may include: financing conditions (which may require access to credit and/or capital markets); third party consents; and/or antitrust regulatory approval and other industry-specific regulatory approvals. If we are unable to satisfy these conditions in the manner or in the timeframe contemplated, our proposed acquisitions may be delayed, and we may also be required to modify the terms of our acquisitions. These delays and/or modifications may be significant and could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.
In addition, if we are unable to satisfy one or more closing conditions, we may not be able to complete the acquisition at all, and in certain circumstances, we or the target company may elect to terminate the acquisition agreement voluntarily, which may result in the payment of substantial termination or “break-up” fees. Any such termination of a proposed acquisition could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.
For example, we have recently entered in to an agreement to acquire Westinghouse. The closing of the Westinghouse acquisition is subject to a number of customary and industry-specific closing conditions, and will likely require us to obtain significant financing. While we currently anticipate that the acquisition will close in the third quarter of 2018, we can provide no assurance that it will be completed in that timeframe, or at all.
We use leverage and such indebtedness may result in our company, the Holding LP or our operating businesses being subject to certain covenants which restrict our ability to engage in certain types of activities or to make distributions to equity.
Many of our Holding Entities and operating businesses have entered into credit facilities or have incurred other forms of debt, including for acquisitions. The total quantum of exposure to debt within our company is significant, and we may become more leveraged in the future.
Leveraged assets are more sensitive to declines in revenues, increases in expenses and interest rates and adverse economic, market and industry developments. A leveraged company's income and net assets also tend to increase or decrease at a greater rate than would otherwise be the case if money had not been borrowed. As a result, the risk of loss associated with a leveraged company, all other things being equal, is generally greater than for companies with comparatively less debt. In addition, the use of indebtedness in connection with an acquisition may give rise to negative tax consequences to certain investors. Leverage may also result in a requirement for short-term liquidity, which may force the sale of assets at times of low demand and/or prices for such assets. This may mean that we are unable to realize fair value for the assets in a sale.
Our credit facilities also contain, and will contain in the future, covenants applicable to the relevant borrower and events of default. Covenants can relate to matters including limitations on financial indebtedness, dividends, acquisitions, or minimum amounts for interest coverage, adjusted EBITDA, cash flow or net worth. If an event of default occurs, or minimum covenant requirements are not satisfied, this can result in a requirement to immediately repay any drawn amounts or the imposition of other restrictions including a prohibition on the payment of distributions to equity.
We may not be able to access the credit and capital markets at the times and in the amounts needed to satisfy capital expenditure requirements, to fund new acquisitions or otherwise.
General economic and business conditions that impact the debt or equity markets could impact the availability and cost of credit for us. We have revolving credit facilities and other short-term borrowings. The amount of interest charged on these will fluctuate based on changes in short-term interest rates. Any economic event that affects interest rates or the ability to refinance borrowings could materially adversely impact our financial condition.
Some of our operations require significant capital expenditures, and proposed acquisitions often require significant financing. If we are unable to generate enough cash to finance necessary capital expenditures and to fund acquisitions through existing liquidity and/or operating cash flow, then we may be required to issue additional equity or incur additional indebtedness. The issue of additional equity would be dilutive to existing unitholders at the time. Any additional indebtedness would increase our leverage and debt payment obligations, and may negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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In addition, Brookfield owns approximately 63 million redemption-exchange units. At any time after two years from the date of spin-off, or June 20, 2018, the holders of redemption-exchange units have the right to require the Holding LP to redeem all or a portion of the redemption-exchange units for cash, subject to our company's right to acquire such interests (in lieu of redemption) in exchange for our units. Although the decision to exercise the exchange right and deliver units (or not to do so) is a decision that will be made solely by a majority of our independent directors, and therefore Brookfield will not be able to prevent us from delivering units in satisfaction of the redemption request, if our independent directors did not determine to satisfy the redemption request by delivering our units, we would be required to satisfy such redemption request using cash. To the extent we were unable to fund such cash payment from operating cash flow, we may be required to incur indebtedness or otherwise access the capital markets, including through the issuance of our units, to satisfy any shortfall which will depend on several factors, some of which are out of our control, including, among other things, general economic conditions, our results of operations and financial condition, restrictions imposed by the terms of any indebtedness that is incurred to finance our operations or to fund liquidity needs, levels of operating and other expenses and contingent liabilities.
Our business relies on continued access to capital to fund new acquisitions and capital projects. While we aim to prudently manage our capital requirements and ensure access to capital is always available, it is possible we may overcommit ourselves or misjudge the requirement for capital or the availability of capital. Such a misjudgment could result in negative financial consequences or, in extreme cases, bankruptcy.
Changes in our credit ratings may have an adverse effect on our financial position and ability to raise capital.
We cannot assure you that any credit rating assigned to us or any of our subsidiaries or their debt securities will remain in effect for any given period of time or that any rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by the relevant rating agency. A lowering or withdrawal of such ratings may have an adverse effect on our financial position and ability to raise capital.
All of our operating businesses are highly cyclical and subject to general economic conditions and risks relating to the economy.
Many industries, including the industries in which we operate, are impacted by adverse events in the broader economy and/or financial markets. A slowdown in the financial markets and/or the global economy or the local economies of the regions in which we operate, including, but not limited to, new home construction, employment rates, business conditions, inflation, fuel and energy costs, commodity prices, lack of available credit, the state of the financial markets, interest rates and tax rates may adversely affect our growth and profitability. For example, a worldwide recession, a period of below-trend growth in developed countries, a slowdown in emerging markets or significant declines in commodity factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, if such increased levels of volatility and market turmoil were to persist for an extended duration. These and other unforeseen adverse events in the global economy could negatively impact our operations and the trading price of our units could be further adversely impacted.
The demand for products and services provided by our operating businesses is, in part, dependent upon and correlated to general economic conditions and economic growth of the regions applicable to the relevant asset. Poor economic conditions or lower economic growth in a region or regions may, either directly or indirectly, reduce demand for the products and/or services provided by our operating businesses. In particular, the sectors in which we operate are highly cyclical, and we are subject to cyclical fluctuations in global economic conditions and end-use markets. We are unable to predict the future course of industry variables or the strength, pace or sustainability of the global economic recovery and the effects of government intervention. Negative economic conditions, such as an economic downturn, a prolonged recovery period or disruptions in the financial markets, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results or operations.
Alternative technologies could impact the demand for, or use of, the businesses and assets that we own and operate and could impair or eliminate the competitive advantage of our businesses and assets.
There are alternative technologies that may impact the demand for, or use of, the businesses and assets that we own and operate. While some such alternative technologies are in earlier stages of development, ongoing research and development activities may improve such alternative technologies. For example, development of electric vehicles may reduce the need and demand for road fuel distribution, and if new technologies emerge that are able to deliver real estate services at lower prices, more efficiently or more conveniently, such technologies could adversely impact our ability to compete. If this were to happen, the competitive advantage of our businesses and assets may be significantly impaired or eliminated and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could be materially and adversely affected as a result.

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All of our operating businesses are subject to changes in government policy and legislation.
Our operations are located in many different jurisdictions, each with its own government and legal system. Our financial condition and results of operations could be affected by changes in fiscal or other government policies, changes in monetary policy, as well as by regulatory changes or administrative practices, or other political or economic developments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, such as: interest rates; currency fluctuations; exchange controls and restrictions; inflation; liquidity of domestic financial and capital markets; policies relating to climate change or policies relating to tax; and other political, social, economic and environmental and occupational health and safety developments that may occur in or affect the countries in which our operating businesses are located or conduct business or the countries in which the customers of our operating businesses are located or conduct business or both.
In the case of our industrial operations, we cannot predict the impact of future economic conditions, energy conservation measures, alternative energy requirements or governmental regulation, all of which could reduce the demand for the products and services provided by such businesses or the availability of commodities we rely upon to conduct our operations. It is difficult to predict government policies and what form of laws and regulations will be adopted or how they will be construed by the relevant courts, or to the extent which any changes may adversely affect us.
We are subject to foreign currency risk and our use of or failure to use derivatives to hedge certain financial positions may adversely affect the performance of our operations.
A significant portion of our current operations are in countries where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency. These operating businesses pay distributions in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which we must convert to U.S. dollars prior to making distributions, and certain of our operating businesses have revenues denominated in currencies different from U.S. dollars, which is utilized in our financial reporting, thus exposing us to currency risk. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates or a significant depreciation in the value of certain foreign currencies (for example, the Brazilian real) could reduce the value of cash flows generated by our operating businesses or could make it more expensive for our customers to purchase our services, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
When managing our exposure to such market risks, we may use forward contracts, options, swaps, caps, collars and floors or pursue other strategies or use other forms of derivative instruments. However, a significant portion of this risk may remain unhedged. We may also choose to establish unhedged positions in the ordinary course of business. The success of any hedging or other derivative transactions that we enter into generally will depend on our ability to structure contracts that appropriately offset our risk position. As a result, while we may enter into such transactions in order to reduce our exposure to market risks, unanticipated market changes may result in poorer overall investment performance than if the derivative transaction had not been executed. Such transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged position increases.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar laws in other jurisdictions impose rules and regulations governing federal and other governmental oversight of the over-the-counter derivatives market and its participants. These regulations may impose additional costs and regulatory scrutiny on our company. We cannot predict the effect of changing derivatives legislation on our hedging costs, our hedging strategy or its implementation, or the composition of the risks we hedge.
It can be very difficult or expensive to obtain the insurance we need for our business operations.
We maintain insurance both as a corporate risk management strategy and in some cases to satisfy the requirements of contracts entered into in the course of our operations. Although in the past we have generally been able to cover our insurance needs, there can be no assurances that we can secure all necessary or appropriate insurance in the future, or that such insurance can be economically secured. We monitor the financial health of the insurance companies from which we procure insurance, but if any of our third party insurers fail, abruptly cancel our coverage or otherwise cannot satisfy their insurance requirements to us, then our overall risk exposure and operational expenses could be increased and some of our business operations could be interrupted.
Performance of our operating businesses may be harmed by future labour disruptions and economically unfavourable collective bargaining agreements.
Several of our current operations have workforces that are unionized or that in the future may become unionized and, as a result, are or will be required to negotiate the wages, benefits and other terms with many of their employees collectively. If an operating business were unable to negotiate acceptable contracts with any of its unions as existing agreements expire, it could experience a significant disruption of its operations, higher ongoing labour costs and restrictions on its ability to maximize the efficiency of its operations, which could have the potential to adversely impact our financial condition.

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In addition, in some jurisdictions where we operate, labour forces have a legal right to strike which may have an impact on our operations, either directly or indirectly, for example if a critical upstream or downstream counterparty was itself subject to a labour disruption which impacted our business.
Our operations are exposed to occupational health and safety and accident risks.
Our operations are highly exposed to the risk of accidents that may give rise to personal injury, loss of life, disruption to service and economic loss, including, for example, resulting from related litigation. Some of the tasks undertaken by employees and contractors are inherently dangerous and have the potential to result in serious injury or death.
We are subject to increasingly stringent laws and regulations governing health and safety matters. Occupational health and safety legislation and regulations differ in each jurisdiction. Any breach of these obligations, or serious accidents involving our employees, contractors or members of the public could expose us or our operating businesses to adverse regulatory consequences, including the forfeit or suspension of operating licenses, potential litigation, claims for material financial compensation, reputational damage, fines or other legislative sanction, which have the potential to adversely impact our financial condition. Furthermore, where we do not control a business, we have a limited ability to influence their health and safety practices and outcomes.
We are subject to litigation risks that could result in significant liabilities that could adversely affect our operations.
We are at risk of becoming involved in disputes and possible litigation, the extent of which cannot be ascertained. Any material or costly dispute or litigation could adversely affect the value of our assets or our future financial performance. We could be subject to various legal proceedings concerning disputes of a commercial nature, or to claims in the event of bodily injury or material damage. The final outcome of any proceeding could have a negative impact on the business, financial condition or results of operations of our company.
In addition, under certain circumstances, we may ourselves commence litigation. There can be no assurance that litigation, once begun, would be resolved in our favour.
We will also be exposed to risk of litigation by third parties or government regulators if our management is alleged to have committed an act or acts of gross negligence, willful misconduct or dishonesty or breach of contract or organizational documents or to violate applicable law. In such actions, we would likely be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs (which may exceed our available insurance coverage).
We may have operations in jurisdictions with less developed legal systems, which could create potential difficulties in obtaining effective legal redress.
Some of our operations are located in jurisdictions with less developed legal systems than those in more established economies. In these jurisdictions, our company could be faced with potential difficulties in obtaining effective legal redress; a higher degree of discretion on the part of governmental authorities; a lack of judicial or administrative guidance on interpreting applicable rules and regulations; inconsistencies or conflicts between and within various laws, regulations, decrees, orders and resolutions; and relative inexperience of the judiciary and courts in such matters.
In addition, in some jurisdictions, the commitment of local business people, government officials and agencies and the judicial system to abide by legal requirements and negotiated agreements could be uncertain, creating particular concerns with respect to permits, approvals and licenses required or desirable for, or agreements entered into in connection with, businesses in any such jurisdiction. These may be susceptible to revision or cancellation and legal redress may be uncertain or delayed. There can be no assurance that joint ventures, licenses, permits or approvals (or applications for licenses, permits or approvals) or other legal arrangements will not be adversely affected by the actions of government authorities or others and the effectiveness of and enforcement of such arrangements in these jurisdictions cannot be assured.
We do not control all of the businesses in which we own interests and therefore we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that we expect to realize from those interests.
We do not have control of certain of the businesses in which we own interests and we may take non-controlling positions in other businesses in the future. Such businesses may make financial or other decisions that we do not agree with. Because we do not have the ability to exercise control over such businesses, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that we expect to realize from our ownership interests in them, including, for example, expected distributions. In addition, we must rely on the internal controls and financial reporting controls of such businesses and their failure to maintain effective controls or comply with applicable standards may adversely affect us.

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From time to time, we may have significant interests in public companies, and changes in the market prices of the stock of such public companies, particularly during times of increased market volatility, could have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we may hold significant interests in public companies, and changes in the market prices of the stock of such public companies could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Global securities markets have been highly volatile, and continued volatility may have a material negative impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.
We are exposed to the risk of environmental damage and costs associated with compliance with environmental laws.
Certain of our operating businesses are involved in using, handling or transporting substances that are toxic, combustible or otherwise hazardous to the environment and may be in close proximity to environmentally sensitive areas or densely populated communities. If a leak, spill or other environmental incident occurred, it could result in substantial fines or penalties being imposed by regulatory authorities, revocation of licenses or permits required to operate the business or the imposition of more stringent conditions in those licenses or permits, or legal claims for compensation (including punitive damages) by affected stakeholders. For example, such risks are present in our Brazilian operations, which include the largest private water and sewage treatment operations in Brazil. In addition, some of our operating businesses may be subject to regulations or rulings made by environmental agencies that conflict with existing obligations we have under concession or other permitting agreements. Resolution of such conflicts may lead to uncertainty and increased risk of delays or cost overruns on projects. In addition to fines, these laws and regulations sometimes require evaluation and registration or the installation of costly pollution control or safety equipment or costly changes in operations to limit pollution or decrease the likelihood of injuries. Certain of our current industrial manufacturing operations are also subject to increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations relating to our current and former properties, neighboring properties and our current raw materials, products and operations. All of these risks could require us to incur costs or become the basis of new or increased liabilities that could be material and could have the potential to significantly impact our value or financial performance.
We are exposed to the risk of increasingly onerous environmental legislation and the broader impacts of climate change.
With an increasing global focus and public sensitivity to environmental sustainability and environmental regulation becoming more stringent, we could be subject to further environmental related responsibilities and associated liability. For example, many jurisdictions in which our company operates and invests are considering implementing, or have implemented, schemes relating to the regulation of carbon emissions. As a result, there is a risk that demand for some of the commodities supplied by certain of our operations will be reduced. The nature and extent of future regulation in the various jurisdictions in which our operations are situated is uncertain, but is expected to become more complex and stringent.
It is difficult to assess the impact of any such changes on our company. These changes may result in increased costs to our operations that may not be able to be passed onto customers and may have an adverse impact on prospects for growth of some of our businesses. To the extent such regimes (such as carbon emissions schemes or other carbon emissions regulations) become applicable to our operations (and the costs of such regulations are not able to be fully passed on to consumers), our financial performance may be impacted due to costs applied to carbon emissions and increased compliance costs.
We are also subject to a wide range of laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and pollution. Standards are set by these laws and regulations regarding certain aspects of environmental quality and reporting, provide for penalties and other liabilities for the violation of such standards, and establish, in certain circumstances, obligations to remediate and rehabilitate current and former facilities and locations where our operations are, or were, conducted. These laws and regulations may have a detrimental impact on our company's financial performance through increased compliance costs or otherwise. Any breach of these obligations, or even incidents relating to the environment that do not amount to a breach, could adversely affect the results of our operating businesses and their reputations and expose them to claims for financial compensation or adverse regulatory consequences.
Our operations may also be exposed directly or indirectly to the broader impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, export constraints on commodities, increased resource prices and restrictions on energy and water usage.

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Some of our current operations are structured as joint ventures, partnerships and consortium arrangements, and we intend to continue to operate in this manner in the future, which will reduce Brookfield's and our control over our operations and may subject us to additional obligations.
An integral part of our strategy is to participate with institutional investors in Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored consortiums for single asset acquisitions and as a partner in or alongside Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored partnerships that target acquisitions that suit our profile. Such arrangements involve risks not present where a third party is not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or otherwise fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Additionally, partners or co-venturers might at any time have economic or other business interests or goals different from us and Brookfield. We generally owe fiduciary duties to our partners in our joint venture and partnership arrangements.
Joint ventures, partnerships and consortium investments generally provide for a reduced level of control over an acquired company because governance rights are shared with others. Accordingly, decisions relating to the underlying operations, including decisions relating to the management and operation and the timing and nature of any exit, are often made by a majority vote of the investors or by separate agreements that are reached with respect to individual decisions. For example, when we participate with institutional investors in Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored consortiums for asset acquisitions and as a partner in or alongside Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored partnerships, there is often a finite term to the investment, which could lead to the business being sold prior to the date we would otherwise choose. In addition, such operations may be subject to the risk that business, financial or management decisions are made with which we do not agree or the management of the operating business at issue may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. Because we may not have the ability to exercise sole control over such operations, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that we believe will be created from our and Brookfield's involvement. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer as a result.
In addition, because some of our current operations are structured as joint ventures, partnerships or consortium arrangements, the sale or transfer of interests in some of our operations are subject to rights of first refusal or first offer, tag along rights or drag along rights and some agreements provide for buy-sell or similar arrangements, any of which could be exercised outside of our control and accordingly could have an adverse impact on us.
We rely on the use of technology, which may not be able to accommodate our growth or may increase in cost, and may become subject to cyber-terrorism or other compromises and shut-downs.
We operate in businesses that are dependent on information systems and other technology, such as computer systems used for information storage, processing, administrative and commercial functions as well as the machinery and other equipment used in certain parts of our operations. In addition, our businesses rely on telecommunication services to interface with their business networks and customers. The information and embedded systems of key business partners and regulatory agencies are also important to our operations. We rely on this technology functioning as intended. Our information systems and technology may not continue to be able to accommodate our growth, and the cost of maintaining such systems may increase from its current level. Such a failure to accommodate growth, or an increase in costs related to such information systems, could have a material adverse effect on us.
We rely heavily on our financial, accounting, communications and other data processing systems. Our information technology systems may be subject to cyber-terrorism or other compromises and shut-downs, which may result in unauthorized access to our proprietary information, destruction of our data or disability, degradation or sabotage of our systems, often through the introduction of computer viruses, cyber-attacks and other means, and could originate from a wide variety of sources, including internal or unknown third parties. We cannot predict what effects such cyber-attacks or compromises or shut-downs may have on our business, and the consequences could be material. Cyber incidents may remain undetected for an extended period, which could exacerbate these consequences. Further, machinery and equipment used by our operating businesses may fail due to wear and tear, latent defect, design or operator errors or early obsolescence, among other things.
If our information systems and other technology are compromised, do not operate or are disabled, such could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
We may suffer a significant loss resulting from fraud, bribery, corruption or other illegal acts, inadequate or failed internal processes or systems, or from external events.
Brookfield, our company and our operating businesses are subject to a number of laws and regulations governing payments and contributions to public officials or other third parties, including restrictions imposed by the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and similar laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions, such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.

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Different laws that are applicable to us and our operating businesses may contain conflicting provisions, making our compliance more difficult. The policies and procedures we have implemented to protect against non-compliance with anti-bribery and corruption legislation may be inadequate. If we fail to comply with such laws and regulations, we could be exposed to claims for damages, financial penalties, reputational harm, restrictions on our operations and other liabilities, which could negatively affect our operating results and financial condition. In addition, we may be subject to successor liability for violations under these laws or other acts of bribery committed by our operating businesses.
Risks Relating to Our Construction Operations
Our construction operations are vulnerable to the cyclical nature of the construction market.
The demand for our construction services is dependent upon the existence of projects with engineering, procurement, construction and management needs. For example, a substantial portion of the revenues from our construction operations derives from residential, commercial and office projects in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, India and the Middle East. Capital expenditures by our clients may be influenced by factors such as prevailing economic conditions and expectations about economic trends, technological advances, consumer confidence, domestic and international political, military, regulatory and economic conditions and other similar factors.
Our revenue and earnings from our construction operations are largely dependent on the award of new contracts which we do not directly control.
A substantial portion of the revenue and earnings of our construction operations is generated from large-scale project awards. The timing of project awards is unpredictable and outside of our control. Awards often involve complex and lengthy negotiations and competitive bidding processes. These processes can be impacted by a wide variety of factors including a client's decision to not proceed with the development of a project, governmental approvals, financing contingencies and overall market and economic conditions. We may not win contracts that we have bid upon due to price, a client's perception of our ability to perform and/or perceived technology advantages held by others. Many of our competitors may be inclined to take greater or unusual risks or agree to terms and conditions in a contract that we might not deem acceptable. Because a significant portion of our revenue is generated from large projects, the results of our construction operations can fluctuate quarterly and annually depending on whether and when large project awards occur and the commencement and progress of work under large contracts already awarded. As a result, we are subject to the risk of losing new awards to competitors or the risk that revenue may not be derived from awarded projects as quickly as anticipated.
We may experience reduced profits or losses under contracts if costs increase above estimates.
Generally, our construction operations are performed under contracts that include cost and schedule estimates in relation to our services. Inaccuracies in these estimates may lead to cost overruns that may not be paid by our clients, thereby resulting in reduced profits or in losses. If a contract is significant or there are one or more events that impact a contract or multiple contracts, cost overruns could have a material impact on our reputation or our financial results, negatively impacting the financial condition, results of operations or cash flow of our construction operations. A portion of our ongoing construction projects are in fixed-price contracts, where we bear a significant portion of the risk for cost overruns. Reimbursable contract types, such as those that include negotiated hourly billing rates, may restrict the kinds or amounts of costs that are reimbursable, therefore exposing us to risk that we may incur certain costs in executing these contracts that are above our estimates and not recoverable from our clients. If we fail to accurately estimate the resources and time necessary for these types of contracts, or fail to complete these contracts within the timeframes and costs we have agreed upon, there could be a material impact on the financial results as well as reputation of our construction operations. Risks under our construction contracts which could result in cost overruns, project delays or other problems can also include:
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difficulties related to the performance of our clients, partners, subcontractors, suppliers or other third parties;
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changes in local laws or difficulties or delays in obtaining permits, rights of way or approvals;
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unanticipated technical problems, including design or engineering issues;
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insufficient or inadequate project execution tools and systems needed to record, track, forecast and control cost and schedule;
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unforeseen increases in, or failures to, properly estimate the cost of raw materials, components, equipment, labour or the inability to timely obtain them;
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delays or productivity issues caused by weather conditions;
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incorrect assumptions related to productivity, scheduling estimates or future economic conditions; and

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project modifications creating unanticipated costs or delays.
These risks tend to be exacerbated for longer-term contracts because there is an increased risk that the circumstances under which we based our original cost estimates or project schedules will change with a resulting increase in costs. In many of these contracts, we may not be able to obtain compensation for additional work performed or expenses incurred, and if a project is not executed on schedule, we may be required to pay liquidated damages. In addition, these losses may be material and can, in some circumstances, equal or exceed the full value of the contract. In such circumstances, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flow of our construction operations could be negatively impacted.
We enter into performance guarantees which may result in future payments.
In the ordinary course of our construction operations, we enter into various agreements providing performance assurances and guarantees to clients on behalf of certain unconsolidated and consolidated partnerships, joint ventures and other jointly executed contracts. These agreements are entered into primarily to support the project execution commitments of these entities. The performance guarantees have various expiration dates ranging from mechanical completion of the project being constructed to a period extending beyond contract completion in certain circumstances. Any future payments under a performance guarantee could negatively impact the financial condition, results of operations and cash flow of our construction business.
Risks Relating to Our Business Services Operations
There are risks associated with the residential real estate industry in Canada and the United States.
The performance of our residential real estate brokerage services is dependent upon receipt of royalties, which in turn is dependent on the level of residential real estate transactions. The real estate industry is affected by all of the factors that affect the economy in general, and in addition may be affected by the aging network of real estate agents and brokers across Canada and the United States. In addition, there is pressure on the rate of commissions charged to the consumer and internet use by real estate consumers has led to a questioning of the value of traditional residential real estate services. Finally, changes to mortgage and lending rules in Canada that are implemented or contemplated from time to time have the potential to negatively impact residential housing prices and/or the number of residential real estate transactions in Canada, either or both of which could in turn reduce commissions and therefore royalties.
There are risks associated with our facilities management operations.
A general decline in the value and performance of commercial real estate and rental rates can lead to a reduction in management fees, a significant portion of which are generally based on the value of and revenue produced by the properties to which we provide services. Moreover, there is significant competition on an international, regional and local level for the provision of facilities management services. Depending on the service, we face competition from other residential real estate service providers, institutional lenders, insurance companies, investment banking firms, accounting firms, technology firms, consulting firms, firms providing outsourcing of various types and companies that self-provide their residential real estate services with in-house capabilities. Finally, our ability to conduct our facilities management services may be adversely impacted by disruptions to the infrastructure that supports our business and the communities in which they are located. Such disruptions could include disruptions to electrical, communications, information technology, transportation or other services used in the course of providing our facilities management services.
There are risks associated with our financial advisory services business.
The performance of our financial advisory services business is directly related to the quantum and size of transactions in which we participate. Market downturns that affect the frequency and magnitude of capital raising and other transactions will likely have a negative impact on our financial advisory services business. In addition, our financial advisory services business may be adversely affected by other factors, such as (i) intensified competition from peers as a result of the increasing pressures on financial services companies (ii) reductions in infrastructure spending by governments, (iii) increased regulation and the cost of compliance with such regulation, and (iv) the bankruptcy or other failure of companies for which we have performed investment banking services. It is difficult to predict how long current financial market and economic conditions will continue, whether they will deteriorate and if they do, how our business will be adversely affected. If one or more of the foregoing risks occur, revenues from our financial advisory services business will likely decline.





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There are risks associated with our road fuel distribution business.
Fluctuations in fuel product prices or a significant decrease in demand for road fuel in the areas we serve could significantly reduce our revenues and, therefore, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our road fuel distribution business is dependent on various trends, such as trends in automobile and commercial truck traffic, travel and tourism in our areas of operation, and these trends can change. Furthermore, seasonal fluctuations, alternative technological advancements or regulatory action, including government-imposed fuel efficiency standards, may affect demand for motor fuel. Because certain of our operating costs and expenses, such as our general and administrative costs, are fixed and do not vary with the volumes of road fuel we distribute, our costs and expenses might not decrease ratably or at all should we experience a reduction in our volumes distributed. As a result, if our fuel distribution volumes decrease or if there is an event which significantly interrupts the supply of fuel to our customers, our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Furthermore, there are dangers inherent in storage and processing of fuel products and the movement of fuel products by ship, train and truck, including deliveries to customer sites, that could cause disruptions in our operations or expose our business to potentially significant losses, costs or liabilities. These activities bring us into contact with members of the public and with the environment. Road fuel is stored in underground and above ground storage tanks at sites that we own or operate and at consignment sites where we retain title to the road fuel that we sell. Our operations are subject to significant hazards and risks inherent in storing motor fuel. These hazards and risks include, but are not limited to, fires, explosions, spills, discharges and other releases, any of which could result in distribution difficulties and disruptions, environmental pollution, governmentally-imposed fines or clean-up obligations, personal injury or wrongful death claims and other damage to our properties and the properties of others. Any such event could significantly disrupt our operations or expose us to significant liabilities, to the extent such liabilities are not covered by insurance. Therefore, the occurrence of such an event could adversely affect the operations and financial condition of our business.
There are risks associated with our gaming business.
The operations of our gaming business are conducted pursuant to operational services agreements with provincial lottery and gaming corporations. Although the agreements are renewable, there is no guarantee that we will continue to satisfy the conditions required for renewal. Additionally, when the renewal term expires, we may not be able to enter into new agreements that are the same as those historically, which may result in decreased revenues, increased operating costs or closure of an operation. Under the operational services agreements, the lottery and gaming corporations have the ability to suspend or terminate our right to provide services under the agreements for certain specified reasons. If we operate gaming in a manner inconsistent with the Criminal Code of Canada or applicable anti-money laundering legislation, violate provincial gaming laws or prejudice the integrity of gaming, the provincial lottery corporations may terminate one or more of our operational services agreements. If one or more of the operational services agreements are terminated, this will seriously impact the business.
Furthermore, the operations of our gaming business are contingent upon obtaining and maintaining all necessary licenses, permits, approvals, registrations, findings of suitability, orders and authorizations. The laws, regulations and ordinances requiring these licenses, permits and other approvals generally relate to the responsibility, financial stability and character of the owners and managers of gaming operations, as well as persons financially interested or involved in gaming operations.
Regulatory authorities have broad powers to request detailed financial and other information, to limit, condition, suspend or revoke a registration, gaming license or related approvals to approve changes in our operations, and to levy fines or require forfeiture of assets for violations of gaming laws or regulations. Complying with gaming laws, regulations and license requirements is costly. Any change in the laws, regulations or licenses applicable to our business or a violation of any current or future laws or regulations applicable to our business or gaming licenses could require us to make substantial expenditures or forfeit assets, and would negatively affect our gaming operations.
Risks Related to Our Energy Operations
Substantial declines in the prices of the resources we produce have reduced the revenues of our industrial operations, and sustained prices at those or lower levels would reduce our revenue and adversely affect the operating results and cash flows of our industrial operations.
The results of our industrial operations are substantially dependent upon the prices we receive for the resources we produce. Those prices depend on factors beyond our control. In recent years, commodity prices have declined significantly. Sustained depressed levels or future declines of the price of resources such as oil, gas, limestone and palladium and other metals may adversely affect the operating results and cash flows of our industrial operations.

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Our derivative risk management activities could result in financial losses.
In the past, commodity prices have been extremely volatile, and we expect this volatility to continue. To mitigate the effect of commodity price volatility on the results of our industrial operations, our strategy is to enter into derivative arrangements covering a portion of our resource production. These derivative arrangements are subject to mark-to-market accounting treatment, and the changes in fair value of the contracts will be reported in our statements of operations each quarter, which may result in significant non-cash gains or losses. These derivative contracts may also expose us to risk of financial loss in certain circumstances, including when production is less than the contracted derivative volumes, the counterparty to the derivative contract defaults on its contract obligations or the derivative contracts limit the benefit our industrial operations would otherwise receive from increases in commodity prices.
Our oil and gas operations are subject to all the risks normally incidental to oil and gas exploration, development and production.
Our oil and gas operations are subject to all the risks normally incidental to oil and gas development and production, including:
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blowouts, cratering, explosions and fires;
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adverse weather effects;
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environmental hazards such as gas leaks, oil spills, pipeline and vessel ruptures and unauthorized discharges of gasses, brine, well stimulation and completion fluids or other pollutants into the surface and subsurface environment;
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high costs, shortages or delivery delays of equipment, labour or other services or water and sand for hydraulic fracturing;
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facility or equipment malfunctions, failures or accidents;
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title problems;
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pipe or cement failures or casing collapses;
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compliance with environmental and other governmental requirements;
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lost or damaged oilfield workover and service tools;
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unusual or unexpected geological formations or pressure or irregularities in formations;
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natural disasters; and
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the availability of critical materials, equipment and skilled labour.
Our exposure to risks related to our oil and gas operations may increase as our drilling activity expands and we seek to directly provide fracture stimulation, water distribution and disposal and other services internally. Any of these risks could result in substantial losses to our company due to injury or loss of life, damage to or destruction of wells, production facilities or other property, environmental damage, regulatory investigations and penalties and suspension of operations.
Drilling for oil and gas also involves numerous risks, including the risk that we will not encounter commercially productive oil or gas reservoirs. The wells we participate in may not be productive and we may not recover all or any portion of our investment in those wells. The costs of drilling, completing and operating wells are often uncertain, and drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed or canceled as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to:
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unexpected drilling conditions;
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pressure or irregularities in formations;
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equipment failures or accidents;
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fires, explosions, blow-outs and surface cratering;
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marine risks such as capsizing, collisions and hurricanes;
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other adverse weather conditions; and
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increase in cost of, or shortages or delays in the delivery of equipment.

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Future drilling activities may not be successful and, if unsuccessful, this failure could have an adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial condition. While all drilling, whether developmental or exploratory, involves these risks, exploratory drilling involves greater risks of dry holes or failure to find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
The marketability of our oil and gas production is dependent upon compressors, gathering lines, pipelines and other facilities, certain of which we do not control. When these facilities are unavailable, our operations can be interrupted and our revenues reduced.
The marketability of our oil and gas production depends in part upon the availability, proximity and capacity of oil and gas pipelines owned by third parties. In general, we do not control these transportation facilities and our access to them may be limited or denied. A significant disruption in the availability of these transportation facilities or compression and other production facilities could adversely impact our ability to deliver to market or produce our oil and gas and thereby result in our inability to realize the full economic potential of our production. If, in the future, we are unable, for any sustained period, to implement acceptable delivery or transportation arrangements or encounter compression or other production related difficulties, we will be required to shut in or curtail production from the field. Any such shut in or curtailment, or an inability to obtain favorable terms for delivery of the oil and gas produced from the field, would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
If any of the third party pipelines and other facilities and service providers upon which we depend to move production to market become partially or fully unavailable to transport or process our production, or if quality specifications or physical requirements such as compression are altered by such third parties so as to restrict our ability to transport our production on those pipelines or facilities, our revenues could be adversely affected. Restrictions on our ability to move our oil and gas to market may have several other adverse effects, including fewer potential purchasers (thereby potentially resulting in a lower selling price) or, in the event we were unable to market and sustain production from a particular lease for an extended time, possible loss of a lease due to lack of production.
Growth of our marine transportation and offshore oil production-related services business depends on continued growth in global and regional demands for such services.
Our marine transportation and offshore oil production-related services business depends on continued growth in global and regional demands for such services, which could be negatively affected by a number of factors, including:
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decreases in the actual or projected price of oil, which could lead to a reduction in or termination of production of oil at certain fields we service or a reduction in exploration for or development of new offshore oil fields;
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increases in the production of oil in areas linked by pipelines to consuming areas, the extension of existing, or the development of new, pipeline systems in markets we may serve, the conversion of existing non-oil pipelines to oil pipelines in those markets, or the termination of production or abandonment of an oil field;
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decreases in the consumption of oil due to increases in its price relative to other energy sources, other factors making consumption of oil less attractive, or energy conservation measures;
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significant installment payments for acquisitions of newbuilding vessels or for the conversion of existing vessels prior to their delivery and generation of revenue;
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reliance on a limited number of customers for a substantial majority of our revenues and on joint venture partners to assist us in operating our businesses and competing in our markets;
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availability of new, alternative energy sources; and
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negative global or regional economic or political conditions, particularly in oil consuming regions, which could reduce energy consumption or its growth. Reduced demand for offshore marine transportation, processing, storage services, offshore accommodation or towing and offshore installation services would have a material adverse effect on our future growth and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Marine transportation and oil production is inherently risky, particularly in the extreme conditions in which many of our vessels operate. An incident involving significant loss of product or environmental contamination by any of our vessels could harm our reputation and business.
Vessels and their cargoes and oil production facilities we service are at risk of being damaged or lost because of events such as:
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marine disasters;
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bad weather;

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mechanical failures;
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grounding, capsizing, fire, explosions and collisions;
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piracy;
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human error; and
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war and terrorism.
A portion of our shuttle tanker fleet and our towage fleet, an FSO unit, and the Voyageur Spirit and Petrojarl Knarr FPSO units operate in the North Sea. Harsh weather conditions in this region and other regions in which our vessels operate may increase the risk of collisions, oil spills, or mechanical failures.
An accident involving any of our vessels could result in any of the following:
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death or injury to persons, loss of property or damage to the environment and natural resources;
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delays in the delivery of cargo;
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loss of revenues from charters or contracts of affreightment;
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liabilities or costs to recover any spilled oil or other petroleum products and to restore the eco-system affected by the spill;
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governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business;
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higher insurance rates; and
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damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally.
Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, any damage to, or environmental contamination involving, oil production facilities serviced could suspend that service and result in loss of revenues.
Our recontracting of existing vessels and our future growth depends on our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and obtain new customers, for which we expect to face substantial competition.
One of our principal objectives is to enter into additional long-term, fixed-rate time charters and contracts of affreightment, including the redeployment of our assets as their current charter contracts expire. The process of obtaining new long-term time charters and contracts of affreightment is highly competitive and generally involves an intensive screening process and competitive bids, and often extends for several months. Shuttle tanker, FSO, FPSO, towing and offshore installation vessel and UMS contracts are awarded based upon a variety of factors relating to the vessel operator, including:
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industry relationships and reputation for customer service and safety;
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experience and quality of ship operations;
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quality, experience and technical capability of the crew;
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relationships with shipyards and the ability to get suitable berths;
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construction management experience, including the ability to obtain on-time delivery of new vessels or conversions according to customer specifications;
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willingness to accept operational risks pursuant to the charter, such as allowing termination of the charter for force majeure events; and
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competitiveness of the bid in terms of overall price.
We expect competition for providing services for potential offshore projects from other experienced companies, including state-sponsored entities. Our competitors may have greater financial resources than us. This increased competition may cause greater price competition for charters. As a result of these factors, we may be unable to expand our relationships with existing customers or to obtain new customers on a profitable basis, if at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.


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Risks Related to Our Industrial Operations
There are risks associated with ownership and operation of water, wastewater and industrial water treatment businesses in Brazil, any of which may adversely affect our financial condition.
In April 2017, together with institutional partners, we acquired a 70% controlling interest in the largest private water company in Brazil, which has been rebranded BRK Ambiental. Our ownership of BRK Ambiental subjects us to the risks incidental to the ownership and operation of water, wastewater and industrial water treatment businesses in Brazil, any of which may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including the following risks:
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The government may impose restrictions on water usage as a response to regional or seasonal drought, which may result in decreased use of water services, even if our water supplies are sufficient to serve our customers. Moreover, reductions in water consumption, including changed consumer behaviour, may persist even after drought restrictions are repealed and the drought has ended.
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The business will require significant capital expenditures and may suffer if we fail to secure appropriate funding to make investments, or if we experience delays in completing major capital expenditure projects.
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In the event that water contamination occurs, there may be injury, damage or loss of life to our customers, employees or others, in addition to government enforcement actions, litigation, adverse publicity and reputational damage.
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Water and wastewater businesses may be subject to organized efforts to convert their assets to public ownership and operation through exercise of the governmental power of eminent domain, or another similar authorized process. Moreover, there is a risk that any efforts to resist may be costly, distracting or unsuccessful.
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Water related businesses are subject to extensive governmental economic regulation including with respect to the approval of rates.
Exploration and development may not result in commercially productive assets.
Exploration and development involves numerous risks, including the risk that no commercially productive asset will result from such activities. The cost of exploration and development is often uncertain and may depart from our expectations due to unexpected geological conditions, equipment failures or accidents, adverse weather conditions, regulatory restrictions on access to land and the cost and availability of personnel required to complete our exploration and development activities. The exploration and development activities of our industrial operations may not be successful and, if unsuccessful, such failure could have an adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial condition.
Our metals operations are subject to all the risks normally incidental to metals mining and processing.
Our metals operations are subject to all the risks normally incidental to metals mining and processing, including:
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metallurgical and other processing problems;
•
geotechnical problems;
•
unusual and unexpected rock formations;
•
ground or slope failures or underground cave-ins;
•
environmental contamination;
•
industrial accidents;
•
fires;
•
flooding and periodic interruptions due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions or other acts of nature;
•
organized labour disputes or work slow-downs;
•
mechanical equipment failure and facility performance problems;
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the availability of critical materials, equipment and skilled labour; and
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effective management of tailings facilities.
Any of these risks could result in substantial losses to our company due to injury or loss of life, damage to or destruction of properties or production facilities, environmental damage, regulatory investigations and penalties and suspension of operations.

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Our industrial manufacturing operations are dependent on supplies of raw materials and results of operations could deteriorate if that supply is substantially disrupted for an extended period.
Raw material supply factors such as allocations, economic cyclicality, seasonality, pricing, quality, timeliness of delivery, transportation and warehousing costs may affect the raw material sourcing decisions we make. In the event of significant unanticipated increase in demand for our products, we may in the future be unable to manufacture certain products in a quantity sufficient to meet customer demand in any particular period without an adequate supply of raw materials.
The various raw materials used in our industrial operations are sourced and traded throughout the world and are subject to pricing volatility. Although we try to manage our exposure to raw material price volatility through the pricing of our products, there can be no assurance that the industry dynamics will allow us to continue to reduce our exposure by passing on raw material price increases to our customers.
Risks Relating to Our Relationship with Brookfield
Brookfield exercises substantial influence over us and we are highly dependent on the Service Providers.
Brookfield is the sole shareholder of the BBU General Partner. As a result of its ownership of the BBU General Partner, Brookfield is able to control the appointment and removal of the BBU General Partner's directors and, accordingly, exercises substantial influence over our company and over the Holding LP, for which our company is the managing general partner. Our company and the Holding LP do not have any employees and depend on the management and administration services provided by the Service Providers. Brookfield personnel and support staff that provide services to us are not required to have as their primary responsibility the management and administration of our company or the Holding LP, or to act exclusively for either of us. Any failure to effectively manage our current operations or to implement our strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Brookfield has no obligation to source acquisition opportunities for us and we may not have access to all acquisitions that Brookfield identifies.
Our ability to grow depends on Brookfield's ability to identify and present us with acquisition opportunities. Brookfield established our company to be Brookfield's flagship public company for its business services and industrial operations, but Brookfield has no obligation to source acquisition opportunities for us. In addition, Brookfield has not agreed to commit to us any minimum level of dedicated resources for the pursuit of acquisitions. There are a number of factors which could materially and adversely impact the extent to which suitable acquisition opportunities are made available from Brookfield, including the following:
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It is an integral part of Brookfield's (and our) strategy to pursue acquisitions through consortium arrangements with institutional investors, strategic partners or financial sponsors and to form partnerships to pursue such acquisitions on a specialized or global basis. Although Brookfield has agreed with us that it will not enter any such arrangements that are suitable for us without giving us an opportunity to participate in them, there is no minimum level of participation to which we will be entitled.
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The same professionals within Brookfield's organization that are involved in acquisitions that are suitable for us are responsible for the consortiums and partnerships referred to above, as well as having other responsibilities within Brookfield's broader asset management business. Limits on the availability of such individuals could result in a limitation on the number of acquisition opportunities sourced for us.
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Brookfield will only recommend acquisition opportunities that it believes are suitable for us. Our focus is on assets where we believe that our operations-oriented strategy can be deployed to create value in our business services and industrial operations. Accordingly, opportunities where Brookfield cannot play an active role in influencing the underlying business or managing the underlying assets that are not consistent with our acquisition strategy may not be suitable for us, even though they may be attractive from a purely financial perspective. Legal, regulatory, tax and other commercial considerations will likewise be an important consideration in determining whether an opportunity is suitable and will limit our ability to participate in certain acquisitions and may limit our ability to have more than 50% of our assets concentrated in a single jurisdiction.
•
In addition to structural limitations, the question of whether a particular acquisition is suitable is highly subjective and is dependent on a number of factors including our liquidity position at the relevant time, the risk profile of the opportunity, its fit with the balance of our operations and other factors. If Brookfield determines that an opportunity is not suitable for us, it may still pursue such opportunity on its own behalf, or on behalf of a Brookfield-sponsored partnership or consortium such as Brookfield Property Partners, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Renewable Partners.
In making these determinations, Brookfield may be influenced by factors that result in a misalignment or conflict of interest. See Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties."

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We rely on related parties for a portion of our revenues, particularly in respect of our construction services operations.
We may enter into contracts for service with related parties, including Brookfield. For example, our construction services business provides construction services to properties owned and operated by Brookfield. We are subject to risks as a result of our reliance on these related parties, including the risk that the business terms of our arrangements with them are not as fair to us and that our management is subject to conflicts of interest that may not be resolved in our favor. In addition, if our transactions with these related parties cease, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The departure of some or all of Brookfield's professionals could prevent us from achieving our objectives.
We depend on the diligence, skill and business contacts of Brookfield's professionals and the information and opportunities they generate during the normal course of their activities. Our future success will depend on the continued service of these individuals, who are not obligated to remain employed with Brookfield. Brookfield has experienced departures of key professionals in the past and may do so in the future, and we cannot predict the impact that any such departures will have on our ability to achieve our objectives. The departure of a significant number of Brookfield's professionals for any reason, or the failure to appoint qualified or effective successors in the event of such departures, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our objectives. Our Limited Partnership Agreement and our Master Services Agreement do not require Brookfield to maintain the employment of any of its professionals or to cause any particular professionals to provide services to us or on our behalf.
Control of our company and/or the BBU General Partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.
The BBU General Partner may transfer its general partnership interest to a third party in a merger or consolidation or in a transfer of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our unitholders. Furthermore, at any time, the shareholder of the BBU General Partner may sell or transfer all or part of its shares in the BBU General Partner without the approval of our unitholders. If a new owner were to acquire ownership of the BBU General Partner and to appoint new directors or officers of its own choosing, it would be able to exercise substantial influence over our policies and procedures and exercise substantial influence over our management and the types of acquisitions that we make. Such changes could result in our capital being used to make acquisitions in which Brookfield has no involvement or in making acquisitions that are substantially different from our targeted acquisitions. Additionally, we cannot predict with any certainty the effect that any transfer in the control of our company or the BBU General Partner would have on the trading price of our units or our ability to raise capital or make acquisitions in the future, because such matters would depend to a large extent on the identity of the new owner and the new owner's intentions. As a result, our future would be uncertain and our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.
Brookfield may increase its ownership of our company and the Holding LP relative to other unitholders.
Brookfield currently holds approximately 49% of the issued and outstanding interests in the Holding LP through Special LP Units and redemption-exchange units. The redemption-exchange units are redeemable for cash or exchangeable for our units in accordance with the Redemption-Exchange Mechanism, which could result in Brookfield eventually owning approximately 68% of our issued and outstanding units (including other issued and outstanding units that Brookfield currently owns).
Brookfield may also reinvest incentive distributions in exchange for redemption-exchange units or our units. Additional units of the Holding LP acquired, directly or indirectly, by Brookfield are redeemable for cash or exchangeable for our units in accordance with the Redemption-Exchange Mechanism. See Item 10.B., "Description of the Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement—Redemption-Exchange Mechanism". Brookfield may also purchase additional units of our company in the market. Any of these events may result in Brookfield increasing its ownership of our company.
Our Master Services Agreement and our other arrangements with Brookfield do not impose on Brookfield any fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of our unitholders.
Our Master Services Agreement and our other arrangements with Brookfield do not impose on Brookfield any duty (statutory or otherwise) to act in the best interests of the Service Recipients, nor do they impose other duties that are fiduciary in nature. As a result, the BBU General Partner, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, in its capacity as the BBU General Partner, has sole authority to enforce the terms of such agreements and to consent to any waiver, modification or amendment of their provisions, subject to approval by a majority of our independent directors in accordance with our conflicts protocol.

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In addition, the Bermuda Limited Partnership Act of 1883, or the Bermuda Partnership Act, under which our company and the Holding LP were established, does not impose statutory fiduciary duties on a general partner of a limited partnership in the same manner that certain corporate statutes, such as the CBCA or the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, impose fiduciary duties on directors of a corporation. In general, under applicable Bermudian legislation, a general partner has certain limited duties to its limited partners, such as the duty to render accounts, account for private profits and not compete with the partnership in business. In addition, Bermudian common law recognizes that a general partner owes a duty of utmost good faith to its limited partners. These duties are, in most respects, similar to duties imposed on a general partner of a limited partnership under U.S. and Canadian law. However, to the extent that the BBU General Partner owes any such fiduciary duties to our company and unitholders, these duties have been modified pursuant to our Limited Partnership Agreement as a matter of contract law, with the exception of the duty of our General Partner to act in good faith, which cannot be modified. We have been advised by Bermudian counsel that such modifications are not prohibited under Bermudian law, subject to typical qualifications as to enforceability of contractual provisions, such as the application of general equitable principles. This is similar to Delaware law which expressly permits modifications to the fiduciary duties owed to partners, other than an implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Our Limited Partnership Agreement contains various provisions that modify the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed to our company and our unitholders, including when conflicts of interest arise. Specifically, our Limited Partnership Agreement states that no breach of our Limited Partnership Agreement or a breach of any duty, including fiduciary duties, may be found for any matter that has been approved by a majority of the independent directors of the BBU General Partner. In addition, when resolving conflicts of interest, our Limited Partnership Agreement does not impose any limitations on the discretion of the independent directors or the factors which they may consider in resolving any such conflicts. The independent directors of the BBU General Partner can therefore take into account the interests of third parties, including Brookfield and, where applicable, any Brookfield managed consortia or partnership, when resolving conflicts of interest and may owe fiduciary duties to such third parties, managed consortium or partnerships. Additionally, any fiduciary duty that is imposed under any applicable law or agreement is modified, waived or limited to the extent required to permit the BBU General Partner to undertake any affirmative conduct or to make any decisions, so long as such action is reasonably believed to be in, or not inconsistent with, the best interests of our company.
In addition, our Limited Partnership Agreement provides that the BBU General Partner and its affiliates do not have any obligation under our Limited Partnership Agreement, or as a result of any duties stated or implied by law or equity, including fiduciary duties, to present business or acquisition opportunities to our company, the Holding LP, any Holding Entity or any other holding entity established by us. They also allow affiliates of the BBU General Partner to engage in activities that may compete with us or our activities. Additionally, any failure by the BBU General Partner to consent to any merger, consolidation or combination will not result in a breach of our Limited Partnership Agreement or any other provision of law. Our Limited Partnership Agreement prohibits our limited partners from advancing claims that otherwise might raise issues as to compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. These modifications to the fiduciary duties are detrimental to our unitholders because they restrict the remedies available for actions that might otherwise constitute a breach of fiduciary duty and permit conflicts of interest to be resolved in a manner that is not in the best interests of our company or the best interests of our unitholders. See Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties".
Our organizational and ownership structure may create significant conflicts of interest that may be resolved in a manner that is not in our best interests or the best interests of our unitholders.
Our organizational and ownership structure involves a number of relationships that may give rise to conflicts of interest between us and our unitholders, on the one hand, and Brookfield, on the other hand. In certain instances, the interests of Brookfield may differ from our interests and our unitholders, including with respect to the types of acquisitions made, the timing and amount of distributions by our company, the redeployment of returns generated by our operations, the use of leverage when making acquisitions and the appointment of outside advisors and service providers, including as a result of the reasons described under Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties".
In addition, the Service Providers, affiliates of Brookfield, provide management services to us pursuant to our Master Services Agreement. Pursuant to our Master Services Agreement, we pay a quarterly base management fee to the Service Providers equal to 0.3125% (1.25% annually) of the total capitalization of our company. For purposes of calculating the base management fee, the total capitalization of our company is equal to the quarterly volume-weighted average trading price of a unit on the principal stock exchange for our units (based on trading volumes) multiplied by the number of units outstanding at the end of the quarter (assuming full conversion of the redemption-exchange units into units), plus the value of securities of the other Service Recipients that are not held by us, plus all outstanding third party debt with recourse to a Service Recipient, less all cash held by such entities. This relationship may give rise to conflicts of interest between us and our unitholders, on the one hand, and Brookfield, on the other, as Brookfield's interests may differ from our interests and those of our unitholders.

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The arrangements we have with Brookfield may create an incentive for Brookfield to take actions which would have the effect of increasing distributions and fees payable to it, which may be to the detriment of us and our unitholders. For example, because the base management fee is calculated based on our market value, it may create an incentive for Brookfield to increase or maintain our market value over the near-term when other actions may be more favourable to us or our unitholders. Similarly, Brookfield may take actions to decrease distributions on our units or defer acquisitions in order to increase our market value in the near-term when making such distributions or acquisitions may be more favourable to us or our unitholders.
Our arrangements with Brookfield were negotiated in the context of an affiliated relationship and may contain terms that are less favourable than those which otherwise might have been obtained from unrelated parties.
The terms of our arrangements with Brookfield were effectively determined by Brookfield in the context of the spin-off. While the BBU General Partner's independent directors are aware of the terms of these arrangements and have approved the arrangements on our behalf, they did not negotiate the terms. These terms, including terms relating to compensation, contractual and fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest and Brookfield's ability to engage in outside activities, including activities that compete with us, our activities and limitations on liability and indemnification, may be less favourable than otherwise might have resulted if the negotiations had involved unrelated parties. Under our Limited Partnership Agreement, persons who acquire our units and their transferees will be deemed to have agreed that none of those arrangements constitutes a breach of any duty that may be owed to them under our Limited Partnership Agreement or any duty stated or implied by law or equity.
The BBU General Partner may be unable or unwilling to terminate our Master Services Agreement.
Our Master Services Agreement provides that the Service Recipients may terminate the agreement only if: the Service Providers default in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained in the agreement in a manner that results in material harm to the Service Recipients and the default continues unremedied for a period of 30 days after written notice of the breach is given to the Service Providers; the Service Providers engage in any act of fraud, misappropriation of funds or embezzlement against any Service Recipient that results in material harm to the Service Recipients; the Service Providers are grossly negligent in the performance of their duties under the agreement and such negligence results in material harm to the Service Recipients; or upon the happening of certain events relating to the bankruptcy or insolvency of the Service Providers. The BBU General Partner cannot terminate the agreement for any other reason, including if the Service Providers or Brookfield experience a change of control, and there is no fixed term to the agreement. In addition, because the BBU General Partner is an affiliate of Brookfield, it likely will be unwilling to terminate our Master Services Agreement, even in the case of a default. If the Service Providers' performance does not meet the expectations of investors, and the BBU General Partner is unable or unwilling to terminate our Master Services Agreement, the market price of our units could suffer. Furthermore, the termination of our Master Services Agreement would terminate our company's rights under the Relationship Agreement and our Licensing Agreement. See Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Relationship Agreement" and "Related Party Transactions—Licensing Agreement".
The liability of the Service Providers is limited under our arrangements with them and we have agreed to indemnify the Service Providers against claims that they may face in connection with such arrangements, which may lead them to assume greater risks when making decisions relating to us than they otherwise would if acting solely for their own account.
Under our Master Services Agreement, the Service Providers have not assumed any responsibility other than to provide or arrange for the provision of the services described in our Master Services Agreement in good faith and will not be responsible for any action that the BBU General Partner takes in following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations. In addition, under our Limited Partnership Agreement, the liability of the BBU General Partner and its affiliates, including the Service Providers, is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law to conduct involving bad faith, fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, action that was known to have been unlawful. The liability of the Service Providers under our Master Services Agreement is similarly limited, except that the Service Providers are also liable for liabilities arising from gross negligence. In addition, we have agreed to indemnify the Service Providers to the fullest extent permitted by law from and against any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs or expenses incurred by them or threatened in connection with our business, investments and activities or in respect of or arising from our Master Services Agreement or the services provided by the Service Providers, except to the extent that such claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs or expenses are determined to have resulted from the conduct in respect of which such persons have liability as described above. These protections may result in the Service Providers tolerating greater risks when making decisions than otherwise would be the case, including when determining whether to use and the extent of leverage in connection with acquisitions. The indemnification arrangements to which the Service Providers are a party may also give rise to legal claims for indemnification that are adverse to us and our unitholders.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Risks Relating to Our Structure
Our company is a holding entity and currently we rely on the Holding LP and, indirectly, the Holding Entities and our operating businesses to provide us with the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations.
Our company is a holding entity and its material assets consist solely of interests in the Holding Entities, through which we hold all of our interests in our operating businesses. Our company has no independent means of generating revenue. As a result, we depend on distributions and other payments from the Holding LP and, indirectly, the Holding Entities and our operating businesses to provide us with the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations at the partnership level. The Holding LP, the Holding Entities and our operating businesses are legally distinct from us and some of them are or may become restricted in their ability to pay dividends and distributions or otherwise make funds available to us pursuant to local law, regulatory requirements and their contractual agreements, including agreements governing their financing arrangements. Any other entities through which we may conduct operations in the future will also be legally distinct from us and may be similarly restricted in their ability to pay dividends and distributions or otherwise make funds available to us under certain conditions. The Holding LP, the Holding Entities and our operating businesses will generally be required to service their debt obligations before making distributions to us or their parent entities, as applicable, thereby reducing the amount of our cash flow available to our company to meet our financial obligations.
We anticipate that the only distributions that we will receive in respect of our company's managing general partnership interests in the Holding LP will consist of amounts that are intended to assist our company to pay expenses as they become due and to make distributions to our unitholders in accordance with our company's distribution policy.
We may be subject to the risks commonly associated with a separation of economic interest from control or the incurrence of debt at multiple levels within an organizational structure.
Our ownership and organizational structure is similar to structures whereby one company controls another company which in turn holds controlling interests in other companies; thereby, the company at the top of the chain may control the company at the bottom of the chain even if its effective equity position in the bottom company is less than a controlling interest. Brookfield is the sole shareholder of the BBU General Partner and, as a result of such ownership of the BBU General Partner, Brookfield is able to control the appointment and removal of the BBU General Partner's directors and, accordingly, exercises substantial influence over us. In turn, we often have a majority controlling interest or a significant influence in our operating businesses. Although Brookfield currently has an effective equity interest in our business of approximately 68% as a result of ownership of our units, general partnership units, redemption-exchange units and Special LP Units, over time Brookfield may reduce this interest while still maintaining its controlling interest, and, therefore, Brookfield may use its control rights in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our other unitholders. For example, despite the fact that we have a conflicts protocol in place, which addresses the requirement for independent approval and other requirements for transactions in which there is greater potential for a conflict of interest to arise, including transactions with affiliates of Brookfield, because Brookfield will be able to exert substantial influence over us, there is a greater risk of transfer of assets at non-arm's length values to Brookfield and its affiliates. In addition, debt incurred at multiple levels within the chain of control could exacerbate the separation of economic interest from controlling interest at such levels, thereby creating an incentive to increase our leverage. Any such increase in debt would also make us more sensitive to declines in revenues, increases in expenses and interest rates and adverse market conditions. The servicing of any such debt would also reduce the amount of funds available to pay distributions to us and ultimately to our unitholders and could reduce total returns to unitholders.

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Our company is not, and does not intend to become, regulated as an investment company under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, or the Investment Company Act, (and similar legislation in other jurisdictions), and, if our company were deemed an "investment company" under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to operate as contemplated.
The Investment Company Act (and similar legislation in other jurisdictions) provides certain protections to investors and imposes certain restrictions on companies that are required to be regulated as investment companies. Among other things, such rules limit or prohibit transactions with affiliates, impose limitations on the issuance of debt and equity securities and impose certain governance requirements. Our company has not been and does not intend to become regulated as an investment company and our company intends to conduct its activities so it will not be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act (and similar legislation in other jurisdictions). In order to ensure that we are not deemed to be an investment company, we may be required to materially restrict or limit the scope of our operations or plans. We will be limited in the types of acquisitions that we may make, and we may need to modify our organizational structure or dispose of assets which we would not otherwise dispose. Moreover, if anything were to happen which causes our company to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act, it would be impractical for us to operate as contemplated. Agreements and arrangements between and among us and Brookfield would be impaired, the type and number of acquisitions that we would be able to make as a principal would be limited and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected. Accordingly, we would be required to take extraordinary steps to address the situation, such as the amendment or termination of our Master Services Agreement, the restructuring of our company and the Holding Entities, the amendment of our Limited Partnership Agreement or the dissolution of our company, any of which could materially adversely affect the value of our units. In addition, if our company were deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, it would be taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and such treatment could materially adversely affect the value of our units.
Our company is an "SEC foreign issuer" under Canadian securities regulations and a "foreign private issuer" under U.S. securities law. Therefore, we are exempt from certain requirements of Canadian securities laws and from requirements applicable to U.S. domestic registrants listed on the NYSE.
Although our company is a reporting issuer in Canada, we are an "SEC foreign issuer" and exempt from certain Canadian securities laws relating to disclosure obligations and proxy solicitation, subject to certain conditions. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information in Canada about our company than would be available if we were a typical Canadian reporting issuer.
Although we are subject to the periodic reporting requirement of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, or the Exchange Act, the periodic disclosure required of foreign private issuers under the Exchange Act is different from periodic disclosure required of U.S. domestic registrants. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information about our company than is regularly published by or about other public limited partnerships in the United States. Our company is exempt from certain other sections of the Exchange Act to which U.S. domestic issuers are subject, including the requirement to provide our unitholders with information statements or proxy statements that comply with the Exchange Act. In addition, insiders and large unitholders of our company are not obligated to file reports under Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and we will be permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of those otherwise required under the NYSE Listed Company Manual for domestic issuers. We currently intend to follow the same corporate practices as would be applicable to U.S. domestic limited partnerships. However, we may in the future elect to follow our home country law for certain of our corporate governance practices, as permitted by the rules of the NYSE, in which case our unitholders would not be afforded the same protection as provided under NYSE corporate governance standards. Following our home country governance practices as opposed to the requirements that would otherwise apply to a U.S. domestic limited partnership listed on the NYSE may provide less protection than is accorded to investors of U.S. domestic issuers.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Our failure to maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business in the future and the price of our units.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and stock exchange rules promulgated in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A number of our current operating subsidiaries are and potential future acquisitions will be private companies and their systems of internal controls over financial reporting may be less developed as compared to public company requirements. In addition, we routinely exclude recently acquired companies from our evaluation of internal controls. For example, for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, we excluded BRK Ambiental, Greenergy, and our fuel marketing business, which collectively represented 46% of our total assets, 32% of our net assets, 63% of our revenue and 7% of our net income for the year. Any failure to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting or to implement required, new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting and could result in errors or misstatements in our consolidated financial statements that could be material. If we or our independent registered public accounting firm were to conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting were not effective, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information and the price of our units could decline. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, our ability to access capital markets and investors' perception of us. In addition, material weaknesses in our internal controls could require significant expense and management time to remediate.
Risks Relating to Our Units
Our unitholders do not have a right to vote on company matters or to take part in the management of our company.
Under our Limited Partnership Agreement, our unitholders are not entitled to vote on matters relating to our company, such as acquisitions, dispositions or financing, or to participate in the management or control of our company. In particular, our unitholders do not have the right to remove the BBU General Partner, to cause the BBU General Partner to withdraw from our company, to cause a new general partner to be admitted to our company, to appoint new directors to the BBU General Partner's board of directors, to remove existing directors from the BBU General Partner's board of directors or to prevent a change of control of the BBU General Partner. In addition, except for certain fundamental matters and related party transactions, our unitholders' consent rights apply only with respect to certain amendments to our Limited Partnership Agreement as described in Item 10.B., "Memorandum and Articles of Association—Description of our Units and our Limited Partnership Agreement". As a result, unlike holders of common stock of a corporation, our unitholders are not able to influence the direction of our company, including its policies and procedures, or to cause a change in its management, even if they are unsatisfied with the performance of our company. Consequently, our unitholders may be deprived of an opportunity to receive a premium for their units in the future through a sale of our company and the trading price of our units may be adversely affected by the absence or a reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.
The market price of our units may be volatile.
The market price of our units may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. Some of the factors that could negatively affect the price of our units include: general market and economic conditions, including disruptions, downgrades, credit events and perceived problems in the credit markets; actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or distributions on our units; actual or anticipated variations or trends in market interest rates; changes in our operating businesses or asset composition; write-downs or perceived credit or liquidity issues affecting our assets; market perception of our company, our business and our assets, including investor sentiment regarding diversified holding companies such as our company; our level of indebtedness and/or adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we incur in the future; our ability to raise capital on favourable terms or at all; loss of any major funding source; the termination of our Master Services Agreement or additions or departures of our or Brookfield's key personnel; changes in market valuations of similar companies and partnerships; speculation in the press or investment community regarding us or Brookfield; and changes in U.S. tax laws that make it impractical or impossible for our company to continue to be taxable as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Securities markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies or partnerships. Any broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our units.

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We may issue additional units in the future, including in lieu of incurring indebtedness, which may dilute existing holders of our units. We may also issue securities that have rights and privileges that are more favourable than the rights and privileges accorded to our unitholders.
Under our Limited Partnership Agreement, subject to the terms of any of our securities then outstanding, we may issue additional partnership securities, including units, preferred units and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to partnership securities for any purpose and for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as the BBU General Partner may determine. Subject to the terms of any of our securities then outstanding, the BBU General Partner's board of directors will be able to determine the class, designations, preferences, rights, powers and duties of any additional partnership securities, including any rights to share in our profits, losses and distributions, any rights to receive partnership assets upon our dissolution or liquidation and any redemption, conversion and exchange rights. Subject to the terms of any of our securities then outstanding, the BBU General Partner may use such authority to issue such additional securities. The sale or issuance of a substantial number of our units or other equity related securities of our company in the public markets, or the perception that such sales or issuances could occur, could depress the market price of our units and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional units. In addition, at any time after two years from the date of the spin-off, or June 20, 2018, the holders of redemption-exchange units will have the right to require the Holding LP to redeem all or a portion of the redemption-exchange units for cash, subject to our company's right to acquire such interests (in lieu of redemption) in exchange for the issuance of our units to such holders. We cannot predict the effect that future sales or issuances of our units or other equity-related securities would have on the market price of our units. Subject to the terms of any of our securities then outstanding, holders of units will not have any pre-emptive right or any right to consent to or otherwise approve the issuance of any securities or the terms on which any such securities may be issued.
A unitholder who elects to receive our distributions in Canadian dollars is subject to foreign currency risk associated with our company's distributions.
A significant number of our unitholders will reside in countries where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency. We intend to declare our distributions in U.S. dollars but unitholders may, at their option, elect settlement in Canadian dollars. For unitholders who so elect, the value received in Canadian dollars from the distribution will be determined based on the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar at the time of payment. As such, if the U.S. dollar depreciates significantly against the Canadian dollar, the value received by a unitholder who elects to receive our distributions in Canadian dollars will be adversely affected.
U.S. investors in our units may find it difficult or impossible to enforce service of process and enforcement of judgments against us and directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers.
We were established under the laws of Bermuda, and most of our subsidiaries are organized in jurisdictions outside of the United States. In addition, certain of our executive officers are located outside of the United States. Certain of the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers reside outside of the United States. A substantial portion of our assets are, and the assets of the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers may be, located outside of the United States. It may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers. It may also not be possible to enforce against us or the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers, judgments obtained in U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of applicable securities law in the United States.
Canadian investors in our units may find it difficult or impossible to enforce service of process and enforcement of judgments against us and the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers.
We were established under the laws of Bermuda, and most of our subsidiaries are organized in jurisdictions outside of Canada. In addition, certain of our executive officers are located outside of Canada. Certain of the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers reside outside of Canada. A substantial portion of our assets are, and the assets of the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers may be, located outside of Canada. It may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within Canada upon the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers. It may also not be possible to enforce against us or the directors and officers of the BBU General Partner and the Service Providers judgments obtained in Canadian courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of applicable securities laws in Canada.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Risks Related to Taxation
General
Changes in tax law and practice may have a material adverse effect on the operations of our company, the Holding Entities and the operating businesses and, as a consequence, the value of our assets and the net amount of distributions payable to our unitholders.
Our structure, including the structure of the Holding Entities and the operating businesses, is based on prevailing taxation law and practice in the local jurisdictions in which we operate. Any change in tax legislation (including in relation to taxation rates) and practice in these jurisdictions could adversely affect these entities, as well as the net amount of distributions payable to our unitholders. Taxes and other constraints that would apply to our operating businesses in such jurisdictions may not apply to local institutions or other parties, and such parties may therefore have a significantly lower effective cost of capital and a corresponding competitive advantage in pursuing such acquisitions.
Our company's ability to make distributions depends on it receiving sufficient cash distributions from its underlying operations, and we cannot assure our unitholders that our company will be able to make cash distributions to them in amounts that are sufficient to fund their tax liabilities.
Our Holding Entities and operating businesses may be subject to local taxes in each of the relevant territories and jurisdictions in which they operate, including taxes on income, profits or gains and withholding taxes. As a result, our company's cash available for distribution is indirectly reduced by such taxes, and the post-tax return to our unitholders is similarly reduced by such taxes. We intend for future acquisitions to be assessed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible and commercially viable, structured so as to minimize any adverse tax consequences to our unitholders as a result of making such acquisitions.
In general, a unitholder that is subject to income tax in Canada or the United States must include in income its allocable share of our company's items of income, gain, loss and deduction (including, so long as it is treated as a partnership for tax purposes, our company's allocable share of those items of the Holding LP) for each of our company's fiscal years ending with or within such unitholder's tax year. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations" and Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations". However, the cash distributed to a unitholder may not be sufficient to pay the full amount of such unitholder's tax liability in respect of its investment in our company, because each unitholder's tax liability depends on such unitholder's particular tax situation and the tax treatment of the underlying activities or assets of our company. If our company is unable to distribute cash in amounts that are sufficient to fund our unitholders' tax liabilities, each of our unitholders will still be required to pay income taxes on its share of our company's taxable income.
Our unitholders may be subject to non-U.S., state and local taxes and return filing requirements as a result of owning our units.
Based on our expected method of operation and the ownership of our operating businesses indirectly through corporate Holding Entities, we do not expect any unitholder, solely as a result of owning our units, to be subject to any additional income taxes imposed on a net basis or additional tax return filing requirements in any jurisdiction in which we conduct activities or own property. However, our method of operation and current structure may change, and there can be no assurance that our unitholders, solely as a result of owning our units, will not be subject to certain taxes, including non-U.S., state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property now or in the future, even if our unitholders do not reside in any of these jurisdictions. Consequently, our unitholders may also be required to file non-U.S., state and local income tax returns in some or all of these jurisdictions. Further, our unitholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all U.S. federal, non-U.S., state and local tax returns that may be required of such unitholder.
Our unitholders may be exposed to transfer pricing risks.
To the extent that our company, the Holding LP, the Holding Entities or the operating businesses enter into transactions or arrangements with parties with whom they do not deal at arm's length, including Brookfield, the relevant tax authorities may seek to adjust the quantum or nature of the amounts received or paid by such entities if they consider that the terms and conditions of such transactions or arrangements differ from those that would have been made between persons dealing at arm's length. This could result in more tax (and penalties and interest) being paid by such entities, and therefore the return to investors could be reduced. For Canadian tax purposes, a transfer pricing adjustment may in certain circumstances result in additional income being allocated to a unitholder with no corresponding cash distribution or in a dividend being deemed to be paid by a Canadian-resident to a non-arm's length non-resident, which deemed dividend is subject to Canadian withholding tax.

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The BBU General Partner believes that the base management fee and any other amount that is paid to the Service Providers will be commensurate with the value of the services being provided by the Service Providers and comparable to the fees or other amounts that would be agreed to in an arm's-length arrangement. However, no assurance can be given in this regard. If the relevant tax authority were to assert that an adjustment should be made under the transfer pricing rules to an amount that is relevant to the computation of the income of the Holding LP or our company, such assertion could result in adjustments to amounts of income (or loss) allocated to our unitholders by our company for tax purposes. In addition, we might also be liable for transfer pricing penalties in respect of transfer pricing adjustments unless reasonable efforts were made to determine, and use, arm's-length transfer prices. Generally, reasonable efforts in this regard are only considered to be made if contemporaneous documentation has been prepared in respect of such transactions or arrangements that support the transfer pricing methodology.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, or Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, may not agree with certain assumptions and conventions that our company uses in order to comply with applicable U.S. and Canadian federal income tax laws or that our company uses to report income, gain, loss, deduction and credit to our unitholders.
Our company will apply certain assumptions and conventions in order to comply with applicable tax laws and to report income, gain, deduction, loss and credit to a unitholder in a manner that reflects such unitholder's beneficial ownership of partnership items, taking into account variation in ownership interests during each taxable year because of trading activity. However, these assumptions and conventions may not be in compliance with all aspects of the applicable tax requirements. A successful IRS or CRA challenge to such assumptions or conventions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our unitholders and could require that items of income, gain, deduction, loss, or credit, including interest deductions, be adjusted, reallocated or disallowed in a manner that adversely affects our unitholders. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations" and "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations."
United States
If our company or the Holding LP were to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the value of our units might be adversely affected.
The value of our units to unitholders will depend in part on the treatment of our company and the Holding LP as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, in order for our company to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, 90% or more of our company's gross income for every taxable year must consist of qualifying income, as defined in Section 7704 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and our company must not be required to register, if it were a U.S. corporation, as an investment company under the Investment Company Act and related rules. Although the BBU General Partner intends to manage our company's affairs so that our company will not need to be registered as an investment company if it were a U.S. corporation and so that it will meet the 90% test described above in each taxable year, our company may not meet these requirements, or current law may change so as to cause, in either event, our company to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If our company (or the Holding LP) were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could result for our unitholders and our company (or the Holding LP, as applicable), as described in greater detail in Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Partnership Status of Our Company and the Holding LP."
We may be subject to U.S. backup withholding tax or other U.S. withholding taxes if any unitholder fails to comply with U.S. tax reporting rules or if the IRS or other applicable state or local taxing authority does not accept our withholding methodology, and such excess withholding tax cost will be an expense borne by our company and, therefore, by all of our unitholders on a pro rata basis.
We may become subject to U.S. "backup" withholding tax or other U.S. withholding taxes with respect to any unitholder who fails to timely provide our company (or the applicable clearing agent or other intermediary) with an IRS Form W-9 or IRS Form W-8, as the case may be, or if the withholding methodology we use is not accepted by the IRS or other applicable state or local taxing authority. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Administrative Matters—Withholding and Backup Withholding". To the extent that any unitholder fails to timely provide the applicable form (or such form is not properly completed), or should the IRS or other applicable state or local taxing authority not accept our withholding methodology, our company might treat such U.S. backup withholding taxes or other U.S. withholding taxes as an expense, which would be borne indirectly by all of our unitholders on a pro rata basis. As a result, our unitholders that fully comply with their U.S. tax reporting obligations may bear a share of such burden created by other unitholders that do not comply with the U.S. tax reporting rules.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Tax-exempt organizations may face certain adverse U.S. tax consequences from owning our units.
The BBU General Partner intends to use commercially reasonable efforts to structure the activities of our company and the Holding LP, respectively, to avoid generating income connected with the conduct of a trade or business (which income generally would constitute "unrelated business taxable income", or UBTI, to the extent allocated to a tax-exempt organization). However, neither our company nor the Holding LP is prohibited from incurring indebtedness, and no assurance can be provided that neither our company nor the Holding LP will generate UBTI attributable to debt-financed property in the future. In particular, UBTI includes income attributable to debt-financed property, and neither our company nor the Holding LP is prohibited from financing the acquisition of property with debt. The potential for income to be characterized as UBTI could make our units an unsuitable investment for a tax-exempt organization. Each tax-exempt organization should consult its own tax adviser to determine the U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our units.
If our company were engaged in a U.S. trade or business, non-U.S. persons would face certain adverse U.S. tax consequences from owning our units.
The BBU General Partner intends to use commercially reasonable efforts to structure the activities of our company and the Holding LP to avoid generating income treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, including effectively connected income attributable to the sale of a "United States real property interest", as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. If our company were deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business, or to realize gain from the sale or other disposition of a U.S. real property interest, Non-U.S. Holders (as defined in Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations") generally would be required to file U.S. federal income tax returns and could be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to ordinary income. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (as defined below), if, contrary to expectation, our company were engaged in a U.S. trade or business, then gain or loss from the sale of our units by a Non-U.S. Holder would be treated as effectively connected with such trade or business to the extent that such Non-U.S. Holder would have had effectively connected gain or loss had our company sold all of its assets at their fair market value as of the date of such sale. In such case, any such effectively connected gain generally would be taxable at the regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates, and the amount realized from such sale generally would be subject to a 10% U.S. federal withholding tax. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders".
To meet U.S. federal income tax and other objectives, our company and the Holding LP may acquire assets through U.S. and non-U.S. Holding Entities that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and such Holding Entities may be subject to corporate income tax.
To meet U.S. federal income tax and other objectives, our company and the Holding LP may acquire assets through U.S. and non-U.S. Holding Entities that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and such Holding Entities may be subject to corporate income tax. Consequently, items of income, gain, loss, deduction or credit realized in the first instance by the operating businesses will not flow, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, directly to the Holding LP, our company or our unitholders, and any such income or gain may be subject to a corporate income tax, in the United States or other jurisdictions, at the level of the Holding Entity. Any such additional taxes may adversely affect our company's ability to maximize its cash flow.
Our unitholders taxable in the United States may be viewed as holding an indirect interest in an entity classified as a "passive foreign investment company" for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders may face adverse U.S. tax consequences arising from the ownership of a direct or indirect interest in a "passive foreign investment company", or PFIC. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Consequences to U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Companies". Based on our organizational structure, as well as our expected income and assets, the BBU General Partner currently believes that a U.S. Holder is unlikely to be regarded as owning an interest in a PFIC solely by reason of owning our units for the taxable year ending December 31, 2018. However, there can be no assurance that a future entity in which our company acquires an interest will not be classified as a PFIC with respect to a U.S. Holder, because PFIC status is a factual determination that depends on the assets and income of a given entity and must be made on an annual basis. Each U.S. Holder should consult its own tax adviser regarding the implication of the PFIC rules for an investment in our units.
Tax gain or loss from the disposition of our units could be more or less than expected.
If a U.S. Holder sells units that it holds, then it generally will recognize gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes equal to the difference between the amount realized and its adjusted tax basis in such units. Prior distributions to a unitholder in excess of the total net taxable income allocated to such unitholder will have decreased such unitholder's tax basis in our units. Therefore, such excess distributions will increase a unitholder's taxable gain or decrease such unitholder's taxable loss when our units are sold, and may result in a taxable gain even if the sale price is less than the original cost. A portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, could be ordinary income to such unitholder.

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Our company structure involves complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. The tax characterization of our company structure is also subject to potential legislative, judicial, or administrative change and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of our unitholders depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. Unitholders should be aware that the U.S. federal income tax rules, particularly those applicable to partnerships, are constantly under review by the Congressional tax-writing committees and other persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS, the Treasury Department and the courts, frequently resulting in changes which could adversely affect the value of our units or cause our company to change the way it conducts its activities. For example, changes to the U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could make it more difficult or impossible for our company to be treated as a partnership that is not taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, change the character or treatment of portions of our company's income, reduce the net amount of distributions available to our unitholders or otherwise affect the tax considerations of owning our units. In addition, our company's organizational documents and agreements permit the BBU General Partner to modify our limited partnership agreement, without the consent of our unitholders, to address such changes. These modifications could have a material adverse impact on our unitholders. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Administrative Matters—New Legislation or Administrative or Judicial Action".
Our company's delivery of required tax information for a taxable year may be subject to delay, which could require a unitholder who is a U.S. taxpayer to request an extension of the due date for such unitholder's income tax return.
Our company has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide U.S. tax information (including IRS Schedule K-1 information needed to determine a unitholder's allocable share of our company's income, gain, losses and deductions) no later than 90 days after the close of each calendar year. However, providing this U.S. tax information to our unitholders will be subject to delay in the event of, among other reasons, the late receipt of any necessary tax information from lower-tier entities. It is therefore possible that, in any taxable year, a unitholder will need to apply for an extension of time to file such unitholder's tax returns. In addition, unitholders that do not ordinarily have U.S. federal tax filing requirements will not receive a Schedule K-1 and related information unless such unitholders request it within 60 days after the close of each calendar year. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures".
If the IRS makes an audit adjustment to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us, which could adversely affect our unitholders.
Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes an audit adjustment to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from our company instead of unitholders (as under prior law). We may be permitted to elect to have the BBU General Partner and our unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit. However, there can be no assurance that we will choose to make such election or that it will be available in all circumstances. If we do not make the election, we may be required pay taxes, penalties or interest as a result of an audit adjustment. As a result, our current unitholders might bear some or all of the cost of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if our current unitholders did not own our units during the taxable year under audit. The foregoing considerations also apply with respect to our company's interest in the Holding LP.
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance provisions of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, or FATCA, certain payments made or received by our company may be subject to a 30% federal withholding tax, unless certain requirements are met.
Under FATCA, a 30% withholding tax may apply to certain payments of U.S.-source income made to our company, the Holding LP, the Holding Entities or the operating businesses, or by our company to a unitholder, unless certain requirements are met, as described in greater detail in Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Administrative Matters—Foreign Account Tax Compliance". The 30% withholding tax may also apply to certain payments made on or after January 1, 2019 that are attributable to U.S.-source income or that constitute gross proceeds from the disposition of property that could produce U.S.-source dividends or interest. To ensure compliance with FATCA, information regarding certain unitholders' ownership of our units may be reported to the IRS or to a non-U.S. governmental authority. Unitholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the consequences under FATCA of an investment in our units.

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The effect of comprehensive U.S. tax reform legislation on our company and unitholders, whether adverse or favorable, is uncertain.
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. president signed into law H.R. 1, “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018”, or, informally, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Among a number of significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduces the marginal U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, limits the deduction for net interest expense, shifts the United States toward a modified territorial tax system, and imposes new taxes to combat erosion of the U.S. federal income tax base. The effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on our company, the Holding LP, the Holding Entities, the operating businesses, and unitholders, whether adverse or favorable, is uncertain, and may not become evident for some period of time. Unitholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for an investment in our units.
Canada
If the subsidiaries that are corporations (the "Non-Resident Subsidiaries") and that are not resident or deemed to be resident in Canada for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (together with the regulations thereunder, the "Tax Act") and that are "controlled foreign affiliates" (as defined in the Tax Act and referred to herein as "CFAs") in which the Holding LP directly holds an equity interest earn income that is "foreign accrual property income" (as defined in the Tax Act and referred to herein as "FAPI"), our unitholders may be required to include amounts allocated from our company in computing their income for Canadian federal income tax purposes even though there may be no corresponding cash distribution.
Certain of the Non-Resident Subsidiaries in which the Holding LP directly holds an equity interest are expected to be CFAs of the Holding LP. If any CFA of the Holding LP or any direct or indirect subsidiary thereof that is itself a CFA of the Holding LP (an "Indirect CFA"), earns income that is characterized as FAPI in a particular taxation year of the CFA or Indirect CFA, the FAPI allocable to the Holding LP must be included in computing the income of the Holding LP for Canadian federal income tax purposes for the fiscal period of the Holding LP in which the taxation year of that CFA or Indirect CFA ends, whether or not the Holding LP actually receives a distribution of that FAPI. Our company will include its share of such FAPI of the Holding LP in computing its income for Canadian federal income tax purposes and our unitholders will be required to include their proportionate share of such FAPI allocated from our company in computing their income for Canadian federal income tax purposes. As a result, our unitholders may be required to include amounts in their income for Canadian federal income tax purposes even though they have not and may not receive an actual cash distribution of such amounts. The Tax Act contains anti-avoidance rules to address certain foreign tax credit generator transactions (the "Foreign Tax Credit Generator Rules"). Under the Foreign Tax Credit Generator Rules, the "foreign accrual tax", as defined in the Tax Act, applicable to a particular amount of FAPI included in the Holding LP's income in respect of a particular "foreign affiliate", as defined in the Tax Act, of the Holding LP may be limited in certain specified circumstances. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations".
The Canadian federal income tax consequences to our unitholders could be materially different in certain respects from those described in this Form 20-F if our company or the Holding LP is a "SIFT partnership" as defined in the Tax Act.
Under the rules in the Tax Act applicable to a "SIFT partnership" (the "SIFT Rules"), certain income and gains earned by a "SIFT partnership" will be subject to income tax at the partnership level at a rate similar to a corporation, and allocations of such income and gains to its partners will be taxed as a dividend from a "taxable Canadian corporation" as defined in the Tax Act. In particular, a "SIFT partnership" will be required to pay a tax on the total of its income from businesses carried on in Canada, income from "non-portfolio properties" as defined in the Tax Act other than taxable dividends, and taxable capital gains from dispositions of "non-portfolio properties". "Non-portfolio properties" include, among other things, equity interests or debt of corporations, trusts or partnerships that are resident in Canada, and of non-resident persons or partnerships the principal source of income of which is one or any combination of sources in Canada (other than a "portfolio investment entity" as defined in the Tax Act), that are held by the "SIFT partnership" and have a fair market value that is greater than 10% of the equity value of such entity, or that have, together with debt or equity that the "SIFT partnership" holds of entities affiliated (within the meaning of the Tax Act) with such entity, an aggregate fair market value that is greater than 50% of the equity value of the "SIFT partnership". The tax rate that is applied to the above mentioned sources of income and gains is set at a rate equal to the "net corporate income tax rate", plus the "provincial SIFT tax rate", each as defined in the Tax Act.
A partnership will be a "SIFT partnership" throughout a taxation year if at any time in the taxation year (i) it is a "Canadian resident partnership" as defined in the Tax Act, (ii) "investments", as defined in the Tax Act, in the partnership are listed or traded on a stock exchange or other public market and (iii) it holds one or more "non-portfolio properties". For these purposes, a partnership will be a "Canadian resident partnership" at a particular time if (a) it is a "Canadian partnership" as defined in the Tax Act at that time, (b) it would, if it were a corporation, be resident in Canada (including, for greater certainty, a partnership that has its central management and control located in Canada) or (c) it was formed under the laws of a province. A "Canadian partnership" for these purposes is a partnership all of whose members are resident in Canada or are partnerships that are "Canadian partnerships".

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Under the SIFT Rules, our company and the Holding LP could each be a "SIFT partnership" if it is a "Canadian resident partnership". However, the Holding LP would not be a "SIFT partnership" if our company is a "SIFT partnership" regardless of whether the Holding LP is a "Canadian resident partnership" on the basis that the Holding LP would be an "excluded subsidiary entity" as defined in the Tax Act. Our company and the Holding LP will be a "Canadian resident partnership" if the central management and control of these partnerships is located in Canada. This determination is a question of fact and is expected to depend on where the BBU General Partner is located and exercises central management and control of the respective partnerships. Based on the place of its incorporation, governance and activities, the BBU General Partner does not expect that its central management and control will be located in Canada such that the SIFT Rules should not apply to our company or to the Holding LP at any relevant time. However, no assurance can be given in this regard. If our company or the Holding LP is a "SIFT partnership", the Canadian federal income tax consequences to our unitholders could be materially different in certain respects from those described in Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations". In addition, there can be no assurance that the SIFT Rules will not be revised or amended in the future such that the SIFT Rules will apply.
Unitholders may be required to include imputed amounts in their income for Canadian federal income tax purposes in accordance with section 94.1 of the Tax Act.
Section 94.1 of the Tax Act contains rules relating to interests in entities that are not resident or deemed to be resident in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act or not situated in Canada, other than a CFA of the taxpayer (the "Non-Resident Entities"), that could in certain circumstances cause income to be imputed to unitholders for Canadian federal income tax purposes, either directly or by way of allocation of such income imputed to our company or to the Holding LP. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations."
Our units may or may not continue to be "qualified investments" under the Tax Act for registered plans.
Provided that our units are listed on a "designated stock exchange" as defined in the Tax Act (which currently includes the NYSE and the TSX), our units will be "qualified investments" under the Tax Act for a trust governed by a registered retirement savings plan ("RRSP"), deferred profit sharing plan, registered retirement income fund ("RRIF"), registered education savings plan ("RESP"), registered disability savings plan ("RDSP") and a tax-free savings account ("TFSA"), each as defined in the Tax Act. However, there can be no assurance that our units will continue to be listed on a "designated stock exchange". There can also be no assurance that tax laws relating to "qualified investments" will not be changed. Taxes may be imposed in respect of the acquisition or holding of non-qualified investments by such registered plans and certain other taxpayers and with respect to the acquisition or holding of "prohibited investments" as defined in the Tax Act by an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RDSP or RESP.
Generally, our units will not be a "prohibited investment" for a trust governed by an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RDSP or RESP, provided that the annuitant under the RRSP or RRIF, the holder of the TFSA or RDSP or the subscriber of the RESP, as the case may be, deals at arm's length with our company for purposes of the Tax Act and does not have a "significant interest", as defined in the Tax Act for purposes of the prohibited investment rules, in our company. Unitholders who hold our units in an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RDSP or RESP should consult with their own tax advisors regarding the application of the foregoing prohibited investment rules having regard to their particular circumstances.
Unitholders' foreign tax credits for Canadian federal income tax purposes will be limited if the Foreign Tax Credit Generator Rules apply in respect of the foreign "business-income tax" or "non-business-income tax", each as defined in the Tax Act, paid by our company or the Holding LP to a foreign country.
Under the Foreign Tax Credit Generator Rules, the foreign "business-income tax" or "non-business-income tax" for Canadian federal income tax purposes for any taxation year may be limited in certain circumstances. If the Foreign Tax Credit Generator Rules apply, the allocation to a unitholder of foreign "business-income tax" or "non-business-income tax" paid by our company or the Holding LP, and therefore, such unitholder's foreign tax credits for Canadian federal income tax purposes, will be limited. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations".
Unitholders who are not and are not deemed to be resident in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act and who do not use or hold, and are not deemed to use or hold, their units of our company in connection with a business carried on in Canada ("Non-Canadian Limited Partners"), may be subject to Canadian federal income tax with respect to any Canadian source business income earned by our company or the Holding LP if our company or the Holding LP were considered to carry on business in Canada.
If our company or the Holding LP were considered to carry on business in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act, Non-Canadian Limited Partners would be subject to Canadian federal income tax on their proportionate share of any Canadian source business income earned or considered to be earned by our company, subject to the potential application of the safe harbour rule in section 115.2 of the Tax Act and any relief that may be provided by any relevant income tax treaty or convention.

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The BBU General Partner intends to manage the affairs of our company and the Holding LP, to the extent possible, so that they do not carry on business in Canada and are not considered or deemed to carry on business in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act. Nevertheless, because the determination of whether our company or the Holding LP is carrying on business and, if so, whether that business is carried on in Canada, is a question of fact that is dependent upon the surrounding circumstances, the CRA might contend successfully that either or both of our company and the Holding LP carries on business in Canada for purposes of the Tax Act.
If our company or the Holding LP is considered to carry on business in Canada or is deemed to carry on business in Canada for the purposes of the Tax Act, Non-Canadian Limited Partners that are corporations would be required to file a Canadian federal income tax return for each taxation year in which they are a Non-Canadian Limited Partner regardless of whether relief from Canadian taxation is available under an applicable income tax treaty or convention. Non-Canadian Limited Partners who are individuals would only be required to file a Canadian federal income tax return for any taxation year in which they are allocated income from our company from carrying on business in Canada that is not exempt from Canadian taxation under the terms of an applicable income tax treaty or convention.
Non-Canadian Limited Partners may be subject to Canadian federal income tax on capital gains realized by our company or the Holding LP on dispositions of "taxable Canadian property" as defined in the Tax Act.
A Non-Canadian Limited Partner will be subject to Canadian federal income tax on its proportionate share of capital gains realized by our company or the Holding LP on the disposition of "taxable Canadian property" other than "treaty protected property" as defined in the Tax Act. "Taxable Canadian property" includes, but is not limited to, property that is used or held in a business carried on in Canada and shares of corporations that are not listed on a "designated stock exchange" if more than 50% of the fair market value of the shares is derived from certain Canadian properties during the 60-month period immediately preceding the particular time. Property of our company and the Holding LP generally will be "treaty-protected property" to a Non-Canadian Limited Partner if the gain from the disposition of the property would, because of an applicable income tax treaty or convention, be exempt from tax under the Tax Act. The BBU General Partner does not expect our company and the Holding LP to realize capital gains or losses from dispositions of "taxable Canadian property". However, no assurance can be given in this regard. Non-Canadian Limited Partners will be required to file a Canadian federal income tax return in respect of a disposition of "taxable Canadian property" by our company or the Holding LP unless the disposition is an "excluded disposition" for the purposes of section 150 of the Tax Act. However, Non-Canadian Limited Partners that are corporations will still be required to file a Canadian federal income tax return in respect of a disposition of "taxable Canadian property" that is an "excluded disposition" for the purposes of section 150 of the Tax Act if tax would otherwise be payable under Part I of the Tax Act by such Non-Canadian Limited Partners in respect of the disposition but is not because of an applicable income tax treaty or convention (otherwise than in respect of a disposition of "taxable Canadian property" that is "treaty-protected property" of the corporation). In general, an "excluded disposition" is a disposition of property by a taxpayer in a taxation year where: (a) the taxpayer is a non-resident of Canada at the time of the disposition; (b) no tax is payable by the taxpayer under Part I of the Tax Act for the taxation year; (c) the taxpayer is not liable to pay any amounts under the Tax Act in respect of any previous taxation year (other than certain amounts for which the CRA holds adequate security); and (d) each "taxable Canadian property" disposed of by the taxpayer in the taxation year is either: (i) "excluded property" as defined in subsection 116(6) of the Tax Act; or (ii) property in respect of the disposition of which a certificate under subsection 116(2), (4) or (5.2) of the Tax Act has been issued by the CRA. Non-Canadian Limited Partners should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the requirements to file a Canadian federal income tax return in respect of a disposition of "taxable Canadian property" by our company or the Holding LP.

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Non-Canadian Limited Partners may be subject to Canadian federal income tax on capital gains realized on the disposition of our units if our units are "taxable Canadian property".
Any capital gain arising from the disposition or deemed disposition of our units by a Non-Canadian Limited Partner will be subject to taxation in Canada, if, at the time of the disposition or deemed disposition, our units are "taxable Canadian property" of the Non-Canadian Limited Partner, unless our units are "treaty-protected property" to such Non-Canadian Limited Partner. In general, our units will not constitute "taxable Canadian property" of any Non-Canadian Limited Partner at the time of disposition or deemed disposition, unless (a) at any time in the 60-month period immediately preceding the disposition or deemed disposition, more than 50% of the fair market value of our units was derived, directly or indirectly (excluding through a corporation, partnership or trust, the shares or interests in which were not themselves "taxable Canadian property"), from one or any combination of: (i) real or immovable property situated in Canada; (ii) "Canadian resource properties" as defined in the Tax Act; (iii) "timber resource properties" as defined in the Tax Act; and (iv) options in respect of, or interests in, or for civil law rights in, such property, whether or not such property exists, or (b) our units are otherwise deemed to be "taxable Canadian property". Since our company's assets will consist principally of units of the Holding LP, our units would generally be "taxable Canadian property" at a particular time if the units of the Holding LP held by our company derived, directly or indirectly (excluding through a corporation, partnership or trust, the shares or interests in which were not themselves "taxable Canadian property"), more than 50% of their fair market value from properties described in (i) to (iv) above, at any time in the 60-month period preceding the particular time. The BBU General Partner does not expect our units to be "taxable Canadian property" of any Non-Canadian Limited Partner at any time but no assurance can be given in this regard. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations". Even if our units constitute "taxable Canadian property", units of our company will be "treaty protected property" if the gain on the disposition of our units is exempt from tax under the Tax Act under the terms of an applicable income tax treaty or convention. If our units constitute "taxable Canadian property", Non-Canadian Limited Partners will be required to file a Canadian federal income tax return in respect of a disposition of our units unless the disposition is an "excluded disposition" (as discussed above). If our units constitute "taxable Canadian property", Non-Canadian Limited Partners should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the requirement to file a Canadian federal income tax return in respect of a disposition of our units.
Non-Canadian Limited Partners may be subject to Canadian federal income tax reporting and withholding tax requirements on the disposition of "taxable Canadian property".
Non-Canadian Limited Partners who dispose of "taxable Canadian property", other than "excluded property" and certain other property described in subsection 116(5.2) of the Tax Act, (or who are considered to have disposed of such property on the disposition of such property by our company or the Holding LP), are obligated to comply with the procedures set out in section 116 of the Tax Act and obtain a certificate pursuant to the Tax Act. In order to obtain such certificate, the Non-Canadian Limited Partner is required to report certain particulars relating to the transaction to CRA not later than 10 days after the disposition occurs. The BBU General Partner does not expect our units to be "taxable Canadian property" of any Non-Canadian Limited Partner and does not expect our company or the Holding LP to dispose of property that is "taxable Canadian property" but no assurance can be given in these regards.

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Payments of dividends or interest (other than interest not subject to Canadian federal withholding tax) by residents of Canada to the Holding LP will be subject to Canadian federal withholding tax and we may be unable to apply a reduced rate taking into account the residency or entitlement to relief under an applicable income tax treaty or convention of our unitholders.
Our company and the Holding LP will each be deemed to be a non-resident person in respect of certain amounts paid or credited or deemed to be paid or credited to them by a person resident or deemed to be resident in Canada, including dividends or interest. Dividends or interest (other than interest not subject to Canadian federal withholding tax) paid or deemed to be paid by a person resident or deemed to be resident in Canada to the Holding LP will be subject to withholding tax under Part XIII of the Tax Act at the rate of 25%. However, the CRA's administrative practice in similar circumstances is to permit the rate of Canadian federal withholding tax applicable to such payments to be computed by looking through the partnership and taking into account the residency of the partners (including partners who are resident in Canada) and any reduced rates of Canadian federal withholding tax that any non-resident partners may be entitled to under an applicable income tax treaty or convention, provided that the residency status and entitlement to treaty benefits can be established. In determining the rate of Canadian federal withholding tax applicable to amounts paid by the Holding Entities to the Holding LP, the BBU General Partner expects the Holding Entities to look-through the Holding LP and our company to the residency of the partners of our company (including partners who are resident in Canada) and to take into account any reduced rates of Canadian federal withholding tax that non-resident partners may be entitled to under an applicable income tax treaty or convention in order to determine the appropriate amount of Canadian federal withholding tax to withhold from dividends or interest paid to the Holding LP. However, there can be no assurance that the CRA will apply its administrative practice in this context. If the CRA's administrative practice is not applied and the Holding Entities withhold Canadian federal withholding tax from applicable payments on a look-through basis, the Holding Entities may be liable for additional amounts of Canadian federal withholding tax plus any associated interest and penalties. Under the Canada—United States Tax Convention (1980) (the "Treaty"), a Canadian resident payer is required in certain circumstances to look-through fiscally transparent partnerships, such as our company and the Holding LP, to the residency and Treaty entitlements of their partners and take into account the reduced rates of Canadian federal withholding tax that such partners may be entitled to under the Treaty.
While the BBU General Partner expects the Holding Entities to look-through our company and the Holding LP in determining the rate of Canadian federal withholding tax applicable to amounts paid or deemed to be paid by the Holding Entities to the Holding LP, we may be unable to accurately or timely determine the residency of our unitholders for purposes of establishing the extent to which Canadian federal withholding taxes apply or whether reduced rates of withholding tax apply to some or all of our unitholders. In such a case, the Holding Entities will withhold Canadian federal withholding tax from all payments made to the Holding LP that are subject to Canadian federal withholding tax at the rate of 25%. Canadian resident unitholders will be entitled to claim a credit for such taxes against their Canadian federal income tax liability but Non-Canadian Limited Partners will need to take certain steps to receive a refund or credit in respect of any such Canadian federal withholding taxes withheld equal to the difference between the withholding tax at a rate of 25% and the withholding tax at the reduced rate they are entitled to under an applicable income tax treaty or convention. See Item 10.E., "Taxation—Certain Material Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations" for further detail. Unitholders should consult their own tax advisors concerning all aspects of Canadian federal withholding taxes.

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ITEM 4.    INFORMATION ON OUR COMPANY
4.A.    HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMPANY
Our company was established on January 18, 2016 as a Bermuda exempted limited partnership registered under the Bermuda Limited Partnership Act 1883, as amended, and the Bermuda Exempted Partnerships Act 1992, as amended. Our head and registered office is 73 Front Street, 5th Floor, Hamilton HM 12, Bermuda, and our telephone number is +441 294 3309. Our units are listed on the NYSE and the TSX under the symbols "BBU" and "BBU.UN", respectively.
We were established by Brookfield Asset Management as its primary vehicle to own and operate business services and industrial operations on a global basis. On June 20, 2016, Brookfield Asset Management completed the spin-off of its business services and industrial operations to our company, which was effected by way of a special dividend of units of our company to holders of Brookfield Asset Management's Class A and B limited voting shares. Each holder of the shares received one unit for every 50 shares, representing approximately 45% of our units, with Brookfield retaining the remaining units. Prior to the spin-off, Brookfield effected a reorganization so that our then-current operations are held by the Holding Entities, the common shares of which are wholly-owned by Holding LP. In consideration, Brookfield received a combination of our units, general partnership units, redemption-exchange units of the Holding LP and Special LP Units. Brookfield currently owns 68% of our company on a fully exchanged basis. BBU General Partner, our general partner, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management. In addition, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Brookfield Asset Management provide management services to us pursuant to our Master Services Agreement.
Recent Business Developments
The following table outlines significant transactions and events that transpired in our business during the year:
Date
 
Segment
 
Event
January 2017
 
Industrial Operations
 
On January 20, 2017, we sold our bath and shower products manufacturing business. We acquired this business at the beginning of the U.S. housing crisis which had severely reduced the business' revenue. We were able to reposition the business by appointing a new management team, redefining strategy, reducing costs, and focusing on new product development. In 2016, the business generated strong sales and ran a lean operation, making it an opportune time for us to monetize the business and recycle capital. Based on our approximate 40% interest in the business, our share of the proceeds after transaction and other costs was $141 million, with an accounting gain of approximately $84 million, net of taxes.
April 2017
 
Industrial Operations
 
On April 25, 2017, together with institutional partners, we invested approximately $1 billion to acquire a 70% controlling stake in the core water, wastewater and industrial water treatment business of Odebrecht Ambiental. A future payment to the seller of up to R$350 million may be made should the business achieve certain performance milestones in the three years after acquisition. On May 30, 2017, we purchased an 87.5% direct interest in Odebrecht Ambiental Ativos Maduros S.A., a BRK Ambiental joint venture in related assets for $116 million, with the partnership's share being $43 million. The businesses were subsequently renamed to “BRK Ambiental”. Our share of the equity commitment was $383 million, representing an economic ownership in the company of approximately 26%.
May 2017
 
Business Services
 
On May 10, 2017, together with institutional partners, we acquired an 85% controlling stake in Greenergy Fuels Holdings Limited (“Greenergy”), with the remaining 15% held by the company’s management team. Our share of the equity commitment was approximately £36 million (approximately $45 million), representing an economic ownership in the company of approximately 14%.
July 2017
 
Business Services
 
On July 17, 2017, together with institutional partners, we completed the acquisition of 213 retail gas stations and associated kiosks in Canada through BCP IV Service Station LP ("fuel marketing business") for approximately $423 million which was funded with debt and equity. The share of the equity investment attributable to unitholders was approximately $43 million for an approximate 26% ownership interest in the business.

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August 2017
 
Energy
 
On August 15, 2017, we sold an oil and gas producer ("Insignia Energy") in Western Canada. We first invested in this business in 2008 and throughout the years, the business had assembled a high-quality portfolio of natural gas resource properties, which represented a strong asset base and a significant drilling inventory in Western Canada. However, the business had been impacted by substantially lower commodity prices, instead of investing additional capital to maintain production, we decided to divest this business. Based on our approximate 38% ownership interest in the business, our share of the proceeds after transaction and other costs was $9 million, resulting in a net loss of approximately $16 million, net of taxes.
September 2017
 
Energy
 
On September 25, 2017, together with institutional partners, we acquired a 60% stake in Teekay Offshore ("marine energy services business"). The share of the equity investment attributable to unitholders was $317 million and included an approximate 25% ownership interest in the business, participation in a loan payable by Teekay Offshore, warrants issued by Teekay Offshore, and an ownership share of Teekay Offshore's General Partner.
September 2017
 
Corporate and Other
 
On September 26, 2017, the partnership issued 13,340,000 limited partnership units at a price of $30 per unit, for gross proceeds of approximately $400 million before equity issuance costs of approximately $8 million. Concurrently, Holding LP issued 6,945,000 million redemption-exchange units to Brookfield at $28.80 per unit for additional proceeds of approximately $200 million. The unit offering resulted in a decrease in Brookfield's ownership in the partnership from 75% to 69%.
October 2017
 
Business Services
 
On October 2, 2017, together with institutional partners, we provided a $123 million first lien secured loan to Total Environment Group. Our share of the investment was approximately $32 million.
October 2017
 
Corporate and Other
 
On October 26, 2017, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 1,000,500 units at a price of $30.00 per unit, for gross proceeds of approximately $30 million less equity issuance costs of approximately $1 million. The exercise of over-allotment resulted in a decrease in Brookfield's ownership in the partnership from 69% to 68%.
January 2018
 
Business Services
 
On January 4, 2018, together with institutional partners, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Westinghouse Electric Company (“Westinghouse”) for an initial purchase price of approximately $4.6 billion, expected to be funded with approximately $1 billion of equity, approximately $3 billion of long-term debt financing and the balance by the assumption of certain pension, environmental and other operating obligations. Closing of the transaction remains subject to bankruptcy court approval and customary closing conditions is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2018. Prior to or following closing, a portion of our investment may be syndicated to other institutional investors.
January 2018
 
Industrial Operations
 
On January 5, 2018, together with institutional partners, we reached a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Schoeller Allibert Group B.V. (“Schoeller Allibert”) for a purchase price of approximately €205 million. The founding Schoeller family will continue to hold the remaining interest in Schoeller Allibert. Closing of the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to be in the second quarter of 2018. Prior to or following closing, a portion of our investment may be syndicated to other institutional investors.
January 2018
 
Business Services
 
On January 23, 2018, together with institutional partners, we closed our transaction with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, in partnership with our gaming partner, to operate and manage three gaming facilities in the Greater Toronto Area (the "GTA Bundle") for a minimum period of 22 years. Our partnership has the option to develop a new site and extend the concession period by 10 years. Our share of the equity investment attributable to unitholders was approximately C$22 million for an approximate 13% ownership interest in the business.
February 2018
 
Industrial Operations
 
On February 15, 2018, our graphite electrode manufacturing business completed a $1.5 billion debt offering and used approximately $400 million of the proceeds to pay down existing debt and distributed the balance of approximately $1.1 billion to its shareholders. Our share of the distribution was approximately $380 million. Recently, there have been significant developments at the business which positioned the business for materially improved financial and operational results. We executed on our operational improvement strategy realizing annualized savings and completed a long-term contracting initiative, executing 3 to 5 year take or pay contracts, for between 60% to 65% of our production capacity, at a weighted average selling price of $9,700/MT.

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Consistent with our company's strategy and in the normal course of business, we are engaged in discussions, and have in place various binding and/or non-binding agreements, with respect to possible business acquisitions and dispositions. However, there can be no assurance that these discussions or agreements will result in a transaction or, if they do, what the final terms or timing of such transactions would be. Our company expects to continue current discussions and actively pursue these and other acquisitions and disposition opportunities.
Since the spin-off, we have made approximately $309 million of capital expenditures, primarily in our industrial operations and energy segments. We are pursuing additional projects consistent with our strategy, as described in Item 4.B., "Business Overview". For a description of our principal capital expenditures in the last three fiscal years by segment, see Item 5.A, ‘‘Operating Results’’.
4.B.    BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Overview
We are a business services and industrials company, focused on owning and operating high-quality businesses that are either low-cost producers and/or benefit from high barriers to entry. We are Brookfield's primary vehicle for business services and industrial operations. Our principal business services include construction services, residential real estate services, facilities management, and road fuel distribution and marketing. Our principal industrial operations are comprised of oil and gas exploration and production, marine energy services, palladium and aggregates mining, the production of graphite electrodes, the manufacturing and supply of engineered precast systems and pipe products, and the distribution, collection, and treatment of water. Prior to the spin-off, we acquired from Brookfield our initial operations, which we refer to as the Business.
The charts below provide a breakdown of total assets of $15.8 billion as at December 31, 2017 and revenue of $22.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017 by operating segment and region.
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We seek to build value through enhancing the cash flows of our businesses, pursuing an operations-oriented acquisition strategy and opportunistically recycling capital generated from operations and dispositions into our existing platforms, new acquisitions and investments. We look to ensure that each of our businesses has a clear, concise business strategy built on its competitive advantages, while focusing on profitability, sustainable operating, product margins and cash flows. We emphasize downside protection by utilizing business plans that do not rely exclusively on top-line growth or excessive leverage.
We plan to grow by acquiring positions of control or significant influence in businesses at attractive valuations and by enhancing earnings of the businesses we operate. In addition to pursuing accretive acquisitions within our current platforms, we will opportunistically pursue transactions to build new platforms or make investments where our expertise, or the broader Brookfield platforms, provide insight into global demand for goods and commodities to source acquisitions that are not available or obvious to competitors. We may partner with others, primarily institutional capital, to make acquisitions that we may not otherwise be able to make on our own. Accordingly, an integral part of our strategy is to participate with institutional investors in Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored consortiums for single asset acquisitions and as a partner in or alongside Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored partnerships that target acquisitions that suit our profile. Brookfield has a strong track record of leading such consortiums and partnerships and actively managing underlying assets to improve performance. Brookfield has agreed that it will not sponsor such arrangements that are suitable for us in the business services and industrial operations sectors unless we are given an opportunity to participate. See Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions—Relationship Agreement".
Business Services
Our business services principally provide services relating to facilities management, road fuel distribution and marketing, residential real estate, logistics, and financial advisory, where the broader Brookfield platform provides a competitive advantage. Our focus is on building high-quality platforms benefiting from barriers to entry through scale and predictable, recurring cash flows and where quality of service and/or a global footprint are competitive differentiators. In keeping with our overall strategy, we seek to pursue accretive acquisitions to grow our existing platforms and create new ones and to opportunistically make investments where our operating footprint provides us with an advantage in doing so.
Our business services are typically defined by medium to long-term contracts, which include the services to be performed and the margin to be earned to perform such services. While we still retain overall timing, volume of services and performance risks, there is limited risk to the actual margin earned to provide the services. The result is stable long-term margins which allow management to focus on the successful performance of services and generating new business. Our business services activities are seasonal in nature and affected by the general level of economic activity and related volume of services purchased by our clients.
Many of our clients consist of corporations and government agencies. These customers are often large credit-worthy counterparties thereby reducing risks to cash flow streams. The goodwill that we have created with our customers gives us the ability to generate future business through the cross-selling of other services, particularly in connection with global clients, where consistency of performance on a global basis is important.

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The charts below provide a breakdown of revenues for our business services segment by region and business unit for the year ended December 31, 2017.
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The table below provides a breakdown of revenues for our business services segment by region:
 
Year Ended December 31,
(US$ Millions)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
United Kingdom
$
12,125

 
$
44

 
$
58

Canada
2,453

1,102

1,102

 
763

Brazil
672

 
1

 
2

United States
451

 
500

 
586

Australia
376

 
340

 
274

Other
147

 
19

 
8

Total
$
16,224

 
$
2,006

 
$
1,691

Facilities Management
Our integrated facilities management ("IFM") business manages over 30,000 locations and over 300 million square feet across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia with a goal of delivering services that drive sustainable cost reductions for our clients.
Our facilities management business provides design and project management, professional services and strategic workplace consulting to customers from sectors that range from government, military, financial institutions, utilities, industrial and corporate offices. Our contract expirations range from month-to-month to 25 years. We seek to provide a cost effective outsourcing alternative for IFM services to our customers by leveraging our scale, expertise and self-perform capabilities. We believe that we are differentiated from our competitors as a result of 20 years of developed best practices in our core competency of being a "hard facilities management" provider via our mobile fleet of technicians and in-house expertise and our integrated technology platform that allows customers to obtain real time insight into all aspects of their facilities. Our IFM business benefits from high retention rates, which we believe demonstrates our ability to add value to our customers.
These businesses have largely been built on an "outsourcing" model—providing services that are often deemed non-core to the operations of our customers' business. We believe that there is a growing trend where organizations are increasingly looking to outsource their real estate facilities management services, which therefore provides several opportunities for new business and expansion.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Road Fuel Distribution and Marketing
We are a provider of road fuel distribution in the U.K. with significant import and storage infrastructure, an extensive distribution network, and long-term diversified customer relationships. Included in the revenue and direct operating costs for this business is a duty payable to the government of the U.K. which is recorded gross within revenues and direct costs, without impact on the margin generated by the business. In addition, our fuel marketing business has strong customer loyalty through the PC Optimum loyalty program and is one of the largest gas station networks in Canada, with 213 retail gas stations and associated convenience kiosks.
Residential Real Estate Service
We provide services to residential real estate brokers through franchise arrangements under a number of brands in Canada, including the nationally recognized brand Royal Lepage, and in the United States through a joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway, operating under the brand name Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, which was established in 2012. We also directly operate residential brokerages in select cities in Canada and provide valuations and related analytic services to financial institutions in Canada where we process an average of 180,000 residential property appraisals per year.
We also provide condominium management services and are the largest condominium property management company in Ontario, Canada with over 80,000 units under management.
Logistics
We are a full service provider of relocation and related consulting services to individuals and institutions on a global basis. With offices in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, we have the expertise and resources to provide globally integrated, customizable services to our clients. Client contracts are typically executed for three to five year terms. We identify opportunities from different sources, including through relationships with current and former clients, subscriber services, suppliers and other partners within the industry and through internal business development. With the number of suppliers involved in an employee's relocation or assignment, effective supply chain management is crucial to the overall success of a company's mobility program. We maintain a network of independent suppliers that enables us to support our clients and their transferred employees around the world. Our dedicated supply chain management team is focused on supplier selection, training and performance and handles the screening, selection, monitoring and managing of our supplier network. A portion of our business service activity is seasonal in nature and is affected by the general level of economic activity and related volume of services purchased by our clients. For example, most moves typically occur in the spring and summer months, during school year breaks and we also experience peaks in activity from some government clients corresponding with the start of their fiscal year.
We also operate five high-quality, modern cold storage facilities in Canada with inventory management and customer service capabilities.
Financial Advisory Services
Our financial advisory services business provides merger and acquisition advisory, debt placement, project finance, asset brokerage and structured transaction services with expertise in real assets, particularly property, power and infrastructure. We operate on a global basis with an expanding network that includes offices in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Construction Services
Our construction services business is a global contractor with a focus on high-quality construction, primarily on large-scale, complex landmark buildings and social infrastructure. Construction projects are generally delivered through contracts whereby we take responsibility for design, program, procurement and construction for a defined price. Our business is based on a subcontractor model where we engage reputable specialists to perform specific scopes of work and whose obligations mirror those contained within the main construction contract. A smaller part of the business is construction management whereby we charge a fee for coordination of the sub-trades employed by the client. Founded in Perth, Australia in 1962, our construction services business was acquired by Brookfield as part of the privatization of Multiplex Group in 2007. Some of our landmark projects include Principal Place in London, King Street Wharf in Sydney, Fiona Stanley Hospital and Optus Stadium in Perth and City of Lights Office in Abu Dhabi. Today, we operate in Australia, Europe and the Middle East across a broad range of sectors, including: office, residential, hospitality and leisure, social infrastructure, retail and mixed use properties. We are also strategically targeting markets in Canada and India.

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The table below provides a breakdown of revenues for our construction services segment by region:
 
Year Ended December 31,
(US$ Millions)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Australia
$
2,508

 
$
2,150

 
$
2,011

United Kingdom
1,501

 
1,395

 
963

Middle East
590

 
732

 
688

Other
51

 
110

 
171

Total
$
4,650

 
$
4,387

 
$
3,833

A significant portion of our revenue is generated from large projects, the results of our construction operations can fluctuate quarterly and annually depending on whether and when large project awards occur and the commencement and progress of work under large contracts already awarded. However, we believe the financial strength and stability of our construction services business and the mature and robust risk management processes we have adopted position us to effectively service our current client base and attract new clients. Historically, approximately two thirds of our work has been competitively tendered, with the balance being staged or direct negotiations. We identify opportunities from a number of different sources: for example, through invitations to tender, direct request from clients and/or their consultants and internal business development. We review available contracts and decide which contracts to pursue based on different factors including size, duration, experience, geographic location, margins and risk associated with the contract and/or client. Generally, we are required to post between 5% and 10% of contract value as performance security under our contracts. The guarantees and bonds issued to clients are typically secured by indemnities against subcontractors. At December 31, 2017, our backlog of construction projects was approximately $8.7 billion, with a weighted average remaining project life of 2.0 years.
The charts below provide a breakdown of backlog for our construction services segment by sector and region as at December 31, 2017.
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Our clients benefit from our ability to share knowledge and resources across our business, as well as Brookfield's broader platforms, applying international best-practice initiatives and our experience to their projects. In addition, we seek to execute each project using a tailored approach that also includes our commitment to safety and quality and the benefit of a deep supplier and subcontractor network. Our client base includes both private and public sector entities which, combined with our geographical spread, provides some protection against market fluctuations driven by economic cycles.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Growth prospects differ from region to region. In Australia, we have strong market positions in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth but have opportunities for growth in Brisbane and in other large regional centers. In Europe, we believe our most compelling growth opportunity is to increase our market share in U.K. private sector work, primarily in the commercial and residential spaces in London, as well as future opportunities in social infrastructure. In the Middle East, we proactively reduced the scale of our operations over the past year, only contracting under strict terms and conditions for certain clients. The region is experiencing a period of economic and political adjustment, with reduced liquidity for developers and as such we have adjusted our targets and forecasts in the region.
Other markets that we have been strategically targeting are Canada and India. Our first project in Canada was in 2010 when we secured the contract to oversee the completion of a large hotel & residential tower project in downtown Toronto. Since then we have secured other projects covering the commercial, hotel and residential sectors. We are now also leveraging our global experience to assist local developers with how to best integrate construction considerations into early development plans. We have a very small presence in the Indian market, and together with a local partner, we consider opportunities to pursue high-quality, large, complex buildings projects for sophisticated private developers across India.
We believe we are well-positioned in the industry for the following principal reasons:
•
Our large and diverse global construction business.  Since 1962, our business has delivered over $70 billion of work to date and approximately 1,000 projects across diverse sectors and geographies for a varied client base. Our projects under contract at December 31, 2017 were valued at almost $16 billion, consisting of 95 projects. Our global platform provides us with access to leading edge construction techniques and technologies and a deep supply chain network. The size, geographical and sector spread of our global business limits our exposure to concentration risk, whether in relation to client, project, subcontractor or country risk.
•
Our strong market position, extensive experience and proven track record.  We have received numerous industry awards for innovative design, which demonstrates our ability to deliver leading solutions to fit our clients' needs. A strong market position in our principal regions, Australia, Europe and the Middle East, allows us to attract top talent and secure competitive pricing from our subcontractors. We have long-standing and positive relationships with many subcontractors across the regions in which we operate. This allows us to be more selective in the projects we bid and consequently increases the likelihood of tender and delivery success. We are conscious of our market share in any given region and what is sustainable given market dynamics and resource availability.
•
Our strong risk management culture.  We aim to outperform in all aspects of construction, including commercial and operational risk management, to deliver both a safe and rewarding project. Governance of risk commences at a very early stage and involves all levels of the business. Any commitment to bid on a project requires agreement through a formal credit committee process, and robust credit charters are in place for each region, identifying standard acceptable commercial risk profiles. As part of our disciplined approach, we maintain and document project controls across all regions, including through the use of a project communication application, review of subcontractor financial strength, appropriate subcontractor security and comprehensive insurance reviews.
•
Our track record is underpinned by our high level of contracted revenue.  With little or no debt in the business and with our focus on cost, schedule, safety and quality, we are able to consistently complete complex projects. Our repeated delivery of successful outcomes for clients facilitates the replacement of our projects under contract. We believe that our ability to withstand changing economic cycles is a testament to the strength and proficiency of our business and team.
Industrial Operations
Our industrial operations segment consists primarily of (i) specialty metal and aggregates mining operations in Canada, (ii) select industrial manufacturing operations, comprised principally of the global production of graphite electrodes and the manufacturing of infrastructure support products in Canada, and (iii) the distribution, collection, and treatment of water in Brazil.

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The table below provides a breakdown of revenues for our industrial operations by region:
 
Year Ended December 31,
(US$ Millions)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Brazil
$
580

 
$
51

 
$
18

Canada
486

 
532

 
460

Europe
314

 
261

 
117

United States
203

 
365

 
260

Other
79

 
71

 
37

Total
$
1,662

 
$
1,280

 
$
892

The charts below provide a breakdown of revenues for our industrial operations segment by region and business unit for the year ended December 31, 2017.
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Specialty Metals and Aggregates Mining
Our mining operations currently consist of a limestone aggregates quarry located in northern Alberta, that supplies the Alberta oil sands industry, and a palladium mining operation that has been operating the Lac des Iles mine, or LDI mine, located in Ontario, Canada since 1993.
Our industrial minerals operations in Alberta are principally comprised of the operation and development of a limestone mine located in the heart of the Athabasca oil sands region approximately 60 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Current operations are focused on the sale of limestone aggregates to large oil sands customers that require significant quantities of aggregates to build out roads, bridges, lay down areas, facility pads, dams, water systems and other critical infrastructure. In addition to our current limestone mining operations, we also hold leases for limestone and other minerals covering approximately one million acres in the surrounding area that encompass a large portion of the mineable Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta.

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Consolidation in the platinum group metals industry throughout 2017 has resulted in our palladium mining operation being the only pure play producer of palladium globally. Palladium is a specialty metal in the platinum group of metals, primarily used in the manufacture of catalytic converters for automobiles. We acquired the mine by converting our senior secured loan position, which we have held since 2013, into an ownership position when the mine underwent a recapitalization in 2015. Since acquiring control of the mine, we have embarked on several initiatives targeted at expanding production and reserves and reducing cash costs. There are very few palladium producing regions worldwide and few known economically viable ore bodies. Russia and South Africa, which are known to be higher-risk jurisdictions, account for approximately 80% of global palladium production. Growth in palladium mine supply is constrained, due to political, infrastructure cost and labour issues in South Africa, declining palladium production in Russia and a limited number of new projects on the horizon in the near term.
The primary underground deposits on our property are the Offset and Roby zones. The mine presently uses both a ramp and a shaft to access underground operations which currently employs both the long hole open stope and sub-level shrinkage mining method. Ore from the underground mine is blended with low grade stockpiles on surface to feed the mill. During September 2017, the mill transitioned to full-time processing from the previous 14-day on 14-day off batch schedule.
Our palladium mining operation has exploration potential near the LDI mine, where a number of growth targets on its properties have been identified, and is engaged in an exploration program aimed at increasing its palladium reserves and resources. As an established precious metals producer on a permitted property, the operation has the potential to convert exploration success into production and cash flow.
Graphite Electrodes Production
We are a manufacturer of a broad range of high quality graphite electrodes. Graphite electrodes are essential to the production of electric arc furnace ("EAF") steel. A significant portion of our sales is tied to the steel production industry. We also manufacture petroleum needle coke, which is the key raw material in the production of graphite electrodes. We completed the acquisition of this business in August 2015, at what we believe was a low point in the industry cycle, driven primarily by oversupply and downward price pressure in the steel market.
Graphite electrodes are key components of the conductive power systems used to produce steel and non-ferrous metals. Approximately 90% of our graphite electrodes sold are consumed in the EAF steel melting process, the steel making technology used by all "mini-mills". The vast majority of these mini-mills use alternating electric current and typically use nine electrodes (three columns of three) at one time. These mini-mills consume approximately three graphite electrodes every eight to ten operating hours when operating at a typical number of production cycles. We believe that mini-mills constitute the higher long-term growth sector of the steel industry and that there is currently no commercially viable substitute for graphite electrodes in EAF steel making. The remaining approximately 10% of electrodes sold are primarily used in various other ferrous and non-ferrous melting applications, BOF production, fused materials, chemical processing, and alloy metals.
The total manufacturing time of a graphite electrode and its associated connecting pin is on average approximately six months from needle coke production to customer delivery. We manufacture graphite electrodes ranging in size up to 30 inches in diameter and over 11 feet in length, and weighing as much as 5,900 pounds (2.6 metric tons). The manufacture of graphite electrodes includes six main processes: screening of raw materials (needle coke) and blending with coal tar pitch followed by forming, or extrusion, of the electrode, baking the electrode, impregnating the electrode with a special pitch that improves strength, re-baking the electrode, graphitizing the electrode using electric resistance furnaces, and machining.
We purchase other raw materials from a variety of sources and believe that the quality and cost of our raw materials on the whole is competitive with those available to our competitors. Our needle coke production allows us to be the only vertically integrated graphite electrode manufacturer. We believe that we are the world's second largest petroleum-based needle coke producer and assuming normal annual maintenance, a product mix of only normal premium petroleum needle coke production and related by-products, the annual capacity is approximately 140,000 metric tons and currently supply a substantial portion of graphite electrode facilities' needle coke requirements.

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Our manufacturing facilities principally consist of four graphite electrode facilities located in Spain, France, the United States and Mexico, a petroleum needle coke facility in the United States, an electrode machining center in Brazil and specialty graphite and carbon products manufacturing facilities and sales offices across the globe. We currently have the operating capability, depending on product demand and mix, to manufacture approximately 195,000 metric tons of graphite electrodes. Our strategy is to be a low-cost, high quality producer in an industry where there are high barriers to entry given the high capital investment and the extensive product, process and material science knowledge required in the production process.
We sell our products globally and primarily through our direct sales force, independent sales representatives and distributors, all of whom are trained and experienced with our products. We have a large customer technical service organization, with supporting application engineering, scientific groups, and engineers and specialists around the world.
Infrastructure Support Products Manufacturing
Our operations manufacture and market a comprehensive range of infrastructure products and engineered construction solutions. We service in a diverse cross-section of industries in Canada, as well as selected markets globally. These markets include Canada's national and regional public infrastructure markets and private sector markets in agricultural drainage, building construction and natural resources.
The demand for our products is cyclical and is driven by public infrastructure spending, commercial development, natural resources activity, residential construction and agricultural drainage requirements. We generate our business by participating in bids for our engineered precast products and, for our other products, through established customer relationships with a diverse base of clients across industries and end-markets.
Water Distribution and Sewage Treatment
During the second quarter of 2017, we acquired a controlling stake in the largest private water company in Brazil, which we renamed BRK Ambiental. BRK Ambiental provides water and sewage services to a broad range of residential, industrial, commercial and governmental customers. These services include water and sewage collection, treatment and distribution. BRK Ambiental operates primarily through long-term, inflation-adjusted concession and Public Private Partnerships ("PPP") contracts with municipalities or take-or-pay contracts with industrial customers throughout Brazil. As part of its service contract, the company invests significant capital to improve and expand the service offerings. The company currently serves over 15 million people with an average remaining contract duration of 25 years.
Energy
Our energy operations leverage the history and pedigree of Brookfield as an owner and operator of capital intensive and/or commodity-related businesses. Our energy operations business has been built using the acquisition strategy that we have adopted for our business generally and is comprised of a marine energy services business held through an equity affiliate; Canadian oil and gas exploration and production, principally through our coal-bed methane, or CBM, platform in Alberta, Canada; offshore Western Australia oil and gas exploration and production held through an equity affiliate; and well servicing and contract drilling operations primarily located in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, or WCSB.
The table below provides a breakdown of revenues for our energy operations by region:
 
Year Ended December 31,
(US$ Millions)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Canada
$
276

 
$
212

 
$
316

United States
1

 
62

 
17

Australia
—

 
12

 
4

Other
3

 
—

 
—

Total
$
280

 
$
286

 
$
337


49
Brookfield Business Partners

The charts below provide a breakdown of revenues and assets for our energy segment by region for the year ended and as at December 31, 2017.
chart-73e2f6c9ab5d8f65869.jpg
 
chart-4d5c17a9a74cfc1dfad.jpg
Marine Energy Services
Our marine energy services business is an international provider of marine transportation, off-shore oil production, facility storage, long-distance towing and offshore installation, maintenance and safety services to the oil industry. As a fee-based business focused on critical services, it has limited direct commodity exposure and the company has a substantial portfolio of medium to long-term, fixed-rate contracts with high quality, primarily investment grade counterparties. In addition, most services the business provides have high switching costs, represent a modest part of the overall cost of production and are required for its customers to generate revenue.
Specifically, our marine energy services business operates shuttle tankers (highly specialized vessels with dynamic positioning systems used for offloading from offshore oil installations), FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading units), FSOs (floating storage and offloading units) and long-haul towage vessels, also with highly specialized capabilities including dynamic positioning. The business operates in selected oil regions globally, including the North Sea (Norway and United Kingdom), Brazil and Canada.
Oil and Gas Operations
Our global oil and gas properties produce approximately 97,000 boe/d1,2,3, of which 46,000 boe/d3 is from our Canadian properties, and 51,000 boe/d2,3 is from our Australian properties. 99% of production from our Canadian properties is natural gas and 75% of production from our Australian properties is contracted offshore natural gas.
Operational results and financial condition are dependent upon the prices received for oil and gas production. Oil and gas prices have fluctuated widely in recent years. Such prices are primarily determined by economic and political factors. Supply and demand factors, as well as weather and conditions in other oil and gas regions of the world also impact prices. Any upward or downward movement in oil and gas prices could have an effect on the oil and gas platform's financial condition.
Canadian Oil and Gas Operations
Our CBM properties are characterized by long-life, low-decline reserves located at shallow depths and are low-risk with low-cost drilling and production with little to no associated water. We believe this ensures an ability to generate cash flow break even in a low underlying commodity price environment. Our CBM properties are located along the Horseshoe Canyon coal trend in the central part of the Province of Alberta and include over 7,000 miles of gathering pipelines and a significant number of facilities with the capacity to process over 500 MMcf/d of natural gas.

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50

We have implemented a hedging policy for our Canadian operations using, amongst other instruments, collars and fixed price swaps to hedge our gross natural gas production on a three year rolling basis, including a minimum of 50% in year one, 30% in year two and up to 10% for year three. Currently, our Canadian operations have 48 Bcf of natural gas hedged in 2018 and 13 Bcf of natural gas hedged in 2019. These hedging activities could expose our company to losses or gains.
Australian Oil and Gas Operations
Our Australian properties were acquired in June 2015 and are held through a joint venture formed prior to the acquisition. As at December 31, 2017, our company's equity accounted portion in such properties was approximately 9%. Our Australian business is focused on low-cost, base producing assets with low-risk development projects. We produce approximately 51,000 boe/d1,3 of oil and gas from nine fields, being one of the largest suppliers of natural gas into the Western Australian domestic market. Our operations also benefit from a vast exploration portfolio covering more than ten million net acres and critical onshore and offshore infrastructure, comprised of interests in three domestic gas plants and two floating production, storage and offloading vessels that produce oil for the Asian oil markets.
Our strategy is to deliver stable, natural-gas weighted production and strong free cash flow due to our predicable reservoir performance, low cost of production and established infrastructure position. We will also pursue growth initiatives based on (i) a gas-focused exploitation strategy leveraging existing infrastructure, (ii) identified, low-risk infill and sidetrack drilling in existing oil producing fields and (iii) a balanced oil and gas focused exploration strategy seeking to advance our portfolio of exploration acreage into new productive areas. We also expect external growth opportunities may surface in the current market environment, and we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on such opportunities by virtue of our established operations in the region, our position in the domestic gas market and our infrastructure position, which currently has capacity that allows for growth.
Our Australian operations and resulting cash flows are comparatively sheltered from commodity movements, with 115 MMboe of total company oil and gas reserves (not our company's net equity interest) hedged or contracted at December 31, 2017. Our strong existing customer base and attractive long-term contract profile are enhanced further through a long-term gas sales agreement with an existing customer, one of the largest users of natural gas in Western Australia. Under the terms of our arrangement, we have a long-term "take or pay" contract commencing in 2020 at a base price that compares favorably to our full-cycle supply cost. The result of these arrangements is that approximately 80% of our oil and gas production volumes are subject to customer contracts or fixed price swaps in 2018.
____________________________________
(1) 
We have adopted the standard of 6 Mcf:1 Bbl when converting natural gas to oil equivalent. BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf:1 Bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6 Mcf:1 Bbl, utilizing a conversion ratio at 6 Mcf:1 Bbl may be misleading as an indication of value. All production data is presented as property working interest, before deduction of royalties.
(2) 
Represents full company interest production, not our company's equity interest.
(3) 
Property working interest, but before deduction of royalties.

Well Servicing Operations
Our energy operations also include contract drilling and well-servicing operations, primarily located in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, or WCSB. In November 2017, we closed the acquisition of a competitor’s Canadian business operations to become the largest production servicing platform in Western Canada by operating hours Source: Canadian Association of Oilfield and Drilling Contractors, or CAODC., which now includes 149 service rigs, ten coil rigs, nine telescopic double drilling rigs and 13 swabbing rigs. A significant portion of the servicing revenue is derived from large national and international oil and gas companies which operate in Alberta, Canada. Our well servicing operations have continued to experience industry leading utilization. We are well positioned to adjust to our customers oilfield servicing needs and explore opportunities that would give our platform increase size to accommodate such.
We experience seasonality in this business, as the ability to move heavy equipment safely and efficiently in Western Canadian oil and gas fields is dependent on weather conditions. Additionally, our well servicing operations are impacted by the cyclical nature of the oil and gas sector. Volatility of commodity prices and changes in capital and operating budgets of upstream oil and gas companies impact the level of drilling and servicing activity.
Corporate and Other
Corporate and other includes corporate cash and liquidity management, as well as activities related to the management of the partnership's relationship with Brookfield.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Our Growth Strategy
We seek to build value through enhancing the cash flows of our businesses, pursuing an operations-oriented acquisition strategy and opportunistically recycling capital generated from operations and dispositions into our existing platforms, new acquisitions and investments. We look to ensure that each of our businesses has a clear, concise business strategy built on its competitive advantages, while focusing on profitability, sustainable operating product margins and cash flows. We emphasize downside protection by utilizing business plans that do not rely exclusively on top-line growth or excessive leverage.
We plan to grow by acquiring positions of control or significant influence in businesses at attractive valuations and by enhancing earnings of the businesses we operate. In addition to pursuing accretive acquisitions within our current operations, we plan to opportunistically build new platforms or make investments where our expertise, or the broader Brookfield platforms, provide insight into global demand for goods and commodities to source acquisitions that are not available or obvious to competitors.
We offer a long-term ownership structure to companies whose management teams are seeking additional sources of capital but prefer not to be public as a standalone business. From time to time, we will recycle capital opportunistically, but we will have the ability to own and operate businesses for the long-term.
Consistent with Brookfield's history as an owner/operator, our strategy is to:
•build and operate businesses with sustainable cash flows to reduce risk and lower cost of capital;
•utilize an active management approach focused on strategic, operational and/or financial improvements;
•acquire businesses on a value basis; deploying contrarian thinking to target out of favor sectors; and
•
make direct acquisitions or add-on acquisitions within existing platforms and/or in sectors where we believe we possess competitive advantages.
In addition, we may make opportunistic investments in private and public securities of businesses where we can leverage our operating footprint or the broader Brookfield platform to provide us with a competitive advantage.
Intellectual Property
Our company and the Holding LP have each entered into a licensing agreement with Brookfield pursuant to which Brookfield has granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the name "Brookfield" and the Brookfield logo. Other than under this limited license, we do not have a legal right to the "Brookfield" name and the Brookfield logo.
Brookfield may terminate the licensing agreement effective immediately upon termination of our Master Services Agreement or with respect to any licensee upon 30 days' prior written notice of termination if any of the following occurs:
•
the licensee defaults in the performance of any material term, condition or agreement contained in the agreement and the default continues for a period of 30 days after written notice of the breach is given to the licensee;
•
the licensee assigns, sublicenses, pledges, mortgages or otherwise encumbers the intellectual property rights granted to it pursuant to the licensing agreement;
•
certain events relating to a bankruptcy or insolvency of the licensee; or
•the licensee ceases to be an affiliate of Brookfield.
A termination of the licensing agreement with respect to one or more licensees will not affect the validity or enforceability of the agreement with respect to any other licensees.
Governmental, Legal and Arbitration Proceedings
We are not currently subject to any material governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings which may have or have had a significant impact on our company's financial position or profitability, nor are we aware of any such proceedings that are pending or threatened.
We are occasionally named as a party in various claims and legal proceedings which arise during the normal course of our business. We review each of these claims, including the nature of the claim, the amount in dispute or claimed and the availability of insurance coverage. Although there can be no assurance as to the resolution of any particular claim, we do not believe that the outcome of any claims or potential claims of which we are currently aware will have a material adverse effect on us.

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Facilities
Our principal registered offices located in Bermuda, with our operations primarily located in Canada, Australia, Europe, the United States, Brazil and the Middle East. In total, we lease and own approximately 2.9 million square feet and 4.5 million square feet of space, respectively, across these locations for such operations, including office, warehouse and manufacturing space. We consider our primary facilities are:
•
Approximately 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse facilities in the United States related to our graphite electrode manufacturing business;
•
Approximately 3.6 million square feet of office, retail, and manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Canada related to our infrastructure support products manufacturing business, our logistics businesses, and our fuel marketing business; and
•
Approximately 0.7 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Europe related to our graphite electrode manufacturing business.
Our leases expire at various times during the coming years. We believe that our current facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our current needs and that suitable additional or substitute space will be available as needed to accommodate continuing and expanding of our operations.

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Brookfield Business Partners

4.C.    ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Organizational Chart
The chart below represents a simplified summary of our organizational structure. All ownership interests indicated below are 100% unless otherwise indicated. "GP Interest" denotes a general partnership interest and "LP Interest" denotes a limited partnership interest. Certain subsidiaries through which Brookfield Asset Management holds units of our company and the redemption-exchange units have been omitted. This chart should be read in conjunction with the explanation of our ownership and organizational structure below.
a4corgcharta01.jpg
____________________________________

Brookfield Business Partners
54

(1) 
Public holders of our units currently own approximately 63% of our units and Brookfield currently owns approximately 37% of our units. Our company's sole direct investment is a managing general partnership interest in the Holding LP. Brookfield also owns a limited partnership interest in the Holding LP through Brookfield's ownership of redemption-exchange units and Special LP Units. Brookfield indirectly owns 100% of the redemption-exchange units of Holding LP, which represent 49% of our units on a fully diluted basis. The redemption-exchange units are redeemable for cash or exchangeable for our units in accordance with the Redemption-Exchange Mechanism, which could result in Brookfield owning approximately 68% of our units issued and outstanding, with public holders of our units owning approximately 32% of the units of our company issued and outstanding, in each case on a fully exchanged basis. Brookfield's interest in our company consists of a combination of our units and general partner interests, the redemption-exchange units and the Special LP Units. The Special LP units entitle the holder to receive incentive distributions. See Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Incentive Distributions". The BBU General Partner has adopted a distribution policy pursuant to which we intend to make quarterly cash distributions to public holders of our units. In general, quarterly cash distributions will be made from distributions received by our company on its Managing General Partner Units. Distributions of available cash (if any) by the Holding LP will be made in accordance with the Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement, which generally provides for distributions to be made by the Holding LP to all owners of the Holding LP's partnership interests (including the Managing General Partner Units owned by us and the Special LP Units and redemption-exchange units owned by Brookfield) on a pro rata basis. Our company currently owns approximately 66 million Managing General Partner Units and Brookfield currently owns approximately 63 million redemption-exchange units and four Special LP Units. However, if available cash in a quarter is not sufficient to pay the quarterly distribution amount, currently $0.0625 per unit, to the owners of all the Holding LP interests, then we can elect to defer distributions on the redemption-exchange units and accrue such deficiency for payment from available cash in future quarters. See "Distribution Policy" and Item 10.B., "Description of the Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement—Distributions".
(2) 
The Holding LP currently owns, directly or indirectly, all of the common shares or equity interests, as applicable, of the Holding Entities. Brookfield has subscribed for $5 million of preferred shares of each of CanHoldco and two of our other subsidiaries, which preferred shares will be entitled to vote with the common shares of the applicable entity. Brookfield currently has an aggregate of 1% of the votes of each of the three entities.
(3) 
Certain of the operating businesses and intermediate holding companies that are directly or indirectly owned by the Holding Entities and that directly or indirectly hold our operations are not shown on the chart. All percentages listed represent our economic interest in the applicable entity or group of assets, which may not be the same as our voting interest in those entities and groups of assets. All interests are rounded to the nearest one percent and are calculated as at the date of this Form 20-F.
The following table provides the percentage of voting securities owned, or controlled or directed, directly or indirectly, by us, and our economic interest in our operating businesses included in our organizational chart set out above.
Significant Subsidiaries
Jurisdiction of
Organization
 
Voting Securities
 
Economic Interest
Construction Services
 
 
 
 
 
Multiplex
Australia
 
100
%
 
100
%
Business Services
 
 
 
 
 
Greenergy Fuels Holdings Limited
United Kingdom
 
85
%
 
14
%
BGIS Global Integrated Solutions Canada L.P.
Canada
 
100
%
 
26
%
Industrial Operations
 
 
 
 
 
GrafTech International Ltd.
United States of America
 
100
%
 
34
%
BRK Ambiental
Brazil
 
70
%
 
26
%
North American Palladium Ltd.
Canada
 
92
%
 
23
%
Energy
 
 
 
 
 
Ember Resources Inc.
Canada
 
100
%
 
41
%
Our Company
Our company was established on January 18, 2016 as a Bermuda exempted limited partnership registered under the Bermuda Limited Partnership Act, and the Bermuda Exempted Partnerships Act of 1992, as amended. Our head and registered office is 73 Front Street, 5th Floor, Hamilton HM 12, Bermuda and our telephone number is +441 294-3309.
On June 20, 2016, Brookfield Asset Management completed the spin-off of its business services and industrial operations to our company, which was effected by way of a special dividend of units of our company to holders of Brookfield Asset Management's Class A and B limited voting shares. We are Brookfield's flagship public company for its business services and industrial operations and the primary entity through which Brookfield owns and operates these businesses on a global basis. We are positioned to provide unitholders with the opportunity to benefit from Brookfield's global presence, operating experience, execution capabilities and relationships.

55
Brookfield Business Partners

Holding LP
Our company's sole direct investment is a managing general partnership interest in the Holding LP. Brookfield owns units of our company and indirectly owns 100% of the redemption-exchange units of the Holding LP that, in aggregate, represent approximately a 68% interest in our company, assuming that all of the redemption-exchange units of Holding LP are exchanged for units of our company pursuant to the redemption-exchange mechanism. Brookfield also owns a special limited partnership interest in the Holding LP that entitles it to receive incentive distributions from the Holding LP. See Item 10.B., "Description of the Holding LP Limited Partnership Agreement—Distributions" and "Related Party Transactions—Incentive Distributions".
Our Service Providers
The Service Providers, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Brookfield Asset Management, provide management services to us pursuant to our Master Services Agreement. The senior management team that is principally responsible for providing us with management services include many of the same executives that have successfully overseen and grown Brookfield's business services and industrial operations, including Cyrus Madon who is a Senior Managing Partner of Brookfield Asset Management and Head of its Private Equity Group.
The BBU General Partner
The BBU General Partner, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, has sole authority for the management and control of our company. Holders of our units, in their capacities as such, may not take part in the management or control of the activities and affairs of our company and do not have any right or authority to act for or to bind our company or to take part or interfere in the conduct or management of our company. See Item 10.B., "Memorandum and Articles of Association—Description of our Units and our Limited Partnership Agreement".
Holding Entities
Our company indirectly holds its interests in our operating businesses through the Holding Entities, which are recently formed entities. The Holding LP owns, directly or indirectly, all of the common shares or equity interests, as applicable, of the Holding Entities. In addition, Brookfield has subscribed for $5 million of preferred shares of each of CanHoldco and two of our other subsidiaries. See Item 7.B., "Related Party Transactions—Relationship Agreement" for further detail.
4.D.    PROPERTY, PLANTS AND EQUIPMENT
See Item 4.B., "Business Overview".
ITEM 4A.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
ITEM 5.    OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
5.A.    OPERATING RESULTS
Introduction
This management’s discussion and analysis of our operating results and financial condition included in Item 5. of this Form 20-F, or MD&A, of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. and subsidiaries, (collectively, the partnership, or we, or our), covers the financial position of our partnership as at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015. The information in this MD&A should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements as at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and each of the years in the three years ended December 31, 2017 included elsewhere in this Form 20-F, which are prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.
In addition to historical information, this MD&A contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. See ‘‘Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements’’ in the forepart of this Form 20-F.
Continuity of Interests
On June 20, 2016, Brookfield completed the spin-off of the partnership by way of a special dividend of a portion of our limited partnership units to holders of Brookfield's Class A and B limited voting shares (the "spin-off"). On June 1, 2016, we acquired substantially all of the business services and industrial operations of Brookfield, and received $250 million in cash from Brookfield. In consideration, Brookfield received (i) approximately 55% of our LP Units, and 100% of our GP Units, (ii) Special LP Units, and redemption-exchange units of the Holding LP, representing an approximate 52% limited partnership interest in

Brookfield Business Partners
56

Holding LP, and (iii) $15 million of preferred shares of certain of our subsidiaries. As at December 31, 2017, Brookfield holds an approximate 68% ownership interest in the partnership on a fully exchanged basis. Holders of the GP Units, LP Units, Special LP Units, and Redemption-Exchange Units will be collectively referred to throughout this MD&A as "unitholders". The LP Units and Redemption-Exchange Units have the same economic attributes in all respects, except that the Redemption-Exchange Units may, at the request of Brookfield, be redeemed in whole or in part for cash in an amount equal to the market value of one LP Unit multiplied by the number of Redemption-Exchange Units to be redeemed (subject to certain adjustments). As a result, Brookfield, as holder of the Redemption-Exchange Units, participates in earnings and distributions on a per unit basis equivalent to the per unit participation of the LP Units of the partnership. However, given the redemption feature referenced above and the fact that they were issued by our subsidiary, we present the Redemption-Exchange Units as a component of non-controlling interests.
Brookfield directly and indirectly controlled the Business prior to the spin-off and continues to control the partnership subsequent to the spin-off through its interests in the partnership. Accordingly, we have reflected the Business and its financial position and results of operations using Brookfield's carrying values prior to the spin-off.
To reflect the continuity of interests, this MD&A provides comparative information of the Business for the periods prior to the spin-off, as previously reported by Brookfield.
Basis of Presentation
For periods prior to the spin-off on June 20, 2016, our results represent a carve out of the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and cash flows of the Business that was contributed to us and included allocations of general corporate expenses of the pre-spin-off business. These expenses, prior to the spin-off, relate to certain operational oversight functions and associated information technology, facilities and other overhead costs and have been allocated based on headcount. These allocated expenses have been included, as appropriate, in our consolidated statements of operating results prior to the spin-off. These allocations may not, however, reflect the expense we would have incurred as an independent publicly traded company for the periods presented. Subsequent to the spin-off, we no longer allocated general corporate expenses of the parent company as the functions to which they related to are now provided through the Master Services Agreement with Brookfield.
We also discuss the results of operations on a segment basis, consistent with how we manage and view our business. Our operating segments are: (i) construction services, (ii) business services, (iii) energy, (iv) industrial operations, and (v) corporate and other.
Non-IFRS measures used in this MD&A are reconciled to or calculated from such financial information. All dollar references, unless otherwise stated, are in millions of U.S. Dollars. Australian Dollars are identified as "A$", Brazilian Reais are identified as "R$", British Pounds are identified as "£", and Canadian Dollars are identified as "C$".
Overview of our Business
The partnership is a Bermuda exempted limited partnership registered under the Bermuda Limited Partnership Act of 1883, as amended, and the Bermuda Exempted Partnerships Act of 1992, as amended.

We were established by Brookfield to be its flagship public partnership for its business services and industrial operations. Our operations are primarily located in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil and the Middle East. The partnership is focused on owning and operating high quality businesses that are low cost producers and/or benefit from high barriers to entry. We seek to build value through enhancing the cash flows of our businesses, pursuing an operations oriented acquisition strategy and opportunistically recycling capital generated from operations and dispositions into our existing operations, new acquisitions and investments. The partnership’s goal is to generate returns to unitholders primarily through capital appreciation with a modest distribution yield.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Operating Segments
We have five operating segments which are organized based on how management views business activities within particular sectors:
i.
Business services, including facilities management, road fuel distribution and marketing, residential real estate, logistics and financial advisory services;
ii.
Construction services, which include construction management and contracting services;
iii.
Industrial operations, including select manufacturing, mining, and distribution operations; 
iv.
Energy operations, including oil and gas production, marine energy services and related businesses; and
v.
Corporate and other, which includes corporate cash and liquidity management, and activities related to the management of the partnership's relationship with Brookfield.
The charts below provide a breakdown by operating segment of total assets of $15.8 billion as at December 31, 2017 and of total revenues of $22.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017.
chart-6fcba86a698bce59cec.jpg
 
chart-b82c7610d7b94dede2a.jpg
Business Services
The majority of our revenue in this segment is generated from Greenergy, our road fuel storage and distribution business, with our facilities management business, relocation services business and fuel marketing business also contributing significant revenues.
Our road fuel storage and distribution business is the largest provider of road fuels in the United Kingdom with significant import and storage infrastructure, an extensive distribution network and long-term customer relationships. Included in the revenue and direct operating costs for this business is a duty payable to the government of the U.K. which is recorded gross within revenues and direct costs, without impact on the margin generated by the business. We completed the acquisition of Greenergy on May 10, 2017.
Within our facilities management business, we provide property management, building operations and maintenance and other value-added solutions, as well as strategic advisory services to a variety of customers across various sectors including government, military, financial institutions, utilities, industrial and corporate offices. During the year ended December 31, 2017, our facilities management business completed a tuck-in acquisition and began to expand operations in Asia.
Through our relocation services business, we provide global employee relocation and related services to individuals and institutions and earn various fees by managing the process of employee relocation, home sale and expense management on behalf of our clients.

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On July 17, 2017, we acquired 213 retail gas stations and associated convenience kiosks of a fuel marketing business in Canada, which we believe already benefits from significant scale and strong customer loyalty through the PC Optimum loyalty program. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we began rebranding the gas stations to Mobil and we expect to complete the rebranding process in 2018.
Some of our business services activities are seasonal in nature and are affected by the general level of economic activity and related volume of services purchased by our clients.
Construction Services
Our construction services business is a global contractor with a focus on high-quality construction, primarily on large-scale and complex landmark buildings and social infrastructure. Construction projects are generally delivered through contracts whereby we take responsibility for design, program, procurement and construction for a defined price. The majority of construction activities are typically subcontracted to reputable specialists whose obligations mirror those contained within the main construction contract. A smaller part of the business is construction management, whereby we charge a fee for coordination of the sub-trades employed by the client. We are typically required to provide warranties for completed works, either as specifically defined in a client contract or required under local regulatory requirements. We issue bank guarantees and insurance bonds to clients and receive guarantees and/or cash retentions from subcontractors.
We recognize revenue and costs by reference to the stage of completion of the contract activity at the reporting date, measured as the proportion of contract costs incurred for work performed to date relative to the estimated total contract costs. A large portion of construction revenues and costs are earned and incurred in Australia and Europe, and are impacted primarily by the fluctuations in the Australian Dollar and British Pound. Given the cyclical nature of the construction industry and because a significant portion of our revenue is generated from large projects, the results from our construction operations can fluctuate quarterly and annually, depending on the level of work during a period. As we operate across the globe, our business is impacted by the general economic conditions and economic growth of the particular region in which we provide construction services.
Industrial Operations
Our industrial operations segment includes manufacturing, mining and distribution activities in a variety of businesses. During the second quarter of 2017, we acquired a controlling stake in the largest private water company in Brazil ("BRK Ambiental"). BRK Ambiental provides water and sewage services, including collection, treatment and distribution, to a broad range of residential, industrial, commercial and governmental customers through long-term, inflation-adjusted concession, PPP and take-or pay contracts throughout Brazil. We believe the business can capture a growing share of the water and sewage improvements planned in Brazil over the next two decades, enabling the deployment of significant additional capital with stable, attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Our industrial operations segment also includes a manufacturer of graphite electrodes, and needle coke products used in the production of graphite electrodes. Graphite electrodes are primarily used in electric arc furnaces in mini-mill steel making and a significant portion of our sales are to the steel production industry. We completed the acquisition of this business in August 2015, at what we believe was a low point in the industry cycle, driven primarily by the oversupply and downward price pressure in the steel market. This is a capital-intensive business with significant barriers to entry and requires technical expertise to build and profitably operate. We have streamlined our processes with shorter lead times, lower costs, higher quality products and superior service, which should allow us to generate cash flows and returns as we come out of the trough in this cyclical business. We have seen tightness of graphic electrode supply and higher demand in 2017, which has led to a substantial increase in pricing.
In June 2015, we acquired operations that manufacture and market a comprehensive range of infrastructure products and engineered construction solutions. We acquired these operations by converting our term loan position, which we acquired in 2011, into an ownership position pursuant to a plan of arrangement under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada). Prior to the recapitalization, our consolidated results included interest and fees on our loan position. We manufacture and market corrugated high-density polyethylene pipe, or HDPE pipe, corrugated steel pipe, or CSP, and other drainage related products, including small bridge structures. We also manufacture and market engineered precast concrete systems such as parking garages, bridges, sport venues and building envelopes, as well as standard precast concrete products, such as steps, paving stones and utility vaults. We service customers in a diverse cross-section of industries that are located in every region of Canada, including Canada's national and regional public infrastructure markets and private sector markets in agricultural drainage, building construction and natural resources. Growth and profitability in these operations are directly impacted by the demand for infrastructure, but the diverse factors driving infrastructure investment activity generally result in relative stability of demand.
In addition, we hold interests in specialty metal and aggregates mining operations in Canada. The mining operations currently consist of a limestone aggregates quarry located in northern Alberta, Canada and the Lac des Iles, or LDI, mine in Ontario, Canada. The limestone quarry has 459.2 million tonnes of proven mineral reserves and 539.5 million tonnes of probable mineral reserves. Total sales volume for 2017 was 2.1 million tonnes.

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Brookfield Business Partners

As at May 29, 2017, the LDI mine had an estimated 38.5 million tonnes total proven and probable reserves with an average grade of 2.25 g/t palladium. The LDI mine has announced a new life of mine plan which increases production to an estimated 214,400 payable ounces of palladium per year over a 9.5-year mine life. The LDI mine has met and exceeded targeted underground production rate of 6,000 tonnes per day, ahead of the original 2017 production plan. Decommissioning liabilities relating to legal and constructive obligations for future site reclamation and closure of the mine sites are recognized when incurred and a liability and corresponding asset are recorded at management’s best estimate. Reclamation costs are secured by a letter of credit and estimated closure and restoration costs are provided for in the accounting period when the obligation arising from the related disturbance occurs.
Energy
Our energy business is primarily comprised of oil and gas exploration and production, principally through our coal-bed methane, or CBM, platform in central Alberta, Canada, and an offshore oil and gas operation that serves the Western Australian market. Our energy business now includes energy-related service operations in Canada, the North Sea and Brazil.
Our Canadian properties produce approximately 46,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or BOE/D, 99% of which is natural gas from our CBM platform, after disposing approximately 2,000 BOE/D of production during the year ended December 31, 2017. Our CBM properties are characterized by long-life, low-decline reserves located at shallow depths and are low-risk with low-cost capital projects. Revenue from the sale of oil and gas is recognized when title to the product transfers to the purchasers based on volumes delivered and contractual delivery points and prices. Revenue from the production of gas, in which we have an interest with other producers, is recognized based on our working interest. Revenues are exposed to fluctuations in commodity prices, however; we aim to enter into contracts to hedge production, when appropriate.
Our Western Australian properties were acquired in June 2015 and are held through an investment in an associate. We account for these operations by the equity method of accounting. Production at our Western Australian oil and gas operations is approximately 51,000 BOE/D, and we are one of the largest suppliers of gas into the Western Australian domestic market. The operations include critical infrastructure comprised of three domestic gas plants and two floating production, storage and offloading vessels. We recognize oil and natural gas revenues when working interest production is sold to a purchaser at fixed or determinable prices, when delivery has occurred and title has transferred and collectability of the revenue is reasonably assured. Revenues are exposed to fluctuations in commodity prices; however, for our natural gas production we aim to enter into long-term contracts and have hedged our shorter life conventional oil production through to the end of 2019. As at December 31, 2017, we had 115 million barrels of oil equivalent, or MMBOE of total company oil and gas reserves (not the partnership's net equity interest) under long-term contracts or financially hedged.
In our energy segment, we expect to incur future costs associated with dismantlement, abandonment and restoration of our assets. The present value of the estimated future costs to dismantle, abandon and restore are added to the capitalized costs of our assets and recorded as a long-term liability.
Our energy operations also include contract drilling and well-servicing operations, primarily located in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, or WCSB. Our energy-related contract drilling and well-servicing revenues are based upon orders and contracts with customers that include fixed or determinable prices and are based upon daily, hourly or contracted rates. A significant portion of the servicing revenue is derived from large national and international oil and gas companies which operate in Alberta, Canada. We experience seasonality in this business as the ability to move heavy equipment safely and efficiently in western Canadian oil and gas fields is dependent on weather conditions. Activity levels during the first and fourth quarter are typically the most robust, as the frost creates a stable ground mass that allows for easy access to well sites and easier drilling and service rig movement, while the second quarter is traditionally the slowest due to road bans during spring break up. During the year ended December 31, 2017, our Canadian well-servicing operation completed a tuck-in acquisition of the service and swabbing rig assets and ongoing operations of another well-servicing operation in the WSCB. In addition, our Canadian well-servicing operation completed a rights offering during the year which resulted in an increase in our economic interest in the business from approximately 39% to approximately 56%.
Our energy operations also include our equity interest in Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. ("Teekay Offshore"), a marine energy services business. As a fee-based business focused on critical services, the business has limited direct commodity exposure and has a substantial portfolio of medium to long-term, fixed-rate contracts with high quality, primarily investment grade counterparties. Our share of the equity investment attributable to unitholders in this marine energy services business was approximately $317 million and was completed on September 25, 2017.
Corporate and Other
Corporate and other includes corporate cash and liquidity management, as well as activities related to the management of the partnership's relationship with Brookfield.

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Outlook
We will seek to increase the cash flows from our operations through acquisitions and organic growth opportunities as described below. We believe our global scale and leading operating platform allows us to efficiently allocate capital around the world toward those sectors and geographies where we see the greatest opportunities to realize our targeted returns. We also actively seek to monetize assets on our balance sheet as they mature and reinvest the proceeds into higher yielding investment strategies, further enhancing returns.
Within our business services segment, we are continuing to grow our facilities management business globally to handle large multi-site client portfolios and increase self-perform service capabilities. We are also growing our road fuels marketing and distribution platform through tuck-in acquisitions, expanding into new regions and new product lines. At our newly acquired gaming facilities, our long-term growth strategy includes enhancing guest experience and expanding properties to incorporate state-of-the-art facilities, hotels and premier entertainment venues. Our construction services business is one of the strongest operators globally and we continue to win new work and increase our backlog in core markets as we focus on returning to more historical levels of profitability. Our industrial operations include a number of emerging businesses which have the potential to generate increased cash flows, the most significant business being GrafTech, our graphite electrode production operation. We have executed operational improvements and sales contracting initiatives and expect to generate significantly enhanced cash flows from the business over the next three to five years. We are pursuing an initial public offering of GrafTech’s shares. The proceeds distributed from the IPO will fund a meaningful part of our acquisition activity in the coming year, and a public listing of GrafTech will give us liquidity for our shares in the company in case we wish to redeploy capital in the future to fund our growth.
Subsequent to year-end, together with institutional partners we reached a definitive agreement to acquire an iconic American company, Westinghouse Electric Company (“Westinghouse”), for a purchase price of approximately $4.6 billion. Based in Pennsylvania, Westinghouse generates stable cash flows and its services and products are critical to the success of its customers. Its technology leads the industry and there are opportunities for growth within both existing and new markets, and Westinghouse continues to introduce its AP1000 design into many regions where nuclear capacity is increasing. In January 2018, we also entered into a definitive agreement alongside institutional partners to acquire a controlling interest in Schoeller Allibert, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of returnable plastic packaging systems. We believe the company is well positioned to be a leader in the returnable packaging industry which is growing from an increased global focus on sustainability, waste reduction, e-commerce and logistics automation. We also hope to replicate this partnership approach with family-owned businesses in Germany, and more broadly in Europe.
Geographically, our strategy is to take a long-term view on the regions where Brookfield has an established presence, and to invest further during periods of market weakness. For example, we recently acquired a 70% interest in BRK Ambiental, the largest private water company in Brazil, as that country emerges from recession. We believe there will be considerable opportunities to expand BRK Ambiental’s operations while achieving strong, risk adjusted returns on capital. In India, the government has made strides in making the operating and legal environments more investor friendly and the expected GDP growth rate is projected to be strong, making it another attractive market to invest in for the long-term.
The opportunities for our partnership to increase cash flows through acquisitions and organic growth are based on assumptions about our business and markets that management believes are reasonable in the circumstances. There can be no assurance as to growth in our cash flows, or capital deployed for acquisitions or organic growth. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" included in this Form 20-F.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Review of Consolidated Results of Operations
The table below summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. Further details on our results of operations and our financial performance are presented within the "Segment Analysis" section.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Change
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
(US$ Millions, except per unit amounts)
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017 vs 2016
 
2016 vs 2015
Revenues
 
$
22,823

 
$
7,960

 
$
6,753

 
$
14,863

 
$
1,207

Direct operating costs
 
(21,876
)
 
(7,386
)
 
(6,132
)
 
(14,490
)
 
(1,254
)
General and administrative expenses
 
(340
)
 
(269
)
 
(224
)
 
(71
)
 
(45
)
Depreciation and amortization expense
 
(371
)
 
(286
)
 
(257
)
 
(85
)
 
(29
)
Interest expense
 
(202
)
 
(90
)
 
(65
)
 
(112
)
 
(25
)
Equity accounted income, net
 
69

 
68

 
4

 
1

 
64

Impairment expense, net
 
(39
)
 
(261
)
 
(95
)
 
222

 
(166
)
Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net
 
267

 
57

 
269

 
210

 
(212
)
Other (expenses) income, net
 
(108
)
 
(11
)
 
70

 
(97
)
 
(81
)
Income (loss) before income tax
 
223

 
(218
)
 
323

 
441

 
(541
)
Current income tax (expense) recovery
 
(30
)
 
(25
)
 
(49
)
 
(5
)
 
24

Deferred income tax recovery (expense)
 
22

 
41

 
(5
)
 
(19
)
 
46

Net income (loss)
 
$
215

 
$
(202
)
 
$
269

 
$
417

 
$
(471
)
Attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Limited partners (1)
 
$
(58
)
 
$
3

 
$
—

 
$
(61
)
 
$
3

Brookfield Asset Management (2)
 
—

 
(35
)
 
208

 
35

 
(243
)
Non-controlling interests attributable to:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Redemption-Exchange Units held by Brookfield Asset Management (1)
 
(60
)
 
3

 
—

 
(63
)
 
3

Special limited partners
 
142

 
—

 
—

 
142

 
—

Interest of others in operating subsidiaries
 
191

 
(173
)
 
61

 
364

 
(234
)
 
 
$
215

 
$
(202
)
 
$
269

 
$
417

 
$
(471
)
Basic and diluted earnings per limited partner unit(3) (4) (5)
 
$
(1.04
)
 
$
0.06

 
 
 
 
 
 
____________________________________
(1) 
For the periods subsequent to June 20, 2016.
(2) 
For the periods prior to June 20, 2016.
(3) 
Average number of partnership units outstanding on a fully diluted time weighted average basis, assuming the exchange of redemption exchange units held by Brookfield Asset Management for limited partnership units, for the year ended December 31, 2017 was 113.5 million (2016: 92.9 million).
(4) 
Income (loss) attributed to limited partnership units on a fully diluted basis is reduced by incentive distributions paid to special limited partnership unitholders during the year ended December 31, 2017.
(5)
Comparative figures for the year ended December 31, 2015 are not representative of performance, as units were spun out on June 20, 2016.

Brookfield Business Partners
62

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016
For the year ended December 31, 2017, we reported net income of $215 million, with $24 million of net income attributable to unitholders. Our net income in 2017 was primarily attributable to the sale of our bath and shower products manufacturing business in January 2017, which resulted in a net gain on the disposition of $233 million, with an $84 million net gain attributable to unitholders, net of taxes. In addition, our industrial operations segment benefited from improved performance in our graphite electrode manufacturing business and our palladium mining operation. Our energy segment benefited from higher gas prices due to hedging and higher drilling rates and greater utilization of our rigs in our Canadian well-servicing operation. Our business services segment benefited from higher contributions from our residential real estate services and relocation services businesses, which were partially offset by lower contributions from our financial advisory services business. Net income was also partially offset by the $16 million loss on sale, net of taxes, of Insignia Energy in our energy segment, lower results in our construction services business, and higher management and corporate expenses. This compares to a net loss of $202 million, with a $29 million net loss attributable to unitholders, for the year ended December 31, 2016. The net loss during the year ended December 31, 2016 was primarily attributable to impairment charges related to the non-core assets held for sale within our graphite electrode manufacturing business and on an investment security in our energy segment. The decrease was also attributable to lower realized natural gas pricing and production in our Canadian energy operations as well as lower gains on acquisitions and dispositions relative to the year ended December 31, 2015.
Revenue
For the year ended December 31, 2017, revenue increased by $14,863 million, to $22,823 million, compared to $7,960 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in revenues was primarily due to the acquisition of Greenergy during the year. Included in the revenue and direct operating costs for Greenergy is duty payable to the government of the U.K. The duty is considered a production cost, rather than a sales tax, as Greenergy is obligated for the tax and passes this cost to the customer; this flow through duty amount is recorded gross within revenues and direct costs without impact on the margin generated by the business. In addition, the 2017 acquisitions of BRK Ambiental and our fuel marketing business both contributed to the incremental revenues during the year. Our facilities management business in our business services segment benefited from both higher project volumes and tuck-in acquisitions which resulted in increased revenues. Revenues in our construction services business increased as we continued to turn over a higher level of activity and maintain a consistent backlog. Revenues in our industrial operations segment increased due to improved pricing at our graphite electrode manufacturing business and increased sales volume and pricing at our palladium mining operations. This was partially offset by a decrease in revenues from the sale of our bath and shower products manufacturing business in our industrial operations segment in January 2017.
Direct Operating Costs
For the year ended December 31, 2017, direct operating costs increased by $14,490 million, to $21,876 million from $7,386 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in direct operating costs was primarily related to the acquisition of Greenergy during the year. As noted, included in the revenue and direct operating costs for Greenergy is a duty payable to the government of the U.K., which are recorded gross within revenues and direct costs without impact on the margin generated by the business. In addition, the acquisitions of BRK Ambiental and our fuel marketing business both contributed to the increase in direct operating costs during the year. Direct operating costs within our facilities management business, our graphite electrode manufacturing business, and our palladium mining operations also increased in line with revenues. Direct operating costs within our construction services business increased due to higher project costs in the Middle East. This was partially offset by a decrease in direct operating costs resulting from the sale of our bath and shower products manufacturing business.
General and Administrative Expenses
For the year ended December 31, 2017, general and administrative, G&A, expenses increased by $71 million to $340 million from $269 million from the same period in the prior year. G&A expenses increased due to the acquisitions of BRK Ambiental, Greenergy, and our fuel marketing business during the year, which contributed a total of $73 million to G&A expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017. G&A expenses also increased due to higher management fees and corporate expenses as only the latter half of 2016 relates to periods post spin-off. The increase was partially offset by the sale of our bath and shower products manufacturing business during the year, which had contributed approximately $30 million to G&A expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016.
Depreciation and Amortization Expense
Depreciation and amortization, D&A, expense includes depletion related to oil and gas assets, depreciation of property, plant and equipment, or PP&E, as well as the amortization of intangible assets. The highest contribution to D&A expense is from our industrial operations and energy segments. The D&A expense from our industrial operations segment is primarily depreciation on PP&E assets at our graphite electrode manufacturing operations and BRK Ambiental. The D&A expense in our energy segment is largely from our oil and gas assets, where PP&E is depleted on a unit-of-production basis over the proved plus probable reserves.

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Brookfield Business Partners

We use National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities, or NI 51-101, as the basis for defining and calculating proved and probable reserves for purposes of the D&A expense calculations. D&A is generally consistent year-over-year with large changes typically due to the addition or disposal of depreciable assets.
For the year ended December 31, 2017, D&A expense increased by $85 million compared to the same period ended December 31, 2016. The increase in D&A was mainly due to the acquisitions of BRK Ambiental, Greenergy, and our fuel marketing business during the year.
Interest Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2017, interest expense increased by $112 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase is due to the inclusion of borrowing costs related to BRK Ambiental, Greenergy, and our fuel marking business, all of which were acquired during the year.
Equity Accounted Income, net
For the year ended December 31, 2017, equity accounted income increased by $1 million relative to prior year. The increase was primarily related to the revaluation gain on the step up of an investment from a joint venture to a consolidated entity within our Western Australian energy operation, which was partially offset by the reorganization of the ownership group and a partial sell down to institutional partners in the latter half of 2016. The increase was further offset by the pick up of the net loss in our marine energy services business, which incurred transaction costs from the acquisition in September 2017 and recognized an impairment loss on one of its floating production storage and offloading units.
Impairment Expense, net
For the year ended December 31, 2017, impairment expense decreased by $222 million to $39 million from $261 million, when compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we recognized impairment on certain non-core assets held for sale within our graphite electrode manufacturing business in our industrial operations segment and on an intangible asset in our construction services segment. This impairment was substantially less than the impairment that was recognized on the aforementioned assets within our graphite electrode manufacturing business in the prior year. In addition, the decrease was also attributable to impairment recognized on an investment security held in our energy segment in the prior period.
Goodwill increased by $402 million to $1,554 million as at December 31, 2017, which was primarily due to the acquisitions of our fuel marketing business and Greenergy, as well as the positive effect of the fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates on the conversion of our construction services and facilities management operations' goodwill balances to USD. During the year ended December 31, 2017, these acquisitions generated goodwill of $315 million and there were no indicators of goodwill impairment since the acquisitions.
Gains on Acquisitions/Dispositions, net
For the year ended December 31, 2017, we recorded a net gain on dispositions of $267 million. These gains were primarily related to the sale of our bath and shower products manufacturing business in January 2017, in which we realized a gain of $233 million, or $84 million attributable to unitholders, net of taxes. We also disposed of public investment securities during the year ended December 31, 2017 in our energy, business services and industrial operations segments for realized gains of approximately $50 million, or $12 million attributable to unitholders. These gains were partially offset by the loss on the sale of Insignia Energy in our energy segment during the year. For the year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded a net gain on dispositions of $57 million primarily related to the sale of corporate bonds and equity securities in our energy and industrial operations segments.
Other (Expenses) Income, net
For the year ended December 31, 2017, other expenses of $108 million primarily related to provisions taken in our construction services business and a decrease on the revaluation of an investment security and warrants within our energy segment during the year. Also included in other expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017 were transaction costs incurred on the acquisitions and dispositions that were completed during the year, which were partially offset by unrealized gains on hedges in our Canadian energy operations and a bargain purchase gain recognized on an acquisition made by our Canadian well-servicing operations. For the year ended December 31, 2016, other expenses of $11 million primarily related to unrealized losses on the hedges in our Canadian energy operations, which were partially offset by derecognition gains related to the repurchase of bonds of our graphite electrode manufacturing business.

Brookfield Business Partners
64

Income Tax Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2017, current income tax expense was $30 million and deferred income tax recovery was $22 million, compared to a $25 million current income tax expense and a $41 million deferred income tax recovery in 2016. The increase in total tax expense to $8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to a total tax recovery of $16 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 was primarily attributable to the higher taxable income for the year ended December 31, 2017, which attracted a higher tax expense when compared to the pre-tax net loss for the same period in the prior year.
Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2017 was 3% (2016 - 7%), while our composite income tax rate was 27% (2016 - 27%). Our consolidated net income included income attributable to non-controlling ownership interests in flow through entities (for example, partnerships), while our consolidated tax provision includes only our proportionate share of the tax provision of these entities. This gave rise to a 17% reduction in our effective tax rate. In addition, the capital gain incurred on the sale of an investment in our industrial operations segment was subject to a 50% inclusion rate, giving a further 6% reduction in our effective tax rate.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015
For the year ended December 31, 2016, we reported a net loss of $202 million, with $29 million of the net loss attributable to unitholders and the parent company. This was due to higher impairment expenses, lower gains on acquisitions and dispositions and lower other income for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. During 2016, we recognized a $121 million impairment expense in our industrial operations segment related to our graphite electrode manufacturing business and a $137 million impairment expense on an investment security within our energy segment. In addition, the decrease was partially attributable to lower realized natural gas prices and production in our Canadian energy operations relative to 2015. This was partially offset by $57 million of one-time gains related to the sales of investment securities, and a higher contribution from our Western Australian energy operations during the year, which we had acquired in June 2015. This compares to net income of $269 million, with $208 million of net income attributable to the parent company for the year ended December 31, 2015. This was primarily attributable to $269 million of one-time gains related to the acquisitions made during 2015, and other income of $70 million primarily related to deferred fee and interest income on a loan to our palladium mining operations prior to acquiring control of the business.
Revenue
For the year ended December 31, 2016, revenue increased by $1,207 million, to $7,960 million, compared to $6,753 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in revenue was driven by a higher level of activity in our construction services segment and a higher contribution from our business services segment due to the acquisition of our U.S. data center facilities manager, as well as the completion of onboarding of projects won early in the year in our facilities management business. In addition, our industrial operations segment benefited from the acquisitions of our palladium mining operation and our graphite electrode manufacturing business completed in the latter half of 2015. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in revenue in our energy segment as our Canadian energy operations were impacted by weaker natural gas prices during the year.
Direct Operating Costs
For the year ended December 31, 2016, direct operating costs increased by $1,254 million, to $7,386 million, compared to $6,132 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in direct operating costs was driven by higher contributions from our construction services, business services and industrial operations segments, which were in line with revenue increases, as described above.
General and Administrative Expenses
For the year ended December 31, 2016, G&A expenses increased by $45 million to $269 million from $224 million, primarily due to the acquisitions completed within our industrial operations segment in the latter half of 2015 as a full year of G&A expenses related to the operations was incurred during the year ended December 31, 2016. In addition, G&A expenses increased due to the inclusion of management fees and corporate expenses of $17 million for the period related to post spin-off during the year ended December 31, 2016.
Depreciation and Amortization Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2016, depreciation and amortization expense increased by $29 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, largely as a result of the acquisition of our graphite electrode manufacturing business in August 2015. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in depletion expense in our Canadian energy operations resulting from an increase in the size of our reserve base.

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Brookfield Business Partners

Interest Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2016, interest expense increased by $25 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. This is primarily attributable to the increase in interest expense of $19 million in our industrial operations segment as a result of full year of interest expense associated with our graphite electrode manufacturing business acquired in August 2015.
Equity Accounted Income, net
For the year ended December 31, 2016, equity accounted income increased by $64 million relative to 2015. The income was largely contributed from our Western Australia energy operation, which we acquired in June 2015. The contribution from this operation increased as we realized gains on oil hedges and incurred lower exploration costs in 2016 when compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, which was partially offset by a reorganization and a partial sell down to institutional partners.
Impairment Expense, net
For the year ended December 31, 2016, impairment expense increased by $166 million when compared to the same period in 2015. In 2016, we recognized impairment expenses of $121 million on the non-core assets held for sale within our graphite electrode manufacturing business in our industrial operations segment and of $137 million related to an investment security held in our energy segment. The increase is primarily due to a lower amount of impairment expense that was recognized in our business services segment on a public security and in our energy segment due to a weaker commodity price environment.
We invested, as part of a Brookfield-led consortium, in TCEH Corp., a merchant power generator in Texas, that had filed for bankruptcy protection. Compared to our cost, the trading price of our debt investment declined and was recorded as a mark to market adjustment through Other Comprehensive Income (‘‘OCI’’), which was reflected in our spin-off equity. In October 2016, TCEH Corp. emerged from bankruptcy as Vistra Energy Corp. and we received proceeds, including equity securities, in exchange for our debt. We fair value our equity securities and have released the historical mark to market loss from OCI to the statement of operating results, resulting in an impairment expense for the year ended 2016.
In April 2016, our graphite electrode manufacturing business within our industrial operations segment entered into a plan to sell certain of its non-core business and as such, the related assets and liabilities have all been classified as asset held for sale. The fair value of the business was determined utilizing the market approach and as a result, the partnership recorded $121 million of impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2016 to align the carrying value with estimated fair value.
Goodwill increased by $28 million to $1,152 million as at December 31, 2016 primarily due to the acquisition of our U.S. data center facilities management business and our facilities management business, as well as foreign currency movements. During the year ended December 31, 2016, our acquisitions generated goodwill of $39 million and there have been no indicators of goodwill impairment since the acquisitions.
Gains on Acquisitions/Dispositions, net
For the year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded net gains on dispositions of $57 million. These gains were primarily related to the disposition of corporate bonds and equity securities held as available for sale investments in our energy and industrial operations segments. During 2016, we acquired debt and equity securities at attractive valuations in businesses with high quality assets and solid long-term fundamentals and opportunistically exited the majority of these securities later in the year. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the gain on acquisition/dispositions was $269 million which was primarily attributable to the gain on the acquisition of oil and gas assets within our Canadian CBM platform and of our infrastructure support manufacturing business. In addition, we recorded a gain on the step-up acquisition of our facilities management business during 2015.
Other Income (Expenses), net
For the year ended December 31, 2016, other expenses of $11 million related to unrealized losses on the hedges in our Canadian energy operations and corporate expenses related to the spin-off in June 2016, which were partially offset by derecognition gains related to the repurchase of bonds of our graphite electrode manufacturing business. For the year ended December 31, 2015, other income of $70 million primarily related to deferred fee and interest income on our loan investment to our palladium mining operation. Because we began consolidating this operation in 2016, the income was the result of the effective settlement of the preexisting; relationship on acquisition. Other income was also attributable to the revaluation gain recorded on Canadian dollar-denominated debt within our facilities management business.

Brookfield Business Partners
66

Income Tax Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2016, the current income tax expense was $25 million and the deferred income tax recovery was $41 million, compared to a $49 million current income tax expense and a $5 million deferred income tax expense for the same period in 2015. The change in total tax recovery to $16 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to a total tax expense of $54 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 was primarily attributable to the pre-tax net loss that occurred in 2016.
Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 was 7% (2015 - 17%), while our composite income tax rate was 27% (2015 - 27%). The primary reason for the difference in the effective and composite income tax rate in 2016 was that no deferred tax asset was recognized for a portion of the losses in 2016.
Summary of Results
Quarterly Results
Total revenues and net income (loss) for the eight most recent quarters were as follows:
(US$ Millions, except per unit amounts)
2017
 
2016
Q4
 
Q3
 
Q2
 
Q1
 
Q4
 
Q3
 
Q2
 
Q1
Three months ended
Revenues