Sale of Non-United States Accounts Receivable

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2011

Sale of Non-United States Accounts Receivable [Abstract]

SALE OF NON-UNITED STATES ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

NOTE 3 — SALE OF NON-UNITED STATES ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Pursuant to the terms of a Receivable Purchase Agreement (the “RPA”) between Greif Coordination Center BVBA, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Greif, Inc., and a major international bank, the seller agreed to sell trade receivables meeting certain eligibility requirements that seller had purchased from other indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Greif, Inc., including Greif Belgium BVBA, Greif Germany GmbH, Greif Nederland BV, Greif Packaging Belgium NV, Greif Spain SA, Greif Sweden AB, Greif Packaging Norway AS, Greif Packaging France, SAS, Greif Packaging Spain SA, Greif Portugal Lda and Greif UK Ltd, under discounted receivables purchase agreements and from Greif France SAS under a factoring agreement. This agreement is amended from time to time to add additional Greif entities. In addition, Greif Italia S.P.A. also an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Greif, Inc., entered into the Italian Receivables Purchase Agreement with the Italian branch of the major international bank (the “Italian RPA”) agreeing to sell trade receivables that meet certain eligibility criteria to such branch. The Italian RPA is similar in structure and terms as the RPA. The maximum amount of receivables that may be financed under the RPA and the Italian RPA is €115 million ($166.9 million) at July 31, 2011.

In October 2007, Greif Singapore Pte. Ltd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Greif, Inc., entered into the Singapore Receivable Purchase Agreement (the “Singapore RPA”) with a major international bank. The maximum amount of aggregate receivables that may be financed under the Singapore RPA is 15.0 million Singapore Dollars ($12.5 million) at July 31, 2011.

In October 2008, Greif Embalagens Industriais do Brasil Ltda., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Greif, Inc., entered into agreements (the “Brazil Agreements”) with Brazilian banks. There is no maximum amount of aggregate receivables that may be financed under the Brazil Agreements; however, the sale of individual receivables is subject to approval by the banks.

In May 2009, Greif Malaysia Sdn Bhd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Greif, Inc., entered into the Malaysian Receivables Purchase Agreement (the “Malaysian Agreements”) with Malaysian banks. The maximum amount of the aggregate receivables that may be financed under the Malaysian Agreements is 15.0 million Malaysian Ringgits ($5.1 million) at July 31, 2011.

The structure of the transactions provide for a legal true sale, on a revolving basis, of the receivables transferred from the various Greif, Inc. subsidiaries to the respective banks. The bank funds an initial purchase price of a certain percentage of eligible receivables based on a formula with the initial purchase price approximating 75 percent to 90 percent of eligible receivables. The remaining deferred purchase price is settled upon collection of the receivables. At the balance sheet reporting dates, the Company removes from accounts receivable the amount of proceeds received from the initial purchase price since they meet the applicable criteria of ASC 860, “Transfers and Servicing”, and continues to recognize the deferred purchase price in its accounts receivable. At the time the receivables are initially sold, the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the assets sold are included as a loss on sale in the consolidated statements of operations. The receivables are sold on a non-recourse basis with the total funds in the servicing collection accounts pledged to the banks between settlement dates.

At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, €112.8 million ($163.6 million) and €117.6 million ($162.9 million), respectively, of accounts receivable were sold under the RPA and Italian RPA. At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, 8.6 million Singapore Dollars ($7.1 million) and 6.7 million Singapore Dollars ($5.4 million), respectively, of accounts receivable were sold under the Singapore RPA. At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, 16.9 million Brazilian Reais ($11.0 million) and 11.7 million Brazilian Reais ($6.9 million), respectively, of accounts receivable were sold under the Brazil Agreements. At July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010, 10.7 million Malaysian Ringgits ($3.6 million) and 6.3 million Malaysian Ringgits ($2.0 million), respectively, of accounts receivable were sold under the Malaysian Agreements.

Expenses associated with the RPA and Italian RPA totaled €0.8 million ($1.1 million) and €0.8 million ($1.0 million) for the three months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively; and €2.3 million ($3.1 million) and €2.2 million ($2.9 million) for the nine months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Expenses associated with the Singapore RPA totaled 0.1 million Singapore Dollars ($0.1 million) and 0.1 million Singapore Dollars ($0.1 million) for the three months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively; and 0.3 million Singapore Dollars ($0.3 million) and 0.3 million Singapore Dollars ($0.3 million) for the nine months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Expenses associated with the Brazil Agreements totaled 0.8 million Brazilian Reais ($0.5 million) and 1.2 million Brazilian Reais ($0.7 million) for the three months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively; and 2.6 million Brazilian Reais ($1.6 million) and 3.3 million Brazilian Reais ($1.9 million) for the nine months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Expenses associated with the Malaysian Agreements totaled 0.2 million Malaysian Ringgits ($0.1 million) and were insignificant for the three months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively; and 0.6 million Malaysian Ringgits ($0.2 million) and 0.1 million Malaysian Ringgits ($0.1 million) for the nine months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Additionally, the Company performs collections and administrative functions on the receivables sold similar to the procedures it uses for collecting all of its receivables, including receivables that are not sold under the RPA, the Italian RPA, the Singapore RPA, the Brazil Agreements, and the Malaysian Agreements. The servicing liability for these receivables is not material to the consolidated financial statements.