NOTE 4 – PDMCX JOINT VENTURE

In January 2018, Photronics, through its wholly-owned Singapore subsidiary (hereinafter, within this Note “we”, or “Photronics”), and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., through its wholly-owned subsidiary “DNP Asia Pacific PTE, Ltd.” (hereinafter, within this Note, “DNP”) entered into a joint venture under which DNP obtained a 49.99% interest in our recently-established IC business in Xiamen, China, which includes a facility currently under construction. The joint venture, known as “Photronics DNP Mask Corporation Xiamen” (hereinafter, “PDMCX”), was established to develop and manufacture photomasks for leading edge and advanced generation semiconductors. We entered into this joint venture to enable us to compete more effectively for the merchant photomask business in China and to benefit from the additional resources and investment that DNP will provide to enable us to offer advanced-process technology to our customers. No gain or loss was recorded upon the formation of this joint venture.

As of January 27, 2019, Photronics and DNP had each contributed cash of approximately $48 million to the joint venture. We estimate that, over the next several years, and per the PDMCX operating agreement (the Agreement), DNP and Photronics will each contribute an additional $32 million of cash, a portion of which will be financed through local borrowings.

Under the Agreement, DNP is afforded, under certain circumstances, the right to put its interest in PDMCX to Photronics. These circumstances include disputes regarding the strategic direction of PDMCX that may arise after the initial two-year term of the Agreement and cannot be resolved between the two parties. In addition, both Photronics and DNP have the option to purchase, or put, their interest from, or to, the other party, should their ownership interest fall below 20% for a period of more than six consecutive months. Under all such circumstances, the sales of ownership interests would be at the exiting party’s ownership percentage of the joint venture’s net book value, with closing to take place within three business days of obtaining required approvals and clearance.

We recorded net losses from the operations of PDMCX of approximately $1.3 million, and $0.5 million during the three month periods ended January 27, 2019 and January 28, 2018, respectively. General creditors of PDMCX do not have recourse to the assets of Photronics, Inc., and our maximum exposure to loss from PDMCX at January 27, 2019, was $44.9 million.

As required by the guidance in Topic 810 - “Consolidation” of the Accounting Standards Codification, we evaluated our involvement in PDMCX for the purpose of determining whether we should consolidate its results in our financial statements. The initial step of our evaluation was to determine whether PDMCX was a variable interest entity (“VIE”). Due to its lack of sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, we determined that it was a VIE. Having made this determination, we then assessed whether we were the primary beneficiary of the VIE, and concluded that we were the primary beneficiary during the current and prior year reporting periods; thus, as required, the PDMCX financial results have been consolidated with Photronics, Inc. Our conclusion was based on the facts that we held a controlling financial interest in PDMCX (which resulted from our having the power to direct the activities that most significantly impacted its economic performance), had the obligation to absorb losses, and the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to PDMCX. Our conclusions that we had the power to direct the activities that most significantly affected the economic performance of PDMCX during the current and prior year reporting periods was based on our right to appoint the majority of its board of directors, which has, among others, the powers to manage the business (through its rights to appoint and evaluate PDMCX management), incur indebtedness, enter into agreements and commitments, and acquire and dispose of PDMCX’s assets. In addition, as a result of the 50.01% variable interest we held during the current and prior year periods, we had the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to PDMCX.

The carrying amounts of PDMCX assets and liabilities included in our condensed consolidated balance sheets are presented in the following table, together with our exposure to loss related to these assets and liabilities.

	January 27, 2019				October 31, 2018
Classification	Carrying Amount		Photronics Interest		Carrying Amount		Photronics Interest
Current assets	$	56,957	$	28,479	$	9,625	$	4,813
Non-current assets		91,963		45,982		43,415		21,708

Total assets		148,920		74,461		53,040		26,521

Current liabilities		34,544		17,272		21,205		10,603
Non-current liabilities		24,501		12,251		20		10

Total liabilities		59,045		29,523		21,225		10,613

Net assets	$	89,875	$	44,938	$	31,815	$	15,908