Discontinued Operations-K

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations

21.  Discontinued Operations

On March 10, 2015, a tribunal constituted under the auspices of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) awarded a subsidiary of the Company more than $455 million in an international arbitration against Venezuela related to the 2010 expropriation of the Company’s majority interest in two plants in that country.  On July 10, 2015, ICSID confirmed that it had received from Venezuela a petition to annul the award. The annulment process can take up to several years to complete.  The Company is unable at this stage to predict the amount or timing of compensation it will ultimately receive under the award. Therefore, the Company has not recognized this award in its financial statements.

A separate arbitration is pending with ICSID to obtain compensation primarily for third-party minority shareholders’ lost interests in the two expropriated plants.

The loss from discontinued operations of $4 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 relates to ongoing costs for the Venezuelan expropriation.

The loss from discontinued operations of $23 million for the year ended December 31, 2014 included a settlement of a dispute with a purchaser of a previously disposed business, as well as ongoing costs related to the Venezuelan expropriation.

The loss from discontinued operations of $18 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 included special termination benefits related to a previously disposed business, as well as ongoing costs related to the Venezuelan expropriation.