Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2014

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Table Text Block [Line Items]

Reconciliation of Change in Benefit Obligations for Plans

The following table provides a reconciliation of the change in the benefit obligations for the plans for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013
Beginning projected benefit obligation	$	164,294		$	158,008
Service cost		1,225			1,596
Interest cost		6,819			5,977
Actuarial loss		9,526			10,415
Curtailment gain		(899	)		(87	)
Total benefits paid		(5,597	)		(3,935	)
Plan participants’ contributions		56			12
Amendments		(97	)		(1,730	)
Effect of conversion to U.S. dollars		7,326			(5,962	)
Ending projected benefit obligation	$	182,653		$	164,294

Fair Values of Plan Assets by Asset Category

The fair values of the plan assets held by the Company by asset category for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in thousands):

						Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as:
	Fair Value at August 31, 2014		Asset Allocation			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Asset Category
Cash and cash equivalents	$	4,642		3	%	$	4,642	$	—		—
Equity Securities:
Global equity securities(a)		23,726		18	%		—		23,726		—
U.K. equity securities(b)		22,759		17	%		—		22,759		—
Debt Securities:
U.K. corporate bonds(c)		54,595		40	%		—		54,595		—
U.K. government bonds(d)		18,270		13	%		—		18,270		—
Other Investments:
Insurance contracts(e)		12,459		9	%		—		—		12,459
Fair value of plan assets	$	136,451		100	%	$	4,642	$	119,350	$	12,459
						Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as:
	Fair Value at August 31, 2013		Asset Allocation			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Asset Category
Cash and cash equivalents	$	4,598		4	%	$	4,598	$	—		—
Equity Securities:
Global equity securities(a)		21,637		18	%		—		21,637		—
U.K. equity securities(b)		20,923		18	%		—		20,923		—
Debt Securities:
U.K. corporate bonds(c)		43,949		38	%		—		43,949		—
U.K. government bonds(d)		14,257		12	%		—		14,257		—
Insurance Contracts:
Insurance contracts(e)		12,114		10	%		—		—		12,114
Fair value of plan assets	$	117,478		100	%	$	4,598	$	100,766	$	12,114

^(a)  Global equity securities are categorized as Level 2 and include investments that aim to capture global equity market returns by tracking the Financial Times (London) Stock Exchange (“FTSE”) AW-World (ex-UK) Index and other similar indexes in Canada.

^(b)  U.K. equity securities are categorized as Level 2 and include investments in a diversified portfolio that aims to capture the returns of the U.K. equity market. The portfolio tracks the FTSE All-Share Index and invests only in U.K. securities.

^(c)  U.K. corporate bonds are categorized as Level 2 and include U.K. corporate issued fixed income investments which are managed and tracked to the respective benchmark (AAA-AA-A Bonds-Over 15Y Index).

^(d)  U.K. government bonds are categorized as Level 2 and include U.K. government-issued fixed income investments which are managed and tracked to the respective benchmark (FTSE U.K. Over 15 Years Gilts Index and FTSE U.K. Over 5 Years Index-Linked).

^(e)  The assets related to The Netherlands plan consist of an insurance contract that guarantees the payment of the funded pension entitlements, as well as provides a profit share to the Company. The profit share in this contract is not based on actual investments, but, instead on a notional investment portfolio that is expected to return a pre-defined rate. Insurance contract assets are recorded at fair value, which is determined based on the cash surrender value of the insured benefits which is the present value of the guaranteed funded benefits. Insurance contracts are valued using unobservable inputs (Level 3 inputs), primarily by discounting expected future cash flows relating to benefits paid from a notional investment portfolio in order to determine the cash surrender value of the policy. The unobservable inputs consist of estimated future benefits to be paid throughout the duration of the policy and estimated discount rates, which both have an immaterial impact on the fair value estimate of the contract.

Reconciliation of Changes in Pension Plan Assets

The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the pension plan assets for the year between measurement dates for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013
Beginning fair value of plan assets	$	117,478		$	109,120
Actual return on plan assets		14,327			9,010
Employer contributions		4,008			3,743
Benefits paid from plan assets		(4,421	)		(3,582	)
Plan participants’ contributions		56			12
Effect of conversion to U.S. dollars		5,003			(825	)
Ending fair value of plan assets	$	136,451		$	117,478

Reconciliation of Funded Status of Plans to Consolidated Balance Sheets

The following table provides a reconciliation of the funded status of the plans to the Consolidated Balance Sheets for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013
Funded Status
Ending fair value of plan assets	$	136,451		$	117,478
Ending projected benefit obligation		(182,653	)		(164,294	)
Under or unfunded status	$	(46,202	)	$	(46,816	)
Consolidated Balance Sheet Information
Accrued benefit liability, current	$	(146	)	$	(117	)
Accrued benefit liability, noncurrent		(46,056	)		(46,699	)
Net liability recorded at August 31	$	(46,202	)	$	(46,816	)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
Net actuarial loss	$	48,858		$	47,147
Prior service cost		(1,594	)		(1,698	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, before taxes	$	47,264		$	45,449

Estimated Amount that will be Amortized from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Net Periodic Benefit Cost

The following table provides the estimated amount that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost in fiscal year 2015 (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
Recognized net actuarial loss	$	2,129
Amortization of prior service cost		(169	)
Total	$	1,960

Information for Plans with Accumulated Benefit Obligation in Excess of Plan Assets

The following table provides information for the plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	August 31,
	2014		2013
Projected benefit obligation	$	182,653	$	164,294
Accumulated benefit obligation		171,865		151,705
Fair value of plan assets		136,451		117,478

Information about Net Periodic Benefit Cost for Plans

The following table provides information about net periodic benefit cost for the plans for fiscal years 2014, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013			2012
Service cost	$	1,225		$	1,596		$	1,039
Interest cost		6,819			5,977			6,513
Expected long-term return on plan assets		(6,167	)		(5,308	)		(4,900	)
Recognized actuarial loss		2,817			2,474			1,207
Net curtailment gain		(107	)		(3,401	)		—
Amortization of prior service cost		(198	)		(184	)		(26	)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	4,389		$	1,154		$	3,833

Estimated Future Benefit Payments

The estimated future benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are as follows (in thousands):

Fiscal Year Ending August 31,	Pension Benefits
2015	$	4,869
2016		5,318
2017		5,466
2018		5,925
2019		7,072
Years 2020 through 2024		39,690

Benefit Obligations

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Table Text Block [Line Items]

Weighted-Average Actuarial Assumptions

Weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations for the plans for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 were as follows:

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013
Expected long-term return on plan assets		4.6	%		4.9	%
Rate of compensation increase		4.4	%		4.5	%
Discount rate		3.3	%		4.0	%

Net Periodic Benefit Cost

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Table Text Block [Line Items]

Weighted-Average Actuarial Assumptions

Weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the plans for fiscal years 2014, 2013 and 2012 were as follows:

	Pension Benefits
	2014			2013			2012
Expected long-term return on plan assets		5.1	%		4.9	%		5.1	%
Rate of compensation increase		4.0	%		4.5	%		4.0	%
Discount rate		3.0	%		4.0	%		3.9	%