JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIPS AND EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS

At December 31, 2016, the Company had investments in the following unconsolidated joint venture partnerships and equity method investments:



Locations	Net Investment		Interest Owned
Joint Venture Partnerships:
Alberta, Canada (2)	$	44.9	43.37	%
Florence, South Carolina	10.3		49.00	%
Equity Method Investments:
Various	3.3		various

The joint venture agreements that govern the conduct of business of these partnerships mandate unanimous agreement between partners on all major business decisions as well as providing other participating rights to each partner. The equity method investments represent the Company’s purchase of shares in clinical diagnostic companies. The investments are accounted for under the equity method of accounting as the Company does not have control of these investments. The Company has no material obligations or guarantees to, or in support of, these unconsolidated investments and their operations.

Effective June 30, 2015, the Company dissolved a joint venture partnership that had been located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Condensed unconsolidated financial information for joint venture partnerships and equity method investments is shown in the following table.



As of December 31:	2016		2015
Current assets	$	24.3	$	22.6
Other assets	16.9		19.2
Total assets	$	41.2	$	41.8
Current liabilities	$	15.5	$	17.3
Other liabilities	0.3		1.3
Total liabilities	15.8		18.6
Partners' equity	25.4		23.2
Total liabilities and partners’ equity	$	41.2	$	41.8



For the period January 1 - December 31:	2016		2015		2014
Net revenues	$	156.7	$	213.7	$	283.8
Gross profit	45.7		54.3		81.3
Net earnings	20.3		20.1		31.0

The Company’s recorded investment in one of its Alberta joint venture partnerships at December 31, 2016 includes $34.9 of value assigned to that partnership’s Canadian license to conduct diagnostic testing services in the province. Substantially all of the joint venture's revenue is received as reimbursement from the Alberta government's healthcare programs. While the Canadian license provides the joint venture the ability to conduct diagnostic testing in Alberta, it does not guarantee that the provincial government will continue to reimburse diagnostic laboratory testing in future years at current levels. A decision by the provincial government to limit or reduce its reimbursement of laboratory diagnostic services would have a negative impact on the profits and cash flows the Company derives from the joint venture. In December 2013, Alberta Health Services (AHS), the Alberta government's healthcare program, issued a request for proposals for laboratory services that included the scope of services performed by the Canadian partnership. In October 2014, AHS informed the Canadian partnership that it had not been selected as the preferred proponent. In November 2014, the Canadian partnership submitted a vendor bid appeal upon the belief that there were significant flaws and failures in the conduct of the request for proposal process, which drove to a biased conclusion. AHS established a Vendor Bid Appeal Panel to hear the appeal, and the hearing occurred in February 2015. In August 2015, AHS was directed to cancel the request for proposal process. Subsequently, the Canadian partnership entered into a one-year extension through March 31, 2017 of its existing contract with AHS. In August 2016, AHS and the Canadian partnership reached an agreement to extend the contract for five additional years through March 2022, with the intent to have the services provided pursuant to the contract transferred to AHS at the end of the five-year period. In consideration of AHS acquiring the assets and assuming liabilities in accordance with the parties’ agreement, AHS will pay CAD $50.0 to the partnership when the transfer is effective, subject to a working capital adjustment. The Company will amortize the value of the partnership's Canadian license to its residual over the remaining term of the agreement.