SEC Company Response from Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) (CIK 0000833444) (JCI) — Aug 16, 2006
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) (CIK 0000833444)
Date: Aug. 16, 2006 · CIK: 0000833444 · Accession: 0001104659-06-055578
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-13336
Referenced dates: July 31, 2006
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CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Tyco International Ltd. Second Floor 90 Pitts Bay Road Pembroke, HMO8, Bermuda Tele: 441 292 8674 August 15, 2006 Mr. Martin James Senior Chief Accountant Division of Corporation Finance United States Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, N.E. Mail Stop 6010 Washington, D.C. 20549 RE: Tyco International Ltd. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005 Filed December 9, 2005 Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 File No. 001-13336 Dear Mr. James: This letter contains responses to the Staff’s letter dated July 31, 2006 to Tyco International Ltd. (the “Company”), which sets forth the Staff’s comments regarding the above referenced documents. In connection with these responses to the Staff, we acknowledge the following: · The Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings; · Staff comments or changes to disclosures in response to Staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filings; and · The Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceedings initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. For ease of reference, we have repeated the Staff’s comments in bold text preceding each of our responses. For the convenience of the Staff, a copy of this letter has also been provided to Kate Tillan. Should you have any questions concerning the accompanying materials, please contact C. A. (John) Davidson, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at 609-720-4638. Very truly yours, /s/ Christopher J. Coughlin Christopher J. Coughlin Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mr. Martin James August 15, 2006 Copies to: Tyco International Ltd. William Lytton, Executive Vice President and General Counsel Carol A. Davidson, Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer John Jenkins, Vice President and Corporate Secretary Nancy Merola, Vice President and Assistant Controller Sam Eldessouky, Director Technical Accounting Research Gregory Barksdale, Corporate Securities Counsel Deloitte & Touche LLP James R. Flaherty, Deloitte & Touche Partner Michael Titta, Deloitte & Touche Partner 2 Tyco International Ltd. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures, page 64 1. We note your disclosure that management concluded that your disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance “that information required to be disclosed in [y]our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported as and when required.” The language that is currently included after the word “effective” in your disclosure appears to be superfluous, since the meaning of “disclosure controls and procedures” is established by Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act. However, if you do not wish to eliminate this language, please revise future filings so that the language that appears after the word “effective” is substantially similar in all material respects to the language that appears in the entire two-sentence definition of “disclosure controls and procedures” set forth in Rule 13a-15(e). The Company has considered the Staff’s comment and deleted the superfluous language in our June 30, 2006 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Our future filings will also reflect the updated language. 2. With respect to your reference to reasonable assurance, please note that you may also state clearly, if true, that your disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and that your principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that your disclosure controls and procedures are effective at that reasonable assurance level. In the alternative, remove the reference in future filings to the level of assurance of your disclosure controls and procedures. Please refer to Section II.F.4 of Management’s Reports on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in Exchange Act Periodic Reports, SEC Release No. 33-8238, available on our website at: http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/33-8238.htm. The Company has considered the Staff’s comment, and in our June 30, 2006 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we have revised our disclosure to state that our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives. We have removed other references as to the level of assurance of our disclosure controls and procedures. Our future filings will also reflect the updated language. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 34 Contractual Obligations, page 54 3. In the future filings please include a column reflecting the total amount of each type of contractual obligation. Please also include in the table in future filings your other long-term liabilities reflected on your balance sheet under U.S. GAAP. Please refer to Item 303(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. The Company has considered the Staff’s comment, and in our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we will include a column reflecting the total amount of each type of contractual obligation and include other long-term liabilities as applicable in the contractual obligations table. 3 Consolidated Financial Statements, page 75 Note 4. Discontinued Operations and Divestitures, page 99 4. On page 99 you disclose that you “determined that the book value of the A&E Products reporting unit was in excess of its estimated fair value which resulted in a goodwill impairment charge of $162 million.” Based upon this disclosure and the discussion of your goodwill impairment evaluation accounting policy on pages 89 and 49, it is not clear whether you calculate the amount of the goodwill impairment charge based upon the implied fair value of the goodwill. That is, your disclosure only appears to refer to the first part of the impairment test which compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. Please respond to the following: · Tell us how you determined the amount of any goodwill impairment charge included in your financial statements for each of the years in the three year period ended September 30, 2005 and for the six months ended March 31, 2006. That is, tell us how you determined the implied fair value of the goodwill and whether the amount of the impairment represents the excess of the carrying amount of that goodwill over its implied fair value. Please see paragraphs 20 – 21 of SFAS 142. When testing for goodwill impairment, the Company follows the guidance prescribed in SFAS 142 paragraphs 19-25. First, the Company performs a step I goodwill impairment test to identify a potential impairment. In doing so, the Company compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount using the guidance in paragraph 19 of SFAS 142. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired and a second step impairment test is not necessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, a step II goodwill impairment test is performed in accordance with paragraphs 20-21 of SFAS 142 to measure the amount of impairment loss. In the step II goodwill impairment test, the Company compares the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner that the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination is determined. The Company allocates the fair value of a reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit, including intangible assets, as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the reporting unit was the price paid to acquire the reporting unit. Any excess of the fair value of a reporting unit over the amounts assigned to its assets and liabilities is the implied fair value of goodwill. As disclosed in Note 12 in our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K, in 2003, Power Systems, Electrical Contracting Services and the Printed Circuit Group failed a step I goodwill test which identified a potential impairment. As a result, the Company then performed a step II goodwill impairment test to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. Goodwill was determined to be impaired and an aggregate impairment charge of $278 million was recorded for Power Systems, Electrical Contracting Services and the Printed Circuit Group. 4 As disclosed in Note 4 in our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K, in 2005, as a result of consideration for potential sale and deteriorating operating results in the A & E Products business, the Company performed an interim assessment of the recoverability of both goodwill and long-lived assets of its Plastics and Adhesives segment (which includes the A & E Products business). The A & E Products business failed a step I goodwill test which identified a potential impairment. As a result, the Company then performed a step II goodwill impairment test to measure the amount of impairment loss. Goodwill was determined to be impaired and an aggregate impairment charge of $162 million was recorded for A & E Products. During the fourth quarter of 2005, the A & E Products business, along with the rest of the Plastics and Adhesives segment, met both the held for sale and discontinued operations criteria as provided by SFAS 144 and was reclassified as a discontinued operation. · In light of the fact that goodwill represents approximately 39% of your total assets as of September 30, 2005, please expand your accounting policy in future filings to explain how you test goodwill for impairment and how you determine the amount of any impairment charge recorded. Please refer to paragraphs 19 - 21 of SFAS 142. The Company has considered the Staff’s comment, and in our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we will expand our accounting policy disclosure to more thoroughly describe how we test goodwill for impairment and determine the amount of any impairment charge. · In future filings please revise your disclosure related to the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill in Note 12 to show the aggregate amount of goodwill impairment losses recognized in each period. Please see paragraph 45(c)(2) of SFAS 142. The Company has considered the Staff’s comment and in future filings will include the aggregate amount of goodwill impairment charges related to continuing operations as a separate line item in the goodwill roll forward table as presented in Note 12 of our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Goodwill impairments that were reported in discontinued operations are disclosed and discussed in the discontinued operations section of Note 4 of our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K Note 14. Debt, page 113 5. We note that you have $1.2 billion of 2.75% convertible senior debt with a 2008 put option and $750 million of 3.125% convertible senior debt with a 2015 put option. Additionally, you disclose that in 2005 you repurchased $1.2 billion of 2.75% convertible debt for $1.8 billion and $750 million of 3.125% convertible debt for $1.1 billion, resulting in a $1.0 billion loss on the extinguishment of the debt. Please respond to the following: · Please tell us and disclose in future filings the significant terms of the convertible debt including conversion, put and call features. See paragraph 4 of SFAS 129. The Company has considered the Staff’s comment, and in our June 30, 2006 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we included a description of the significant terms of the convertible debt that was outstanding at June 30, 2006. Our future filings will also include a description of the significant terms of the outstanding convertible debt. 5 A description of the significant terms of our convertible debt that was outstanding as of September 30, 2005 follows. In 2003, Tyco issued $1.5 billion 3.125% convertible senior debentures due 2023 with a 2015 put option. Holders of Tyco’s 3.125% convertible senior debentures may convert each $1,000 principal amount of the debentures into 45.9821 Tyco common shares prior to the stated maturity date at a rate of $21.7476 per share. Additionally, under the put option holders of the 3.125% convertible senior debentures may require Tyco International Group S.A. (“TIGSA”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that holds public debt securities that are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Tyco, to purchase all or a portion of their debentures on January 15, 2015. If the option is exercised, TIGSA is required to repurchase the debentures at par plus accrued interest, and may elect to repurchase the securities for cash, Tyco common shares, or some combination thereof. The 3.125% convertible senior debentures are redeemable by the Company for cash at any time on or after January 20, 2008 for an amount equal to the redemption price. During 2005, the Company repurchased $750 million principal amount of the 3.125% convertible debentures for $1.147 billion resulting in a $413 million loss on the retirement of debt, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, which was reflected in Other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. In 2003, Tyco issued $3.0 billion of 2.75% convertible senior debentures due 2018 with a 2008 and 2013 put option outstanding. Holders of Tyco’s 2.75% convertible senior debentures could convert each $1,000 principal amount of the debentures into 43.8920 Tyco common shares prior to the stated maturity date at a rate of $22.7832 per share. Additionally, holders of the 2.75% convertible senior debentures may require TIGSA to purchase all or a portion of their debentures on January 15, 2008 and January 15, 2013. If the option is exercised, TIGSA is required to repurchase the debentures at par plus accrued interest, and may elect to repurchase the securities for cash, Tyco common shares, or some combination thereof. The 2.75% convertible senior debentures are redeemable by the Company for cash at any time on or after January 20, 2006 for an amount equal to the redemption price. During 2005, the Company repurchased $1,241 million principal amount of the 2.75% debentures for $1,823 million resulting in a $600 million loss on the retirement of debt, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, which was reflected in Other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. In 2004, we repurchased $517 million of the 2.75% debentures for $750 million resulting in a $241 million loss on retirement of debt. As stated in the notice of redemption and in accordance with the Indenture under which these convertible debentures were issued, on February 21, 2006 TIGSA gave a notice of redemption to exercise its right to redeem all of its remaining 2.75% convertible senior debentures at a redemption price of 101.1 percent of the principal amount outstanding plus interest accrued prior to the redemption date of March 8, 2006. Prior to the redemption date, $1.2 billion of the 2.75% convertible senior debentures were converted into 54.4 million Tyco common shares. On March 8, 2006, TIGSA redeemed the remaining $1 million principle amount outstanding with cash. Additionally, the 3.125% and 2.75% debentures are also redeemable for par plus accrued interest contingent upon a change in control or a