Subsidiary Merger Activities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Extraordinary and Unusual Items [Abstract]

Subsidiary Merger Activities

Subsidiary Merger Activities

To improve the effectiveness of the Company’s operations in Japan, the Company completed the merger of its Japan subsidiaries during the third quarter of 2010. For tax purposes in Japan, this transaction resulted in a step-up in the tax basis of certain assets and liabilities of the merged subsidiary to fair value as of the date of the merger and gave rise to a taxable gain in Japan, resulting in a liability of $77.3 million which was paid during the fourth quarter of 2010. The unamortized portion of the corresponding prepaid tax, which is deductible over the succeeding five-year period in Japan for the stepped-up tax basis of the assets and liabilities, is included on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2012 and 2011.

For U.S. tax purposes, this taxable gain in Japan gave rise to a foreign tax credit that reduced the current U.S. tax on foreign income. The Company’s U.S. tax payments were reduced by $22.4 million in 2010 as a result of this credit. The Company filed an amended tax return in order to request a refund of $26.3 million for a portion of this foreign tax credit which can be carried back to reduce the tax obligation of previous years.