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Timber Notes/Non-Recourse Debt
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Timber Notes/Non-Recourse Debt

4. Timber Notes/Non-Recourse Debt

In October 2004, we sold our timberland assets in exchange for $15 million in cash plus credit-enhanced timber installment notes in the amount of $1,635 million (the “Installment Notes”). The Installment Notes were issued by single-member limited liability companies formed by affiliates of Boise Cascade, L.L.C. (the “Note Issuers”). The Installment Notes are 15-year non-amortizing obligations and were issued in two equal $817.5 million tranches bearing interest at 5.11% and 4.98%, respectively. In order to support the issuance of the Installment Notes, the Note Issuers transferred a total of $1,635 million in cash to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“Lehman”) and Wachovia Corporation (“Wachovia”) (which was later purchased by Wells Fargo & Company) ($817.5 million to each of Lehman and Wachovia). Lehman and Wachovia issued collateral notes (the “Collateral Notes”) to the Note Issuers. Concurrently with the issuance of the Installment and Collateral Notes, Lehman and Wachovia guaranteed the respective Installment Notes and the Note Issuers pledged the Collateral Notes as security for the performance of the Installment Note obligations.

In December 2004, we completed a securitization transaction in which the Company’s interests in the Installment Notes and related guarantees were transferred to wholly-owned bankruptcy remote subsidiaries. The subsidiaries pledged the Installment Notes and related guarantees and issued securitized notes (the “Securitization Notes”) in the amount of $1,470 million ($735 million through the structure supported by the Lehman guaranty and $735 million through the structure supported by the Wachovia guaranty). As a result of these transactions, we received $1,470 million in cash. Recourse on the Securitization Notes is limited to the proceeds of the applicable pledged Installment Notes and underlying Lehman or Wachovia guaranty, and therefore there is no recourse against OfficeMax. The Securitization Notes are 15-year non-amortizing, and were issued in two equal $735 million tranches paying interest of 5.54% and 5.42%, respectively. The Securitization Notes are reported as non-recourse debt in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

On September 15, 2008, Lehman, the guarantor of half of the Installment Notes and the Securitization Notes, filed a petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York seeking relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Lehman’s bankruptcy filing constituted an event of default under the $817.5 million Installment Note guaranteed by Lehman (the “Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note”). We are required for accounting purposes to assess the carrying value of assets whenever circumstances indicate that a decline in value may have occurred. In 2008, we evaluated the carrying value of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note and reduced it to the estimated amount we then expected to collect ($81.8 million) by recording a non-cash impairment charge of $735.8 million, pre-tax. The ultimate amount to be realized on the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note depends entirely on the proceeds from the Lehman bankruptcy estate.

Lehman’s disclosure statement on its Chapter 11 Plan (the “Disclosure Statement”) was confirmed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on December 6, 2011. The Disclosure Statement provides a range of estimated recoveries for various classes of unsecured creditors of Lehman. Pursuant to a stipulation entered into on October 7, 2011 and approved by the bankruptcy court on December 14, 2011, the claim of the Securitization Note holders through the Note Issuers will be treated as a class 3 senior unsecured claim (estimated to recover at a rate of approximately 21.1% under the Chapter 11 Plan) rather than falling into any other class of claims. Due to this categorization, the status of the bankruptcy proceedings, and based on information in the Disclosure Statement, it appears that Securitization Note holders may recover at a potential rate within the range of 17% to 20%. However, uncertainties exist as to the actual recovery that will ultimately be received on the claim. The disposition of a related claim of the Securitization Note holders through us on the guaranty (the “Guaranty Claim”) may result in an additional recovery and the funds available for claimants will depend on Lehman’s ongoing claims resolution process, the establishment of reserves for unresolved claims, and the value of the assets Lehman is able to liquidate. Due to these uncertainties and other factors, we have not increased our assumed recovery rate. An initial distribution of approximately $50 million on the claim through the Note Issuers was received from Lehman by the Note Issuers during April of 2012, and will ultimately be distributed to the Securitization Note holders. As of June 30, 2012, the cash received was classified as restricted cash, and the carrying value of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note was reduced by this amount. The Company expects the cash to be ultimately remitted to the Securitization Note holders and does not have the right to access the cash for any other purpose. The cash is currently being held by the Note Issuer of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note until final disposition of the Guaranty Claim.

Further distributions are expected to occur over a several-year period. Going forward, we intend to adjust the carrying value of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note as further information regarding the Securitization Note holders’ share of the proceeds, if any, from the Lehman bankruptcy estate becomes available. Recourse on the Securitization Notes is limited to the proceeds from the applicable pledged Installment Notes and underlying Lehman or Wachovia guaranty, and any proceeds we receive from the bankruptcy will be distributed to the Securitization Note holders. However, under current generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to continue to recognize the liability related to the Securitization Notes guaranteed by Lehman until such time as the liability has been extinguished. The liability will be extinguished when the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note and the related guaranty are transferred to and accepted by the Securitization Note holders. We expect that this will occur when the remaining Guaranty Claim of the Securitization Note holders in the bankruptcy is resolved and as the Lehman assets are in the process of distribution. Accordingly, we expect to recognize a non-cash gain equal to the difference between the combined amount of the carrying value of the Securitization Notes guaranteed by Lehman ($735.0 million at June 30, 2012) and the related interest payable ($17.9 million at June 30, 2012) and the combined amount of the carrying value of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note and the restricted cash (together $81.8 million at June 30, 2012) in a later period when the liability is legally extinguished. The actual gain to be recognized in the future will be measured based on the carrying amounts of the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note and the Securitization Notes guaranteed by Lehman at the date of settlement.

Any discussion of the Lehman bankruptcy in this document is strictly based on factual observations from the bankruptcy cases and should not be interpreted as constituting legal analysis of or admission as to the ultimate allowances of our claim based on the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note or any Note Issuers’ claim based on Collateral Notes, or the interplay thereof.

At the time of the sale of the timberlands in 2004, we generated a tax gain and recognized the related deferred tax liability. The timber installment notes structure allowed the Company to defer the resulting tax liability until 2020 ($529 million at June 30, 2012), the maturity date for the Installment Notes. Due to the Lehman bankruptcy and note defaults, the recognition of the Lehman portion of the gain will be triggered in full when the Lehman Guaranteed Installment Note and the related guaranty are transferred to and accepted by the Securitization Note holders. When partial payments are received, the gain will be recognized on a pro rata basis. We expect to reduce estimated cash payments due by utilizing our available alternative minimum tax credits.

 

Through June 30, 2012, we have received all payments due under the Installment Notes guaranteed by Wachovia (the “Wachovia Guaranteed Installment Notes”), which have consisted only of interest due on the notes, and have made all payments due on the related Securitization Notes guaranteed by Wachovia, again consisting only of interest due. As all amounts due on the Wachovia Guaranteed Installment Notes are current and we have no reason to believe that we will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the Wachovia Guaranteed Installment Notes, the notes are reflected in our Consolidated Balance Sheets at their original principal amount of $817.5 million. The Installment Notes and Securitization Notes are scheduled to mature in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Securitization Notes have an initial term that is approximately three months shorter than the Installment Notes.