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RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
12 Months Ended
May 28, 2017
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS  
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

3.    RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

Prior to the Separation, our business was included in the Commercial Foods segment of Conagra. As a result,  our transactions with Conagra were considered related party transactions. In connection with the Separation, we entered into a separation and distribution agreement, as well as various other agreements that govern our relationships with Conagra going forward, including a transition services agreement, tax matters agreement, employee matters agreement, and trademark license agreement. Under the transition services agreement, Conagra provides a number of corporate staff services to us based on direct and indirect costs associated with rendering those services. These services include information technology, accounting, and human resource services. The fiscal year ended May 28, 2017, included $4.2 million of expenses related to the transition services agreement. The transition services agreement expires in March 2018. Information included in the remainder of this Note 3 with respect to Conagra is limited to our related party transactions with Conagra prior to the Separation Date. 

 

Prior to the Separation Date, Conagra allocated certain selling, general and administrative costs to Lamb Weston based on specific metrics correlated with the cost of services it provided or costs incurred on behalf of the Company (e.g., employee headcount, net sales, and square footage of office space). Allocations based upon these metrics resulted in $7.7 million, $53.9 million, and $41.2 million of selling, general and administrative costs allocated to Lamb Weston in fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Beginning in fiscal 2017, certain departmental charges, which were previously allocated, were directly absorbed by Lamb Weston.

 

The above allocations were consistent with historical allocations for Lamb Weston; however, Conagra did not historically allocate certain other corporate costs to its various segments. For any remaining indirect corporate costs that supported Lamb Weston, Conagra allocated additional selling, general and administrative costs using an equal weighting between Lamb Weston product contribution margin (net sales less cost of sales and advertising and promotion expenses) and Lamb Weston total assets relative to consolidated Conagra product contribution margin and total assets. Allocations of indirect corporate costs were $17.3 million, $107.6 million, and $37.7 million in fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively, and were recorded in selling, general and administrative costs. The fiscal 2016 amount includes a $59.5 million charge reflecting an allocation to Lamb Weston of a portion of the actuarial losses in excess of 10% of Conagra’s pension liability for Conagra’s company sponsored plans. Although it is not practicable to estimate what such costs would have been if Lamb Weston had operated as a separate public company, Lamb Weston considers such allocations to have been made on a reasonable basis. The allocations discussed above ceased after the Separation Date.

 

The Combined and Consolidated Balance Sheet as of May 29, 2016 and the fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015 Combined and Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the periods up to the Separation Date, include only the specific debt and interest expense of the legal entities that comprise Lamb Weston, and do not include any allocated interest expense or third-party debt of Conagra. Interest expense included in Lamb Weston’s results of operations was $61.2 million, $5.9 million, and $6.1 million for fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

 

Prior to the Separation, Conagra did not settle intercompany transactions with its subsidiaries on a routine basis. As a result, all amounts due to (from) Conagra are classified as “Parent companies’ invested equity” on the Combined and Consolidated Balance Sheet as of May 29, 2016. It reflects all changes in parent companies’ invested equity for all transactions between Conagra and Lamb Weston, including direct and allocated charges from Conagra to Lamb Weston, intercompany cash transfers, derivative hedging activities performed by Conagra for the benefit of Lamb Weston, sales of potatoes, vegetables, and other products for use by other Conagra affiliates, and net cash management activities. In addition, these financial statements reflect the sale of certain branded products manufactured for distribution by other Conagra affiliates. Income tax payments were made by Conagra on Lamb Weston’s behalf. Income taxes payable were settled in parent companies’ invested equity when payments were made by Conagra.

 

Included in net sales are sales to Conagra of $8.4 million, $25.7 million, and $26.1 million for fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The related cost of sales were $3.4 million, $21.4 million, and $22.2 million, respectively. Lamb Weston also made purchases from Conagra of $7.9 million, $18.5 million, and $27.2 million in fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.