Businesses Held For Sale, Discontinued Operations And Dispositions

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2013

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Businesses held for sale, discontinued operations and dispositions

NOTE 10. BUSINESSES HELD FOR SALE, DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS AND DISPOSITIONS

Businesses Held for Sale The assets and liabilities of businesses classified as held for sale are included in other current assets and accrued expenses on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The components of assets and liabilities of businesses held for sale are as follows.

	August 31,
(in thousands)	2013		2012
Assets:
Accounts receivable	$	20,313	$	—
Inventories, net	8,713		—
Other current assets	3,683		—
Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization	10,459		6,601
Assets of businesses held for sale	$	43,168	$	6,601
Liabilities:
Accounts payable-trade	$	7,615	$	—
Accrued expenses and other payables	3,251		—
Liabilities of businesses held for sale	$	10,866	$	—

Discontinued Operations During the fourth quarter of 2013, the Company decided to sell all of the stock of its wholly-owned copper tube manufacturing operation, Howell Metal Company ("Howell"). The Company determined that the decision to sell this business met the definition of a discontinued operation. As result, the Company included Howell in discontinued operations for all periods presented. Howell was previously an operating segment included in the Americas Mills reporting segment. On October 17, 2013, the Company sold all of the stock of Howell for $58.5 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

During 2012, the Company announced its decision to exit CMCS by closure of the facility and sale of the assets. The Company determined that the decision to exit this business met the definition of a discontinued operation and has been presented as such for all periods presented. The results for 2011 include approximately $110.6 million of impairment and other charges incurred at CMCS. The results for 2012 consist of severance cost of $18.0 million associated with closing the facility and a pre-tax gain of $13.8 million for the sale of all of the shares of the CMCS operation, excluding $3.9 million in assets which were sold in the first quarter of 2013 with no impact to the consolidated statements of operations.

Financial information for discontinued operations was as follows:

	Year Ended August 31,
(in thousands)	2013		2012			2011
Revenue	$	157,780	$	202,632		$	253,426
Earnings (loss) before taxes	3,672		(11,906		)	(139,195		)

Dispositions During the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company completed the sale of its 11% ownership interest in Trinecke Zelezarny, a.s. ("Trinecke"), a Czech Republic joint-stock company, for $29.0 million resulting in a pre-tax gain of $26.1 million. The Trinecke investment was included in the International Marketing and Distribution segment.

During 2012, the Company sold its rebar fabrication shop in Rosslau, Germany for $11.3 million, resulting in a loss of $3.8 million. The result of this sale is included in continuing operations in the consolidated statements of operations. Additionally during 2012, the Company completed the sale of two properties that were previously joist and deck locations. The result of this sale is included in discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of operations.

During 2011, Construction Services, a division of a subsidiary of the Company, completed the sale of heavy forming and shoring equipment for $35 million. The result of this sale is included in continuing operations in the consolidated statements of operations. Additionally during 2011, the Company sold a majority of its joist assets resulting in a gain of $1.9 million which is included in discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of operations.