DIVESTITURES / SPINOFF (Note)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Note Text Block]

DIVESTITURES / SPINOFF

Discontinued Operations

2014: On July 1, 2014, International Paper completed the spinoff of its distribution solutions business, xpedx, and xpedx's merger with Unisource Worldwide, Inc., with the combined companies now operating as Veritiv Corporation (Veritiv). The xpedx business had historically represented the Company's Distribution reportable segment.

The spinoff was accomplished by the contribution of the xpedx business to Veritiv and the distribution of 8,160,000 shares of Veritiv common stock on a pro-rata basis to International Paper shareholders. International Paper received a payment of approximately $411 million, financed with new debt in Veritiv's capital structure.

All current and historical operating results for xpedx are included in Discontinued operations, net of tax, in the consolidated statement of operations. The following summarizes the major classes of line items comprising Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes and Equity Earnings reconciled to Discontinued operations, net of tax, related to the xpedx spinoff for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2014 in the consolidated statement of operations:

In millions	Three Months Ended September 30, 2014			Nine Months Ended September 30, 2014
Net Sales	—			$	2,604
Cost and Expenses
Cost of products sold	—			2,309
Selling and administrative expenses	—			191
Depreciation, amortization and cost of timber harvested	—			9
Distribution expenses	—			69
Restructuring and other charges	(11		)	24
Other, net	—			3
Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes and Equity Earnings	11			(1		)
Income tax provision (benefit)	(3		)	—
Discontinued Operations, Net of Taxes (a)	$	14		$	(1	)

(a) These amounts, along with net income of $2 million and a net loss of $3 million related to the Temple-Inland Building Products divestitures, are included in Discontinued operations, net of tax, in the consolidated statement of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively.

Total cash provided by operations related to xpedx of $29 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 is included in Cash Provided By (Used For) Operations in the consolidated statement of cash flows. Total cash provided by investing activities related to xpedx of $3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 is included in Cash Provided By (Used for) Investment Activities in the consolidated statement of cash flows.

Other Divestitures and Impairments

The Company announced on October 8, 2015 that it had signed a definitive agreement with the Company's Chinese coated board joint venture partner, Shandong Sun Holding Group Co., Ltd., to sell its 55% interest in the IP Asia Coated Paperboard (IP-Sun JV) business within the Company's Consumer Packaging segment for RMB 149 million (approximately USD $23 million). A determination was made that the current book value of the asset group exceeded its estimated fair value of $23 million, which is the agreed upon selling price. As a result, a pre-tax charge of $186 million was recorded during the three months ended September 30, 2015 in the Company's Consumer Packaging segment to write down the long-lived assets of this business to their estimated fair value. The amount of pre-tax losses related to the IP-Sun JV included in the Company's consolidated statement of operations for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015 were $208 million and $238 million, respectively, and for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2014, $11 million and $33 million, respectively. The 2015 losses include the third quarter pre-tax impairment charge of $186 million ($125 million after taxes). The amount of pre-tax losses related to noncontrolling interest of the IP-Sun JV included in the Company's consolidated statement of operations for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015 were $9 million and $19 million, respectively, and for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2014, $2 million and $7 million, respectively. The assets related to the IP-Sun JV, totaling $1.095 billion are included in Assets held for sale in current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2015. The liabilities of the IP-Sun JV, totaling $943 million are included in Liabilities held for sale in current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2015. The table below reflects the major asset and liability categories of IP-Sun JV's balance sheet as consolidated in International Paper's balance sheet as of September 30, 2015.

The IP-Sun JV will be deconsolidated from International Paper's consolidated balance sheet following the completion of the sale, which was deemed effective on October 13, 2015.

In millions	September 30, 2015
Total current assets	$	620
Plants, properties and equipment	479
Goodwill	117
Deferred Charges and Other Assets	65
	1,281
Impairment Charge	(186		)
Total assets	$	1,095
Payables and other short-term liabilities	$	564
Debt	373
Other long-term liabilities	6
Total liabilities	943
Shareholder's equity	56
Noncontrolling interest	96
Total equity	152
Total liabilities and equity	$	1,095