Item 1. Business.
Our Business
Our Mission. Diversey’s mission is to protect and care for people through leading hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions. We develop and deliver innovative, mission-critical products, services and technologies that save lives and protect our environment.
Our Foundation. Over the course of 99 years, the Diversey brand has become synonymous with product quality, service and innovation. Our fully-integrated suite of solutions combines patented chemicals, dosing and dispensing equipment, cleaning machines, services and digital analysis and serves more than 85,000 customers in over 80 countries via our vast network of approximately 8,700 employees globally. We are the leading global pure play provider to the approximately $32 billion cleaning and hygiene industry for the Institutional and Food & Beverage markets, where we hold the first or second position in the key markets in which we operate. We are also one of only two large, global players able to serve global strategic accounts (“GSAs”). We consider our scale to be a distinct competitive advantage given the fragmentation of our industry, and our customer relationships are deep and longstanding, resulting in highly recurring revenue streams.
Our Value Proposition. We are a trusted partner to our customers in delivery of hygiene, infection prevention, and cleaning solutions that provide peace of mind and help our customers maintain their brand integrity and grow their businesses. Through our end-to-end, repeatable services, we focus on achieving the following outcomes for our customers:
• Improved hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning results
• Improved operational efficiency and environmental sustainability
• Reduced costs
• High consistency and high standards across customer locations and geographies
Our customer engagement model drives a virtuous circle of customer acquisition, service expansion, and long-term retention that enables our history of strong growth and resiliency. Through our customer engagement model we strive to:
• Understand Customer Needs and Goals. We partner with customers to determine what matters most to them, with a focus on outcomes rather than specific products.
• Design Custom Solutions. We then design custom solutions, leveraging our more than 1,400 patents and patent applications from our library of more than 2,000 unique chemical formulations as well as our extensive and differentiated suite of dosing and dispensing equipment and floor care machines.
• Integrate Solutions with Customer Workflows. We train our customers’ end users on how to operate the products and equipment that make up our customized solutions, with a specific focus on health and safety considerations, sustainability, and service requirements.
• Optimize Performance. After implementation, we remain engaged with our customers on a regular basis and leverage our digital monitoring capabilities to ensure their equipment is operating properly, the workforce is fully trained, and solutions are optimized.
• Expand the Value Proposition. As we continue to engage with our customers, we continually review our performance, compare ourselves against benchmarks, and work to identify ways to expand or enhance our services through new products and innovation, creating ‘win-win’ solutions for us and our customers, and further solidifying our partnership.
Initial Public Offering. On March 29, 2021, we completed an initial public offering of 46,153,846 Ordinary Shares at a public offering price of $15.00 per Ordinary Share, receiving $654.3 million in net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and offering expenses (the "IPO"). On April 9, 2021, we issued and sold an additional 5,000,000 Ordinary Shares pursuant to the underwriters' partial exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, receiving an incremental $71.4 million in net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and offering expense. Our Ordinary Shares trade on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "DSEY".
On November 15, 2021, we issued and sold 15,000,000 Ordinary Shares at a public offering price of $15.00 per Ordinary Share, receiving $214.4 million in net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and offering expenses.
Prior to the formation of Diversey Holdings, Ltd., the organizational structure consisted of Constellation (BC) 2 S.à r.l ("Constellation"), which was incorporated on June 30, 2017, and organized under the laws of Luxembourg as a Société à Responsabilité Limitée for an unlimited period under the direction of Bain Capital, LP (“Bain Capital”). Diamond (BC) B.V., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation, was formed on March 15, 2017 for the purpose of consummating the acquisition of the Diversey Care division and the food hygiene and cleaning business of Sealed Air Corporation (“Sealed Air”) (together, the “Diversey Business”), including certain assets and all the capital stock of certain entities engaged in the Diversey Business (the “Diversey Acquisition”), which acquisition closed on September 6, 2017.
Our Business Segments
We report our results of operations in two segments: Institutional and Food & Beverage.
Institutional Segment
We hold leading market positions in our regional core markets and believe we held the number one or number two market position in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region based on net sales for 2021. Our Institutional segment generated $1,918.4 million in net sales and $319.8 million in Adjusted EBITDA, which implies 16.7% margins for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Our high performance Institutional solutions are designed to enhance cleanliness, safety, environmental sustainability, and efficiency for our customers. We offer a broad range of products, services, solutions, equipment and machines including infection prevention and personal care products, floor and building care chemicals, kitchen and mechanical warewash chemicals and machines, dosing and dispensing equipment, and floor care machines. We also offer a range of engineering, consulting and training services related to productivity management, water and energy management and risk management, supported by data provided through our digital solutions. We deliver these solutions to customers in the Healthcare, Education, Food Service, Retail & Grocery, Hospitality, and Building Service Contractors industries.
Our Institutional segment’s revenue base is recurring and stable due to the ‘sticky’ nature of our business model. Not only are our cleaning products consumable in nature and require periodic replacement, generating highly recurring revenue, but the optimal application of our chemicals is also controlled by our proprietary dosing and dispensing equipment installed at customer sites, which increases customer switching costs and generates operating efficiencies for our customers.
Key Institutional products and services include:
Infection Prevention: Hard Surface & Personal Care. We manufacture, source, market, sell and provide services for infection prevention and personal care products. Our products are designed to enhance the safety and well-being
of our customers’ employees and visitors by reducing the risk of infection at our customers’ facilities. Our products are offered in many different formats, including wipes, ready to use chemicals, and concentrates and they are dispensed through portable dosing systems, canisters, spray bottles, large-format totes, and automated wall-mounted dilution systems, among others. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned propriety technology including our patented AHP® formulation, our IntelliCare® dispensers and our MoonBeam™ 3 UV disinfection technology.
Floor & Building Care Chemicals. We manufacture, source, market, sell and provide services for Floor and Building Care Chemicals. Our chemicals are offered in many different formats and tailored towards all segments and sizes of customers. Formats include ready-to-use chemicals as well as concentrates that are dispensed through portable and automated wall-mounted dosing and dilution control systems.
Our floor care products combine chemicals, tools, machines, and services to deliver cleaner, safer floors while lowering operational costs to maintain the floor. Key products include floor strippers, cleaners, maintainers, finishes, sealers, carpet care, concrete and stone care, and wood care. Many of our chemical formulas rely on Diversey-owned propriety polymer technology including our floor finish Signature® and use our patented Diamond floor polishing technology Twister™.
Our building care products are designed to enhance our customers’ experience by increasing productivity and safety and optimizing the total cost of ownership by reducing the usage of chemicals, water and labor at their sites. Key products include restroom cleaners, glass cleaners, general purpose cleaners, and air care. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned propriety closed-loop chemical dispensing technologies including our patented The J-Fill® QuattroSelect® wall mounted system and our J-Flex™ / RTD® portable dilution technologies. In addition, many customers apply these chemicals and concentrates with Diversey-sourced and owned cleaning tools including our proprietary TASKI® Jonmaster workstations and trolleys, as well as other microfiber floor and surface tools and consumables.
Kitchen, Mechanical Warewash Chemicals and Machines. We manufacture, source, market, sell and provide services for kitchen and mechanical warewash solutions. Our products are designed to optimize our customers' resource utilization and chemical efficiency as well as protect their brand in compliance with hygiene, safety and sustainability standards. Our products include a full range of ready-to-use and concentrated chemistry that is available in many different sizes and packaging formats as well as dosing and dispensing systems that are either portable or wall mounted for spray, bucket and sink applications. Our products cover a complete range of applications and methods in kitchen cleaning and mechanical warewash for all sizes of customer sites. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned patented chemistry formulas such as Suma® Dime or Suma Glass Protect, proprietary dosing and dispensing systems such as Divermite® and DiverFlow®, as well as our proprietary connected dishwashing monitoring system IntelliDish®.
Laundry. We manufacture, source, market, sell and provide services for fabric care. Our solutions and application expertise are designed to enhance guest experience, extend linen life, improve hygiene, reduce operational costs and promote sustainability. Our product offerings consist of a full range of fabric care chemistries to support both on-premise and commercial laundry operations and are available in different packaging formats, including ready-to-use and concentrated solutions and correlating wall mounted dosing and dispensing systems. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned patented chemistry formulas such as Clax® Advance and Xcellence, for low and high temperature washing, as well as our proprietary IntelliLinen® dispensing system which includes remote monitoring.
Dosing & Dispensing Equipment. We manufacture, market, sell and provide technical services for dosing and dispensing equipment for a wide variety of applications in all of our core businesses. Applications include dilution and dosing platforms for Infection Prevention, Building Care, Kitchen Care, Mechanical Warewash, Food & Beverage and Fabric Care, among others. Our product offering is designed to protect our customers' brands and enhance the safety and sustainability profile of our chemicals while also optimizing productivity and operational costs for our customers. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned closed-loop chemical dispensing technologies including our proprietary Divermite® wall mounted systems, patented SmartDose® portable dosing system, as well as the Diversey owned SafePackTM technology.
Floor Care Machines. We manufacture, market, sell and provide services for floor care machines under the TASKI® brand. Products cover all indoor cleaning needs and are designed to enhance our customers’ efficiency and productivity in a wide variety of floor cleaning tasks. Our product offering is tailored for all sizes of hard and soft floor types and consists of floor scrubber driers, wet and dry vacuums, single discs, sprayers, steam cleaners and carpet machines.
The TASKI® machines rely on many Diversey-owned patented and proprietary features and technologies including our intelligent squeegee design, our IntelliFlowTM speed dependent solution dosing, and the IntelliTrail® fleet management system, among others.
Food & Beverage Segment
We believe we held the number one or number two market position in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region based on net sales for 2021. On December 3, 2021, we acquired Birko Corporation, a North American manufacturer of food safety chemical solutions for the Food & Beverage segment, and Chad Equipment LLC, a subsidiary of Birko Corporation, which manufactures food safety equipment for the Protein industries. This acquisition strengthens our market presence in the United States and Canada, enhances our scale, service and product offering, and creates numerous cross-sell and revenue opportunities as a truly global provider in the food and beverage industries. We believe this acquisition elevates us to the number one or number two market position in North America. Our Food & Beverage segment generated $700.5 million in net sales and $133.7 million in Adjusted EBITDA, which implies 19.1% Adjusted EBITDA margins for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Our Food & Beverage products are designed to maximize the hygiene, safety, and efficiency of our customers’ production and cleaning processes while minimizing their impact on the natural resources they consume. We offer a broad range of products, solutions, equipment and machines including chemical products, engineering and equipment solutions, knowledge-based services, training through our Diversey Hygiene Academy, and water treatment. We deliver these solutions to enhance food safety, operational excellence, and sustainability for customers in the Brewing, Beverage, Dairy, Processed Foods, Pharma, and Agriculture industries.
Our Food & Beverage segment's revenue base is also recurring and stable. Our Cleaning-In-Place (“CIP”) and Open Plant Systems integrate our chemicals, lubricants, floor care equipment, and cleaning and dispensing tools, while our highly skilled technical application experts help customers achieve production efficiencies through customized solutions that utilize our products. The highly integrated and customized nature of the resulting solutions drive operational efficiencies as well as high switching costs for our customers, leading to very high customer retention. The recent addition of water treatment solutions to our Food & Beverage segment also fulfills a longstanding customer need for a bundled solution and offers future opportunities for cross-selling.
Key Food & Beverage products and services include:
Chemical Products. We manufacture, source, market, sell and provide services for Food & Beverage chemicals. Our products consist of a full range of chemistry, equipment and expertise to enhance Food & Beverage manufacturing operations. Key solutions include cleaning-in-place systems, bottle care, conveyor lubrication, membrane cleaning, open plant cleaning, fogging systems, and farm hygiene. Many of our products rely on proprietary chemistry formulas and dosing and dispensing equipment, such as CIP systems which are designed to efficiently clean and disinfect our customers’ enclosed processing equipment, and Divo® BottleCare which increases the lifespan of our customers’ equipment and reduces their total glass consumption.
Engineering & Equipment Solutions. We market, sell and provide engineering services for our Food & Beverage customers. Our solutions include complete hygiene centers for cold aseptic filling, automated external filler and conveyor cleaning, centralized and decentralized foam stations that help reduce overall cleaning times, and hot water washing and pasteurizing equipment for meat harvesting and processing operations. We are able to respond quickly and efficiently to our customers’ engineering needs, offering full project management for the design and installation of hygiene and sanitation systems.
Knowledge-Based Services. We market, sell and provide knowledge-based services ("KBS") to the Food & Beverage industry. Our KBS offering provides a holistic approach to constantly measure, monitor and improve operational efficiency and food safety throughout our customers’ operations. This offering also addresses key industry challenges related to productivity, water and energy usage, yield management, and food safety. The KBS solutions we offer are Diversey-owned and include Aquacheck, which is a site-tailored approach to water management, and Diversey-patented CIPTEC technology, which enables determination of the efficiency of CIP and verification of the hygiene of production lines.
Training. We market, sell and provide training for the Food & Beverage industry. The Diversey Hygiene Academy provides e-learning for Food & Beverage manufacturing professionals. A wide range of proprietary courses are available in multiple languages and have been accredited by the Continuous Professional Development Certification Service.
Water Treatment. We manufacture, market, sell and provide technical services for water treatment within Food & Beverage production facilities. Our products are designed to enhance both effectiveness and efficiency as well as reduce costs by combining Diversey chemicals and equipment with water treatment capabilities to provide a holistic approach to process, water and production hygiene management in the Food & Beverage industry. Our products cover a wide range of Diversey-owned chemical and equipment solutions for asset, process and product protection, utility usage, water hygiene and regulatory compliance across heating and cooling systems, specialized Food & Beverage processes, and wastewater treatment.
In 2021, we entered into a global partnership agreement with Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals for water-intensive industries, including the pulp, paper, oil and gas, petroleum refining, chemical processing, mining, biorefining, power and municipal markets. Solenis' product portfolio includes a broad array of process, functional and water treatment chemistries as well as state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems. These technologies are used by customers to improve operational efficiencies, enhance product quality, protect plant assets and minimize environmental impact. With this partnership, we are Solenis’ distribution partner for its complete portfolio of water and process treatment chemicals to the Food & Beverage industry.
Pharmaceutical & Agriculture. We manufacture, market, sell and provide services for the Pharmaceutical and Agricultural markets. In addition to providing the necessary products, we partner with our customers to identify the unique cleaning and disinfection procedures to address their needs and to ensure safe, sustainable and efficient pharmaceutical and agricultural production. Our product offering consists of a full range of chemistry, equipment and services. Many of our products rely on Diversey-owned proprietary chemistry formulas and patented dosing and dispensing equipment such as the Deosan® Dairy Farming.
Our Sustainability Strategy
Protect. Care. Sustain. This will guide our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") priorities and actions. ESG is core to how we create value and drive growth. The strategy is supported by both 2030 goals and near-term targets which will further reduce our environmental footprint, address social inequality and deliver solutions to help our customers reach their own sustainability goals.
Our strategy builds upon Diversey’s longstanding sustainability mission:
We protect our planet and conserve natural resources. We care about our people, our partnerships, and our customers and are committed to address critical social challenges and reduce risk in our operations. We work tirelessly to sustain the highest standards in responsible business practices and transparency.
In the development of all products and services, we adhere to a green cleaning philosophy. This is defined as the use of cleaning products, equipment and methods that protect the health of building occupants, lower the total cost of cleaning and prevent environmental impacts. Green cleaning also considers chemicals’ and materials’ end of life to ensure that their disposal does not harm the environment. This ensures that all Diversey products and services are designed to enhance not only cleanliness and efficiency, but also safety and environmental sustainability for our
customers and communities. In 2021, we also made additional investments to expand our product, services, and capabilities.
Hundreds of Diversey products are third-party certified, verifying that they meet the highest health, safety and sustainability standards. Among the certifications that our products feature:
• Cradle-to-Cradle
• EPA (Safer Choice)
• EU Ecolabel
• Green Seal
• Nordic Swan
• UL Environment: ECOLOGO, GREENGUARD
Sustainability is core to the value proposition we provide our customers. We partner with our customers to design solutions that enable them to meet their effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability goals. Given how engrained our products and services are in our customers’ operations, we are in a position to help them improve their performance in almost all key environmental areas, including reducing water, transportation, energy, greenhouse gas, packaging, waste, and chemical usage, as well as helping them extend equipment and product life and improve chemical and employee safety.
Our comprehensive approach to sustainability is also reflected in our commitment to our own employees. We have set internal goals to eliminate recordable workplace injuries, train 100% of our employees on our Code of Conduct, and strengthen our community relations in the locations in which we operate. Protecting and caring for our people also means investing in their future. We believe in providing our employees with resources to help them develop leadership capabilities and advance their careers. We seek to maintain a company culture that fosters a true sense of purpose among our people that we believe will drive long-term success.
Finally, we lead by example by improving the environmental impact of our own operations. We have identified ambitious operational goals to continue to reduce and improve the impact we have on our planet by 2025. Key goals include, but are not limited to, a 10% reduction in energy intensity, greenhouse gas emission intensity, and waste to landfill, a 5% reduction in water use intensity, reducing our packaging footprint, and achieving 100% compliance with our Responsible Chemistry Policy.
As we look to the future, we believe sustainability will continue to grow in importance for our customers. We are investing heavily and are well positioned to support our customers’ growing needs in this area, and as we do so, we will have the opportunity to further embed ourselves in their operations and grow with them.
We team up with customers to forge socially responsible circularity. We operate three social impact initiatives called Soap For Hope, Linens For Life, and Coffee Briques that illustrate our long-standing commitment to sustainability. Instead of discarding materials in landfills at the end of their useful life, we repurpose, or “upcycle,” soap products, linens and coffee briques in ways that create economic and social value, particularly for people in need. In recognition of the value of these initiatives and their benefit to the community, we were awarded 'Asia's Best Community Care Company of the Year'.
We believe our mission, culture, and social impact initiatives increase our employee engagement and ultimately lead to creating value and innovation for our employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Our Business Operations
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Inputs. We manufacture a diverse portfolio of finished goods utilizing a combination of internal manufacturing facilities and strategic contract manufacturing. We maintain a global manufacturing network, operating 26 facilities on a global basis, with six factories in North America, ten factories in Europe, three factories in the Middle East and Africa, three factories in Latin America and four factories in the Asia-Pacific region. Our facilities provide a strong base of owned and leased production facilities in established geographies and key emerging markets.
Our manufacturing strategy consists of using both internal and external manufacturing, which enables a flexible and geographically effective supply chain network for our solutions. Contract manufacturing complements our internal manufacturing capabilities and supports our existing offerings as well as innovations and new product launches, while also allowing us to pursue an asset-light business model. We contract with approximately 25 large strategic contract manufacturers which we believe efficiently augment our global supply chain network with additional geographic coverage and production capabilities. In developed markets, we use these strategic contract manufacturers to leverage variable capacity for unique production capabilities. In emerging markets, contract manufacturers provide strategic capacity where we do not yet have critical mass. Where contract manufacturing is used, the production processes mirror those of our internal manufacturing plants to ensure quality control. In total, we also use approximately 350 third-party manufacturers for sourcing highly unique or specialty products included in our product portfolio.
Our primary raw material inputs include caustic soda, solvents, waxes, phosphates, surfactants, polymers and resins, chelates, fragrances and wipes substrate material, all of which are generally available from multiple suppliers. Our packaging purchases include bag-in-the-box containers, bottles, corrugated boxes, drums, pails, totes, aerosol cans, caps, triggers and valves. Our equipment and accessories purchases include dilution control equipment, warewashing and laundry equipment, floor care machines, air care dispensers, floor care applicators, mops, microfiber, buckets, carts and other items used in facility maintenance.
We have long-term relationships with an extensive network of suppliers. Supplier contracts are typically multiyear, with set pricing and renewal features built in and flexibility to adjust prices on the basis of underlying fluctuations in raw material costs. The majority of our critical raw material inputs are common to the industry and produced in all regions by multiple large, global suppliers, ensuring attractive input prices. We believe most components related to raw materials, equipment and accessories are readily available from multiple sources and to the extent possible, we offset higher costs of materials through pricing increases.
We generally operate on a yearly contracting cycle, using competitive request for proposal, or RFP, processes, e-auctions and open market events to select suppliers. Supply agreements are generally requirement-based, linked to demand in the annual operating plan and contain no or minimal contingent liability extending beyond one to two years.
Sales and Marketing. We reach customers through a combination of direct sales channels and distribution channels. Direct sales channels represented approximately 80% of our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021, including “ship-through” sales, which involve a distributor-facilitated fulfillment where the customer relationship is managed by Diversey, while distribution channels represented the remaining 20% of our sales for the year ended December 31, 2021. We employ a balanced marketing strategy with a global direct sales force as well as a broad network of third-party distributors in key locations, whereas many of our competitors sell solely or primarily through third-party distributors. We believe that this hybrid sales approach differentiates us, as our direct-sales capability is highly valued by many of our customers given the increasing importance of hygiene, while our use of third-party distributors helps us optimize operations in a cost-effective manner.
Our manufacturing network is supported by a global customer facing team of approximately 5,700 sales, marketing, technical service and customer service representatives. Our direct sales force manages relationships with our large global and regional customers while our third-party distributor partners enable us to reach end-users that would not be as efficient for us to serve on a direct basis. We have invested in extensive training for our direct sales force and the management of our distributor network, and we support our sales force with a deep bench of technical service representatives.
Our global strategic accounts help differentiate us from many of our competitors and are a source of significant market insight and growth through our “acquire, retain, and grow strategy”. Global strategic accounts help us build long-term contractual relationships, set standards of hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning, facilitate adoption of industry best practices, and provide a platform for local growth. In our Institutional business we have approximately 60 global strategic accounts, representing approximately 20% of our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021, and a robust pipeline of strategic accounts with projects under implementation and opportunities to win substantial incremental sales. Sales for our global strategic accounts in 2021 were slightly
below 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively impacted some of the sectors in which we operate (Retail, Building Service Contractors and partially in Food Service).
Research and Development. We maintain significant R&D capabilities to ensure we continue to remain an innovator and technological leader. We develop new products, applications, services, and processes while providing technical assistance to improve our customers’ operations. We are increasingly leveraging our digital capabilities in R&D, which we believe further differentiates us from our competitors.
Our value proposition is rooted in the integration of our proprietary technologies with our customers’ manufacturing and service delivery value chain. We have R&D and application support facilities in locations around the globe, including in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, to facilitate hands-on interaction with our customers. Our R&D engineering personnel innovate through both internal creation and development as well as through identifying and integrating third-party resources and technologies. We maintain a robust pipeline of new product development projects, which are in various stages of discovery and development.
Customers. Our Institutional and Food & Beverage segments serve customers across a wide variety of stable and growing end-markets. We are one of only two global players with the capabilities to serve GSAs, which represents more than 20% of our revenues. Approximately 84% of our customer relationships exceed 10 years in length. We have minimal customer concentration and high customer diversity as our largest customer accounted for 2.0% of our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021, while our top 10 and 50 customers represented 13% and 26% of our net sales over the same period, respectively. Our highly fragmented customer base adds to the stability of our revenue streams as activity across different customer groups is very diverse and independent of activity among other customer verticals.
Our end-users span a wide range of business verticals, including, among other, healthcare, food service, retail and grocery, educational institutions, food and beverage, building service contractors, cash and carry establishments, government institutions, industrial plants, and on-premises laundry.
Our customers value both the products we sell as well as our application expertise, deep industry process knowledge, and project engineering capabilities. These capabilities maximize product and operational efficiency for our customers, resulting in sticky relationships. Additionally, we provide customized solutions for customers that are integrated into their sites, which encourage mutual investment in infrastructure and expands our value proposition, resulting in customer loyalty and retention.
Our Competition
In general, the markets in which we operate are led by two large companies: Diversey and Ecolab Inc., with the rest of the market served by smaller entities focusing on more limited geographic regions or a smaller subset of products and services. Our business competes on the basis of its demonstrated value, technical expertise, innovation, chemical formulations, customer support, detection equipment, monitoring capabilities, and dosing and dispensing equipment. Given our scale and global reach, we are able to uniquely service GSAs and provide consistent, quality solutions across sites. Our machines also differentiate us from our competitors, as no other competitor offers an equivalent range of product and service offerings, as well as machines, allowing us to provide our customers with end-to-end solutions.
Our scale provides a competitive benefit versus smaller local or regional competitors, as we are able to leverage our distribution network to service smaller customers in a cost-effective way.
Given the size and fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate, we do not currently have significant concern about our competition.
We believe that the fragmented nature of our markets, combined with our flexible go-to-market strategy and diverse product and solution set, should enable Diversey to grow organically and via an acquisition strategy.
Our Intellectual Property
We strategically manage our portfolio of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property. Specifically, we rely upon trade secrets to protect the formulation of many of our chemical products, as well as our manufacturing processes. We own or license patents and trademarks which are used in connection with our business. Some of these patents or licenses cover significant product formulations and processes used to manufacture our products. As of December 31, 2021, we held over 1,400 patents in the United States and foreign countries, and have numerous pending patent applications. We do not know whether any of our pending patent applications will result in the issuance of patents or whether the examination process will require us to narrow our claims.
The trademarks of major products in each business are registered in key jurisdictions or licensed from third parties. Certain intellectual property is also protected by confidentiality agreements or other agreements with suppliers, employees and other third parties. In part, our success can be attributed to the existence and continued protection of these trademarks, patents and trade secrets.
The Diversey trademark and a select number of major sub-brands, including CLAX, SUMA and TASKI are material to our business. We own the Diversey and sub-brand trademarks as used in our business. While the Diversey trademark and certain other assets in our intellectual property portfolio are important, we do not believe that our overall business is materially dependent on any individual trade name, trademark or patent.
Human Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 8,700 employees worldwide, including full-time and part-time employees. Approximately 1,000 of these employees were in the U.S., and approximately 7,700 employees were outside the U.S. In various countries, certain of our employees are unionized and, where local law requires, participate in works councils. Our customer facing team is approximately 5,700 employees and includes sales, marketing, technical service and customer service representatives. We believe that our employee relations are satisfactory.
Our employees are at the heart of our mission and strategies, and we focus on our culture to drive both.
Our Core Values.
Our culture starts, first and foremost, with our mission: “To protect and care for people through providing leading hygiene, infection prevention, and cleaning solutions.” Our mission unites and aligns our employees to serve a greater good in this world. This unity has been most evident during the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, as our employees have worked heroically to help protect and care for people around the world. In 2021, we reaffirmed the behaviors that we want Diversey to be known for as part of the way we work and hold each other accountable. Our behaviors are not empty words to be hung on a wall. The things we do, and the way we behave, define our culture. They empower us to deliver what we promise.
These behaviors are:
Inclusive. A culture of collaboration. Diversey is a place that welcomes thoughts and ideas from all of our employees. People who feel comfortable coming to work and being themselves can achieve more. We hire and promote based on merit and develop talent within the organization. Our customers are diverse and operate in many different industries; therefore, we cannot be an organization with just one way of thinking. Our culture is inclusive of ideas and people. Sharing information and best practices improves all that we do.
Customer driven. Delighting customers is at the heart of our business. Diversey elevates our customers and their experiences. We engage with our customers to know how we can protect them; how we can take care of them and how we can help solve their problems.
Bias for Action. Action unleashes our potential. Without action, achievement is impossible. Diversey is rightly proud of its place as an industry thought leader. Thoughts are seeds for action. We plan, we act with speed - all while taking calculated risks.
Always improving. Experience drives our improvement every day, and we are committed to continuously evolving. We believe that we can always find ways to improve. We take our experience, in the form of data and insights, and use it to drive customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and margins.
Accountable for results. Results inform our actions. We are responsible for owning our results and we commit to understanding them, good or bad. We speak clearly and honestly about our accomplishments and help each other avoid failure and replicate success. Being accountable for results is the end and beginning of everything we do.
Diversity and Inclusion
We seek to protect and care for our employees by creating a diverse, equitable & inclusive work environment where everyone feels free to be themselves. We have a goal to increase diverse representation in our workforce, starting with achieving gender diversity in our leadership population of 40% globally and ethnic diversity of 25% in the United States by 2030. Currently, this population is 17.5% gender diverse and 15% ethnically diverse in the United States. We have also established Employee Representation Groups, which are grassroots employee networks that bring people together who share common interests and/or backgrounds and offer our employees a variety of benefits that support employees, including paid parental leave, flexible time off and solutions for nursing mothers.
Impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a meaningful impact on our business, especially within our Institutional segment. In the first quarter of 2021, strong demand for our infection prevention products and services offset volume related declines in sales to restaurants, hotels and entertainment facilities. In the remainder of 2021, we saw restrictions and lock-downs start to ease in some markets, resulting in stronger than anticipated sales in those markets, except for infection prevention products. Conversely, as expected, demand for infection prevention products and services slowed in the second quarter of 2021 to levels below the peak demand from 2020, but continuing above pre-COVID-19 levels. Sales of infection products have directionally stabilized in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2021.
In countries such as United States and the United Kingdom, with higher vaccination rates and where reopenings were more advanced, we saw faster-than-expected recovery of our base Institutional business. However, in countries such as India and Philippines, with low vaccination rates and prolonged lockdowns, the recovery levels were slower.
In the long-term, we expect that our recent product enhancements, digital investments, and cost efficiencies will result in accelerated growth as the end markets most negatively impacted by the pandemic continue to normalize and return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Moreover, we expect increased demand for our infection prevention products and services to endure and settle above pre-pandemic levels. We believe the pandemic has resulted in higher disinfection standards and a favorable shift in demand for our products, thereby permanently altering the landscape for health and hygiene solutions.
Environmental Matters, Health and Safety and Governmental Regulations
As a manufacturer, we are subject to many laws, rules, standards and regulations in the countries, jurisdictions and localities in which we operate. These cover: the safe procurement, processing, storage and use of chemical raw materials and parts for tools, equipment and packaging; the potential release of materials into the environment; standards for the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes; or otherwise relate to the protection of the environment. We review environmental, health and safety laws and regulations pertaining to our operations and believe that compliance with current environmental and workplace health and safety laws and regulations has not had a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
In some jurisdictions in which our products are sold or used, laws and regulations have been adopted or proposed that seek to regulate, among other things, minimum levels of recycled or reprocessed material and, more generally,
the design for reuse of packaging materials. We maintain programs designed to comply with these laws and regulations and to closely monitor their evolution.
Various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations regulate our products and often require us to obtain pre-market approval of our products and comply with specified requirements. In the U.S., we must register our sanitizing and disinfecting products with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and products intended for controlling microbial growth on humans, animals and processed foods with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Such products are regulated in a similar way at the European Union level by the European Chemical Agency or by member state competent authorities. Similar requirements exist in other countries such as China, Russia and South Korea. To date, the cost of complying with such product registration requirements has not had a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Available Information
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC at https://www.sec.gov.
General information about us, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments and exhibits to those reports, are available free of charge through our website at https://ir.diversey.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC.
In addition, the following governance materials are available on our web site at https://ir.diversey.com/corporate-governance: (i) charters of the Audit, People Resources, Nominating and Governance Committees of our Board of Directors; (ii) our Code of Conduct; (iii) our Board's Corporate Governance Policy; and (iv) our Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers.
We include our website addresses throughout this report for reference only. The information contained on our websites, including the corporate responsibility and climate reports identified in this report, is not incorporated by reference into this report.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. For example, all statements we make relating to our estimated and projected costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and financial results or our plans and objectives for future operations, growth initiatives, or strategies are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including:
• the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic may cause disruptions to our operations, customer demand, and our suppliers’ ability to support us;
• uncertain global economic conditions which have had and could continue to have an adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations;
• the global nature of our operations exposes us to numerous risks that could materially adversely affect our consolidated financial condition and results of operations;
• fluctuations between non-U.S. currencies and the U.S. dollar could materially impact our consolidated financial condition or results of operations;
• political and economic instability and risk of government actions affecting our business and our customers or suppliers may adversely impact our business, results of operations and cash flows;
• raw material pricing, availability and allocation by suppliers as well as energy-related costs may negatively impact our results of operations, including our profit margins;
• if we do not develop new and innovative products or if customers in our markets do not accept them, our results would be negatively affected;
• cyber risks and the failure to maintain the integrity of our operational or security systems or infrastructure;
• the introduction of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting may adversely affect our effective rate of tax in future periods;
• the consolidation of customers may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations;
• we experience competition in the markets for our products and services and in the geographic areas in which we operate;
• instability and uncertainty in the credit and financial markets could adversely impact the availability of credit that we and our customers need to operate our business;
• new and stricter regulations may affect our business and consolidated condition and results of operations; and
• the other risks described under “Risk Factors” below.
We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, are disclosed under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Form 10-K. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other SEC filings and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this report in the context of these risks and uncertainties.
We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not contain all of the factors that are important to you. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this Form 10-K are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
RISK FACTORS
The following are important factors which could affect our financial performance and could cause our actual results for future periods to differ materially from our anticipated results or other expectations, including those expressed in any forward-looking statements made in this Form 10-K. See the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” set forth above.
We may also refer to this disclosure to identify factors that may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in other forward-looking statements including those made in oral presentations, including telephone conferences and/or webcasts open to the public.
Business and Industry Risks
The global nature of our operations exposes us to numerous risks that could materially adversely affect our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
We operate in approximately 54 countries, and our products are distributed in those countries as well as approximately 26 countries in other parts of the world. A large portion of our manufacturing operations are located outside of the United States and a majority of our net sales are generated outside of the United States. These operations, particularly in developing regions, are subject to various risks that may not be present or as significant for our U.S. operations. Economic uncertainty in some of the geographic regions in which we operate, including developing regions, could result in the disruption of commerce and negatively impact cash flows from our operations in those areas.
Risks inherent in our international operations include:
•tax rates, currency exchange controls and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
•changes in regional and local economic conditions, including local inflationary pressures;
•government restrictions on transfer or repatriation of funds;
•trade barriers such as anti-dumping duties, tariffs, embargoes and economic sanctions;
•exchange controls and other import and export limits;
•uncertain legal protections, including enforcement of intellectual property and contractual rights;
•presence of unions, collective bargaining agreements or works councils;
•changes in labor conditions and difficulties in staffing and managing international operations;
•import and export delays;
•social plans and regulations that prohibit or increase the cost of certain restructuring actions;
•foreign ownership and investment restrictions;
•nationalization of enterprises or facilities; and
•unsettled political conditions and threat of terrorism.
Any or all of the foregoing risks could have a significant impact on our ability to sell our products on a competitive basis in international markets and may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a number of these risks may adversely impact consumer confidence and consumption, which could reduce sales volumes of our products or result in a shift in our product mix from higher margin to lower margin product offerings.
We experience competition in the markets for our products and services and in the geographic areas in which we operate.
Our products compete with similar products made by other manufacturers and with a number of other types of materials or products. We compete on the basis of performance characteristics of our products, service, price and innovations in technology. A number of competing U.S. and non-U.S. companies are well-established.
The market for our products is highly competitive. Our products face significant competition from global, national, regional and local companies within some or all of our product lines in each sector that we serve.
Our inability to maintain a competitive advantage could result in lower prices or lower sales volumes for our products. Additionally, we may not successfully implement our pricing actions. These factors may have an adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
The consolidation of customers may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Customers in the food service, food and beverage processing, building care, lodging, industrial distribution and healthcare sectors have been consolidating in recent years, and we believe this trend may continue. Such consolidation could have an adverse impact on the pricing of our products and services and our ability to retain customers, which could in turn adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
The currently evolving situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the emergence of variants for which vaccines may not be effective, may negatively affect our business by causing or contributing to, among other things:
•Significant disruptions in our business operations and in the ability of significant third-party vendors, manufacturing and other business or commercial partners, including customers, to meet obligations to us.
•Significant decrease or volatility in sales of or demand for our significant products due to, among other things: closure or reduced operating hours of our key customers; consumer inability to purchase our products due to prolonged inventory shortages, illness or government implemented restrictions and any resulting changes in consumer preference; reduced availability of certain products as we prioritize the production of other products due to increased demand; decreased future demand due to recent customer or consumer stockpiling of products or increased consumer mobility as other government restrictions continue to ease; any negative reputational impact resulting from our new partnerships in industries involving shared space or an adverse perception of our pandemic response, perceived price gouging effected or product recommendations made by third parties that we do not control; changes in retailer or distributor restocking or fulfillment practices; or worldwide, regional and local adverse economic and financial market conditions, including increased risk of inflation.
•Significant U.S. or international governmental actions, or other limitations or restrictions, including restrictions on the ability of our employees, suppliers, customers or third-party partners to travel or perform necessary business functions or our ability to manufacture, ship, distribute, market or sell our products.
•A heightening or exacerbating many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section
In addition, we have experienced higher costs in certain areas as a result of COVID-19 such as transportation and logistics, warehouse, and production employee compensation, as well as incremental costs associated with newly-added health screenings and enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols to protect our employees at our facilities, which may continue, increase or become necessary in these or other areas. The extent of COVID-19’s effect on our operational and financial performance in the future will depend on future developments, including the duration,
spread and intensity of the pandemic, our continued ability to manufacture and distribute our products, any future government actions affecting consumers and the economy generally, changing economic conditions and any resulting inflationary impacts, as well as timing and effectiveness of global vaccines, all of which are uncertain and difficult to predict considering the rapidly evolving landscape. Although the potential effects that COVID-19 may continue to have on the Company are not clear, such impacts could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Severe public health outbreaks not limited to COVID-19 may adversely impact our business.
Our business could be adversely affected by the effect of a future public health outbreak. The United States and other countries have experienced, and may experience in the future, public health outbreaks such as Zika virus, Avian Flu, SARS, H1N1 influenza, and COVID-19. A prolonged occurrence of a contagious disease such as these could result in a significant downturn in the food service, hospitality and travel industries and also may result in health or other government authorities imposing restrictions on travel further impacting our end-markets. Any of these events could result in a significant drop in demand for some of our products and services and adversely affect our business.
Environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues, including those related to climate change and sustainability, may have an adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations and damage our reputation.
Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny relating to their ESG policies. Increased focus and activism related to ESG may hinder our access to capital, as investors may reconsider their capital investment as a result of their assessment of our ESG practices. In particular, customers, consumers, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly focusing on environmental issues, including climate change, water use, deforestation, plastic waste, and other sustainability concerns. Changing consumer preferences may result in increased demands regarding plastics and packaging materials, including single-use and non-recyclable plastic packaging, and other components of our products and their environmental impact on sustainability; a growing demand for natural or organic products and ingredients; or increased consumer concerns or perceptions (whether accurate or inaccurate) regarding the effects of ingredients or substances present in certain consumer products. These demands could cause us to incur additional costs or to make changes to our operations to comply with such demands.
Concern over climate change or plastics and packaging materials, in particular, may result in new or increased legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate impacts to the environment. Increased regulatory requirements, including in relation to various aspects of ESG including disclosure requirements, or environmental causes may result in increased compliance or input costs of energy, raw materials or compliance with emissions standards, which may cause disruptions in the manufacture of our products or an increase in operating costs. Any failure to achieve our ESG goals or a perception (whether or not valid) of our failure to act responsibly with respect to the environment or to effectively respond to new, or changes in, legal or regulatory requirements concerning environmental or other ESG matters, or increased operating or manufacturing costs due to increased regulation or environmental causes could adversely affect our business and reputation.
If we do not adapt to or comply with new regulations, or evolving investor, industry or stakeholder expectations and standards, or if we are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, customers and consumers may choose to stop purchasing our products or purchase products from another company or a competitor, and our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We are subject to taxation in multiple jurisdictions. As a result, our annual effective income tax rate can change materially as a result of changes in our mix of U.S. and non-U.S. earnings and other factors, including changes in tax laws and changes made by regulatory authorities.
We are subject to taxation in, and to the tax laws and regulations of, multiple jurisdictions as a result of the international scope of our operations and our corporate and financing structure. Our overall effective income tax rate
is equal to our total tax expense as a percentage of total earnings before tax. However, income tax expense and benefits are not recognized on a global basis but rather on a jurisdictional or legal entity basis. Losses in one jurisdiction may not be used to offset profits in other jurisdictions and may cause an increase in our tax rate. Changes in the mix of earnings (or losses) between jurisdictions and assumptions used in the calculation of income taxes, among other factors, could have a significant effect on our overall effective income tax rate.
We are also subject to transfer pricing laws with respect to our intercompany transactions, including those relating to the flow of funds among our companies. Adverse developments in these laws or regulations, or any change in position regarding the application, administration or interpretation thereof, in any applicable jurisdiction, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition or results of our operations. In addition, the tax authorities in any applicable jurisdiction may disagree with the positions we have taken or intend to take regarding the tax treatment or characterization of any of our transactions. If any applicable tax authorities were to successfully challenge the tax treatment or characterization of any of our transactions, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Changes in tax laws, which have become more rapid in recent years, or tax rulings related thereto could affect our financial position and results of operations. For example, in light of continuing global fiscal challenges, various levels of government and international organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, and the European Union are increasingly focused on tax reform and other legislative or regulatory action to increase tax revenue. These tax reform efforts, such as the OECD-led base erosion and profit sharing, or BEPS, are designed to ensure that corporate entities are taxed on a larger percentage of their earnings. Although some countries have passed tax laws based on findings from the BEPS project, the final nature, timing and extent of any such tax reforms or other legislative or regulatory actions is unpredictable, and it is difficult to assess their overall effect. These tax reforms, or any other changes in tax laws in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate, could increase our effective tax rate and adversely impact our financial results.
Operational Risks
Uncertain global economic conditions have had and could continue to have an adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Uncertain global economic conditions have had and may continue to have an adverse impact on our business in the form of lower net sales due to weakened demand, unfavorable changes in product price/mix, or lower profit margins. For example, global economic downturns have adversely impacted some of our end-users and customers, such as food processors, distributors, supermarket retailers, hotels, restaurants, retail establishments, business service contractors, e-commerce fulfillment firms, and other end-users that are particularly sensitive to business and consumer spending.
During economic downturns or recessions, there can be a heightened competition for sales and increased pressure to reduce selling prices as our customers may reduce their volume of purchases from us. If we lose significant sales volume or reduce selling prices significantly, then there could be a negative impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations, profitability and cash flows.
Reduced availability of credit may also adversely affect the ability of some of our customers and suppliers to obtain funds for operations and capital expenditures. This could negatively impact our ability to obtain necessary supplies as well as our sales of materials and equipment to affected customers. This could additionally result in reduced or delayed collections of outstanding accounts receivable.
Political, social and economic instability and risk of government actions affecting our business and our customers or suppliers may adversely impact our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
We have offices, factories and warehouses located across the world and we are exposed to risks inherent in doing business in each of the countries or regions in which we, our customers, or suppliers operate, including: civil unrest,
acts of terrorism, sabotage, epidemics, force majeure, war or other armed conflict and related government actions, including sanctions/embargoes, the deprivation of contract rights, the inability to obtain or retain licenses required by us to operate our plants or import or export our goods or raw materials, the expropriation or nationalization of our assets, and restrictions on travel, payments or the movement of funds. As some of our customers operate in the hospitality industry that supports both domestic and international tourism, their business and indirectly ours, could be exposed to the negative consequences of travel pattern disruptions due to major terrorist threats. Also, if additional restrictions on trade with China and Russia are adopted by the United States, the European Union or the United Nations, and are applicable to our products, we could lose sales and experience lower growth rates in the future.
Any social unrest in the jurisdictions in which our offices, factories or warehouses, or those of our suppliers, are located could materially affect our, or our suppliers’, ability to operate in such jurisdictions. Prolonged disruptions because of social unrest in the markets in which we operate could disrupt our relationships with customers, employees and referral sources located in affected areas and, in the case of our corporate office, our ability to provide administrative support services, including billing and collection services. Future civil insurrection, social unrest, protests, looting, strikes or street demonstrations may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Instability and uncertainty in the credit and financial markets could adversely impact the availability of credit that we and our customers need to operate our or their businesses.
We depend upon the availability of credit to operate our business. Our customers and suppliers also require access to credit for their businesses. Instability and uncertainty in the credit and financial markets could adversely impact the availability of future financing and the terms on which it might be available to us, our customers and our suppliers. Inability to access credit markets, or a deterioration in the terms on which financing might be available to us or our customers, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to attract, develop and retain key employees and other personnel, our consolidated financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.
Our success depends largely on the efforts and abilities of our management team and other key personnel. Their experience and industry contacts significantly benefit us and we need their expertise to execute our business strategies. If any of our senior management or other key personnel cease to work for us and we are unable to successfully replace any departing senior management or key personnel, our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
As a result of the substantial workers council and labor union representation in certain jurisdictions in which we operate, we will need to consult or negotiate with employee representatives on operational matters concerning the organization of our labor force, salary inflation or other benefits and re-organizations, which may lead to reduced flexibility in managing our operations and labor force to respond to opportunities, market changes or cost challenges, and reorganizing or restructuring our business.
In Europe and Latin America, most of our employees are represented by either labor unions or workers’ councils and are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are generally renewable on an annual basis. As is the case with any negotiation or consultation, we may not be able to negotiate mutually acceptable new collective bargaining agreements, which could result in delays, strained employee relations and after escalation, potential strikes or work stoppages by affected workers, each of which could materially affect our business. Renewal of collective bargaining agreements could also result in higher wages or benefits paid to union members. A disruption in operations or higher ongoing labor costs could materially affect our business.
Fluctuations between non-U.S. currencies and the U.S. dollar could materially impact our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
A significant portion of our net sales during year ended December 31, 2021 were generated outside the United States. We translate sales and other results denominated in non-U.S. currency into U.S. dollars for our consolidated combined financial statements included elsewhere in this report. As a result, we are exposed to currency fluctuations both in receiving cash from our international operations and in translating our financial results back to U.S. dollars. During periods of a strengthening U.S. dollar, our reported international sales and net income could be reduced because non-U.S. currencies may translate into fewer U.S. dollars. We cannot predict the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on our future operating results. As exchange rates vary, our results of operations and profitability may be harmed. While we may use financial instruments to hedge certain non-U.S. currency exposures, this does not insulate us completely from non-U.S. currency effects and exposes us to counterparty credit risk for non-performance. Such hedging activities may be ineffective or may not offset more than a portion of the adverse financial effect resulting from non-U.S. currency variations. The gains or losses associated with hedging activities may harm our results of operations.
In all jurisdictions in which we operate, we are also subject to laws and regulations that govern non-U.S. investment, non-U.S. trade and currency exchange transactions. These laws and regulations may limit our ability to convert non-U.S. currency cash flows into U.S. dollars. If we are unable to convert non-U.S. currency cash flows into U.S. dollars at favorable exchange rates, or at all, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Fluctuations in raw material pricing, availability and allocation by suppliers as well as energy-related costs may negatively impact our results of operations, including our profit margins and net sales.
We use petrochemical-based raw materials to manufacture many of our products and oil-based materials for our packaging. The prices for these raw materials are cyclical, and increases in market demand or fluctuations in the global trade for petrochemical-based raw materials and energy could increase our costs. In addition, the prices of many of the other key raw materials used in our businesses, such as caustic soda, solvents, waxes, phosphates, surfactants, polymers and resins, chelates and fragrances, are cyclical based on numerous supply and demand factors that are beyond our control. Furthermore, the usage of certain chemical components used in the manufacturing of our products, such as chemicals used in our surfactants, may be limited or restricted by government regulations, which could restrict our sourcing options. If we are unable to minimize the effects of increased raw material costs through sourcing, pricing or other actions, our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We also have some sole-source suppliers, and the lack of availability of supplies could have a materially adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, as well as political instability and terrorist activities, may negatively impact the production or delivery capabilities of refineries and natural gas and petrochemical suppliers and suppliers of other raw materials in the future. These factors could lead to increased prices for our raw materials and/or curtailment of supplies and allocation of raw materials by our suppliers, which could reduce our revenues and profit margins and harm relations with our customers, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
If we are not able to protect our trade secrets or maintain our trademarks, patents and other intellectual property, we may not be able to prevent competitors from developing similar products or from marketing their products in a manner that capitalizes on our intellectual property, and this loss of a competitive advantage could decrease our profitability and liquidity.
Our ability to compete effectively with other companies depends, in part, on our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our owned and licensed intellectual property. If we were unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our intellectual property and our significant current or proposed products, this loss of a competitive advantage could result in decreased sales or increased operating costs, either of which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
We rely on trade secrets to maintain our competitive position, including protecting the formulation and manufacturing techniques of many of our products. As such, we have not sought U.S. or international patent
protection for some of our principal product formulas and manufacturing processes. Accordingly, while we seek to use our protected trade secrets to defend our continued right to sell products against those seeking to assert patents on innovation that is similar to or competitive with our trade secrets, we may not be able to prevent others from developing products that are similar to or competitive with our products.
We own, or have licenses to use a large number of patents and pending patent applications on our products, aspects thereof, methods of use and/or methods of manufacturing. There is a risk that our owned and licensed patents may not provide meaningful protection and patents may never be issued for our pending patent applications.
We own, or have licenses to use the material trademark and trade name rights used in connection with the packaging, marketing and distribution of our major products where our products are principally sold. Trademark and trade name protection is important to our business. Although most of our trademarks are registered in the countries in which we operate, we may not be successful in asserting trademark or trade name protection. The costs required to protect our trademarks and trade names may be substantial.
We cannot be certain that we will be able to assert our intellectual property rights successfully in the future or that they will not be invalidated, circumvented or challenged. Other parties may infringe on or misappropriate our intellectual property rights and may thereby dilute the value of our intellectual property in the marketplace. In addition, the laws of some non-U.S. countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. As a result, litigation may be necessary to protect our intellectual property, and such litigation may be time-consuming and costly. We have been, and continue to be, in active intellectual property litigation.
While we take measures to protect our intellectual property and assert our intellectual property rights, we cannot be certain that our competitors will not independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products, obtain information we regard as proprietary, or design around patents issued to us or other intellectual property rights of ours. Any failure by us to protect our trade secrets, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights may have a materially adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
We rely on software from third parties, including open source software, and a failure to properly manage our use of third-party software could result in increased costs or loss of revenue.
Certain of our products are designed to include software licensed from third parties. Such third-party software includes software licensed from commercial suppliers and software licensed under public open source licenses. We have internal processes to manage our use of such third-party software. However, if we fail to adequately manage our use of third-party software, then we may be subject to copyright infringement or other third-party claims. In the case of open source software licensed under certain “copyleft” licenses, the license itself, or a court-imposed remedy for non-compliant use of the open source software, may require that parts of our proprietary software code be publicly disclosed or licensed. This could result in a loss of intellectual property rights, increased costs, damage to our reputation, and a loss of revenue.
Cyber risk and the failure to maintain the integrity of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties with which we do business, could have a materially adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
We rely to a large extent upon automation, software and infrastructure, both internally and with third-parties, to operate our business. The size and complexity of our information technology and telecommunications systems make them increasingly vulnerable to breakdown, the effects of natural disasters and public health events, malicious intrusion and random attack, which may pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data. Disruptions or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support our businesses and customers could result in the loss of customers and business opportunities, legal liability, regulatory fines, penalties or intervention, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensatory costs, and additional compliance costs, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. While we take reasonable measures to mitigate these
risks, due to continually evolving threats, our systems, networks, products, solutions and services remain potentially vulnerable to advanced and persistent threats.
Our information technology systems and our third-party providers’ systems, have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to cyber-threats such as computer viruses or other malicious codes, ransomware, unauthorized access attempts, denial of service attacks, phishing, social engineering, hacking and other cyberattacks. To date, the Company is not aware that its business or operations have been materially impacted by these attacks. However, the Company’s security efforts and the efforts of its third-party providers may not prevent or timely detect attacks and resulting breaches or breakdowns of the Company’s, or its third-party service providers’, databases or systems. In addition, if the Company or its third-party providers are unable to effectively resolve such breaches or breakdowns on a timely basis, the Company may experience interruptions in its ability to manage or conduct business, as well as reputational harm, governmental fines, penalties, regulatory proceedings, and litigation and remediation expenses. Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, are constantly evolving and are being made by groups and individuals with a wide range of expertise and motives, and this increases the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them.
We utilize various hardware, software and operating systems that may need to be upgraded or replaced in the near future as such systems cease to be supported by third-party service providers, and may be vulnerable to increased risks, including the risk of security breaches, system failures and disruptions. Any such upgrade could take time, oversight and be costly to us. If such systems are not successfully upgraded or replaced in a timely manner, system outages, disruptions or delays, or other issues may arise. If a new system does not function properly, or is not adequately supported by third-party service providers and processes, it could adversely affect our business and operations, which, in turn, adversely impact our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
We also maintain and have access to sensitive, confidential or personal data or information in some of our businesses that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations and customer controls of the United States, the European Union and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Despite our efforts to protect such sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, our facilities and systems and those of our customers and third-party service providers may be vulnerable to security breaches, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors that could lead to the compromising of sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, improper use of our systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could result in liabilities and penalties and could damage our reputation, cause us to incur substantial costs and adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, we could be subject to litigation and government enforcement actions as a result of any such failure. Furthermore, data privacy is subject to frequently changing rules and regulations. The changes introduced by data privacy and protection regulations increase the complexity of regulations enacted to protect business and personal data and they subject us to additional costs and have required, and may in the future require, costly changes to our security systems, policies, procedures and practices. These laws and regulations also may result in the Company incurring additional expenses and liabilities in the event of unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal data.
The development of internet of things, or IoT, also presents security, privacy and execution risks. IoT solutions may collect large amounts of data, and our handling of IoT data may not satisfy customers or regulatory requirements. IoT scenarios may increasingly affect personal health and safety. If IoT solutions that include our technologies do not work as intended, violate the law or harm individuals or businesses, we may be subject to legal claims or enforcement actions. These risks, if realized, may increase our costs, damage our reputation or brands, or negatively impact our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.]
Strategic Risks
If we do not develop new and innovative products or if such products are not accepted by customers in our markets or fail to meet sales or margin expectations, our results could be negatively affected.
Our products must be kept current to meet our customers’ needs, overcome competitive products and meet evolving regulatory requirements. To remain competitive, we therefore must develop new and innovative products on an ongoing basis, and we invest significantly in the research and development of new products. If we do not successfully develop innovative products, it may be difficult to differentiate our products from our competitors’ products and satisfy regulatory requirements, and our sales and results could suffer.
The development and introduction cycle of new products can be lengthy and involve high levels of investment. Our competitive advantage is due in part to our ability to develop and introduce new products in a timely manner at favorable margins. Maintaining this advantage is essential, especially in light of the reduction in barriers for even small competitors to quickly introduce new brands and products directly to consumers that e-commerce permits. New products may not meet sales or margin expectations due to many factors, including our inability to (i) accurately predict demand, end-user preferences and evolving industry standards, (ii) resolve technical and technological challenges in a timely and cost-effective manner or (iii) achieve manufacturing efficiencies. If new products that we develop and introduce to the market are not successful, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Our inability to consummate and effectively incorporate acquisitions into our business operations may adversely affect our results of operations.
We invest time and resources into carefully assessing opportunities for acquisitions, and we continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities to support, strengthen and grow our business. Despite diligence and integration planning, acquisitions still present certain risks, including the time and economic costs of integrating an acquisition’s technology, control and financial systems, unforeseen liabilities, and the difficulties in bringing together different work cultures and personnel. There can be no assurance that we will be able to locate suitable acquisition candidates, acquire possible acquisition candidates, acquire such candidates on commercially reasonable terms, or integrate acquired businesses successfully in the future. Future acquisitions, including those we may consummate in the near term, may require us to incur additional debt and contingent liabilities, which may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. The obligations and liabilities of an acquired company may not be adequately reflected in the historical financial statements of that company and those historical financial statements may be based on assumptions that are incorrect or inconsistent with our assumptions or approach to accounting policies. Any of these material obligations, liabilities or incorrect or inconsistent assumptions could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. The process of integrating acquired businesses into our existing operations may result in operating, contractual and supply chain difficulties, such as the failure to retain customers or management personnel. Such difficulties may divert significant financial, operational and managerial resources from our existing operations, and make it more difficult to achieve our operating and strategic objectives.
Unfavorable consumer responses to price increases could have a material adverse impact on our sales and earnings.
From time to time, and especially in periods of rising raw material costs, we increase the prices of our products. Significant price increases could impact our earnings depending on, among other factors, the pricing by competitors of similar products and the response by our customers to higher prices. Such price increases may result in lower volume of sales and a subsequent decrease in gross margin and adversely impact earnings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risks
We are subject to various government laws and regulations. Compliance with, or changes in such laws and regulations, may cause us to incur significant expenses, which may affect our business, consolidated financial condition and operations.
Our business requires compliance with many laws and regulations, including evolving climate change and environmental standards. The regulatory environment in which we operate is still developing, and the potential
exists for future legislation and regulations to be adopted. Increased legislative and regulatory activity and burdens, and a more stringent manner in which they are applied, could significantly impact our business and the economy as a whole. We cannot predict with reasonable certainty the future cost to us of compliance with such laws and regulations.
Many jurisdictions require us to have operating permits for our production and warehouse facilities and operations. Any failure to obtain, maintain or comply with the terms of these permits could result in fines or penalties, revocation or nonrenewal of our permits, or orders to cease certain operations, and may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to environmental health and safety laws that govern, among other things, the manufacturing of our products, the discharge of pollutants into the air, soil and water and the use handling, transportation, storage and disposal of hazardous materials. We generate, use and dispose of hazardous materials in our manufacturing processes and there is a potential for chemicals to be accidentally spilled, released or discharged, either in liquid or gaseous form, during production, transportation, storage or use. Such a release could result in environmental contamination as well as a human or animal health hazard. In the event our operations result in the release of hazardous materials into the environment, we may become responsible for the costs associated with the investigation and remediation of sites at which we have released pollutants, or sites where we have disposed or arranged for the disposal of hazardous wastes, even if we fully complied with environmental laws at the time of disposal. We have been, and may continue to be, responsible for the cost of remediation at some locations.
Many jurisdictions have laws and regulations that govern the registration, labeling and sale of some of our products. Throughout the world, such regulations continue to increase both in number and in stringency, resulting in, among others, extra charges for single use packaging in Europe, duplicative regulations as a result of Brexit, regulatory-driven and customer-driven ingredient bans requiring reformulation, ingredient disclosure requirements in the U.S., Asia and potentially Europe, and the incurrence of plastic levies under the European Union Multiannual Financial Framework 2021 — 2027 and Recovery Fund, all of which create a risk of increased costs and a need to modify our products.
Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to lawsuits and other proceedings, and could also lead to damage awards, fines and penalties. We may become involved in a number of legal proceedings and audits, including government and agency investigations, and consumer, employment, tort and other litigation. The outcome of some of these legal proceedings, audits, and other contingencies could require us to take, or refrain from taking, actions that could harm our operations or require us to pay substantial amounts of money, harming our financial condition. Additionally, defending against these lawsuits and proceedings may be necessary, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, harming our financial condition. There can be no assurance that any pending or future legal or regulatory proceedings and audits will not harm our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Product and other liability claims or regulatory actions could adversely affect our financial results or harm our reputation or the value of our brands.
Claims for losses or injuries purportedly caused by some of our products arise in the ordinary course of our business. In addition to the risk of substantial monetary judgments, product or other liability claims or regulatory actions could result in negative publicity that could harm our reputation in the marketplace or adversely impact the value of our brands or our ability to sell our products in certain jurisdictions. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, is costly and may divert management's attention and resources. We could also be required to recall possibly defective products, or voluntarily do so which could result in adverse publicity and significant expenses. Although we maintain product liability insurance coverage, potential product liabilities claims could be excluded or exceed coverage limits under the terms of our insurance policies or could result in increased costs for such coverage.
We may be exposed to liabilities under applicable anti-corruption laws and any determination that we violated these laws could have a materially adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to various anti-corruption laws that prohibit companies and their agents from making improper payments or offers of payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We conduct business in countries and regions that are generally recognized as potentially more corrupt business environments. Activities in these countries create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees or agents that could be in violation of various anti-corruption laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands. We have implemented safeguards and policies to discourage these practices by our employees and agents but we cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from acts committed by employees or agents. If our employees or agents violate our policies or we fail to maintain adequate record keeping and internal accounting practices to accurately record our transactions, we may be subject to regulatory sanctions. Violations of the FCPA, Proceeds of Crime Act, Terrorism Act or other anti-corruption laws, or allegations of such acts, could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the United States and in other jurisdictions and related shareholder lawsuits, could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees which could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
A failure of our internal controls over financial reporting or our regulatory compliance efforts could harm our financial and operating results or could result in fines or penalties.
We have implemented internal controls to help ensure the completeness and accuracy of our financial reporting and to detect and prevent fraudulent actions within our financial and accounting processes. We have also implemented compliance policies and programs to help ensure that our employees comply with applicable laws and regulations. Our internal audit team regularly audits our internal controls and various aspects of our business and compliance program, and we regularly assess the effectiveness of our internal controls. There can be no assurance, however, that our internal or external assessments and audits will identify all fraud, misstatements in our financial reporting, and significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal controls. Material weaknesses may could result in a material misstatement of our financial results, requiring us to restate our financial statements.
As a newly listed public company in 2021, we are subject to the transition period for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 404 requires us to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also generally requires an attestation from our independent registered public accounting firm on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. During our transition period, we are exempt from Section 404 compliance until the year following this annual report. However, once we become subject to the management report and auditor attestation requirements under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we can provide no assurance that management will furnish a positive report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or that we will receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors.
From time to time, we initiate further investigations into our business operations to further bolster our regulatory compliance efforts or based on the results of our internal and external audits or on complaints, questions or allegations made by employees or other parties regarding our business practices and operations. In addition, our business and operations may be investigated by applicable government authorities. In the event any of these investigations identify material violations of applicable laws by our employees or affiliates, we could be subject to adverse publicity, fines, or penalties.
Our products may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may cause us to incur unexpected costs or prevent us from selling our products.
Many of our competitors have a substantial amount of intellectual property that we must continually strive to avoid infringing. Third parties, including competitors, may assert intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or invalidity claims against us that could be upheld. Intellectual property litigation, which could result in substantial costs to and a diversion of effort by us may be necessary to protect our intellectual property rights, including trade secrets, proprietary technology or for us to defend against claimed infringement or misappropriation of the rights of others and to determine the scope and validity of our or others’ intellectual property or proprietary rights. We may
not prevail in any such litigation, and if we are unsuccessful, we may be subject to monetary liability and injunctive or equitable relief, which may prevent our use of others’ intellectual property or proprietary rights if we are not able to obtain necessary licenses on reasonable terms or at all.
Although it is our policy and intention not to infringe valid patents of which we are aware and we conduct patent clearance analyses to identify patents that our new products and services might infringe as well as make necessary product or process changes to avoid infringement, we cannot provide assurances that our processes and products and other activities do not and will not infringe issued patents (whether present or future) or other intellectual property rights belonging to others. Third parties have, from time to time, asserted intellectual property-related claims against us, including claims for alleged patent infringement, and there is the continued risk that such claims may be made against our products and services or our customers’ use of our products or services. We may also be subject to indemnity claims by our business partners arising out of claims of their alleged infringement of the patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights of third parties in connection with their use of our products and services. If we were to discover that any of our processes, technologies or products infringe on the valid intellectual property rights of others, we might determine to obtain licenses from the owners of these rights or to modify our processes or technologies or re-engineer our products in order to avoid infringement. We may not be able to obtain the necessary licenses on acceptable terms, or be able to modify our processes or technologies or re-engineer our products in a manner that is successful in avoiding infringement. Moreover, if we are sued for infringement and lose, we could be required to pay substantial damages and/or be enjoined from using or selling the infringing products or technology. Any of the foregoing could cause us to incur significant costs and prevent us from selling our products and could have an adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Our insurance policies may not cover all operating risks and a casualty loss beyond the limits of our coverage could adversely impact our business.
Our business is subject to operating hazards and risks relating to handling, storing, transporting and the use of the products we sell. We maintain insurance policies in amounts and with coverage and deductibles that we believe are reasonable and prudent. Nevertheless, our insurance coverage may not be adequate to protect us from all liabilities and expenses that may arise from claims for personal injury, death or property damage arising in the ordinary course of business, and our current levels of insurance may not be maintained or available in the future at economical prices. If a significant liability claim is brought against us that is not adequately covered by insurance, we may have to pay the claim with our own funds, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Financial Risks
Our substantial indebtedness makes us more sensitive to adverse economic conditions, may limit our ability to plan for or respond to significant changes in our business and requires a significant amount of cash to service our debt payment obligations that we may be unable to generate or obtain.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $1,994.6 million of total debt outstanding and up to $442.1 million of additional borrowing capacity under our Revolving Credit Facility. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences on our business, including:
•making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness;
•requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements;
•increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest;
•exposing us to volatility between the U.S. dollar and euro as a portion of our borrowings are euro- denominated;
•limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;
•placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; and
•increasing our cost of borrowing.
Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend on our future performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors. Some of these factors are beyond our control. If we cannot service our indebtedness and meet our other obligations and commitments, we might be required to refinance our debt or to dispose of assets to obtain funds for such purposes. We cannot guarantee that refinancing or asset dispositions could be effected on a timely basis or on satisfactory terms, if at all, or would be permitted by the terms of our debt instruments.
Despite current indebtedness levels and restrictive covenants, we may still be able to incur substantially more indebtedness or make certain restricted payments, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.
We may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future. Although the financing documents governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, these restrictions are subject to a number of important qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness and liens incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial.
The financing documents governing our indebtedness permit us to incur certain additional indebtedness, including liabilities that do not constitute indebtedness as defined in the financing documents. We may also consider investments in joint ventures or acquisitions, which may increase our indebtedness. In addition, financing documents governing our indebtedness do not restrict Bain Capital from creating new holding companies that may be able to incur indebtedness without regard to the restrictions set forth in the financing documents governing our indebtedness. If new debt is added to our currently anticipated indebtedness levels, the related risks that we face could intensify.
The terms of the financing documents governing our indebtedness restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to changes or to take certain actions.
The financing documents governing our indebtedness contain a number of restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests, including restrictions on our ability to:
•incur additional indebtedness;
•pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of capital stock or repurchase or redeem capital stock;
•prepay, redeem or repurchase certain indebtedness;
•sell or otherwise dispose of assets, including capital stock of restricted subsidiaries;
•incur liens;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•enter into agreements restricting the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends; and
•consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets.
You should read the discussion under the heading “Description of Certain Indebtedness” for further information about these covenants.
The restrictive covenants in the financing documents governing our indebtedness require us to maintain a specified financial ratio and our ability to meet that financial ratio can be affected by events beyond our control.
A breach of the covenants or restrictions under the financing documents governing our indebtedness could result in an event of default under such documents. Such a default may allow the creditors to accelerate the related debt, which may result in the acceleration of any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In the event the holders of our indebtedness accelerate the repayment, we may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness or be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms or on terms acceptable to us. As a result of these restrictions, we may be:
•limited in how we conduct our business;
•unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to operate during general economic or business downturns; or
•unable to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities.
These restrictions, along with restrictions that may be contained in agreements evidencing or governing other future indebtedness, may affect our ability to grow in accordance with our growth strategy.
We entered into a tax receivable agreement that required us to make payments in relation to certain tax attributes of Constellation and its subsidiaries to persons who were shareholders of Constellation prior to the initial public offering and to certain other members of management, which payments are expected to be substantial.
We indirectly acquired favorable tax attributes in connection with the Reorganization Transactions. These tax attributes would not be available to us in the absence of the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions.
As part of the Reorganization Transactions, we entered into a tax receivable agreement, or the TRA, under which, generally, we are required to pay to persons who were shareholders of Constellation prior to the initial public offering, and to certain other members of management, or the TRA Recipients, as part consideration for their shares in Constellation or as part consideration for a note receivable held by them, as applicable, 85% of the savings, if any, in (x) U.S. federal, state or local income tax, and (y) Dutch income tax, in each case, that we actually realize (or are deemed to realize in certain circumstances, including as a result of certain assumptions) as a result of (i) certain United States tax attributes, including tax credits (including any foreign tax credits allowed under Section 901 or 960 of the Code), deferred interest deductions, net operating losses, or NOLs, and amortization and depreciation deductions (and the reduction of income and gain attributable to any tax basis in any amortizable section 197 intangibles, as defined in Section 197(c) and (d) of the Code), (ii) certain Dutch tax attributes, including deferred interest deductions, NOLs, and tax deductible depreciation and amortization deductions (and the reduction of corporate income and gain attributable to tax basis in any intangible assets, including with respect to trademark intangibles and brand name intangibles), in each case of clause (i) and (ii), generated or owned by or attributable to, as applicable, the issuer and its subsidiaries, collectively, the Company Group, on or prior to the date of our initial public offering, or the IPO Date (calculated by assuming that the taxable year of the relevant member of the Company Group closes at the end of the IPO Date), and (iii) generally, any tax deductions available to the Company Group that relate to the transaction expenses incurred by the Company Group as a result of the consummation of our initial public offering, regardless of when actually paid or deductible, or such tax attributes, collectively, the TRA Tax Attributes. Under the TRA, generally, we retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of the applicable tax savings.
The actual utilization of the TRA Tax Attributes, as well as the timing of any payments under the TRA, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the amount, character and timing of our and our subsidiaries’ taxable income in the future and our use of NOLs. Limitations on the use of the NOLs may apply, including limitations under Section 382 of the Code and any analogous provisions of U.S. state, local, or Dutch tax law.
Payments under the TRA are not conditioned on the TRA Recipients’ continuing to own ordinary shares. In addition, the TRA provides for interest, at a rate equal to LIBOR plus 300 basis points (subject to change if LIBOR
is no longer a widely recognized benchmark rate), accrued from the due date (without extensions) of the IRS Form 1120 (or any successor form) for the U.S. members of the Company Group for the applicable taxable year until the date of payment specified by the TRA. Payments under the TRA are based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, consistent with the terms of the TRA. No TRA Recipient is required under any circumstances to make a payment or return a payment to the Company Group in respect of any portion of any payments previously made to such TRA Recipient under the TRA; if it is determined that excess payments have been made under the TRA, certain future payments, if any, otherwise to be made will be reduced. As a result, in certain circumstances, including, for example, if a previously claimed deduction is subsequently disallowed, payments could be made under the TRA in excess of the benefits that we actually realize in respect of the attributes to which the TRA relates.
The terms of the TRA, in certain circumstances, including an early termination, certain changes of control or divestitures, or breaches of any material obligations under it, provide for our (or our successor’s) obligations under the TRA to accelerate and become payable in a lump sum amount equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits calculated based on certain assumptions, including that we would have at such time sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the TRA Tax Attributes. Additionally, if we or any of our subsidiaries transfers any asset to a corporation with which we do not file a consolidated tax return for applicable tax purposes, we will be treated as having sold that asset in a taxable transaction for purposes of determining certain amounts payable pursuant to the TRA. As a result of the foregoing, (i) we could be required to make payments under the TRA that are greater than or less than the specified percentage of the actual tax savings we realize in respect of the TRA Tax Attributes and (ii) we may be required to make an immediate lump sum payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax savings, which payment may be made years in advance of the actual realization of such future benefits, if any such benefits are ever realized. In these situations, our obligations under the TRA could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of adversely affecting our working capital and growth, and of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control.
Because the issuer of the TRA is a holding company with no operations of its own, our ability to make payments under the TRA is dependent on the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us. The TRA restricts our and our subsidiaries’ ability to enter into any agreement or indenture that would restrict or encumber our ability to make payments under the TRA. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the TRA, and such inability is a result of the terms of debt documents (including our Initial Senior Secured Credit Facilities or the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes), such payments will be deferred and will accrue interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 300 basis points (subject to a 50 bps LIBOR floor and subject to change if LIBOR is no longer a widely recognized benchmark rate) until paid. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the TRA in a manner that does not adversely affect our working capital and growth requirements.