IFRS 3/IFRS 10 — Identification of the acquirer in accordance with IFRS 3 and the parent in accordance with IFRS 10 in a stapling arrangement

Date recorded:

Issue

The IFRS Interpretations Committee received a request to clarify the interaction of the requirements in IFRS 3 Business Combinations (as revised in 2008) for identifying an acquirer with the requirements in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements for deciding whether control exists.

More specifically, the submitter is seeking clarification of whether an acquirer identified for the purpose of IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) is a parent for the purpose of IFRS 10 in circumstances in which a business combination is achieved by contract alone, such as a stapling arrangement, with no combining entity obtaining control of the other combining entities.

 

Decision not to add

May 2014

 

Reason

IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) defines a business combination as "a transaction or other event in which an acquirer obtains control of one or more businesses". In addition, IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) refers to IFRS 10 for the meaning of the term 'control'. IFRS 10 states that an investor controls an investee when it is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the investee. Hence, the Committee observed that an investment is not needed in order for an entity to control another entity.

The definition of a business combination in IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) includes transactions in which an acquirer obtains control of one or more businesses. It also includes transactions that are sometimes referred to as 'true mergers' or 'mergers of equals'. In other words, it includes transactions in which none of the combining entities obtains control of the other combining entities. The Committee discussed a stapling arrangement and noted that if the stapling arrangement combines separate entities and businesses by the unification of ownership and voting interests in the combining entities, then such a transaction is a business combination as defined by IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008).

Notwithstanding the fact that IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) includes business combinations in which none of the combining entities obtains control of the other combining entities, the Committee noted that paragraph 6 of IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) requires that one of the combining entities in a business combination must be identified as the acquirer. Paragraphs B14–B18 of IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) provide additional guidance for identifying the acquirer if the guidance in IFRS 10 does not clearly indicate which combining entity is the acquirer.

The Committee also noted that paragraph B15(a) of IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) provides guidance on identifying the acquirer by assessing the relative voting rights in the combined entity after the combination—this guidance explains that the acquirer is usually the combining entity whose owners, as a group, receive the largest portion of the voting rights in the combined entity. This guidance is consistent with the Committee's observation that the definition of a business combination includes transactions in which none of the combining entities or businesses are identified as having control of the other combining entities. The Committee thought that this guidance would be relevant to identifying which of the combining entities is the acquirer in the stapling transaction considered.

The Committee noted that the IASB stated in the IASB Update for September 2004 that the intended interaction between IFRS 3 (issued in 2004) and IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements is that an entity that is identified as the 'acquirer' of another entity in accordance with IFRS 3 (issued in 2004) is a 'parent' for the purposes of IAS 27. The Committee noted that the meaning of the term 'acquirer' has not changed since 2004 and that the term 'control' is used consistently between IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) and IFRS 10. It also noted that the notion in IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) that a business combination could occur even if none of the combining entities obtains control of the other combining entities has not changed from IFRS 3 (issued in 2004). Accordingly, the Committee observed that the IASB's statement on the interaction between IFRS 3 (issued in 2004) and IAS 27 remains valid in respect of the interaction between IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) and IFRS 10. Consequently, the Committee observed that the combining entity in the stapling arrangement that is identified as the acquirer for the purpose of IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) should prepare consolidated financial statements of the combined entity in accordance with IFRS 10.

The Committee noted that there is little diversity in practice for the accounting for business combinations achieved by contract alone. It further noted that it does not expect diversity to emerge in the future on the basis of the analysis on the requirements and guidance in IFRS 3 (as revised in 2008) and IFRS 10.

Accordingly, the Committee decided not to add this issue to its agenda.

 

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