Mondelez International, Inc. | 2013 | FY |

Note 12. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings:

We routinely are involved in legal proceedings, claims, and governmental inspections or investigations (“Legal Matters”) arising in the ordinary course of our business.

A compliant and ethical corporate culture, which includes adhering to laws and industry regulations in all jurisdictions in which we do business, is integral to our success. Accordingly, after we acquired Cadbury in February 2010 we began reviewing and adjusting, as needed, Cadbury’s operations in light of applicable standards as well as our policies and practices. We initially focused on such high priority areas as food safety, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and antitrust. Based upon Cadbury’s pre-acquisition policies and compliance programs and our post-acquisition reviews, our preliminary findings indicated that Cadbury’s overall state of compliance was sound. Nonetheless, through our reviews, we determined that in certain jurisdictions, including India, there appeared to be facts and circumstances warranting further investigation. We are continuing our investigations in certain jurisdictions, including in India, and we continue to cooperate with governmental authorities.

As we previously disclosed, on February 1, 2011, we received a subpoena from the SEC in connection with an investigation under the FCPA, primarily related to a facility in India that we acquired in the Cadbury acquisition. The subpoena primarily requests information regarding dealings with Indian governmental agencies and officials to obtain approvals related to the operation of that facility. We are continuing to cooperate with the U.S. and Indian governments in their investigations of these matters, including through preliminary meetings with the U.S. government to discuss potential conclusion of the investigation.

On February 28, 2013, Cadbury India Limited, a subsidiary of Mondelēz International, and other parties received a show cause notice from the Indian Department of Central Excise Authority. The notice calls upon the parties to demonstrate why the Authority should not collect approximately $46 million of unpaid excise tax as well as approximately $46 million of penalties and interest related to production at the same Indian facility. We believe that the decision to claim the excise tax benefit is valid and we are contesting the show cause notice through the administrative and judicial process.

As we previously disclosed, on March 1, 2011, Starbucks took control of the Starbucks CPG business in grocery stores and other channels. Starbucks did so without our authorization and in what we contended was a violation and breach of our license and supply agreement with Starbucks related to the Starbucks CPG business. Following an initial decision in November 2013, on December 13, 2013, the independent arbitrator in our dispute with Starbucks issued a decision and Final Award that Kraft Foods Global, Inc. (now Kraft Foods Group), the named party in the proceeding, had proven that it was entitled to recover and that Starbucks must pay $2,764 million in total cash compensation for Starbucks’ unilateral termination of the agreement. The award included compensation for 135% of the determined fair market value of the agreement for improper termination as well as prejudgment interest of $521 million and Kraft Foods Group’s attorney’s fees, which the parties agreed would equal $15 million. Starbucks has paid all of the amount owed pursuant to the ruling. Under the Separation and Distribution Agreement between Kraft Foods Group and us, Kraft Foods Group directed the recovery awarded in the arbitration proceeding to us.

While we cannot predict with certainty the results of Legal Matters in which we are currently involved, we do not expect that the ultimate costs to resolve any of these Legal Matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our financial results.

Third-Party Guarantees:

We enter into third-party guarantees primarily to cover the long-term obligations of our vendors. As part of these transactions, we guarantee that third parties will make contractual payments or achieve performance measures. At December 31, 2013, we had no material third-party guarantees recorded on our consolidated balance sheet.

 

As part of our 2010 Cadbury acquisition, we became the responsible party for tax matters under the Cadbury Schweppes Plc and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (“DPSG”) Tax Sharing and Indemnification Agreement dated May 1, 2008 (“Tax Indemnity”) for certain 2007 and 2008 transactions relating to the demerger of Cadbury’s Americas Beverage business. A U.S. federal tax audit of DPSG for the 2006-2008 tax years was concluded with the IRS in August 2013. As a result, we recorded a favorable impact of $336 million in selling, general and administrative expenses and $49 million in interest and other expense, net for a total pre-tax impact of $385 million ($363 million net of tax) in 2013 due to the reversal of the accrued liability in excess of the amount we paid to DPSG under the Tax Indemnity.

Leases:

Rental expenses recorded in continuing operations were $386 million in 2013, $341 million in 2012 and $283 million in 2011. As of December 31, 2013, minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable operating leases in effect at year-end were (in millions):