On December 1, 2014, Ashland Inc. (the “Company”) filed a Current Report on Form 8-K (the “Original Form 8-K”), in which it disclosed, among other things, that in connection with the sale of its Elastomers business to Lion Copolymer Holdings, LLC. (the “Sale”), the Company concluded that it expected to record a material charge reflecting a book loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 as a result of the Sale (the “Charge”). The Charge is due primarily to adverse changes in the value of the Elastomers business during the first quarter of fiscal 2015. At the time of filing the Original Form 8-K, the Company disclosed that it was unable to make a good faith determination of an estimate of the amount, or range of amounts, of the Charge due to the potential effects that taxes and customary working capital and other post-closing adjustments may have on the amount or range of amounts.
Following a determination by the Company on December 9, 2014, that the estimated range of the Charge would be between $50 million and $60 million after-tax, the Company is now filing this Form 8-K/A to amend the disclosure under Item 8.01 of the Original Form 8-K to indicate the range of amounts noted above. Except as stated herein, this Form 8-K/A does not reflect events or transactions occurring after the filing date of the Original Form 8-K or modify or update the disclosures contained therein that may have been affected by events or transactions occurring subsequent to such filing date.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report on Form 8-K/A contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Ashland has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “is likely,” “predicts,” “projects,” ”forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should” and “intends” and the negatives of these words or other comparable terminology. In addition, Ashland may from time to time make forward-looking statements in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), news releases and other written and oral communications. These forward-looking statements are based on Ashland’s expectations and assumptions, as of the date such statements are made, regarding Ashland’s future operating performance and financial condition, the economy and other future events or circumstances. Ashland’s expectations and assumptions include, without limitation, internal forecasts and analyses of current and future market conditions and trends, management plans and strategies, operating efficiencies and economic conditions (such as prices, supply and demand, cost of raw materials, and the ability to recover raw-material cost increases through price increases), and risks and uncertainties associated with the following: Ashland’s substantial indebtedness (including the possibility that such indebtedness and related restrictive covenants may adversely affect Ashland’s future cash flows, results of operations, financial condition and its ability to repay debt), the impact of acquisitions and/or divestitures Ashland has made or may make (including the possibility that Ashland may not realize the anticipated benefits from such transactions), the global restructuring program (including the possibility that Ashland may not realize the anticipated revenue and earnings growth, cost reductions and other expected benefits from the program), Ashland's ability to generate
sufficient cash to finance its stock repurchase plans, severe weather, natural disasters and legal proceedings and claims (including environmental and asbestos matters). Various risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, projected or implied by any forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties affecting Ashland that are described in its most recent Form 10-K (including Item 1A Risk Factors) filed with the SEC, which is available on Ashland’s website at http://investor.ashland.com or on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Ashland believes its expectations and assumptions are reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the expectations reflected herein will be achieved. Unless legally required, Ashland undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this report whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.