Electrolux 2010 Annual Report Download - page 160

Group
December 31, Parent Company December 31,
2010 2009 2010 2009
Trade receivables,
with recourse — — — —
Guarantees and other
commitments
On behalf of subsidiaries — — 1,448 1,641
On behalf of external
counterparties 1,062 1,185 154 171
Employee benefits in
excess of reported liabilities — — 6 6
Total 1,062 1,185 1,608 1,818
The main part of the total amount of guarantees and other com-
mitments on behalf of external counterparties is related to US
sales to dealers financed through external finance companies
with a regulated buy-back obligation of the products in case of
dealer’s bankruptcy.
In addition to the above contingent liabilities, guarantees for ful-
fillment of contractual undertakings are given as part of the
Group’s normal course of business. There was no indication at
year-end that payment will be required in connection with any
contractual guarantees.
Asbestos litigation in the US
Litigation and claims related to asbestos are pending against the
Group in the US. Almost all of the cases refer to externally sup-
plied components used in industrial products manufactured by
NOTE 25 Contingent liabilities
discontinued operations prior to the early 1970s. The cases
involve plaintiffs who have made identical allegations against
other defendants who are not part of the Electrolux Group.
As of December 31, 2010, the Group had a total of 2,800 (2,818)
cases pending, representing approximately 3,050 (approximately
3,120) plaintiffs. During 2010, 842 new cases with 842 plaintiffs
were filed and 860 pending cases with approximately 915 plain-
tiffs were resolved.
The Group reached an agreement in 2007 with many of the
insurance carriers that issued general liability insurance to certain
predecessors of the Group who manufactured industrial prod-
ucts, some of which are alleged to have contained asbestos.
Under this agreement the insurance carriers have agreed to reim-
burse the Group for a portion of the past and future costs incurred
in connection with asbestos-related lawsuits for such products.
The term of the agreement is indefinite but subject to termination
upon 60 days notice. If terminated, all parties would be restored to
all of their rights and obligations under the affected insurance
policies.
Additional lawsuits may be filed against Electrolux in the future.
It is not possible to predict either the number of future claims or
the number of plaintiffs that any future claims may represent. In
addition, the outcome of asbestos claims is inherently uncertain
and always difficult to predict and Electrolux cannot provide any
assurances that the resolution of these types of claims will not
have a material adverse effect on its business or on results of
operations in the future.
NOTE 26 Acquired and divested operations
Divestments
2010 2009
Fixed assets 3 4
Inventories — —
Receivables 31 —
Other current assets 11 17
Liquid funds — 5
Loans — —
Other liabilities and provisions –19 –17
Net assets 26 9
Sales price 7 9
Net borrowings in acquired/divested operations — –5
Effect on Group cash and cash equivalents 7 4
On September 9, 2010, an agreement to sell Baring Industries
Division in USA, a unit in the Professional Products business area,
was concluded. The divestment was made close to book value of
the transferred net assets. An additional consideration of SEK14m
will be received in 2011.
On August 1, 2009, all shares in Distriparts Deutschland GmbH in
Germany were divested. The divestment was made at book value.
annual report 2010 | part 2 | notes, all amounts in SEKm unless otherwise stated
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