Fair value option; equity method investments
On January 4, 2011, Runyan Bakery paid $324 million for 10 million shares of Lavery Labeling Company common stock. The investment represents a 30% interest in the net assets of Lavery and gave Runyan the ability to exercise significant influence over Lavery’s operations. Runyan chose the fair value option to account for this investment. Runyan received dividends of $2.00 per share on December 15, 2011, and Lavery reported net income of $160 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. The market value of Lavery’s common stock at December 31, 2011, was $31 per share. On the purchase date, the book value of Lavery’s net assets was $800 million and:
a. The fair value of Lavery’s depreciable assets, with an average remaining useful life of six years, exceeded their book value by $80 million.
b. The remainder of the excess of the cost of the investment over the book value of net assets purchased was attributable to goodwill.
Required:
1. Prepare all appropriate journal entries related to the investment during 2011, assuming Runyan accounts for this investment under the fair value option and accounts for the Lavery investment in a manner similar to what they would use for trading securities.
2. What would be the effect of this investment on Runyan’s 2011 net income?