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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Contingencies On December 19, 2018, a putative class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Company and certain individual defendants. The case has been narrowed since its inception. The plaintiff’s remaining claims are that the Company and certain individual defendants violated U.S. securities laws by making material misrepresentations and omitting required information in the December 4, 2015 registration statement filed with the SEC in connection with the 2016 merger of Sirona Dental Systems Inc. (“Sirona”) with DENTSPLY International Inc. (the “Merger”) and that the defendants failed to disclose, among other things, that a distributor had purchased excessive inventory of legacy Sirona products. In addition, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants violated U.S. securities laws by making false and misleading statements in quarterly and annual reports and other public statements between May 6, 2016 and August 7, 2018. The plaintiff asserts claims on behalf of a putative class consisting of all purchasers of the Company's stock during the period from December 8, 2015 through August 6, 2018. The Company moved to dismiss the amended complaint on August 15, 2019. The plaintiff filed its second amended complaint on January 22, 2021, and the Company filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint on March 8, 2021, with briefing on the motion fully submitted on May 21, 2021. The Company’s motion to dismiss was denied in a ruling by the Court on March 29, 2023, and the Company’s answer to the second amended complaint was filed on May 12, 2023. On September 29, 2023, the plaintiff filed a motion for class certification. The Company’s opposition to the plaintiff's motion for class certification was filed on February 8, 2024, the plaintiff’s reply was filed on May 10, 2024, the Company’s sur-reply in further opposition was filed on September 6, 2024, and the plaintiff was granted leave to file a sur-sur reply on October 7, 2024. On June 7, 2024, the Company served a motion for judgment on the pleadings seeking dismissal of additional portions of the amended complaint. The plaintiff served its opposition on July 26, 2024, and the motion was fully briefed and filed on August 16, 2024 upon the filing of the Company’s reply. The parties have been engaging in settlement discussions with the assistance of a mediator, but no settlement has been reached. At this stage, the Company has recognized a liability as of September 30, 2024, with an offsetting insurance receivable, and with no impact to the income statement in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. On June 2, 2022, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio captioned City of Miami General Employees’ & Sanitation Employees’ Retirement Trust v. Casey, Jr. et al., No. 2:22-cv-02371, and on July 28, 2022, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York captioned San Antonio Fire and Police Pension Fund v. Dentsply Sirona Inc. et al., No. 1:22-cv-06339 (together, the “Securities Litigation”). The complaints in the Securities Litigation are substantially similar and both allege that, during the period from June 9, 2021 through May 9, 2022, the Company, Mr. Donald M. Casey Jr., the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Jorge Gomez, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, violated U.S. securities laws by, among other things, making materially false and misleading statements or omissions, including regarding the manner in which the Company recognized revenue tied to distributor rebate and incentive programs. On March 27, 2023, the Court in the Southern District of Ohio ordered the transfer of the putative class action to the Southern District of New York (the “Court”). On June 1, 2023, the Court consolidated the two separate actions under case No. 1:22-cv-06339 and appointed the City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System, the El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund, and the Wayne County Employees’ Retirement System as Lead Plaintiffs for the putative class. Lead Plaintiffs filed an amended class action complaint on July 28, 2023 (the “Amended Complaint”). In addition to asserting the same claims against the Company, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Gomez, the Amended Complaint added the Company’s former Chief Accounting Officer, Mr. Ranjit S. Chadha, as a defendant (collectively, “Defendants”). On October 10, 2023, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint. Lead Plaintiffs’ opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss was filed on December 8, 2023, and Defendants’ reply was filed on January 8, 2024. The motion to dismiss was granted as to Mr. Chadha and granted in part and denied in part as to the Company, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Gomez in a ruling by the Court on May 1, 2024. The Company’s answer to the Amended Complaint was filed on May 21, 2024. In addition to the Securities Litigation, as previously disclosed, the Company voluntarily contacted the SEC following the Company’s announcement on May 10, 2022 of the internal investigation by the Audit and Finance Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company continues to cooperate with the SEC regarding this matter. Separately, on July 13, 2023, Dentsply Sirona stockholder George Presura filed a shareholder derivative suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned George Presura, Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant Dentsply Sirona Inc. v. Donald M. Casey Jr. et al. and Dentsply Sirona, Inc., No. 2023-0708-NAC (the “Presura Derivative Litigation”). The complaint, filed derivatively on behalf of the Company, asserts claims against current and former members of the Company’s Board of Directors and current and former executive officers, including Messrs. Casey and Gomez. The derivative complaint in this case contains allegations similar to those in the Securities Litigation, and it alleges that during the period from June 9, 2021 through July 13, 2023, various of the defendants breached fiduciary duties, committed corporate waste, and misappropriated information to conduct insider trading by making materially false and misleading statements or omissions regarding the Company’s recognition of revenue tied to distributor rebate and incentive programs and distributor inventory levels. On August 4, 2023, the Delaware Court of Chancery stayed the Presura Derivative Litigation until the earlier of public announcement of a settlement of the Securities Litigation or resolution of the pending motion to dismiss in the Securities Litigation. Additionally, on March 26, 2024, Dentsply Sirona stockholder Calvin Snee filed a shareholder derivative suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned Calvin Snee, derivatively on behalf of Dentsply Sirona Inc. v. Donald M. Casey Jr., et al. and Dentsply Sirona Inc, No. 2024-0308 (the “Snee Derivative Litigation”). The complaint, filed derivatively on behalf of the Company, asserts claims against current and former members of the Company’s Board of Directors and current and former executive officers, including Messrs. Casey and Gomez. The derivative complaint in this case contains allegations similar to those in the Presura Derivative Litigation and the Securities Litigation, and it alleges that beginning in 2021, various of the defendants breached fiduciary duties, misappropriated information to conduct insider trading, and were unjustly enriched by making materially false and misleading statements or omissions regarding the Company’s recognition of revenue tied to distributor rebate and incentive programs and distributor inventory levels. On May 2, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an order consolidating and staying the Presura Derivative Litigation and Snee Derivative Litigation. On July 19, 2024, Dentsply Sirona stockholder Frank Manfre filed a shareholder derivative suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned Frank Manfre, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant Dentsply Sirona Inc. v. Donald M. Casey Jr. et al. and Dentsply Sirona Inc., No. 2024-0763 (the “Manfre Derivative Litigation”). The complaint asserts claims against current and former members of the Company’s Board of Directors and current and former executive officers, including Messrs. Casey and Gomez. The complaint in this case contains allegations similar to those in the Snee Derivative Litigation, the Presura Derivative Litigation, and the Securities Litigation, and it alleges that beginning in 2021, various of the defendants breached fiduciary duties, misappropriated information to conduct insider trading, and were unjustly enriched by making materially false and misleading statements or omissions regarding the Company’s recognition of revenue tied to distributor rebate and incentive programs and distributor inventory levels. On September 19, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an order consolidating and staying the Manfre Derivative Litigation, Presura Derivative Litigation, and Snee Derivative Litigation. On March 21, 2023, Mr. Carlo Gobbetti filed a claim in the Milan Chamber of Arbitration against Dentsply Sirona Italia S.r.l. (“DSI”), Italy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, seeking a total of €28 million for the alleged failure to pay a portion of the purchase price pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement, dated October 8, 2012 (the “SPA”), in which Sirona Dental Systems, S.r.l., which at the time of execution of the SPA was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sirona Dental Systems, Inc., acquired all of the shares of MHT S.p.A., an Italian corporation, from Mr. Gobbetti, and various other sellers. Sirona Dental Systems S.r.l. merged into Dentsply Italia S.r.l. in 2018 (the surviving entity is now Dentsply Sirona Italia S.r.l.). Under the SPA, a portion of the purchase price equal to €7 million was required to be deposited into an escrow account (the “Escrow Account”) and released to Mr. Gobbetti and the other sellers upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the delivery by July 2013 of a new prototype of an MHT S.p.A. camera which had to meet certain specifications. In connection with the closing of the share purchase transaction, the SPA was supplemented by a Facility Agreement, also dated October 8, 2012 (the “FA”), which specifically set out the mechanics of payment and release of the proceeds of the Escrow Account. The Austrian notary public, Mr. Gottfried Schachinger, acting as escrow agent, Mr. Gobbetti, and SIRONA Holdings GmbH, an affiliate of Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. which paid the €7 million into the Escrow Account, were parties to the FA. The FA is subject to Austrian law and to the jurisdiction of the Court of Salzburg in Austria. Mr. Gobbetti claims that he is entitled to receive the €7 million outstanding balance of the purchase price under the SPA, plus €21 million for damages incurred as a consequence of the failure to make the payment. Mr. Gobbetti claims that he has a right to receive the full purchase price under the SPA even if the conditions set out in the SPA to deliver a prototype of the MHT S.p.A. camera by July 2013 were not met. On May 15, 2023, DSI filed its initial statement of defense denying that Mr. Gobbetti and the other sellers were entitled to receive the funds deposited in the Escrow Account and further disputing the allegations. Following the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, hearings were held on September 13, 2023 and January 19, 2024, to illustrate and discuss their respective positions. The parties also developed their arguments in several rounds of defensive briefs. The final submissions were completed on April 15, 2024 and the final hearing for discussion took place on May 8, 2024. On July 22, 2024, the arbitral tribunal rejected all of Mr. Gobbetti’s claims, ruling that the Company had met its contractual obligations under the SPA, particularly regarding the balance of the purchase price. The arbitral tribunal also dismissed Mr. Gobbetti’s claims in tort and those pertaining to the FA for lack of jurisdiction and lack of capacity for the Company to be sued. The arbitral tribunal observed that such claims should have been brought against SIRONA Holdings GmbH, which is a party to the FA but not to the SPA, before the Court of Salzburg in Austria based on the jurisdictional clause of the FA. The arbitration award has been duly served to Mr. Gobbetti and his time to appeal expires on December 3, 2024. Except as noted above, no specific amounts of damages have been alleged in these lawsuits. The Company will continue to incur legal fees in connection with these pending cases, including expenses for the reimbursement of legal fees of present and former officers and directors under indemnification obligations. The expense of continuing to defend such litigation may be significant. The Company intends to defend these lawsuits vigorously, although the Company may elect to settle certain litigation matters, but there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in any defense or that matters can be settled on terms favorable to the Company. If any of the lawsuits are decided adversely, the Company may be liable for significant damages directly or under its indemnification obligations, which could adversely affect the Company's business, results of operations and cash flows. At this stage, the Company has accrued losses which are assessed to be more likely than not, along with related insurance receivables, but the Company is unable to assess whether any incremental material loss or adverse effect is reasonably possible as a result of these lawsuits or estimate the range of any potential loss. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is conducting an examination of the Company's U.S. federal income tax returns for the tax years 2015 and 2016. The Company received a Notice of Proposed Adjustment in April 2023 and a Revenue Agent Report in January 2024 from the IRS examination team proposing an adjustment related to an internal reorganization completed in 2016 with respect to the integration of certain operations of Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. following its acquisition in 2016. Although the proposed adjustment does not result in any additional federal income tax liability for the internal reorganization, if sustained, the proposed adjustment would result in the Company owing additional federal income taxes on a distribution of $451 million related to a stock redemption that occurred after the internal reorganization was completed in 2016. The amount of additional federal income taxes due for 2016 would be approximately $2 million, excluding interest. The proposed adjustment, if sustained, would also result in a loss of foreign tax credits carried forward to later tax years. The Company believes that it accurately reported the federal income tax consequences of the internal restructuring and stock redemption in its tax returns and in April 2024, submitted an administrative protest with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals contesting the examination team’s proposed adjustments. The IRS examination team provided the Company with a rebuttal to the Company’s administrative protest during August 2024 and informed the Company that the dispute would be forwarded to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. The Company intends to vigorously defend its reported positions and believes that it is more likely than not that its positions will be sustained. The Company has not accrued a liability relating to the proposed tax adjustments. However, the outcome of this dispute involves a number of uncertainties, including those relating to the application of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal income tax authorities and judicial precedent. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the dispute with the IRS will be resolved favorably. The Company intends to vigorously defend its positions and pursue related appeals in the above-described pending matters. In addition to the matters disclosed above, the Company is, from time to time, subject to a variety of litigation and similar proceedings incidental to its business. These legal matters primarily involve claims for damages arising out of the use of the Company’s products and services and claims relating to intellectual property matters including patent infringement, employment matters, tax matters, commercial disputes, competition and sales and trading practices, personal injury, and insurance coverage. The Company may also become subject to lawsuits as a result of past or future acquisitions or as a result of liabilities retained from, or representations, warranties or indemnities provided in connection with, divested businesses. Some of these lawsuits may include claims for punitive and consequential, as well as compensatory, damages. Except as otherwise noted, the Company generally cannot predict what the eventual outcome of the above-described pending matters will be, what the timing of the ultimate resolution of these matters will be, or what the eventual loss, fines or penalties related to each pending matter may be. Based upon the Company’s experience, current information, and applicable law, it does not believe that these proceedings and claims will have a material adverse effect on its consolidated results of operations, financial position, or liquidity. However, in the event of unexpected further developments, it is possible that the ultimate resolution of these matters, or other similar matters, if unfavorable, may be materially adverse to the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. While the Company maintains general, product, property, workers’ compensation, automobile, cargo, aviation, crime, fiduciary and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance up to certain limits that cover certain of these claims, this insurance may be insufficient or unavailable to cover such losses. In addition, while the Company believes it is entitled to indemnification from third parties for some of these claims, these rights may also be insufficient or unavailable to cover such losses. Commitments Purchase Commitments The Company has certain non-cancelable future commitments primarily related to long-term supply contracts for key components and raw materials. At September 30, 2024, non-cancelable purchase commitments were as follows:
(in millions) |  |
2024 |  | $ | 73 |
2025 |  | 171 |
2026 |  | 69 |
2027 |  | 43 |
2028 |  | 41 |
Thereafter |  | — |
Total |  | $ | 397 |
The above information should be read in conjunction with Part II, Item 7 “Contractual Obligations” and Part II, Item 8, Note 21, Commitments and Contingencies, in the Company’s 2023 Form 10-K. The table above includes commitments under the Company’s agreement with a cloud services provider supporting the Company’s digital platform which requires minimum purchases totaling $89 million through 2028. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements As of September 30, 2024, the Company had no material off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources other than certain items disclosed in the sections above. Indemnification In the normal course of business to facilitate the sale of the Company’s products and services, the Company indemnifies certain parties, including customers, vendors, lessors, service providers, and others, with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, services to be provided by or for the Company, and intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and its executive officers that will require the Company, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. Several of these agreements limit the time within which an indemnification claim can be made and the amount of the claim. It is not possible to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount of indemnification under these indemnification agreements due to the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Additionally, the Company has a limited history of prior indemnification claims, and the payments the Company has made under such agreements have not had a material effect on its results of operations, cash flows or financial position. As of September 30, 2024, the Company did not have any material indemnification claims that were probable or reasonably possible. However, to the extent that valid indemnification claims arise in the future, future payments by the Company could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in a particular period.

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