Item 1A. RISK FACTORS, continued

If the Corteva Distribution, together with certain related transactions, were to fail to qualify for non-recognition treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes, then the company could be subject to significant tax and indemnification liability and stockholders receiving Corteva common stock in the Corteva Distribution could be subject to significant tax liability.

DowDuPont received an IRS Tax Ruling and tax opinion that, among other things, the Corteva Distribution and certain related transactions will qualify as a tax-free transaction under Section 355 and Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code). The IRS Ruling and tax opinion will rely on certain facts, assumptions, and undertakings, and certain representations from DowDuPont and Corteva, regarding the past and future conduct of both respective businesses and other matters. Despite the tax opinion and the IRS Ruling, the IRS could determine on audit that the Distribution or certain related transactions should be treated as a taxable transaction if it determines that any of these facts, assumptions, representations or undertakings are not correct or have been violated, or that the Distribution should be taxable for other reasons, including if the IRS were to disagree with the conclusions of the tax opinion.

If the Corteva Distribution ultimately is determined to be taxable, then a stockholder of DuPont that received shares of Corteva common stock would be treated as having received a distribution of property in an amount equal to the fair market value of such shares (including any fractional shares sold on behalf of such stockholder) on the distribution date and could incur significant income tax liabilities. Such distribution would be taxable to such stockholder as a dividend to the extent of DuPont’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which would include any earnings and profits attributable to the gain recognized by DuPont on the taxable distribution and could include earnings and profits attributable to certain internal transactions preceding the Corteva Distribution. Any amount that exceeded DuPont’s earnings and profits would be treated first as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of such stockholder’s tax basis in its shares of DuPont stock with any remaining amount being taxed as a gain on the DuPont stock. In the event the Distribution is ultimately determined to be taxable, DuPont would recognize corporate level taxable gain on the Distribution in an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of Corteva common stock distributed to DuPont stockholders on the distribution date over DuPont’s tax basis in such stock. In addition, if certain related transactions fail to qualify for tax-free treatment under U.S. federal, state, local tax and/or foreign tax law, Corteva and DuPont could incur significant tax liabilities under U.S. federal, state, local and/or foreign tax law.

Generally, taxes resulting from the failure of the Separation and Distributions to qualify for non-recognition treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes would be imposed on DuPont or DuPont stockholders. Under the Tax Matters Agreement that the company entered into with DuPont and Dow, subject to the exceptions described below, the company is generally obligated to indemnify DuPont against such taxes imposed on DuPont. However, if the Distributions fail to qualify for non-recognition treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes for certain reasons relating to the overall structure of the Merger and the Distributions, then under the Tax Matters Agreement, DuPont and Dow would share the tax liability resulting from such failure in accordance with their relative equity values on the first full trading day following the Dow Distribution. The company and DuPont would share any liabilities of DuPont described in the preceding sentence in accordance with its relative equity values on the first full trading day following the Corteva Distribution. Furthermore, under the terms of the Tax Matters Agreement, the company also generally will be responsible for any taxes imposed on DuPont or Dow that arise from the failure of the Corteva Distribution to qualify as tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes within the meaning of Section 355 of the Code or the failure of certain related transactions to qualify for tax-free treatment, to the extent such failure to qualify is attributable to actions, events or transactions relating to its, or its affiliates’, stock, assets or business, or any breach of its representations made in any representation letter provided to its counsel in connection with the tax opinion. DuPont and Dow will be separately responsible for any taxes imposed on Corteva that arise from the failure of the Corteva Distribution to qualify as tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes within the meaning of Section 355 of the Code or the failure of certain related transactions to qualify for tax-free treatment, to the extent such failure to qualify is attributable to actions, events or transactions relating to such company’s or its affiliates’ stock, assets or business, or any breach of such company’s representations made in connection with the IRS Ruling or in the representation letter provided to counsel in connection with the tax opinion. Events triggering an indemnification obligation under the tax matters agreement include events occurring after the Corteva Distribution that cause DuPont to recognize a gain under Section 355(e) of the Code, as discussed further below. Such tax amounts could be significant. To the extent that the company is responsible for any liability under the tax matters agreement, there could be a material adverse impact on Corteva’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in future reporting periods.

Part I

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS, continued

The company agreed to numerous restrictions to preserve the tax-free treatment of the transactions separating it from DowDuPont in the United States, which may reduce Corteva’s strategic and operating flexibility.

The company’s ability to engage in certain transactions is limited or restricted to preserve, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax-free nature of the Distributions by DowDuPont, and certain aspects of the Internal Reorganization and Business Realignment. As a result of these limitations, under the Tax Matters Agreement that the company entered into with DuPont and Dow, for the two-year period following the Distribution, the company is prohibited, except in certain circumstances, from, among other things:

These restrictions may significantly limit Corteva’s ability to pursue certain strategic transactions or other transactions that the company may believe to otherwise be in the best interests of its stockholders or that might increase the value of its business.

The IRS may assert that the Merger causes the Distributions and other related transactions to be taxable to DuPont, in which case the company could be subject to significant indemnification liability.

Even if the Distributions otherwise constitutes a tax-free transaction to stockholders under Section 355 of the Code, DuPont may be required to recognize corporate level tax on the Distributions and certain related transactions under Section 355(e) of the Code if, as a result of the Merger or other transactions considered part of a plan with the Distributions, there is a 50 percent or greater change of ownership in DuPont or Corteva. In connection with the Merger, DowDuPont received a private letter ruling from the IRS regarding the proper time, manner and methodology for measuring common ownership in the stock of DowDuPont, Historical DuPont and Historical Dow for purposes of determining whether there has been a 50 percent or greater change of ownership under Section 355(e) of the Code as a result of the Merger. The tax opinion relied on the continued validity of the private letter ruling, as well as certain factual representations from DowDuPont as to the extent of common ownership in the stock of Historical DuPont and Historical Dow immediately prior to the Merger. Based on the representations made by DowDuPont as to the common ownership in the stock of Historical DuPont and Historical Dow immediately prior to the Merger and assuming the continued validity of the IRS Ruling, the tax opinion concluded that there was not a 50 percent or greater change of ownership in DowDuPont, Historical DuPont or Historical Dow for purposes of Section 355(e) as a result of the Merger. Notwithstanding the tax opinion and the IRS Ruling, the IRS could determine that the Distributions or a related transaction should nevertheless be treated as a taxable transaction to DuPont if it determines that any of the facts, assumptions, representations or undertakings of DowDuPont is not correct or that the Distributions should be taxable for other reasons, including if the IRS were to disagree with the conclusions in the tax opinion that are not covered by the private letter ruling. If DuPont is required to recognize corporate level tax on either of the Distributions and certain related transactions under Section 355(e) of the Code, then under the Tax Matters Agreement, the company may be required to indemnify DuPont and/or Dow for all or a portion of such taxes, which could be a material amount, if such taxes were the result of either direct or indirect transfers of Corteva common stock or certain reasons relating to the overall structure of the Merger and the Distributions.

Part I

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS, continued

The company is subject to continuing contingent tax-related liabilities of DowDuPont following the Distribution.

There are several significant areas where the liabilities of DowDuPont may become Corteva’s obligations either in whole or in part. For example, under the Code and the related rules and regulations, each corporation that was a member of DowDuPont’s consolidated tax reporting group during any taxable period or portion of any taxable period ending on or before the effective time of the Distribution is jointly and severally liable for the U.S. federal income tax liability of the entire consolidated tax reporting group for such taxable period. Additionally, to the extent that any subsidiary of Corteva was included in the consolidated tax reporting group of either Historical DuPont or Historical Dow for any taxable period or portion of any taxable period ending on or before the effective date of the Merger, such subsidiary is jointly and severally liable for the U.S. federal income tax liability of the entire consolidated tax reporting group of Historical DuPont or Historical Dow, as applicable, for such taxable period. In connection with the Distributions, on April 1, 2019, the company entered into the Tax Matters Agreement with DuPont and Dow that allocates the responsibility for prior period consolidated taxes among Corteva, DuPont and Dow. If DuPont or Dow were unable to pay any prior period taxes for which it is responsible, however, the company could be required to pay the entire amount of such taxes, and such amounts could be significant. Other provisions of federal, state, local, or foreign law may establish similar liability for other matters, including laws governing tax-qualified pension plans, as well as other contingent liabilities.

Restrictions under the intellectual property cross-license agreements limit Corteva’s ability to develop and commercialize certain products and services and/or prosecute, maintain and enforce certain intellectual property.

The company is dependent to a certain extent on DuPont and Dow to maintain and enforce certain of the intellectual property licensed under the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreements. For example, DuPont and Dow are responsible for filing, prosecuting and maintaining (at their respective discretion) patents on trade secrets and know-how that they each respectively license to Corteva. They also have the first right to enforce their respective trade secrets and know-how licensed to Corteva. If DuPont or Dow, as applicable, fails to fulfill its obligations or chooses to not enforce the licensed patents, trade secrets or know-how under the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreements, the company may not be able to prevent competitors from making, using and selling competitive products and services.

In addition, Corteva’s use of the intellectual property licensed to it under the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreements is restricted to certain fields, which could limit Corteva’s ability to develop and commercialize certain products and services. For example, the licenses granted to Corteva under the agreement will not extend to all fields of use that the company may decide to enter into in the future. These restrictions may make it more difficult, time consuming and/or expensive for Corteva to develop and commercialize certain new products and services, or may result in certain of its products or services being later to market than those of its competitors.

Neither Corteva’s financial information nor its unaudited pro forma combined financial information are necessarily representative of the results the company would have achieved as an independent, publicly traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of its future results.

The financial information of Corteva and the unaudited pro forma financial information included herein (refer to supplemental unaudited pro forma financial statements on page 51) may not reflect what Corteva’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows would have been had the company been an independent, publicly traded company comprised solely of DowDuPont’s agriculture business during the periods presented or what its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be in the future as an independent company. This is primarily because:

Part I

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS, continued

In addition, the unaudited pro forma financial information included in this annual report is based on a number of estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be inaccurate, and accordingly, Corteva’s unaudited pro forma financial information should not be assumed to be indicative of what the company’s financial condition or results of operations actually would have been as a standalone company during the time periods presented nor to be a reliable indicator of what its financial condition or results of operations actually may be in the future. For additional information about the unaudited pro forma financial statements, Historical DuPont’s past financial performance and the basis of presentation of Corteva’s financial statements, see Corteva’s consolidated financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Traditionally, the company’s business was operated under the umbrella of DowDuPont’s corporate organization, with portions of its businesses being integrated with the businesses of Historical DuPont and Historical Dow. This integration has historically permitted its business (or portions thereof) to enjoy economies of scope and scale in costs, employees, vendor relationships and customer relationships, both as part of the DowDuPont organization and within the Historical DuPont and Historical Dow internal corporate structures. The loss of these benefits could have a material adverse effect on the company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

Part I