Equity Method Investment Several Years after Acquisition

On January 2, 2011, Best Beverages acquired 27 percent of the stock of Better Bottlers for $18 million in cash. Best Beverages accounts for its investment using the equity method. At the time of acquisition, Better Bottlers' balance sheet was as follows (in millions):

Better Bottlers Balance Sheet, January 2, 2011
(in millions)
Assets
Current assets	$12
Property and equipment, net	249
Patents and trademarks	90
Total assets	351
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities	25.2
Long-term debt	310.8
Total liabilities	336
Capital stock	7.2
Retained earnings	7.8
Total equity	15
Total liabilities and equity	$351

At the date of acquisition, valuation of Better Bottlers' assets and liabilities revealed that its reported patents and trademarks (12-year life) had a fair value of $96 million and it had unrecognized brand names (18-year life) worth $5.4 million.

Several years later, Better Bottlers' December 31, 2014 retained earnings balance is $15 million. For 2014, it reported net income of $1.5 million and paid $390,000 in dividends.

For all answers below, enter the complete figures using all zeros. For example, $1 million should be entered as 1,000,000.

(b) Calculate the Investment in Better Bottlers balance, reported on Best Beverages' December 31, 2014 balance sheet.