As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 4, 2007

Registration No. 333-          

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

CORN PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

 

 

 

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

5 Westbrook Corporate Center

Westchester, Illinois 60154-5749

(708) 551-2600

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

 

 

Mary Ann Hynes

Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Corn Products International, Inc.

5 Westbrook Corporate Center

Westchester, Illinois 60154

(708) 551-2600

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

 

 

 

 

With copies to:

 

 

 

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  o

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  o

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS

 

 

Debt Securities

 

This prospectus contains a general description of the debt securities Corn Products International, Inc. may offer for sale from time to time. We will describe the specific terms of these debt securities in supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as the documents incorporated and deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, carefully before you invest.

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 5 Westbrook Corporate Center, Westchester, Illinois 60154. Our telephone number is (708) 551-2600.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

Investing in the debt securities involves risk. See “Risk Factors” on page 1 of this prospectus

 

 

We may sell the debt securities on a continuous or delayed basis directly, through agents, dealers or underwriters as designated from time to time, or through a combination of these methods. We reserve the sole right to accept, and together with any agents, dealers and underwriters, reserve the right to reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of debt securities. If any agents, dealers or underwriters are involved in the sale of any debt securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth any applicable commissions or discounts. Our net proceeds from the sale of debt securities also will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The date of this prospectus is April 4, 2007.

You should rely only on the information provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Corn Products International, Inc. has not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents, as applicable. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized, or in which the person is not qualified to do so, or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Prospectus

 

 

This prospectus is part of an automatic shelf registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). By using an automatic shelf registration statement, we may, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, sell debt securities under this prospectus. The exhibits to our registration statement contain the full text of certain contracts and other important documents we have summarized in this prospectus. Since these summaries may not contain all the information that you may find important in deciding whether to purchase the debt securities we offer, you should review the full text of these documents. The registration statement and the exhibits can be obtained from the SEC as indicated under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

This prospectus only provides you with a general description of the debt securities we may offer. Each time we sell debt securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that contains specific information about the terms of those debt securities. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with the additional information described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

References in this prospectus to “Corn Products,” “we,” “us” and “our” are to Corn Products International, Inc. and its subsidiaries, except as otherwise indicated.

 

An investment in the debt securities involves risk. Before purchasing any debt securities, you should carefully consider the specific risk factors identified in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as updated by our subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q or 8-K, each of which is incorporated by reference herein, together with all of the other information appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public from the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. We also file certain reports and other information with the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), on which our common stock is traded. Copies of such material can be inspected at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange, 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005. Information about us, including our SEC filings, is also available through our website at http://www.cornproducts.com. However, information on our website is not a part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed by us with the SEC under the Securities Act. As permitted by SEC rules, this prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement and the accompanying exhibits filed with the SEC. You may refer to the registration statement and its exhibits for more information.

 

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” in this prospectus information that we file with it, which means that we are disclosing important business and financial information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in documents filed earlier with the SEC or contained in this prospectus. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents filed by us listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the termination of the offering under this prospectus; provided, however, that we are not incorporating, in each

case, any documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules:

 

 

You may also request a copy of those filings, excluding exhibits unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference, at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

 

Investor Relations

5 Westbrook Corporate Center

Westchester, Illinois 60154-5749

(708) 551-2600

 

 

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus contains or may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We intend these forward looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for such statements. These statements include, among other things, any predictions regarding our prospects or future financial condition, earnings, revenues, expenses or other financial items, any statements concerning our prospects or future operations, including our management’s plans or strategies and objectives therefor and any assumptions underlying the foregoing. These statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward looking words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “continue,” “pro forma,” “forecast” or other similar expressions or the negative thereof. All statements other than statements of historical facts in this prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus are “forward-looking statements.” These statements are subject to certain inherent risks and uncertainties. Although we believe our expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that our expectations will prove correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations conveyed in these statements, based on various factors, including fluctuations in worldwide markets for corn and other commodities and the associated risks of hedging against such fluctuations; fluctuations in aggregate industry supply and market demand; general political, economic, business, market and weather conditions in the various geographic regions and countries in which we manufacture and/or sell our products; fluctuations in the value of local currencies, energy costs and availability, freight and shipping costs, and changes in regulatory controls regarding quotas, tariffs, duties, taxes and income tax rates; operating difficulties; boiler reliability; our ability to effectively integrate acquired businesses; labor disputes; genetic and biotechnology issues; changing consumption preferences and trends; increased competitive and/or customer pressure in the corn-refining industry; the outbreak or continuation of serious communicable disease or hostilities including acts of terrorism; stock market fluctuation and volatility; and our ability to maintain sales levels of HFCS in Mexico. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statement. If we do update or correct one or more of these statements, investors and others should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections. For a further description of these risks see the Risk Factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q or 8-K, each of which is incorporated by reference herein.

 

We were incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1997 and our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. We, together with our subsidiaries, manufacture and sell a number of ingredients to a wide variety of food and industrial customers. We are one of the world’s largest corn refiners and a major supplier of high-quality food ingredients and industrial products derived from wet milling and processing of corn and other starch-based materials.

 

We had consolidated net sales of approximately $2.62 billion in 2006. Approximately 61 percent of our 2006 net sales were provided from our North American operations, while our South American and Asian/African operations contributed approximately 25 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Our products are derived primarily from the processing of corn and other starch-based materials, such as tapioca.

 

Corn refining is a capital-intensive, two-step process that involves the wet milling and processing of corn. During the front-end process, corn is steeped in a water-based solution and separated into starch and other co-products such as animal feed and germ. The starch is then either dried for sale or further processed to make sweeteners and other ingredients that serve the particular needs of various industries.

 

Our sweetener products include high fructose corn syrup (“HFCS”), glucose corn syrups, high maltose corn syrups, caramel color, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrins and glucose and corn syrup solids. Our starch-based products include both industrial and food-grade starches. We supply a broad range of customers in many diverse industries around the world, including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, paper products, corrugated, laminated paper, textile and brewing industries, as well as the global animal feed markets.

 

We believe our approach to production and service, which focuses on local management of our worldwide operations, provides us with a unique understanding of the cultures and product requirements in each of the geographic markets in which we operate bringing added value to our customers.

 

Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, the net proceeds from the sale of the debt securities to which this prospectus relates will be used for general corporate purposes. General corporate purposes may include repayment of debt, acquisitions, additions to working capital, capital expenditures and investments in our subsidiaries. Net proceeds may be temporarily invested prior to use.

 

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the years and period indicated:

 

 

 

 

Please refer to the financial statements and financial information incorporated by reference in this prospectus for more information relating to the foregoing. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

We will issue the debt securities under an indenture between us and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (as successor trustee to The Bank of New York), as trustee. We have summarized selected provisions of the indenture and the debt securities below. This summary is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the indenture. If you would like more information on the provisions of the indenture, you should review the indenture which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

You should carefully read the summary below, the applicable prospectus supplement and the provisions of the indenture before investing in our debt securities.

 

References in this section of the prospectus to “Corn Products,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” are to Corn Products International, Inc., the issuer of the debt securities.

 

General

 

We may issue debt securities at any time and from time to time in one or more series without limitation on the aggregate principal amount. The indenture gives us the ability to reopen a previous issue of a series of debt securities and issue additional debt securities of the same series. The debt securities will be unsecured and will rank equally with all our unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. The terms of any series of debt securities will be set forth in (or determined in accordance with) a resolution of our Board of Directors or in a supplement to the indenture relating to that series. The terms of our debt securities will include those set forth in the indenture and those made a part of the indenture by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

 

A supplement to this prospectus will describe specific terms relating to the series of debt securities being offered. If any particular terms of the debt securities described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described in this prospectus, then the terms described in the applicable prospectus supplement will supersede the terms described in this prospectus. These terms will include some or all of the following:

 

 

 

Each series of debt securities will be a new issue with no established trading market. There can be no assurance that there will be a liquid trading market for the debt securities.

 

We may purchase debt securities at any time in the open market or otherwise. Debt securities we purchase may, in our discretion, be held or resold, canceled or used by us to satisfy any sinking fund or redemption requirements.

 

Debt securities bearing no interest or interest at a rate which, at the time of issuance, is below the prevailing market rate may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount. Special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to any of these discounted debt securities (or to certain other debt securities issued at par which are treated as having been issued at a discount for United States federal income tax purposes) will be described in a prospectus supplement.

 

Certain Restrictions

 

The restrictions summarized in this section apply to all debt securities unless a prospectus supplement indicates otherwise. Certain terms used in the following description of these restrictions are defined under the caption “— Certain Definitions” at the end of this section.

 

Limitations on Secured Debt.  The debt securities will not be secured. If we or our Tax Consolidated Subsidiaries incur debt secured by an interest on Principal Property (including Capital Stock or indebtedness of any Subsidiary), we are required to secure the then outstanding debt securities equally and ratably with (or prior to) our secured debt.

 

The indenture permits us to create the following types of liens (“Permitted Encumbrances”) without securing the debt securities:

 

 

Limitations on Sale and Lease-Back Transactions.  We and our Tax Consolidated Subsidiaries may not sell or transfer any Principal Property with the intention of entering into a lease of such facility (except for temporary leases of a term, including renewals, not exceeding five years) unless any one of the following is true:

 

 

 

Exempted Indebtedness.  Notwithstanding the limitations on secured debt and sale and lease-back transactions, we and our Tax Consolidated Subsidiaries may issue, assume, or guarantee indebtedness secured by a lien or other encumbrance without securing the debt securities, or may enter into sale and lease-back transactions without retiring Funded Debt, or enter into a combination of such transactions, if the sum of the principal amount of all such indebtedness and the aggregate value of all such sale and lease-back transactions does not at any such time exceed 10% of our Consolidated Net Tangible Assets.

 

Merger, Consolidation and Sale of Assets.  We may not consolidate or merge with or into any other corporation, or sell, lease or transfer all or substantially all of our assets to any other entity, unless:

 

 

If we sell or transfer substantially all our assets and the purchaser assumes our obligations under the indenture, we will be discharged from all obligations under the indenture and the debt securities.

 

Certain Definitions

 

Set forth below is a summary of certain defined terms as used in the indenture. See Article One of the indenture for the full definition of all such terms.

 

“Capital Stock” means and includes any and all shares, interests, participations or other equivalents (however designated) of ownership in a corporation or other person.

 

“Consolidated Net Tangible Assets” means the aggregate amount of all assets (less depreciation, valuation and other reserves and items deductible therefrom under generally accepted accounting principles) after deducting (a) all goodwill, patents, trademarks and other like intangibles and (b) all current liabilities (excluding any current liabilities that are extendible or renewable at our option for a time more than twelve months from the time of the calculation) as shown on our most recent consolidated quarterly balance sheet.

 

“Funded Debt” means any Indebtedness maturing by its terms more than one year from its date of issuance (notwithstanding that any portion of such Indebtedness is included in current liabilities).

 

“Indebtedness” means with respect to any person (i) any liability of such person (a) for borrowed money, or (b) evidenced by a bond, note, debenture or similar instrument (including purchase money obligations but excluding trade payables), or (c) for the payment of money relating to a lease that is required to be classified as a capitalized lease obligation in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) any liability of others described in the preceding clause (i) that such person has guaranteed, that is recourse to such person or that is otherwise its legal liability; and (iii) any amendment, supplement, modification, deferral, renewal, extension or refunding of any liability of the types referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above.

 

“Principal Property” means any manufacturing plant or warehouse owned or leased by us or one of our Tax Consolidated Subsidiaries located within the United States, the gross book value of which exceeds one percent of Consolidated Net Tangible Assets, other than manufacturing plants and warehouses that are financed by a governmental entity or that, in the opinion of our board of directors, is not of material importance to the business conducted by us and our Tax Consolidated Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

“Subsidiary” means any corporation of which we control at least a majority of the outstanding stock capable of electing a majority of the directors of such corporation. In this context, control means that we or

our Subsidiaries own the stock, or that we or our subsidiaries have the power to direct the voting of the stock, or any combination of these items so long as we have the ability to elect a majority of the directors.

 

“Tax Consolidated Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary with which we would be entitled to file a consolidated federal income tax return.

 

Events of Default

 

Under the indenture, “Event of Default” means, with respect to any series of debt securities:

 

 

In general, the trustee must give both us and you notice of a default for the debt securities you hold. The trustee may withhold notice to you (except defaults as to payment of principal, premium or interest) if it determines that the withholding of such notice is in the best interest of the holders affected by the default.

 

If a default is caused because we fail to comply with any of our agreements contained in the indenture or in the debt securities, either the trustee or the holders of at least 25% principal amount of the debt securities affected by the default may require us to immediately repay the principal and accrued interest on the affected series.

 

The trustee may refuse to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture unless it first receives satisfactory security or indemnity. Subject to certain limitations specified in the indenture, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of an affected series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee under the indenture or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of the affected series.

 

Modification of the Indenture

 

With the consent of the holders of at least a majority of the principal amount of a series of the debt securities outstanding, we may change the indenture or enter into a supplemental indenture that will then be binding upon that series. However, no changes may be made in this way to any of the following terms:

 

 

In addition, we may modify the indenture without the consent of the holders to, among other things:

 

 

Discharge of the Indenture

 

We will be discharged from certain of our obligations relating to the outstanding debt securities of a series if we deposit with the trustee money or certain government obligations sufficient for payment of all principal and interest on those debt securities, when due. However, our obligation to pay the principal of and interest on those debt securities will continue.

 

We may discharge obligations as described in the preceding paragraph only if, among other things, we have received an opinion of counsel stating that holders of debt securities of the relevant series will not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit and discharge which will be any different than if the deposit and discharge had not occurred.

 

Book-Entry Securities

 

The debt securities of a series will be represented by one or more global securities. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, the global security representing the debt securities of a series will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, or other successor depositary we appoint and registered in the name of the depositary or its nominee. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for individual certificates evidencing debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary. The debt securities will not be issued in definitive form unless otherwise provided in the prospectus supplement.

 

We anticipate that DTC will act as depositary for the debt securities. The debt securities will be issued as fully-registered securities registered in the name of Cede & Co. (DTC’s partnership nominee). One fully-registered global security will be issued with respect to each $500 million of principal amount of debt securities of a series, and an additional certificate will be issued with respect to any remaining principal amount of debt securities of such series.

 

DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code, and a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement

among participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. Direct participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTTC”). DTTC, in turn is owned by a number of direct participants of DTC and members of the National Securities Clearing Corporation, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation and Emerging Markets Clearing Corporation (which are also subsidiaries of DTTC), as well as by the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the American Stock Exchange LLC and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Access to the DTC system is also available to indirect participants such as securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies that clear transactions through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC. More information about DTC can be found at www.dtcc.com.

 

Purchases of debt securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the debt securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of each actual purchaser of each debt security will be recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. These beneficial owners will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchase, but beneficial owners are expected to receive a written confirmation providing details of the transaction, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which the beneficial owner entered into the transaction. Transfers of ownership interests in the debt securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in debt securities, except in the event that use of the book-entry system for the debt securities is discontinued.

 

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all debt securities deposited by participants with DTC are registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co. The deposit of debt securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. will not change the beneficial ownership of the debt securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the debt securities; DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the debt securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

 

Conveyances of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants, and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time.

 

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the debt securities of a series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in such series to be redeemed.

 

In any case where a vote may be required with respect to the debt securities of any series, neither DTC nor Cede & Co will consent or vote with respect to such debt securities unless authorized by a direct participant in accordance with DTC’s procedures. Under its usual procedures, DTC mails an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns Cede & Co.’s consenting or voting rights to those direct participants to whose accounts the debt securities of the series are credited on the record date (identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy).

 

Principal of, and premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities will be paid to Cede & Co., as nominee of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts, upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us or the trustee, on the applicable payable date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC’s records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of that participant and not of DTC, the trustee or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Payment of principal, premium and interest to Cede & Co. is the responsibility of us or the

trustee. Disbursement of payments from Cede & Co. to direct participants is DTC’s responsibility. Disbursement of payments to beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

 

In any case where we have made a tender offer for the purchase of any debt securities, a beneficial owner must give notice through a participant to a tender agent to elect to have its debt securities purchased or tendered. The beneficial owner must deliver debt securities by causing the direct participants to transfer the participant’s interest in the debt securities, on DTC’s records, to a tender agent. The requirement for physical delivery of debt securities in connection with an optional tender or a mandatory purchase is satisfied when the ownership rights in the debt securities are transferred by direct participants on DTC’s records and followed by a book-entry credit of tendered debt securities to the tender agent’s account.

 

DTC may discontinue providing its services as depositary for the debt securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us or the trustee. Under these circumstances, if a successor depositary is not obtained, then debt security certificates must be delivered.

 

We may decide to discontinue use of the system of book-entry transfers through DTC (or a successor depositary). In that event, debt security certificates will be printed and delivered.

 

We obtained the information in this section concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

 

Governing Law

 

The indenture and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

Regarding the Trustee

 

The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (as successor trustee to The Bank of New York), or any successor thereto, will serve as trustee under the indenture. The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. is one of a number of banks with which we maintain ordinary banking relationships and from which we have obtained credit facilities and lines of credit.

 

We may sell the debt securities offered pursuant to this prospectus in any of the following ways:

 

 

We will identify the specific plan of distribution, including any underwriters, brokers, dealers, agents or direct purchasers and their compensation in a prospectus supplement.

 

Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, Mary Ann Hynes, the company’s Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago, Illinois, special counsel to the company, will pass upon certain legal matters for us with respect to the debt securities. Ms. Hynes participates in various employee benefit plans offered by Corn Products and owns, and has options to purchase, shares of Corn Products common stock. Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, Chicago, Illinois, will pass on certain legal matters for any agents, underwriters, brokers or dealers.

 

The consolidated balance sheets of Corn Products International, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2006 and 2005, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity and redeemable equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2006 and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2006, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

KPMG LLP’s report on the financial statements refers to the Company’s adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans-an amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R), and SFAS No. 123(R) Share-Based Payment.

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

The following is a statement of the estimated expenses (other than underwriting compensation) to be incurred by Corn Products International, Inc. in connection with a distribution of an assumed amount of the debt securities registered under this registration statement. The assumed amount has been used to demonstrate the expenses of an offering and does not represent an estimate of the amount of debt securities that may be registered or distributed because such amount is unknown at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

Corn Products is a Delaware corporation. Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended, provides that under certain circumstances a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at its request in such capacity in another corporation or business association, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful. The statute provides that indemnification pursuant to its provisions is not exclusive of other rights of indemnification to which a person may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.

 

Article VII of our By-Laws provides that Corn Products shall indemnify our directors and officers and the directors and officers of our subsidiaries against certain liabilities (including attorneys’ fees related thereto) that may arise as a result of such service to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended.

 

Corn Products is also empowered by Section 102(b)(7) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware to include a provision in its certificate of incorporation to limit under certain circumstances a director’s liability to Corn Products or its stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty as a director. Article Tenth of Corn Products’ Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation states that directors of Corn Products shall not be liable to Corn Products or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to Corn Products or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) unlawful dividend payments, stock repurchases or redemptions, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

 

Corn Products maintains insurance policies under which the directors and officers of Corn Products are insured, within the limits and subject to the limitations of the policies, against certain expenses in connection with the defense of actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities which might be imposed as a result of such actions, suits or proceedings, to which they are parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers which could include liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

Corn Products has entered into indemnification agreements with all its officers and directors. These agreements provide such officers and directors with indemnification against certain liabilities (including attorneys’ fees related thereto) that may arise as a result of such service to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended.

 

 

A list of exhibits filed herewith or incorporated by reference is contained in the Exhibit Index which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

 

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;

 

(ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

(iii) to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement;

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering;

 

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to any purchaser:

 

(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which the prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; and

 

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser;

 

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) that is incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

 

(c) Insofar as indemnification by the registrant for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of either registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, such registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Westchester, State of Illinois, on April 4, 2007.

 

CORN PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL INC.

 

Samuel C. Scott III

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Each person whose signature appears below on this registration statement hereby constitutes and appoints Mary Ann Hynes and Cheryl K. Beebe, and each of them, and any successor or successors to such offices held by each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his name or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this registration statement (including, without limitation, post-effective amendments), and any registration statement or amendment under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on April 4, 2007.

 

EXHIBIT INDEX