$8\mathrm{.}20$ Variable$-$Interest Entities. Molson Coors Brewing Company $($Molson Coors$)$ is the fifth$-$largest brewer in the world. It is one of the leading brewers in the United States and Canada; the company$$s brands include Coors, Molson Canadian, Carling, and Killian$$s Irish Red. Molson and Adolph Coors Brewing Company merged in early $2005.$ In the final annual report of Adolph Coors Brewing Company for the year ended December $26,2004,$ sales exceeded $32$ million barrels $(1$ U$.$S$.$ barrel equals $31$ gallons$).$ Coors reported $$4\mathrm{.}3$ billion of net sales for $2004.$ The firm invests in various entities to carry out its brewing, bottling, and canning activities. The investments take the legal form of partnerships, joint ventures, and limited liability corporations, among other arrangements. The firm states in its $2004$ annual report, issued under the Molson Coors name, that each of these arrangements has been tested to determine whether it qualifies as a VIE.