unexpected liabilities under any pension plans applicable to our employees ; work stoppages , union negotiations , labor disputes and other matters associated with our labor force ; our ability to protect and enforce intellectual property rights ; intellectual property infringement suits against us by third parties ; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions and divestitures ; our joint ventures ' ability to operate according to our business strategy should our joint venture partners fail to fulfill their obligations ; risk that the insurance we maintain may not fully cover all potential exposures ; the risk of impairment charges related to goodwill , identifiable intangible assets and fixed assets ; our substantial indebtedness ; our ability to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms may be limited ; the amount of the costs , fees , expenses and charges related to being a public company ; any statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing ; other factors disclosed in this annual report on form 10-k ; and other factors beyond our control . these cautionary statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and are made only as of the date of this annual report on form 10-k. we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements , whether as a result of new information , future events or otherwise . overview we are a leading global manufacturer , marketer and distributor of high performance coatings systems . we have over a 150 -year heritage in the coatings industry and are known for manufacturing high-quality products with well-recognized brands supported by market-leading technologies and customer service . our diverse global footprint of 46 manufacturing facilities , four technology centers , 47 customer training centers and approximately 13,000 employees allows us to meet the needs of customers in over 130 countries . we serve our customers through an extensive sales force and technical support organization , as well as through approximately 4,000 independent , locally based distributors . we operate our business in two operating segments , performance coatings and transportation coatings . our segments are based on the type and concentration of customers served , service requirements , methods of distribution and major product lines . through our performance coatings segment we provide high-quality liquid and powder coatings solutions to a fragmented and local customer base . we are one of only a few suppliers with the technology to provide precise color matching and highly durable coatings systems . the end-markets within this segment are refinish and industrial . through our transportation coatings segment we provide advanced coating technologies to oems of light and commercial vehicles . these increasingly global customers require a high level of technical support coupled with cost-effective , environmentally responsible , coatings systems that can be applied with a high degree of precision , consistency and speed . the end-markets within this segment are light vehicle and commercial vehicle . 38 business highlights general business highlights our net sales decreased 0.3 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 , due to a decline of 4.6 % from unfavorable currency translation . this decrease was largely offset as a result of higher average selling prices as well as stronger volumes which together contributed to 4.3 % of growth . the following trends have impacted our segment and end-market sales performance for the year ended december 31 , 2016 : performance coatings : net sales excluding currency translation increased approximately 6.6 % driven by increases in average selling price within our refinish end-market , particularly within north america and latin america . furthering these increases was volume growth in both our refinish and industrial end-markets , including the benefits associated with our acquisitions completed during 2016. transportation coatings : net sales excluding currency translation increased approximately 1.1 % driven primarily by volume growth within our light vehicle end-market as a result of business wins and increased vehicle builds in north america and asia offset by volume declines within our commercial vehicle end-market in north america as a result of overall industry demand . our business serves four end-markets globally as follows : replace_table_token_4_th acquisitions highlights during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , we successfully completed multiple strategic business acquisitions across both of our segments . these include a refinish business based in southeast asia , a light vehicle business specializing in interior coatings based in north america , a fifty-one percent controlling interest in a north american industrial business specializing in coil and spray coatings , and a refinish distributor in western europe . our 2016 aggregate spending for these acquisitions was $ 114.8 million , net of cash acquired , and contributed $ 50.4 million to net sales in 2016. capital and liquidity highlights during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , we refinanced or amended our senior notes and credit agreement , including extending the maturity date on our revolving credit facility , allowing us to lower interest rates , extend maturity profiles , rebalance our dollar and euro mix of debt and favorably change certain debt covenants . in addition , we made prepayments on our 2020 term loans ( as defined herein ) totaling $ 474.4 million during 2016. the benefits of these transactions are anticipated to save approximately $ 35.0 million in annual cash interest . for additional information , refer to note 21 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in the annual report on form 10-k and our liquidity and capital resource discussion within this item 7. other highlights effective with the august 2016 carlyle offering , carlyle no longer has any beneficial interest in axalta 's common shares , other than de minimis amounts held or owned in the ordinary course of business purchased subsequent to the initial february 1 , 2013 acquisition . story_separator_special_tag the decrease from currency translation was slightly offset by the contribution of higher volumes of 1.7 % which includes impacts of our acquisitions completed during 2016. cost of sales as a percentage of net sales decreased from 63.5 % for the year ended december 31 , 2015 to 62.0 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 primarily as a result of reductions associated with lower raw material prices , favorable pricing on our product mix and impacts of our cost savings initiatives . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general and administrative expenses increased $ 47.7 million , or 5.2 % , to $ 962.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 914.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . selling , general and administrative expenses for the year ended december 31 , 2016 included $ 77.6 million of costs related to our cost-savings initiatives as compared to $ 64.4 million of costs for the year ended december 31 , 2015 associated with our transition-related activities and cost-savings initiatives , resulting in an increase of $ 13.2 million over the comparable period . in addition , there was an increase of $ 8.0 million in stock-based compensation for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . further contributing to the increase during the year ended december 31 , 2016 over the comparable period were increases in selling expense associated with increased sales volumes and $ 17.5 million in costs related to our recent acquisitions . offsetting these increases were favorable impacts of currency exchange during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , which contributed to an approximately 1.7 % reduction in selling , general and administrative expenses due primarily to the weakening of certain currencies within latin america compared to the u.s. dollar . venezuela asset impairment venezuela asset impairment relates to the impairment charge of $ 57.9 million recognized during the year ended december 31 , 2016 relating to our long-lived assets within our venezuelan subsidiary . there was no comparative impairment recorded during the year ended december 31 , 2015 . research and development expenses research and development expenses increased $ 6.1 million , or 11.8 % , to $ 57.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 51.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was driven by additional spending as we focus on developing new and existing coatings products as well as sourcing additional capabilities . the impacts of currency exchange did not have a material impact on the comparable periods . amortization of acquired intangibles amortization of acquired intangibles increased $ 2.7 million , or 3.3 % , to $ 83.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 80.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was a result of our recent acquisitions , which contributed $ 3.5 million , offset slightly by the impacts of weakening currencies in all regions against the u.s. dollar . interest expense , net interest expense , net decreased $ 18.3 million , or 9.3 % , to $ 178.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 196.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the decrease was driven by the prepayment of principal balances associated with our 2020 dollar term loans made in 2015 and 2016 and the prepayment on the principal balance of our 2020 euro term loans made in 2016. additionally , refinancing of our senior indebtedness during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , reduced the overall interest rates of our debt portfolio and further contributed to the decrease . other expense , net other expense , net increased $ 31.5 million , or 28.3 % , to $ 142.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 111.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the amendment to our credit agreement , refinancing of our indebtedness and prepayments of our term loans during the year ended december 31 , 2016 resulted in an increase in other expense over the comparable period of $ 95.1 million . during the year ended december 31 , 2016 there were $ 4.3 million in losses on derivative instruments associated with our foreign currency contracts compared to $ 5.6 million in gains during the year ended december 31 , 2015 , resulting in a $ 9.9 million increase . in addition , we recognized a gain of $ 5.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 resulting from the remeasurement of our previously held interest in an equity method investee upon the acquisition of a controlling interest whereas no similar gain was recognized during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , thereby resulting in an increase in other expense , net for the comparable periods . 45 during the year ended december 31 , 2016 our venezuelan subsidiary continued to be impacted by a significant devaluation of its currency translation rates . this devaluation resulted in impairment charges of $ 10.5 million and $ 30.6 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively , based on our evaluation of the carrying value associated with our real estate investment , resulting in a decrease of $ 20.1 million over the comparable period . offsetting the year over year loss , foreign exchange losses , net , decreased from $ 93.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 to $ 30.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. this decrease was primarily driven by the revaluation of our venezuela subsidiary which resulted in $ 51.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to $ 23.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. the remaining decrease primarily related to the remeasurement of intercompany transactional exposures denominated

net cash used in investing activities net cash used in investing activities for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was $ 257.0 million . this use was substantially driven by purchases of property , plant and equipment of $ 136.2 million , business acquisitions of $ 114.8 million ( net of cash acquired ) , and $ 6.0 million of other investing activities that includes $ 3.9 million of asset acquisitions . 52 net cash used in financing activities net cash used in financing activities for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was $ 232.6 million . this use was driven by payments of $ 1,755.7 million relating to the redemption of our 2021 dollar and euro senior notes , the net paydown and early repayments of our 2020 term loans , and quarterly principal payments as required under the credit agreement . these payments were offset by proceeds of $ 1,604.3 million relating to the issuance of our new 2024 dollar and euro senior notes and our new 2025 euro senior notes , as well as the increase in principal on our 2023 euro term loans as a part of the refinancing . the issuance and refinancing of our new indebtedness required us to pay financing costs of $ 86.3 million , which included a premium for early redemption of our 2021 dollar and euro senior notes of $ 56.6 million . in addition , we had cash received from stock options exercised for $ 16.7 million , which is offset by repayments of short-term borrowings of $ 8.6 million , dividends paid to noncontrolling interests of $ 3.0 million , and $ 0.2 million of other financing activities . other impacts on cash currency exchange impacts on cash for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were $ 19.3 million primarily driven by the impacts on cash resulting from the weakening of our translation rates compared to the u.s. dollar for our venezuelan subsidiary which contributed $ 14.0 million .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```net cash used in investing activities net cash used in investing activities for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was $ 257.0 million . this use was substantially driven by purchases of property , plant and equipment of $ 136.2 million , business acquisitions of $ 114.8 million ( net of cash acquired ) , and $ 6.0 million of other investing activities that includes $ 3.9 million of asset acquisitions . 52 net cash used in financing activities net cash used in financing activities for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was $ 232.6 million . this use was driven by payments of $ 1,755.7 million relating to the redemption of our 2021 dollar and euro senior notes , the net paydown and early repayments of our 2020 term loans , and quarterly principal payments as required under the credit agreement . these payments were offset by proceeds of $ 1,604.3 million relating to the issuance of our new 2024 dollar and euro senior notes and our new 2025 euro senior notes , as well as the increase in principal on our 2023 euro term loans as a part of the refinancing . the issuance and refinancing of our new indebtedness required us to pay financing costs of $ 86.3 million , which included a premium for early redemption of our 2021 dollar and euro senior notes of $ 56.6 million . in addition , we had cash received from stock options exercised for $ 16.7 million , which is offset by repayments of short-term borrowings of $ 8.6 million , dividends paid to noncontrolling interests of $ 3.0 million , and $ 0.2 million of other financing activities . other impacts on cash currency exchange impacts on cash for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were $ 19.3 million primarily driven by the impacts on cash resulting from the weakening of our translation rates compared to the u.s. dollar for our venezuelan subsidiary which contributed $ 14.0 million .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : unexpected liabilities under any pension plans applicable to our employees ; work stoppages , union negotiations , labor disputes and other matters associated with our labor force ; our ability to protect and enforce intellectual property rights ; intellectual property infringement suits against us by third parties ; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions and divestitures ; our joint ventures ' ability to operate according to our business strategy should our joint venture partners fail to fulfill their obligations ; risk that the insurance we maintain may not fully cover all potential exposures ; the risk of impairment charges related to goodwill , identifiable intangible assets and fixed assets ; our substantial indebtedness ; our ability to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms may be limited ; the amount of the costs , fees , expenses and charges related to being a public company ; any statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing ; other factors disclosed in this annual report on form 10-k ; and other factors beyond our control . these cautionary statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and are made only as of the date of this annual report on form 10-k. we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements , whether as a result of new information , future events or otherwise . overview we are a leading global manufacturer , marketer and distributor of high performance coatings systems . we have over a 150 -year heritage in the coatings industry and are known for manufacturing high-quality products with well-recognized brands supported by market-leading technologies and customer service . our diverse global footprint of 46 manufacturing facilities , four technology centers , 47 customer training centers and approximately 13,000 employees allows us to meet the needs of customers in over 130 countries . we serve our customers through an extensive sales force and technical support organization , as well as through approximately 4,000 independent , locally based distributors . we operate our business in two operating segments , performance coatings and transportation coatings . our segments are based on the type and concentration of customers served , service requirements , methods of distribution and major product lines . through our performance coatings segment we provide high-quality liquid and powder coatings solutions to a fragmented and local customer base . we are one of only a few suppliers with the technology to provide precise color matching and highly durable coatings systems . the end-markets within this segment are refinish and industrial . through our transportation coatings segment we provide advanced coating technologies to oems of light and commercial vehicles . these increasingly global customers require a high level of technical support coupled with cost-effective , environmentally responsible , coatings systems that can be applied with a high degree of precision , consistency and speed . the end-markets within this segment are light vehicle and commercial vehicle . 38 business highlights general business highlights our net sales decreased 0.3 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 , due to a decline of 4.6 % from unfavorable currency translation . this decrease was largely offset as a result of higher average selling prices as well as stronger volumes which together contributed to 4.3 % of growth . the following trends have impacted our segment and end-market sales performance for the year ended december 31 , 2016 : performance coatings : net sales excluding currency translation increased approximately 6.6 % driven by increases in average selling price within our refinish end-market , particularly within north america and latin america . furthering these increases was volume growth in both our refinish and industrial end-markets , including the benefits associated with our acquisitions completed during 2016. transportation coatings : net sales excluding currency translation increased approximately 1.1 % driven primarily by volume growth within our light vehicle end-market as a result of business wins and increased vehicle builds in north america and asia offset by volume declines within our commercial vehicle end-market in north america as a result of overall industry demand . our business serves four end-markets globally as follows : replace_table_token_4_th acquisitions highlights during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , we successfully completed multiple strategic business acquisitions across both of our segments . these include a refinish business based in southeast asia , a light vehicle business specializing in interior coatings based in north america , a fifty-one percent controlling interest in a north american industrial business specializing in coil and spray coatings , and a refinish distributor in western europe . our 2016 aggregate spending for these acquisitions was $ 114.8 million , net of cash acquired , and contributed $ 50.4 million to net sales in 2016. capital and liquidity highlights during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , we refinanced or amended our senior notes and credit agreement , including extending the maturity date on our revolving credit facility , allowing us to lower interest rates , extend maturity profiles , rebalance our dollar and euro mix of debt and favorably change certain debt covenants . in addition , we made prepayments on our 2020 term loans ( as defined herein ) totaling $ 474.4 million during 2016. the benefits of these transactions are anticipated to save approximately $ 35.0 million in annual cash interest . for additional information , refer to note 21 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in the annual report on form 10-k and our liquidity and capital resource discussion within this item 7. other highlights effective with the august 2016 carlyle offering , carlyle no longer has any beneficial interest in axalta 's common shares , other than de minimis amounts held or owned in the ordinary course of business purchased subsequent to the initial february 1 , 2013 acquisition . story_separator_special_tag the decrease from currency translation was slightly offset by the contribution of higher volumes of 1.7 % which includes impacts of our acquisitions completed during 2016. cost of sales as a percentage of net sales decreased from 63.5 % for the year ended december 31 , 2015 to 62.0 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 primarily as a result of reductions associated with lower raw material prices , favorable pricing on our product mix and impacts of our cost savings initiatives . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general and administrative expenses increased $ 47.7 million , or 5.2 % , to $ 962.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 914.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . selling , general and administrative expenses for the year ended december 31 , 2016 included $ 77.6 million of costs related to our cost-savings initiatives as compared to $ 64.4 million of costs for the year ended december 31 , 2015 associated with our transition-related activities and cost-savings initiatives , resulting in an increase of $ 13.2 million over the comparable period . in addition , there was an increase of $ 8.0 million in stock-based compensation for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . further contributing to the increase during the year ended december 31 , 2016 over the comparable period were increases in selling expense associated with increased sales volumes and $ 17.5 million in costs related to our recent acquisitions . offsetting these increases were favorable impacts of currency exchange during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , which contributed to an approximately 1.7 % reduction in selling , general and administrative expenses due primarily to the weakening of certain currencies within latin america compared to the u.s. dollar . venezuela asset impairment venezuela asset impairment relates to the impairment charge of $ 57.9 million recognized during the year ended december 31 , 2016 relating to our long-lived assets within our venezuelan subsidiary . there was no comparative impairment recorded during the year ended december 31 , 2015 . research and development expenses research and development expenses increased $ 6.1 million , or 11.8 % , to $ 57.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 51.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was driven by additional spending as we focus on developing new and existing coatings products as well as sourcing additional capabilities . the impacts of currency exchange did not have a material impact on the comparable periods . amortization of acquired intangibles amortization of acquired intangibles increased $ 2.7 million , or 3.3 % , to $ 83.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 80.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was a result of our recent acquisitions , which contributed $ 3.5 million , offset slightly by the impacts of weakening currencies in all regions against the u.s. dollar . interest expense , net interest expense , net decreased $ 18.3 million , or 9.3 % , to $ 178.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 196.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the decrease was driven by the prepayment of principal balances associated with our 2020 dollar term loans made in 2015 and 2016 and the prepayment on the principal balance of our 2020 euro term loans made in 2016. additionally , refinancing of our senior indebtedness during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , reduced the overall interest rates of our debt portfolio and further contributed to the decrease . other expense , net other expense , net increased $ 31.5 million , or 28.3 % , to $ 142.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to $ 111.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . the amendment to our credit agreement , refinancing of our indebtedness and prepayments of our term loans during the year ended december 31 , 2016 resulted in an increase in other expense over the comparable period of $ 95.1 million . during the year ended december 31 , 2016 there were $ 4.3 million in losses on derivative instruments associated with our foreign currency contracts compared to $ 5.6 million in gains during the year ended december 31 , 2015 , resulting in a $ 9.9 million increase . in addition , we recognized a gain of $ 5.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 resulting from the remeasurement of our previously held interest in an equity method investee upon the acquisition of a controlling interest whereas no similar gain was recognized during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , thereby resulting in an increase in other expense , net for the comparable periods . 45 during the year ended december 31 , 2016 our venezuelan subsidiary continued to be impacted by a significant devaluation of its currency translation rates . this devaluation resulted in impairment charges of $ 10.5 million and $ 30.6 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively , based on our evaluation of the carrying value associated with our real estate investment , resulting in a decrease of $ 20.1 million over the comparable period . offsetting the year over year loss , foreign exchange losses , net , decreased from $ 93.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 to $ 30.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. this decrease was primarily driven by the revaluation of our venezuela subsidiary which resulted in $ 51.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to $ 23.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. the remaining decrease primarily related to the remeasurement of intercompany transactional exposures denominated

