Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

3.FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis— The Company’s earnout liabilities related to acquisitions are measured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs and are recorded in Accrued expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in estimate are recorded in Acquisition related adjustments and expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations. The Company determines the fair value of acquisition-related earnouts (contingent consideration) and any subsequent changes in fair value using a discounted probability-weighted approach using Level 3 inputs. Level 3 valuations rely on unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability. The fair value of the earnouts is reviewed quarterly and is based on the payments the Company expects to make based on historical internal observations related to the anticipated performance of the underlying assets. The Company’s estimate of the fair value of its obligation contained in various acquisitions was $4.1 million and $7.2 million as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The maximum potential obligation related to the performance targets was $5.8 million and $10.2 million as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis— The Company’s long-lived assets, intangibles, and asset retirement obligations are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis using Level 3 inputs. The Company considers many factors and makes certain assumptions when making this assessment, including but not limited to: general market and economic conditions, historical operating results, geographic location, lease-up potential and expected timing of lease-up. The fair value of the long-lived assets, intangibles, and asset retirement obligations is calculated using a discounted cash flow model.

Asset impairment and decommission costs for all periods presented and the related impaired assets primarily relate to the Company’s site leasing operating segment. The following summarizes the activity of asset impairment and decommission costs (in thousands):



	For the year
	ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014

Asset impairment (1)	$	19,217	$	10,287	$	3,042
Impairment of fiber assets (2)		—		56,733		—
Gain on sale of fiber assets (2)		(8,919)		—		—
Write-off of carrying value of decommissioned towers		12,967		21,231		15,342
Other third party decommission costs		4,549		5,378		5,417
Write-off and disposal of former corporate headquarters		2,345		1,154		—
Other disposal costs		83		—		—
Total asset impairment and decommission costs	$	30,242	$	94,783	$	23,801

(1)Represents impairment charges resulting from the Company’s analysis that the future cash flows from certain towers would not recover the carrying value of the investment in those towers.

(2)The impairment review of the fiber assets acquired in the 2012 Mobilitie transaction was triggered by a strategic decision made by the Company in 2015. The gain in 2016 related to the sale of these fiber assets.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments— The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, restricted cash, accounts payable, and short-term investments approximate their estimated fair values due to the short maturity of these instruments. Short-term investments consisted of $0.5 million in certificate of deposits as of December 31, 2015, and $0.2 million in Treasury securities as of December 31, 2016 and 2015. The Company’s estimate of the fair value of its held-to-maturity investments in treasury and corporate bonds, including current portion, are based primarily upon Level 1 reported market values. As of December 31, 2016, the carrying value and fair value of the long-term investments, including current portion, were $0.7 million. As of December 31, 2015, the carrying value and fair value of the long-term investments, including current portion, was $0.8 million and $0.9 million, respectively. These amounts are recorded in Other Assets in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company determines fair value of its debt instruments utilizing various Level 2 sources including quoted prices and indicative quotes (non-binding quotes) from brokers that require judgment to interpret market information including implied credit spreads for similar borrowings on recent trades or bid/ask prices. The fair value of the Revolving Credit Facility is considered to approximate the carrying value because the interest payments are based on Eurodollar rates that reset every month. The Company does not believe its credit risk has changed materially from the date the applicable Eurodollar Rate plus 137.5 to 200.0 basis points was set for the Revolving Credit Facility. Refer to Note 12 for the fair values, principal balances, and carrying values of the Company’s debt instruments.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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