Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows:



	As of December 31, 2014
(in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Total
Assets
Money market investments (1)	$	—	$	368,131	$	368,131
Commercial paper (2)	226,197		—		226,197
Marketable equity securities (3)	193,793		—		193,793
Other current investments (4)	11,788		21,171		32,959
Total Financial Assets	$	431,778	$	389,302	$	821,080
Liabilities
Deferred compensation plan liabilities (5)	$	—	$	70,661	$	70,661
7.25% unsecured notes (6)	—		450,344		450,344
AUD revolving credit borrowing (6)	—		40,927		40,927
Interest rate swap (7)	—		179		179
Total Financial Liabilities	$	—	$	562,111	$	562,111



	As of December 31, 2013
(in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Total
Assets
Money market investments (1)	$	—	$	431,836	$	431,836
Marketable equity securities (3)	487,156		—		487,156
Other current investments (4)	11,826		23,336		35,162
Total Financial Assets	$	498,982	$	455,172	$	954,154
Liabilities
Deferred compensation plan liabilities (5)	$	—	$	67,603	$	67,603
7.25% unsecured notes (6)	—		475,224		475,224
AUD revolving credit borrowing (6)	—		44,625		44,625
Interest rate swap (7)	—		1,047		1,047
Total Financial Liabilities	$	—	$	588,499	$	588,499

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(1)	The Company’s money market investments are included in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.


(2)	The Company’s commercial paper investments with original maturities of 90 days or less are included in cash and cash equivalents.


(3)	The Company’s investments in marketable equity securities are classified as available-for-sale.


(4)	Includes U.S. Government Securities, corporate bonds, mutual funds and time deposits.

(5)

Includes Graham Holdings Company’s Deferred Compensation Plan and supplemental savings plan benefits under the Graham Holdings Company’s Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, which are included in accrued compensation and related benefits. These plans measure the market value of a participant’s balance in a notional investment account that is comprised primarily of mutual funds, which are based on observable market prices. However, since the deferred compensation obligations are not exchanged in an active market, they are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on deferred compensation are included in operating income.


(6)	See Note 10 for carrying amount of these notes and borrowing.


(7)	Included in Other liabilities. The Company utilized a market approach model using the notional amount of the interest rate swap multiplied by the observable inputs of time to maturity and market interest rates.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company recorded an intangible and other long-lived assets impairment charge of $25.1 million, of which $7.8 million is reported in discontinued operations (see Notes 2 and 8). For the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded an intangible and other long-lived assets impairment charge of $3.3 million (see Notes 2 and 8). The remeasurement of the goodwill and other long-lived assets is classified as a Level 3 fair value assessment due to the significance of unobservable inputs developed in the determination of the fair value.

- 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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