Investments

Strategic Investments in Private Companies

Our total equity and cost method investment balances recorded as of September 30, 2013 and 2012 were as follows:



	September 30,
	2013		2012
Equity method investments	$	25,407	$	14,911
Cost method investments	76,349		50,710
Total investments	$	101,756	$	65,621

As of September 30, 2013, our equity method investments included the following:

Cleartrip. We have an investment in privately-held Cleartrip, Inc. (“Cleartrip”), a leading provider of online travel services in India. We initially invested $40.0 million in both preferred stock and common stock in 2011. In 2012, we invested an additional $12.0 million in preferred stock. During the year ended September 30, 2013, we invested a total of $10.9 million in preferred stock. Classes of preferred stock in Cleartrip that do not meet the characteristics of in-substance common stock have been accounted for under the cost method. As of September 30, 2013, our equity interest of 19% in Cleartrip’s common stock and certain classes of preferred stock is accounted for under the equity method, because our total ownership interest exceeds 20% and we have the ability to exert significant influence. As of September 30, 2013, the difference between the carrying amount of our investment and the underlying equity in net assets of Cleartrip was $17.9 million, which was identified as intangible assets and goodwill. Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives of five to 10 years.

Yapta. In 2011, we invested $5.3 million in the preferred stock of privately-held Yapta, Inc. (“Yapta”), a leading provider of fare tracking services. During the year ended September 30, 2013, we invested another $3.4 million in the preferred stock of Yapta. As of September 30, 2013, our equity interest in the outstanding stock of Yapta is 48.1%. Our investment meets the definition of in-substance common stock. We, therefore, account for our total investment in Yapta under the equity method. As of September 30, 2013, the difference between the carrying amount of our investment and the underlying equity in net assets of Yapta was $5.0 million, which was identified as intangible assets and goodwill. Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives of five to 10 years.

We review both equity method and cost method investments periodically for impairment. There were no impairment charges during the years 2013, 2012, and 2011.

Summarized Financial Information of Equity Method Investees

The following is the aggregated summarized financial information of our equity method investees, which includes summarized results of operations information for 2013, 2012 and 2011 and summarized balance sheet information as of September 30, 2013 and 2012:



Operating results	2013			2012			2011
Net revenue	$	30,202		$	26,594		$	12,900
Gross margin	18,035			15,392			5,218
Net loss	(15,549		)	(16,544		)	(3,579		)



Balance sheet	September 30, 2013		September 30, 2012
Current assets	$	23,701	$	20,173
Current liabilities	22,045		12,952
Non-current assets	9,022		6,906
Non-current liabilities	1,007		2,770

Summarized financial information for our equity method investees is presented on the basis of up to a one-quarter lag and is included for the periods in which we held an equity method ownership interest.

Other Investments

We generally invest our excess cash in investment grade short- to intermediate-term fixed-income securities and money market funds. For further information, see Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.