Significant Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Business Combination and Asset Acquisition [Abstract]


Note 7: Significant Transactions

Universal Beijing Resort

In 2018, we entered into an agreement with a consortium of Chinese state-owned companies to build and operate a Universal theme park and resort in Beijing, China (“Universal Beijing Resort”), which opened in September 2021. We own a 30% interest in Universal Beijing Resort and the construction was funded through a combination of debt financing and equity contributions from the investors in accordance with their equity interests. The debt financing, which is being provided by a syndicate of Chinese financial institutions, contains certain covenants and a maximum borrowing limit of ¥29.7 billion RMB (approximately $4.7 billion), which was increased from ¥26.6 billion RMB (approximately $4.2 billion) in the third quarter of 2021. The debt financing is secured by the assets of Universal Beijing Resort and the equity interests of the investors. As of December 31, 2021, Universal Beijing Resort had $3.6 billion of debt outstanding, including $3.1 billion principal amount of a term loan outstanding under the debt financing agreement.

We have concluded that Universal Beijing Resort is a VIE based on its governance structure, and we consolidate it because we have the power to direct activities that most significantly impact its economic performance. There are no liquidity arrangements, guarantees or other financial commitments between us and Universal Beijing Resort, and therefore our maximum risk of financial loss is our 30% interest. Universal Beijing Resort’s results of operations are reported in our Theme Parks segment. Our consolidated statement of cash flows includes the costs of construction and related borrowings in the “construction of Universal Beijing Resort” and “proceeds from borrowings” captions, respectively, and equity contributions from the noncontrolling interests are included in other financing activities.

As of December 31, 2021, our consolidated balance sheet included assets and liabilities of Universal Beijing Resort totaling $9.7 billion and $8.1 billion, respectively. The assets and liabilities of Universal Beijing Resort primarily consist of property and equipment, operating lease assets and liabilities, and debt.

Acquisitions

In October 2021, we acquired Masergy, a provider of software-defined networking and cloud platforms for global enterprises, for total cash consideration of $1.2 billion. The acquisition accelerates our growth in serving large and mid-sized companies, particularly U.S.-based organizations with multi-site global enterprises. Masergy’s results of operations are included in our consolidated results of operations since the acquisition date and are reported in our Cable Communications segment. We have recorded a preliminary estimate of Masergy’s assets and liabilities with approximately $850 million recorded to goodwill and the remainder primarily attributed to software and customer relationship intangible assets. These estimates are not yet final and are subject to change. The acquisition was not material to our consolidated results of operations.