Discontinued Operations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Discontinued Operations

4. Discontinued Operations

On February 3, 2014, Nielsen completed the acquisition of Harris Interactive, Inc., a leading global market research firm, through the purchase of all outstanding shares of Harris Interactive’s common stock for $2.04 per share. Further, in March 2014, the Company classified the net assets of the Harris Interactive European operations (“Harris Europe”) as held for sale.  As of March 31, 2014, the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet included $19 million of assets in prepaid expenses and other current assets and $12 million of liabilities in accounts payable and other current liabilities classified as held for sale related to this business.  The condensed consolidated statements of operations reflect the operating results of Harris Europe as a discontinued operation.

In June 2013, the Company completed the sale of its Expositions business, which operates one of the largest portfolios of business-to-business trade shows and conference events in the United States, for total cash consideration of $950 million and recorded a gain of $290 million, net of tax.  The condensed consolidated statements of operations reflect the operating results of this business as a discontinued operation.

In March 2013, Nielsen completed the exit and shut down of one of its legacy online businesses and recorded a net loss of $3 million associated with this divestiture. The condensed consolidated statements of operations reflect the operating results of this business as a discontinued operation.

Summarized results of operations for discontinued operations are as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(IN MILLIONS)	2014		2013
Revenue	$	5	$	60
Operating income		—		24
Interest expense		—		(5	)
Income from operations before income taxes		—		19
Provision for income taxes		—		(7	)
Income from operations		—		12
Income from discontinued operations	$	—	$	12

Nielsen allocated a portion of its consolidated interest expense to discontinued operations based upon the ratio of net assets sold as a proportion of consolidated net assets. For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, interest expense of zero and $5 million, respectively, was allocated to discontinued operations.

Following are the major categories of cash flows from discontinued operations, as included in Nielsen’s condensed consolidated statements of cash flows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(IN MILLIONS)	2014		2013
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	—	$	16
Net cash provided by investing activities		—		—
Net cash provided by financing activities		—		—
	$	—	$	16