Acquisitions, Disposals and Other Transactions

12 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Acquisitions, Disposals and Other Transactions

NOTE 4. ACQUISITIONS, DISPOSALS AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS

Fiscal 2019

Opcity

In October 2018, the Company acquired Opcity, a market-leading real estate technology platform that matches qualified home buyers and sellers with real estate professionals in real time. The total transaction value was approximately $210 million, consisting of approximately $182 million in cash, net of $7 million of cash acquired, and approximately $28 million in deferred payments and restricted stock unit awards for Opcity’s founders and qualifying employees, which is being recognized as compensation expense over the three years following the closing. Included in the cash amount was approximately $20 million that is being held back for approximately 18 months after closing. The acquisition broadens realtor.com

’s lead generation product portfolio, allowing real estate professionals to choose between traditional lead products or a concierge-based model that provides highly vetted, transaction-ready leads. Opcity is a subsidiary of Move, and its results are included within the Digital Real Estate Services segment.

Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total consideration was first allocated to net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets based upon their fair values as of the date of completion of the acquisition. As a result of the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $73 million of assets, of which $49 million primarily related to the Opcity technology and data platform with a weighted average useful life of 12 years and $24 million primarily related to intangible assets resulting from previously acquired leads and customer relationships with a weighted average useful life of 9 years. In accordance with ASC 350 the excess of the total consideration over the fair values of the net tangible and intangible assets of approximately $124 million was recorded as goodwill on the transaction.

Fiscal 2018

Hometrack Australia Pty Ltd

In June 2018, REA Group acquired Hometrack Australia Pty Ltd (“Hometrack Australia”) for approximately A$130 million (approximately $100 million) in cash, which was funded with a mix of cash on hand and debt of A$70 million (approximately $53 million). Hometrack Australia is a provider of property data services to the financial sector and allows REA Group to deliver more property data and insights to its customers. Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total consideration is allocated to net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets based upon the fair value as of the date of completion of the acquisition. The excess of the total consideration over the fair value of the net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The Company recorded approximately $25 million of intangible assets consisting of technology, primarily associated with the Hometrack.com website, and customer relationships which have useful lives of 8 years and 15 years, respectively. The Company recorded approximately $74 million of goodwill on the transaction. Hometrack Australia is a subsidiary of REA Group and its results are included within the Digital Real Estate Services segment.

Foxtel

In April 2018, News Corp and Telstra combined their respective 50% interests in Foxtel Group and News Corp’s 100% interest in FOX SPORTS Australia into a new company. Following the completion of the Transaction, News Corp owns a 65% interest in the combined business, with Telstra owning the remaining 35%. Consequently, the Company began consolidating Foxtel in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. The combination allows Foxtel and FOX SPORTS Australia to leverage their media platforms and content to improve services for consumers and advertisers. The results of Foxtel are reported within the Subscription Video Services segment, and Foxtel is considered a separate reporting unit for purposes of the Company’s annual goodwill impairment review.

The Transaction was accounted for in accordance with ASC 805 “Business Combinations” (“ASC 805”) which requires the Company to

re-measure

its previously held equity interest in Foxtel at its Transaction completion date fair value. The carrying amount of the Company’s previously held equity interest in Foxtel was equal to its fair value as of the Transaction completion date, as the Company wrote its investment in Foxtel down to fair value during the third quarter of fiscal 2018. In accordance with ASC 805, as the Company did not relinquish control of its investment in FOX SPORTS Australia, the reduction in the Company’s ownership interest to 65% was accounted for as a common control transaction on a carryover basis. See Note 6—Investments.

The total aggregate purchase price associated with the Transaction at the completion date is set forth below (in millions):


Consideration transferred (a)	$	331
Fair value of News Corp previously held equity interest in Foxtel		631
Fair value of noncontrolling interest (b)		578

Fair value of net assets	$	1,540

(a)	Primarily represents the fair value of 35% of FOX SPORTS Australia exchanged as consideration in the Transaction and has been included in noncontrolling interest.

(b)	Primarily represents the fair value of 35% of Foxtel, which includes the impact of certain market participant synergies.

Under the acquisition method of accounting, the aggregate purchase price, based on a valuation of 100% of Foxtel, was allocated to net tangible and intangible assets based upon their fair value as of the date of completion of the Transaction. The excess of the aggregate purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The allocation is as follows (in millions):


Assets acquired:
Cash	$	78
Current assets		492
Property, plant and equipment		967
Intangible assets		861
Goodwill		1,559
Other non-current assets		268

Total assets acquired	$	4,225

Liabilities assumed:
Current liabilities	$	611
Long-term borrowings		1,751
Other non-current liabilities		323

Total liabilities assumed		2,685

Net assets acquired	$	1,540

As a result of the Transaction, the Company recorded tangible assets of approximately $871 million, excluding long-term borrowings, primarily consisting of property, plant and equipment which mainly relate to digital set top units and installations and technical equipment, as well as accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable and accruals at their estimated fair values at the completion date of the Transaction. The Company recorded outstanding borrowings of approximately $1.8 billion as a result of the Transaction. See Note 9—Borrowings.

In addition, the Company recorded approximately $0.9 billion of intangible assets of which $468 million has been allocated to subscriber relationships with a weighted-average useful life of 10 years, $270 million has been allocated to the tradenames which have an indefinite life and approximately $123 million has been allocated to advertiser relationships with a weighted-average useful life of 15 years. In accordance with ASC 350, the excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the net tangible and intangible assets of approximately $1.6 billion was recorded as goodwill on the transaction.

As a result of the Transaction, the Company recognized a $337 million loss in Other, net, primarily related to the Company’s settlement of its

pre-existing

contractual arrangement between Foxtel and FOX SPORTS Australia which resulted in a $317 million

write-off

of its channel distribution agreement intangible asset at the time of the Transaction.

Smartline Home Loans Pty Limited

In July 2017, REA Group acquired an 80.3% interest in Smartline Home Loans Pty Limited (“Smartline”) for approximately A$70 million in cash (approximately $55 million). The minority shareholders have the option to sell the remaining 19.7% interest to REA Group beginning three years after closing at a price dependent on the financial performance of Smartline. If the option is not exercised, the minority interest will become mandatorily redeemable four years after closing. As a result, REA Group recognized a liability of $12 million in the three months ended September 30, 2017 for the present value of the amount expected to be paid for the remaining interest based on the formula specified in the acquisition agreement. Smartline is one of Australia’s premier mortgage broking franchise groups, and the acquisition provides REA Group’s financial services business with greater scale and capability. Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total consideration was allocated to net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets based upon the fair value as of the date of completion of the acquisition. The excess of the total consideration over the fair value of the net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The acquired intangible assets of approximately $19 million primarily relate to customer relationships which have a useful life of 16 years. The Company recorded approximately $49 million of goodwill on the transaction. Smartline is a subsidiary of REA Group, and its results are included within the Digital Real Estate Services segment.

Fiscal 2017

Wireless Group plc

In September 2016, the Company completed its acquisition of Wireless Group for a purchase price of 315 pence per share in cash, or approximately £220 million (approximately $285 million) in the aggregate, plus $23 million of assumed debt which was repaid subsequent to closing. Wireless Group operates talkSPORT, the leading sports radio network in the U.K., and a portfolio of radio stations in the U.K. and Ireland. The acquisition broadens the Company’s range of services in the U.K., Ireland and internationally, and the Company continues to closely align Wireless Group’s operations with those of

The Sun

and

The Times

. The Company utilized the restricted cash which was specifically set aside at June 30, 2016 for purposes of funding the acquisition and therefore the Company had no restricted cash as of June 30, 2017.

The total transaction value for the Wireless Group acquisition is set forth below (in millions):


Cash paid for Wireless Group equity	$	285
Plus: Assumed debt		23

Total transaction value	$	308

Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total consideration is allocated to net tangible and intangible assets based upon the fair value as of the date of completion of the acquisition. The excess of the total consideration over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The allocation is as follows (in millions):


Assets Acquired:
Intangible assets	$	220
Goodwill		115
Net liabilities		(50	)

Total net assets acquired	$	285

The acquired intangible assets primarily relate to broadcast licenses, which have a fair value of approximately $185 million, tradenames, which have a fair value of approximately $27 million, and customer relationships with a fair value of approximately $8 million. The broadcast licenses and tradenames have indefinite lives and the customer relationships are being amortized over a weighted-average useful life of approximately 6 years. Wireless Group’s results are included within the News and Information Services segment, and it is considered a separate reporting unit for purposes of the Company’s annual goodwill impairment review.

REA Group European Business

In December 2016, REA Group, in which the Company holds a 61.6% interest, sold its European business for approximately $140 million (approximately €133 million) in cash, which resulted in a

pre-tax

gain of $107 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017. The sale allows REA Group to focus on its core businesses in Australia and Asia.

In addition to the acquisitions noted above and the investments referenced in Note 6—Investments, the Company used $62 million of cash for additional acquisitions during fiscal 2017, primarily consisting of Australian Regional Media (“ARM”). ARM’s results are included within the News and Information Services segment.