Intangible Assets and Goodwill

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

6. Intangible Assets and Goodwill

The following table provides the components of the Company’s intangible assets, other than goodwill (in thousands):


	Initial
	Weighted	September 30, 2015						December 31, 2014
	Average	Initial		Accumulated		Net		Initial		Accumulated		Net
	Amortization	Cost		Amortization		Balance		Cost		Amortization		Balance
Franchise agreements	12.0	$	162,761	$	(97,430)	$	65,331	$	162,835	$	(87,330)	$	75,505
Other intangible assets:
Software (a)	4.5	$	10,125	$	(7,309)	$	2,816	$	8,356	$	(7,126)	$	1,230
Trademarks	14.6		2,975		(1,558)		1,417		2,919		(1,424)		1,495
Total other intangible assets	6.7	$	13,100	$	(8,867)	$	4,233	$	11,275	$	(8,550)	$	2,725

(a)

As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, capitalized software development costs of $2,392,000 and $857,000, respectively, were recorded in “Other intangible assets” in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of these dates, the associated information technology infrastructure projects were not complete and ready for their intended use and thus were not subject to amortization.

Amortization expense for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 was $3,510,000 and $3,518,000, respectively. Amortization expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 was $10,608,000 and $10,656,000, respectively.

The estimated future amortization of intangible assets, other than goodwill, is as follows (in thousands):


Year ending December 31:
Remainder of 2015	$	3,473
2016		14,276
2017		10,438
2018		6,821
2019		6,811
Thereafter		27,745
	$	69,564

The Company performs its annual impairment analysis of goodwill as of August 31 each year or more often if there are indicators of impairment present. The Company tests each reporting unit for goodwill impairment. Reporting units are driven by the level at which management reviews operating results and are one level below the operating segment. The Company’s impairment assessment begins with a qualitative assessment to determine if it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than the carrying amount. The initial qualitative assessment includes comparing the overall financial performance of the reporting units against the planned results as well as other factors which might indicate that the reporting unit’s value has declined since the last assessment date. If it is determined in the qualitative assessment that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then the standard two-step quantitative impairment test is performed. The first step of the quantitative impairment test consists of comparing the estimated fair value of each reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, then it is not considered impaired and no further analysis is required. If the first step of the quantitative impairment test indicates that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then impairment potentially exists and the second step of the quantitative impairment test is performed to measure the amount of goodwill impairment. Goodwill impairment exists when the estimated implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill is less than its carrying value.

The Company performed the qualitative impairment assessment for all of its reporting units by evaluating, among other things, market and general economic conditions, entity-specific events, events affecting a reporting unit and the Company’s results of operations and key performance measures. The Company concluded subsequent to the completion of the qualitative impairment assessment that the fair value of each of the Company’s reporting units significantly exceed their respective carrying values. As a result, the Company did not perform the quantitative test, and no indicators of impairment existed.

Amounts recorded as goodwill in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets are attributable to the Company’s Real Estate Franchise Services reportable segment. The following table presents changes to goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 (in thousands):


Balance, January 1, 2015	$	72,463
Effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates		(487)
Balance, September 30, 2015	$	71,976

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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