Intangible Assets and Goodwill

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

7. Intangible Assets and Goodwill

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

			December 31, 2013							December 31, 2012
	Initial Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years)		Initial Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net Balance		Initial Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net Balance
Franchise agreements		12.1	$	162,835	$	(73,764	)	$	89,071	$	139,827	$	(61,489	)	$	78,338
Other intangible assets:
Software		4.2	$	7,463	$	(6,633	)	$	830	$	7,158	$	(5,942	)	$	1,216
Trademarks		14.9		2,935		(1,279	)		1,656		2,716		(1,111	)		1,605
Total other intangible assets			$	10,398	$	(7,912	)	$	2,486	$	9,874	$	(7,053	)	$	2,821

Amortization expense was $12,985,000, $9,771,000 and $11,819,000 for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

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

Year ending December 31:
2014	$	14,217
2015		14,006
2016		13,765
2017		9,868
2018		6,264
Thereafter		33,437
	$	91,557

Amounts recorded as goodwill in the Company’s accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets are attributable to the Real Estate Franchise Services segment. The following table presents changes to goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands):

Balance, January 1, 2012	$	41,882
Goodwill derecognized upon sale of related assets		(1,149	)
Goodwill recognized in acquisition		30,178
Effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates		128
Balance, December 31, 2012		71,039
Goodwill recognized in acquisitions		2,032
Effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates		(290	)
Balance, December 31, 2013	$	72,781

- 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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