Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price and related costs over the value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets of businesses acquired.

The change in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment is shown below:



(in millions)	S&P Ratings			S&P Capital IQ			S&P DJ Indices			C&C			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2012	$	130		$	457		$	380		$	468		$	1,435
Dispositions	—			(3		)	(4		)	(29		)	(36		)
Other (primarily Fx)	(5		)	15			—			—			10
Balance as of December 31, 2013	125			469			376			439			1,409
Acquisitions	4			—			—			38			42
Dispositions	—			—			—			(32		)	(32		)
Other (primarily Fx)	(7		)	(17		)	—			(8		)	(32		)
Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	122		$	452		$	376		$	437		$	1,387

Goodwill additions and dispositions in the table above relate to transactions discussed in Note 2 – Acquisitions and Divestitures.

Other Intangible Assets

Other intangible assets include both indefinite-lived assets not subject to amortization and definite-lived assets subject to amortization. We have indefinite-lived assets with a carrying value of $693 million and $634 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, that consist of:


•	$380 million and $90 million, for Dow Jones Indices intellectual property and the Dow Jones tradename, respectively, that we recorded as part of the transaction to form S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC in 2012 further described in Note 2 – Acquisitions and Divestitures;


•	$164 million within our C&C segment for the J.D. Power and Associates tradename;


•	$44 million within our S&P Dow Jones Indices segment for the Broad Market Indices intellectual property; and


•	$15 million within our S&P Dow Jones Indices segment for the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index intellectual property.

The following table summarizes our definite-lived intangible assets:



(in millions)
Cost	Databases and software			Content		Customer relationships		Tradenames		Other intangibles			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2012	$	126		$	139	$	225	$	45	$	159		$	694
Acquisitions	—			—		—		—		44			44
Dispositions	(9		)	—		—		—		(13		)	(22		)
Impairment¹	—			—		—		—		(26		)	(26		)
Other (primarily Fx)	(2		)	—		—		—		(6		)	(8		)
Balance as of December 31, 2013	115			139		225		45		158			682
Acquisitions	—			—		—		—		13			13
Transfers	—			—		—		—		(44		)	(44		)
Other (primarily Fx)	(2		)	—		3		1		(16		)	(14		)
Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	113		$	139	$	228	$	46	$	111		$	637

Accumulated amortization
Balance as of December 31, 2012	$	80		$	31	$	55	$	30	$	49		$	245
Current year amortization	9			14		11		2		15			51
Dispositions	(6		)	—		—		—		(9		)	(15		)
Other (primarily Fx)	—			—		1		—		1			2
Balance as of December 31, 2013	83			45		67		32		56			283
Current year amortization	6			14		13		3		12			48
Other (primarily Fx)	(1		)	—		—		—		(4		)	(5		)
Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	88		$	59	$	80	$	35	$	64		$	326

Net definite-lived intangibles:
December 31, 2013	$	32		$	94	$	158	$	13	$	102		$	399
December 31, 2014	$	25		$	80	$	148	$	11	$	47		$	311


¹	We incurred a $26 million non-cash impairment charge associated with an intangible asset acquired through the formation of our S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture.

Definite-lived intangible assets are being amortized on a straight-line basis over periods of up to 40 years. The weighted-average life of the intangible assets as of December 31, 2014 is approximately 10 years. Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, and the projected amortization expense for intangible assets over the next five years for the years ended December 31, assuming no further acquisitions or dispositions, is as follows:



(in millions)	Amortization expense		Expected amortization expense
2012	$	48
2013	51
2014	48
2015			$	47
2016			47
2017			44
2018			37
2019			29

- 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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