Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Sep. 28, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS:

Goodwill represents the excess of the fair value of consideration paid for an acquired entity over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Goodwill is not amortized and is subject to an impairment test that the Company conducts annually or more frequently if a change in circumstances or the occurrence of events indicates that potential impairment exists, using discounted cash flows. The Company performs its assessment of goodwill at the reporting unit level. Within the Food and Support Services—International segment, each country is evaluated separately since such operating units are relatively autonomous and separate goodwill balances have been recorded for each entity. The Company has completed the annual goodwill impairment test, which did not result in an impairment charge.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $5.3 million in the Food and Support Services—International segment in order to write off the goodwill (approximately $4.0 million) and other intangible assets (approximately $1.3 million) associated with its India operations. The impairment charge is included in “Cost of services provided” in the Consolidated Statements of Income. The impairment charge primarily resulted from a change in the strategic direction of the business and continuing operating losses due to competitive pressures. To determine the amount of the impairment charge, the Company concluded that the carrying value exceeded the estimated fair value of the India operating unit. The Company estimated the fair value using a discounted cash flow valuation methodology, which included making assumptions about the future profitability and cash flows of the business.

Goodwill, allocated by segment (see Note 14 for a description of segments), is as follows (in thousands):



Segment	September 30, 2011		Acquisitions and Divestitures		Translation		September 28, 2012
Food and Support Services—North America	$	3,613,370	$	87,734	$	33	$	3,701,137
Food and Support Services—International	453,996		—		556		454,552
Uniform and Career Apparel	573,240		545		—		573,785
	$	4,640,606	$	88,279	$	589	$	4,729,474

The Food and Support Services—North America acquisitions and divestitures activity consists primarily of goodwill resulting from the final determination of the purchase price allocations related to Filterfresh and Masterplan (see Note 3).

Other intangible assets consist of (in thousands):



	September 28, 2012							September 30, 2011
	Gross Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Amount		Gross Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Amount
Customer relationship assets	$	1,897,933	$	(1,064,492	)	$	833,441	$	1,852,531	$	(865,524	)	$	987,007
Trade names	763,127		(1,419		)	761,708		761,919		(509		)	761,410
	$	2,661,060	$	(1,065,911	)	$	1,595,149	$	2,614,450	$	(866,033	)	$	1,748,417

Acquisition-related intangible assets consist of customer relationship assets, the ARAMARK trade name and other trade names. Customer relationship assets are being amortized principally on a straight-line basis over the expected period of benefit, 3 to 24 years, with a weighted average life of approximately 11 years. The ARAMARK and Seamless trade names are indefinite lived intangible assets and are not amortizable but are evaluated for impairment at least annually. The Company completed its annual trade names impairment test, which did not result in an impairment charge.

Intangible assets of approximately $43.9 million were acquired through business combinations during fiscal 2012. Amortization of intangible assets for fiscal 2012, fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2010 was approximately $198 million, $193 million and $188 million, respectively.

The estimated amortization expense of the amortizable intangible assets through 2017 reflects the Transaction and acquisitions since January 26, 2007. Based on the recorded balances at September 28, 2012, total estimated amortization of all acquisition-related intangible assets for fiscal years 2013 through 2017 follows (in thousands):



2013	$	191,776
2014	$	156,771
2015	$	132,642
2016	$	95,788
2017	$	71,797

- 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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