Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill, customer relationships and other intangible assets consisted of the following:



	Successor		Predecessor
	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
	(Dollars in millions)
Goodwill	$	10,837	7,729
Customer relationships, less accumulated amortization of $126 and $1,113	8,845		860
Other indefinite-life intangible assets	—		15
Other intangible assets subject to amortization:
Trade names, less accumulated amortization of $4 and $0	126		—
Developed technology, less accumulated amortization of $9 and $189	252		40
Total other intangible assets, net	$	378	55

Our goodwill balance at December 31, 2017 includes $16 million of goodwill that was allocated to us from CenturyLink associated with differences in the deferred state income taxes that CenturyLink expects to realize due to its consolidation of our results of operations into its state tax returns.

Total amortization expense for intangible assets for the successor period ended December 31, 2017, the predecessor period ended October 31, 2017 and the predecessor years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $139 million, $168 million, $211 million and $227 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, the gross carrying amount of goodwill, customer relationships, indefinite-life and other intangible assets was $20.199 billion. As of the successor date of December 31, 2017, the weighted average remaining useful lives of our finite-lived intangible assets was 11.9 years in total; 12.2 years for customer contracts and relationships, 4.8 years for trademarks, and 4.8 years for developed technology.

We estimate that total amortization expense for intangible assets for the successor years ending December 31, 2018 through 2022 will be as follows:



	(Dollars in millions)
2018	$	829
2019	829
2020	829
2021	829
2022	816

- 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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