GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The Company reviews goodwill for impairment annually as of July 31 and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable. In reviewing goodwill for impairment, an Company has the option - for any or all of its reporting units that carry goodwill - to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not (i.e. greater than 50%) that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the Company elects to perform a qualitative assessment and determines that an impairment is more likely than not, the Company is then required to perform the two-step quantitative impairment test, otherwise no further analysis is required. The Company also may elect not to perform the qualitative assessment and, instead, proceed directly to step one of the two-step quantitative impairment test. The ultimate outcome of the goodwill impairment review for a reporting unit should be the same whether the Company chooses to perform the qualitative assessment or proceeds directly to the two-step quantitative impairment test. The most recent two-step quantitative impairment test completed for each reporting unit was as of July 31, 2013 (the "Base Valuation"), which resulted in the full impairment of goodwill held by the U.S. Spine reporting unit. At July 31, 2014 the following reporting units carried goodwill: U.S. Neurosurgery, U.S. Instruments, U.S. Extremities, Private Label, EMEA and LAPAC.

At July 31, 2014, management performed a comprehensive analysis of various events and circumstances (i.e. factors) that would likely affect the estimated fair value of all of its reporting units that carried goodwill at that date, and whether those factors would have a positive or negative impact on the fair value of the reporting unit when compared to the Base Valuation. Management considered Company-wide factors such as, but not limited to (i) macroeconomic conditions, (ii) industry conditions, (iii) the Company's overall financial prospects and market capitalization, (iv) the competitive environment, (v) regulatory and political developments, and (vi) any changes in the Company's weighted average cost of capital ("WACC"). Management also considered reporting unit specific factors such as, but not limited to (i) changes in the market for products and services, (ii) strategic business changes, (iii) reporting unit financial performance, (iv) management's most recent prospective revenue estimates, (v) the prospective cost burden of the reporting units, (vi) changes in a reporting unit's management, (vii) how any change in the Company's WACC above might impact the reporting unit specific WACC, and (viii) the suitability of the risk premiums on the reporting unit specific WACC. These factors are then classified by the type of impact they would have on the estimated fair value using positive, neutral, and adverse categories based on current business conditions. The Company then performs an assessment of the level of impact that a particular factor would have on the estimated fair value using high, medium, and low weighting. Finally, management considered all of the factors above in the context of the results of the Base Valuation, and whether it is more likely than not that the carrying value of any of the reporting units that have goodwill exceeds their individual fair value.

Management concluded that at July 31, 2014, based on the totality of information available for each reporting unit that carried goodwill, it was more likely than not that the estimated fair values of the U.S. Neurosurgery, U.S. Extremities, Private Label, EMEA and LAPAC reporting units were greater than their carrying values, and as such, no further analysis was required for those reporting units. The Company proceeded to step one of the quantitative goodwill impairment test for the U.S. Instruments reporting unit, primarily as a result of recent declines in that reporting unit's revenues.

To derive the fair value of the U.S. Instruments reporting unit, as required in step one of the impairment test, the Company used the income approach, specifically the discounted cash flow ("DCF") method, which incorporates significant estimates and assumptions made by management which, by their nature, are characterized by uncertainty. Inputs used to fair value the Company's reporting units are considered inputs of the fair value hierarchy. For Level 3 measurements, significant increases or decreases in long-term growth rates or discount rates in isolation or in combination could result in a significantly lower or higher fair value measurement. The key assumptions impacting the valuation included:


•	The reporting unit's financial projections, which are based on management's assessment of regional and macroeconomic variables, industry trends and market opportunities, and the Company's strategic objectives and future growth plans.

•

The projected terminal value for the reporting unit, which represents the present value of projected cash flows beyond the last period in the discounted cash flow analysis. The terminal value reflects the Company's assumptions related to long-term growth rates and profitability, which are based on several factors, including local and macroeconomic variables, market opportunities, and future growth plans.

•

The discount rate used to measure the present value of the projected future cash flows is set using a weighted-average cost of capital method that considers market and industry data as well as the Company's specific risk factors that are likely to be considered by a market participant. The weighted-average cost of capital is the Company's estimate of the overall after-tax rate of return required by equity and debt holders of a business enterprise.

The Company determined, after performing the Step-1 fair value analysis above, that the U.S. Instruments reporting unit's fair value was in excess of its carrying value; therefore, it was not necessary to proceed to Step-2 of the goodwill impairment test for the U.S. Instruments reporting unit.

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 were as follows:



	U.S. Neurosurgery			U.S. Instruments			U.S. Extremities			U.S. Spine and Other			International			Total
	(In thousands)
Goodwill, gross	$	95,165		$	58,033		$	61,079		$	56,325		$	25,900		$	296,502
Accumulated impairment losses	—			—			—			(46,738		)	—			(46,738		)
Goodwill at December 31, 2013	95,165			58,033			61,079			9,587			25,900			249,764
Confluent Surgical acquisition	95,373			—			—			—			9,958			105,331
Foreign currency translation	(2,966		)	(901		)	(948		)	(149		)	(557		)	(5,521		)
Goodwill at September 30, 2014	$	187,572		$	57,132		$	60,131		$	9,438		$	35,301		$	349,574

The components of the Company’s identifiable intangible assets were as follows:



	September 30, 2014
	Weighted Average Life	Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net
	(Dollars in thousands)
Completed technology	18 years	$	320,270	$	(58,458	)	$	261,812
Customer relationships	12 years	145,658		(85,762		)	59,896
Trademarks/brand names	31 years	33,316		(15,766		)	17,550
Trademarks/brand names	Indefinite	48,484		—			48,484
Supplier relationships	27 years	34,721		(10,452		)	24,269
All other⁽¹⁾	4 years	4,620		(2,725		)	1,895
		$	587,069	$	(173,163	)	$	413,906



	December 31, 2013
	Weighted Average Life	Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net
	(Dollars in thousands)
Completed technology	12 years	$	81,238	$	(45,343	)	$	35,895
Customer relationships	12 years	146,627		(79,624		)	67,003
Trademarks/brand names	31 years	33,703		(15,648		)	18,055
Trademarks/brand names	Indefinite	48,484		—			48,484
Supplier relationships	27 years	34,721		(9,305		)	25,416
All other⁽¹⁾	5 years	4,251		(1,941		)	2,310
		$	349,024	$	(151,861	)	$	197,163


⁽¹⁾	At September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, all other included in-process research and development ("IPR&D") of $1.4 million in both periods, which was indefinite-lived.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $0.6 million in cost of goods sold related to technology assets acquired from Confluent Surgical that will no longer be sold resulting from a regulatory event that occurred after the acquisition date.

Based on quarter-end exchange rates, annual amortization expense (including amounts reported in cost of product revenues, but excluding any possible future amortization associated with acquired in-process research and development) is expected to approximate $31.2 million in 2014, $28.7 million in 2015, $26.6 million in 2016, $24.5 million in 2017 and $24.1 million in 2018. Identifiable intangible assets are initially recorded at fair market value at the time of acquisition using an income or cost approach.