Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

7. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of net book value over the estimated fair value of net tangible and identifiable intangible assets of a reporting unit. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or more often if impairment indicators are present at the reporting unit level. The Company elected April 1st as its annual goodwill impairment assessment date. If the existence of events or circumstances indicates that it is more likely than not that fair values of the reporting units are below their carrying values, the Company performs additional impairment tests during interim periods to evaluate goodwill for impairment.

In accordance with ASC 350, the Company initially assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If the Company determines, based on this assessment, that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, it performs a quantitative goodwill impairment test by comparing the reporting unit’s fair value with its carrying value. An impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, up to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. No impairment loss is recognized if the fair value of the reporting exceeds its carrying value.

The Company completed its annual goodwill impairment test as of April 1, 2018 and determined that no adjustment to goodwill was necessary since the fair value of each reporting unit was significantly in excess of the carrying value of each reporting unit. The Company conducted a qualitative assessment for three reporting units within the Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group segment and determined that it was not likely that their fair values were less than their carrying values. As a result of the analysis, the Company did not perform the quantitative assessment for these reporting units and did not recognize impairment losses. The Company also performed the quantitative goodwill impairment test for the fourth reporting unit within the Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group segment and for the Brooks Life Sciences reporting unit. The Company determined that no adjustment to goodwill was necessary for these two reporting units since their fair values significantly exceeded their respective carrying values. If events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of any reporting unit below its carrying value, the Company will evaluate such reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment between annual tests.

The following table sets forth the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by operating segment for the year ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):


	Brooks
	Semiconductor
	Solutions		Brooks
	Group		Life Sciences		Other		Total
Gross goodwill, at September 30, 2016	$	629,297	$	135,301	$	26,014	$	790,612
Accumulated goodwill impairments		(588,944)		—		(26,014)		(614,958)
Goodwill, net of accumulated impairments, at September 30, 2016		40,353		135,301		—		175,654
Acquisitions and adjustments		(19)		31,519		—		31,500
Gross goodwill, at September 30, 2017	$	629,278	$	166,820	$	26,014	$	822,112
Accumulated goodwill impairments		(588,944)		—		(26,014)		(614,958)
Goodwill, net of accumulated impairments, at September 30, 2017		40,334		166,820		—		207,154
Acquisitions and adjustments		7,629		41,093		—		48,722
Gross goodwill, at September 30, 2018		636,907		207,913		26,014		870,834
Accumulated goodwill impairments		(588,944)		—		(26,014)		(614,958)
Goodwill, net of accumulated impairments, at September 30, 2018	$	47,963	$	207,913	$	—	$	255,876

During fiscal year 2018, the Company recorded a goodwill increase of $41.0 million primarily related to the acquisitions of 4titude, TecSem and BioSpeciMan.

The components of the Company’s identifiable intangible assets as of September 30, 2018 and 2017 are as follows (in thousands):


	September 30, 2018						September 30, 2017
			Accumulated		Net Book				Accumulated		Net Book
	Cost		Amortization		Value		Cost		Amortization		Value
Patents	$	5,302	$	4,325	$	977	$	5,302	$	4,019	$	1,283
Completed technology		44,829		28,934		15,895		31,264		24,379		6,885
Trademarks and trade names		6,298		2,953		3,345		6,138		1,863		4,275
Customer relationships		142,489		62,750		79,739		115,596		44,535		71,061
	$	198,918	$	98,962	$	99,956	$	158,300	$	74,796	$	83,504

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $24.2 million, $17.1 million and $14.8 million, respectively, for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Estimated future amortization expense for the intangible assets as of September 30, 2018 is as follows (in thousands):


Fiscal year ended September 30,
2019	$	23,187
2020		21,061
2021		14,752
2022		11,839
2023		9,423
Thereafter		19,694
	$	99,956

- 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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