Acquisitions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Acquisitions [Abstract]

Acquisitions

4. ACQUISITIONS

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company acquired 78 completed towers and related assets and liabilities. These acquisitions were not significant to the Company and, accordingly, pro forma financial information has not been presented. The Company evaluates all acquisitions after the applicable closing date of each transaction to determine whether any additional adjustments are needed to the allocation of the purchase price paid for the assets acquired and liabilities assumed by major balance sheet caption, as well as the separate recognition of intangible assets from goodwill if certain criteria are met.

The following table summarizes the Company's acquisition capital expenditures:

	For the three months ended March 31,
	2012		2011
	(in thousands)
Towers and related intangible assets	$	43,715	$	81,793
Ground lease land purchases		5,671		7,189
Earnouts		1,762		1,315
Total acquisition capital expenditures	$	51,148	$	90,297

The Company paid, as part of the ground lease purchase program, $1.5 million and $1.2 million for ground lease extensions during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Earnouts

The Company recorded $1.4 million of income, net, related to contingent consideration adjustments in the three months ended March 31, 2012. During the same period of the prior year, the Company recorded $0.6 million of expense, net, related to contingent consideration adjustments. As of March 31, 2012 the Company's estimate of its potential obligation if the performance targets contained in various acquisition agreements were met was $3.1 million which the Company recorded in accrued expenses.