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Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

(3) Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

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

	Successor

	September 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
	(Dollars in millions)
Goodwill	$	10,123		10,123

Customer relationships, less accumulated amortization of $1,499 and $770	$	6,059		6,788

Other intangible assets subject to amortization
Capitalized software, less accumulated amortization of $644 and $354		1,277		1,460
Trade names and patents, less accumulated amortization of $110 and $61		78		127

Total other intangible assets, net	$	1,355		1,587

We amortize customer relationships primarily over an estimated life of 10 years, using either the sum-of-the-years-digits or straight-line methods, depending on the type of customer. We amortize capitalized software using the straight-line method over estimated lives ranging up to seven years and amortize our other intangible assets predominantly using the sum-of-the-years digits method over an estimated life of four years.

We estimate that total successor amortization expense for intangible assets for the three months ending December 31, 2012 and for the successor years ending December 31, 2013 through 2016 will be as follows:

Successor	(Dollars in millions)

Three months ending December 31, 2012	$	346
Year ending December 31,
2013		1,276
2014		1,161
2015		1,028
2016		911

We periodically review the estimated lives and methods used to amortize our other intangible assets. The actual amounts of amortization expense may differ materially from our estimates, depending on the results of our periodic reviews and our final determinations of acquisition date fair value related to our intangible assets.

We have accounted for CenturyLink's acquisition of us under the acquisition method of accounting, which resulted in the assignment of the aggregate consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their acquisition date fair values. The fair value of the aggregate consideration transferred exceeded the acquisition date fair value of the recorded tangible and intangible assets, and assumed liabilities by $10.123 billion, which has been recognized as goodwill. The impairment testing is done at the reporting unit level; in reviewing the criteria for reporting units when allocating the goodwill resulting from our acquisition by CenturyLink, it was determined that we are one reportable unit, Qwest. We are required to review goodwill recorded in business combinations for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate there may be impairment. Our annual measurement date for testing goodwill impairment is September 30. We are required to write-down the value of goodwill only in periods in which the recorded amount of goodwill exceeds the fair value.

We early adopted the provisions of ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment, during the third quarter of 2011, which permits us to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two step goodwill impairment test which requires us (i) in step one, to identify potential impairments by comparing the estimated fair value of a reporting unit against its carrying value and (ii) in step two, to quantify any impairment identified in step one. At September 30, 2012, as a result of changes in our estimate of future cash flows we did not perform a qualitative assessment. Therefore, we determined the fair value of Qwest using an equal weighting based on a market approach and a discounted cash flow method. The market approach includes the use of comparable multiples of publicly traded companies whose services are comparable to ours to corroborate discounted cash flow results. The discounted cash flow method is based on the present value of projected cash flows and a terminal value, which represents the expected normalized cash flows of Qwest beyond the cash flows from the discrete nine-year projection period. We discounted the estimated cash flows using a rate that represents our weighted average cost of capital, which we determined to be approximately 6.0% as of the measurement date (which was comprised of an after-tax cost of debt of 3.2% and a cost of equity of 8.4%). Our direct parent, CenturyLink, has not completed its goodwill impairment test as of September 30, 2012, and as a result, we also have not completed our impairment test; however, we do not anticipate an impairment of our goodwill. We will finalize our analysis prior to the year ending December 31, 2012.

The table below summarizes our amortization expense:

	Successor								Predecessor

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2012		Three Months Ended September 30, 2011		Nine Months Ended September 30, 2012		Six Months Ended September 30, 2011		Three Months Ended March 31, 2011
	(Dollars in millions)
Amortization expense	$	347		395		1,074		794		58

- 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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