Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Goodwill

The changes in the carrying value of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 were as follows:



Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	5,196,485
Additions due to Sunesys Acquisition^(a)	325,696
Additions due to other acquisitions	41,542
Adjustments to purchase price allocations, net	(50,172		)
Balance as of December 31, 2015	$	5,513,551
Additions due to TDC Acquisition ^(b)	210,905
Additions due to other acquisitions	28,486
Adjustments to purchase price allocations and other, net	4,734
Balance as of December 31, 2016	$	5,757,676


(a)	The purchase price allocation for the Sunesys Acquisition resulted in the recognition of goodwill based on the Company's expectation to leverage the Sunesys fiber footprint to support new small cell networks. The Sunesys fiber is complementary to the Company's existing fiber assets and is located where the Company expects to see wireless carrier network investments. See note 4.


(b)	The preliminary purchase price allocation for the TDC Acquisition resulted in the recognition of goodwill in the towers segment because of the anticipated growth opportunity in the acquired tower portfolio. See note 4.

Intangibles

The following is a summary of the Company's intangible assets. See note 4 for further discussion of the Company's acquisitions.



	As of December 31, 2016							As of December 31, 2015
	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net Book Value		Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net Book Value
Site rental contracts and customer relationships	$	5,146,301	$	(1,847,523	)	$	3,298,778	$	5,009,241	$	(1,588,061	)	$	3,421,180
Other intangible assets	497,091		(145,797		)	351,294		482,142		(123,407		)	358,735
Total	$	5,643,392	$	(1,993,320	)	$	3,650,072	$	5,491,383	$	(1,711,468	)	$	3,779,915

Amortization expense related to intangible assets is classified as follows on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss):



	For Years Ended December 31,
Classification	2016		2015		2014
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	$	264,656	$	251,443	$	242,967
Site rental costs of operations	19,367		20,420		22,105
Total amortization expense	$	284,023	$	271,863	$	265,072

The estimated annual amortization expense related to intangible assets (inclusive of those recorded as an increase to "site rental costs of operations") for the years ended December 31, 2017 to 2021 is as follows:



	Years Ending December 31,
	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
Estimated annual amortization	$	285,556	$	285,109	$	284,615	$	284,219	$	283,534

- 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.

+ References + Details