INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

The Company’s intangible assets consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31, 2012							December 31, 2011
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Amortization Period	Weighted Average Useful Life

Supply and distribution agreements	$	269,523	$	(122,940	)	$	146,583	$	260,288	$	(97,114	)	$	163,174	10 - 13 years	12 years

Technology	23,329		(23,250		)	79		22,982		(22,708		)	274		3 years	3 years

Patents	1,638		(1,446		)	192		1,638		(1,399		)	239		15 years	15 years

Customer lists	20,500		(20,500		)	—		19,923		(19,150		)	773		2 years	2 years

Internet domain names	39,559		(3,817		)	35,742		5,215		(625		)	4,590		2 - 20 years	10 years

Trade names	53,817		(28,305		)	25,512		52,272		(21,192		)	31,080		5 - 20 years	11 years

Other	326		(321		)	5		345		(324		)	21		3 - 10 years	4 years
Total intangible assets	$	408,692	$	(200,579	)	$	208,113	$	362,663	$	(162,512	)	$	200,151

Intangible assets with determinable lives are amortized on a straight-line basis. Intangible assets amortization expense is approximately $32.3 million, $33.2 million and $34.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

The annual estimated amortization expense for intangible assets for the next five years and thereafter is expected to be as follows (in thousands):



2013	$	33,801
2014	33,713
2015	30,880
2016	28,203
2017	24,359
Thereafter	57,157
	$	208,113

A substantial portion of the intangible assets relate to our Booking.com business.

A rollforward of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 consists of the following (in thousands):



	2012		2011
Balance, beginning of year	$	504,784	$	510,894
Acquisition	4,462		—
Currency translation adjustments	13,426		(6,110		)
Balance, end of year	$	522,672	$	504,784

As of September 30, 2012, the Company performed its annual goodwill impairment testing using standard valuation techniques. The estimated fair value of Booking.com, as well as the Company’s other reporting units, substantially exceeded their respective carrying values. Since the annual impairment test, there have been no events or changes in circumstances to indicate a potential impairment.

- 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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