Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

The carrying amount of goodwill is reviewed at least annually for impairment as of November 1. The first step of the goodwill impairment test, used to identify potential impairment, compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit is greater than zero and its estimated fair value exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is not considered impaired. For the purpose of goodwill impairment testing, we identify two reporting units, Consumer Products and Pulp and Paperboard, the same as our two reportable operating segments (see Note 18, "Segment Information"). All of the recorded goodwill is assigned to our Consumer Products reporting unit.

As of November 1, 2015 and 2014, we performed calculations of both a discounted cash flow and market-based valuation model for our Consumer Products reporting unit. The assumptions used in these models allowed us to evaluate the estimated fair value of our reporting unit. The determination of these assumptions required significant estimates on our part. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making such estimates, actual results could differ from those assumptions. However, we evaluated the merits of each significant assumption, both individually and in the aggregate, used to determine the estimated fair value of our reporting unit for reasonableness. Upon completion of this exercise, we concluded that the estimated fair value of the Consumer Products reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount. We determined that no further testing was necessary and did not record any impairment loss on our goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

On December 30, 2014, we sold our Consumer Products reporting unit's specialty business and mills. We considered the sale to be highly probable during our 2014 annual goodwill review and as such included its impact in estimating the fair value of the Consumer Products reporting unit, concluding that this event did not require additional impairment testing. However, consistent with authoritative guidance we allocated a portion of our goodwill to the specialty business and mills sold. As a result, we recorded a $20.4 million write-off of goodwill, which was originally recorded in connection with the Cellu Tissue acquisition and was allocated to the sale of the specialty mills business. In addition, certain of our customer relationships and trade name and trademarks intangible assets were associated with our divested specialty business and mills, and as a result we recorded a $4.9 million write-off of these assets. These charges are included in "Gain (loss) on divested assets" within our accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations. For additional discussion regarding the sale of our specialty business and mills, see Note 4, "Asset Divestiture."

Intangible asset amounts represent the acquisition date fair values of identifiable intangible assets acquired. The fair values of the intangible assets were determined by using the income approach, discounting projected future cash flows based on management’s expectations of the current and future operating environment. The rates used to discount projected future cash flows reflected a weighted average cost of capital based on our industry, capital structure and risk premiums including those reflected in the current market capitalization. Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their useful lives, which have historically ranged from 5 to 10 years. Authoritative guidance requires that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset with a definite life that is held-for-use be evaluated for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the entity may be unable to recover the asset’s carrying amount.

As a result of the Long Island Closure, we performed an assessment of the recoverability of our intangible assets associated with this facility. It was determined that the carrying amounts of certain trade names and trademarks related to the Long Island facility were exceeding their fair value. As a result, we recorded a $1.3 million non-cash impairment charge in our accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations. Fully amortized non-compete agreements related to the Long Island facility were also disposed of during the facility closure.

During the fourth quarter of 2014, we evaluated the recoverability of our remaining intangible assets under the income approach and noted that a customer relationship intangible asset relating to our Pulp and Paperboard segment's wood chipping facility was fully impaired. As a result, we recorded an additional non-cash impairment charge of $3.1 million in our accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations.

There were no other such events or changes in circumstances that required us to assess whether our definite-lived intangible assets were impaired for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. We do not have any indefinite-lived intangible assets recorded from acquisitions.

Intangible assets at the balance sheet dates are comprised of the following:



	December 31, 2015
(Dollars in thousands, lives in years)	Useful Life	Historical Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net Balance
Customer relationships	9.0	$	41,001	$	(22,778	)	$	18,223
Trade names and trademarks	10.0	3,286		(1,643		)	1,643
Non-compete agreements	5.0	574		(450		)	124
Total intangible assets		$	44,861	$	(24,871	)	$	19,990



	December 31, 2014
(Dollars in thousands, lives in years)	Useful Life	Historical Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net Balance
Customer relationships	9.0	$	41,001	$	(18,223	)	$	22,778
Trade names and trademarks	10.0	3,286		(1,314		)	1,972
Non-compete agreements	5.0	1,189		(983		)	206
Total intangible assets		$	45,476	$	(20,520	)	$	24,956

As of December 31, 2015, estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets is as follows (in thousands):



Years ending December 31,	Amount
2016	$	4,946
2017	4,946
2018	4,884
2019	4,884
2020	330
Total	$	19,990

- 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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