Acquisitions and Strategic Investments Acquisitions and Strategic Investments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Acquisitions and Strategic Investments [Abstract]

Acquisitions and Strategic Investments

Acquisitions and Strategic Investments

2020 Change of Ownership in Rise Interactive

On June 15, 2020, the Company purchased units of equity in Rise Interactive Media & Analytics, LLC (“Rise”) from a previous holder in the form of a $15.9 million note payable paid in full on October 1, 2020, and $1.0 million cash paid on June 15, 2020. In addition, on June 15, 2020, Rise purchased and retired units of equity from previous holders of Rise for $5.4 million in cash. These transactions result in the Company’s ownership interest to change from 57% to 99%. The Company began consolidating the results of Rise in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements when its equity ownership increased to 57% on March 14, 2018. The portion of Rise’s operating results not owned by the Company of 43% through June 15, 2020 and of 1% after June 15, 2020 is recorded as net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests on the condensed consolidated statement of operations. The portion of net assets not owned by the Company is recorded as noncontrolling interests as of the respective dates shown on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

2019 Acquisition of Periscope

On January 3, 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of Periscope, Inc. (“Periscope”), a creative agency headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for $121.0 million cash paid. Periscope provides a comprehensive service offering, including media buying and analytics, creative and account management. Periscope also has packaging design and premedia services that complement Quad’s print-production capabilities. The purchase price of $134.0 million includes $9.8 million of acquired cash and non-cash equity incentive awards with a grant date fair value of $3.2 million. Included in the purchase price allocation are $69.8 million of identifiable other intangible assets, which are amortized over their estimated useful lives, ranging from five to six years, and $58.5 million of goodwill, of which $52.7 million is deductible for tax purposes. The final allocation of the purchase price was based on valuations performed to determine the fair value of the net assets as of the acquisition date. The net assets acquired, excluding acquired cash, were classified as Level 3 in the valuation hierarchy (see Note 13, “Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements,” for the definition of Level 3 inputs). Periscope’s operations are included in the United States Print and Related Services segment.