Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

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



		Successor
	Weighted Average of Remaining Lives	December 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
		(Dollars in millions)
Goodwill	N/A	$	9,354	9,354
Customer relationships, less accumulated amortization of $2,012 and $1,320	7.3 years	3,687		4,379
Other intangible assets subject to amortization Capitalized software, less accumulated amortization of $994 and $704	3.0 years	1,008		1,212

As of the successor date of December 31, 2013, the gross carrying amounts of goodwill, customer relationships and other intangible assets were $17.055 billion.

Total amortization expense for intangible assets was as follows:

Successor

Predecessor

Year Ended December 31, 2013

Year Ended December 31, 2012

Nine Months Ended December 31, 2011

Three Months Ended March 31,
2011

(Dollars in millions)

Amortization expense for intangible assets

1,029

1,115

952

We amortize customer relationships primarily over an estimated life of ten years, using either the sum-of-the-years-digits or the 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. The estimated future amortization expense for intangible assets is as follows:



	(Dollars in millions)
Year ending December 31,
2014	$	894
2015	821
2016	743
2017	667
2018	581
2019 and thereafter	989

We annually 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 annual reviews.

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 $9.354 billion, which has been recognized as goodwill. The impairment assessment is done at the reporting unit level; in reviewing the criteria for reporting units when assigning the goodwill resulting from our acquisition by CenturyLink, we have determined that we are one reporting unit. We are required to assess goodwill recorded in business combinations for impairment at least annually, or more frequently, if events or circumstances indicate there may be impairment. Our annual goodwill impairment assessment date was 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 compare Qwest’s estimated fair value to the carrying value of equity. If the estimated fair value of Qwest is greater than the carrying value, we conclude that no impairment exists. If the estimated fair value of Qwest is less than the carrying value, a second calculation is required in which the implied fair value of goodwill is compared to the carrying value of goodwill. If the implied fair value of goodwill is less than its carrying value of goodwill, goodwill must be written down to its implied fair value.

At September 30, 2013, as a result of changes in our forecasted cash flows since our previous quantitative assessment, we did not have a baseline valuation upon which to perform a qualitative assessment. Therefore, we estimated the fair value of Qwest by considering both a market approach method and a discounted cash flow method, which resulted in a Level 3 fair value measurement. The market approach method includes the use of comparable multiples of publicly traded companies whose services are comparable to ours. 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 beyond the cash flows from the discrete projection period. We discounted the estimated cash flows using a rate that represents a market participant's weighted average cost of capital, which we determined to be approximately 6.0% as of the assessment date (which was comprised of an after-tax cost of debt of 3.4% and a cost of equity of 8.3%). Based on our assessment performed with respect to our reporting unit described above, we concluded that our goodwill was not impaired.

- 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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