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Acquisitions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
Acquisitions
Acquisitions

On June 16, 2014, we closed our acquisition of two television stations owned by Granite Broadcasting Corporation — the Detroit MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD-TV and the Buffalo, N.Y. ABC affiliate WKBW-TV ("Acquired Granite Stations") — for $110 million in cash. The acquisition of WMYD-TV creates a duopoly with our Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV.

We finalized the determination of fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed in the fourth quarter of 2014. There were no material changes in the fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed from the preliminary amounts. The following table summarizes the final fair values.
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
Assets:
 
 
Property, plant and equipment
 
$
12,025

Intangible assets
 
53,500

Goodwill
 
44,715

Total assets acquired
 
110,240

Current liabilities
 
240

Net purchase price
 
$
110,000



Of the $54 million allocated to intangible assets, $34 million was for FCC licenses which we have determined to have an indefinite life and therefore will not be amortized. The remaining balance of $19 million was allocated to television network affiliation relationships and advertiser relationships with estimated amortization periods of 10 to 20 years.

The goodwill of $45 million arising from the transaction consists largely of synergies and economies of scale and other benefits of a larger broadcast footprint, as well as synergies from being able to create a duopoly in our Detroit market. We have allocated the goodwill to our television segment. We will treat this purchase as an asset acquisition for income tax purposes resulting in a step-up in the assets acquired. The goodwill is deductible for income tax purposes.

Pro forma results of operations, assuming the transaction had taken place at the beginning of 2013, are included in the following table. The pro forma information includes the historical results of operations of Scripps and the Acquired Granite Stations and adjustments for additional depreciation and amortization of the assets acquired. The pro forma information does not include efficiencies, cost reductions or synergies expected to result from the acquisition. The unaudited pro forma financial information is not necessarily indicative of the results that actually would have occurred had the acquisition been completed at the beginning of the period.
 
 
For the year ended 
 December 31,
(in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)
 
2014
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
Operating revenues
 
$
883,307

 
$
847,890

Income from operations attributable to the shareholders of The E.W. Scripps Company
 
12,062

 
4,441

Income per share from operations attributable to the shareholders of The E.W. Scripps Company:
 
 
 
 
          Basic
 
$
0.21

 
$
0.08

          Diluted
 
0.21

 
0.07



On January 1, 2014 we completed our acquisition of Media Convergence Group, Inc., which operates as Newsy, a digital video news provider, for $35 million in cash, plus a working capital adjustment of $0.2 million.

We finalized the determination of fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed in the fourth quarter of 2014. There were no material changes in the fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed from the preliminary amounts. The following table summarizes the final fair values.
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
Assets:
 
 
Accounts receivable
 
$
640

Other assets
 
74

Equipment and software
 
631

Intangible assets
 
5,900

Goodwill
 
28,983

Total assets acquired
 
36,228

Current liabilities
 
116

Long-term deferred tax liability
 
890

Net purchase price
 
$
35,222



Of the $6 million allocated to intangible assets, $4 million was allocated to customer relationships with an estimated amortization period of 5 years and the balance of $2 million was allocated to various other intangible assets.

The goodwill of $29 million arising from the transaction consists largely of the benefit we will derive from being able to enter the digital video market with an established business. We have allocated the goodwill to our syndication and other segment. We will treat the transaction as a purchase of stock for income tax purposes resulting in no step-up in the basis of the assets acquired. The goodwill will not be deductible for income tax purposes. We are not presenting any pro forma results of operations since the impact of the acquisition is not material to prior year results of operations.

On September 16, 2014, we completed our acquisition of Geoterrestrial, Inc. ("WeatherSphere") for $4 million. WeatherSphere is a provider of weather-related mobile apps. The stock purchase agreement includes an earnout provision, whereby up to an additional $2.5 million may be payable over a three year period. We have estimated the fair value of the earnout to be $1.2 million. We are not presenting any pro forma results of operations since the impact of the acquisition is not material to prior periods results of operations.