GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

NOTE 11—GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill and other indefinite lived intangibles are not amortized, but are subject to an annual impairment test, or to more frequent testing if circumstances indicate that they may be impaired.

We have two geographical reporting segments, “United States” and “International”, both of which have goodwill. The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:


In thousands
	United States			International			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2009	$	1,153,149		$	240,942		$	1,394,091
Goodwill acquired during year		125,272			87,810			213,082
Goodwill allocation adjustments		3,682			(13,761	)		(10,079	)
Sale of assets		(2,345	)		0			(2,345	)
Changes due to currency fluctuation		0			1,015			1,015

Balance as of December 31, 2010		1,279,758			316,006			1,595,764

Goodwill acquired during year		232,850			120,750			353,600
Goodwill allocation adjustments		(6,192	)		(4,922	)		(11,114	)
Sale of assets		0			(2,887	)		(2,887	)
Changes due to currency fluctuation		0			(21,660	)		(21,660	)

Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	1,506,416		$	407,287		$	1,913,703

During the quarter ended June 30, 2011, we performed our annual goodwill impairment evaluation for our three reporting units, Domestic Regulated Waste, Domestic Regulated Returns and Recall Management Services, and International. We calculate fair value for our reporting units using two methods, one a market approach and the other an income approach. Both the market and income approaches indicated no impairment to goodwill to any of our three reporting units.

Market Approach: Our market approach begins by calculating the market capitalization of the Company using the average stock price for the prior 30 days and the outstanding share count at June 30, 2011. We then look at the Company’s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (“EBITDA”), adjusted for stock compensation expense and other items, such as a gain on sale of divested assets, for the prior twelve months. The calculated market capitalization is divided by the modified EBITDA to arrive at a valuation multiple. The fair value of each reporting unit is then calculated by taking the product of the valuation multiple and the trailing twelve month modified EBITDA of that reporting unit. The fair value was then compared to the reporting units’ book value and determined to be in excess of the book value. We believe that starting with the fair value of the company as a whole is a reasonable measure as that fair value is then allocated to each reporting unit based on that reporting unit’s individual earnings. A sustained drop in our stock price would have a negative impact to our fair value calculations. A temporary drop in earnings of a reporting unit would have a negative impact to our fair value calculations.

The results of our goodwill impairment test using the market approach indicated the fair value of our reporting units exceeded book value by a substantial amount, in excess of 100% of book value.

Income Approach: The income approach uses expected future cash flows of each reporting unit and discounts those cash flows to a present values. Expected future cash flows are calculated using management assumptions of internal growth, capital expenditures, and cost efficiencies. Future acquisitions are not included in the expected future cash flows. We use a discount rate based on our Company calculated Weighted Average Cost of Capital which is adjusted for each of our reporting units based on risk size premium and foreign country premium. Significant assumptions used in the income approach include realization of future cash flows and the discount rate used to present value those cash flows.

The results of our goodwill impairment test using the income approach indicated the fair value of our reporting units exceeded book value by a substantial amount; in excess of 100%.

In 2011 and 2010, we wrote off $2.8 million and $0.6 million, respectively, for the permit intangibles of facilities due to rationalizing our domestic operations. These expenses are reflected as part of “Selling, general and administrative expenses”. Under current acquisition accounting, a fair value must be assigned to all acquired assets based on a theoretical “market participant” regardless of the acquirers’ intended use for those assets. This accounting treatment can lead to the recognition of losses if a company disposes of acquired assets.

We complete our annual impairment analysis of our indefinite lived intangibles (facility permits) during the quarter ended December 31 of each year. In 2011 and 2010, we performed our annual permit impairment evaluation and determined that, other than as noted above, there was no impairment.

Our intangible assets, other than indefinite lived goodwill and permits, are amortized over their useful lives. In 2011, we assigned $190.4 million to customer relationships with amortization periods of 14 to 40 years and $14.5 million to facility environmental permits with indefinite lives.

In 2010, we assigned $97.1 million to customer relationships with amortization periods of 15 to 40 years and $16.5 million to facility environmental permits with indefinite lives.

As of December 31, the values of the intangible assets were as follows:


In thousands
	2011						2010
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Value		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Value
Amortizable intangibles:
Covenants not-to-compete	$	10,903	$	4,350	$	6,553	$	10,402	$	2,952	$	7,450
Customer relationships		480,033		36,994		443,039		304,175		23,177		280,998
Tradenames		2,556		391		2,165		1,200		253		947
License agreements		720		315		405		766		211		555
Other		0		0		0		1,801		1,801		0
Indefinite lived intangibles:
Operating permits		94,456		0		94,456		85,224		0		85,224

Total	$	588,668	$	42,050	$	546,618	$	403,568	$	28,394	$	375,174

During the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the aggregate amortization expense was $16.3 million, $9.9 million and $5.4 million, respectively.

The estimated amortization expense for each of the next five years, assuming no additional amortizable intangible assets, is as follows for the years ended December 31:


In thousands
2012	$	19,082
2013		19,009
2014		18,765
2015		18,595
2016		18,313

- 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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