GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the six months ended June 30, 2012 are as follows:



(in thousands of U.S. dollars)	Shared Mail			Neighborhood Targeted			Free-standing Inserts		International, Digital Media & Services			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2011
Total goodwill acquired	$	721,384		$	5,325		$	22,357	$	93,405		$	842,471
Accumulated impairment losses	(187,200		)	—			—		(18,800		)	(206,000		)
Goodwill	534,184			5,325			22,357		74,605			636,471

Impairment charges	—			(3,985		)	—		(3,600		)	(7,585		)

Balance as of June 30, 2012
Total goodwill acquired	721,384			5,325			22,357		93,405			842,471
Accumulated impairment losses	(187,200		)	(3,985		)	—		(22,400		)	(213,585		)
Goodwill	$	534,184		$	1,340		$	22,357	$	71,005		$	628,886

The impairment charges of $7.6 million recognized during the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 resulted from our decision to exit our newspaper polybag advertising and sampling business, a reporting unit within our Neighborhood Targeted reportable segment, and our solo direct mail business, a reporting unit within International, Digital Media & Services.

The components of other intangible assets, net included on the condensed consolidated balance sheets consisted of:



	June 30, 2012								December 31, 2011
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)	Gross Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Amount		Weighted Average Remaining Useful Life (in years)	Gross Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Amount		Weighted Average Remaining Useful Life (in years)
Finite-lived intangible assets:
Mailing lists, non-compete agreements and other	$	41,520	$	(10,904	)	$	30,616	14.3	$	40,457	$	(9,894	)	$	30,563	15.1
Customer relationships	140,000		(49,892		)	90,108		8.5	140,000		(44,591		)	95,409		9.0
Total	$	181,520	(60,796		)	120,724			$	180,457	(54,485		)	125,972
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Valassis name, tradenames, trademarks and other						103,942								87,641
Other intangible assets, net						$	224,666							$	213,613

The increase in the gross amount of mailing lists, non-compete agreements and other finite-lived intangible assets during the six months ended June 30, 2012 reflects the acquisition of technology related to our digital business. The $16.3 million increase in indefinite-lived intangible assets during the six months ended June 30, 2012 relates to the acquisition of Brand.net, which is described in Note 9, Brand.net Acquisition.

- 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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