Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The change in the net carrying amount of Goodwill from December 31, 2015 through December 31, 2017 was composed of the following items:



	Brazil			Mexico			Andean & Iberian		Central America & U.S. Campuses		EMEAA			Online & Partnerships		Total
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	417,938		$	578,350		$	292,219	$	53,138	$	314,466		$	459,786	$	2,115,897
Acquisitions	—			—			—		—		—			—		—
Dispositions	—			—			—		—		(148,264		)	—		(148,264		)
Re-allocation of goodwill for segment change	—			—			—		4,867		(4,867		)	—		—
Impairments	—			—			—		—		(23,465		)	—		(23,465		)
Currency translation adjustments	83,117			(97,365		)	5,300		—		(756		)	—		(9,704		)
Adjustments to prior acquisitions	—			—			—		—		—			—		—
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	501,055		$	480,985		$	297,519	$	58,005	$	137,114		$	459,786	$	1,934,464
Acquisitions	—			—			—		—		3,584			—		3,584
Dispositions	—			—			—		—		(488		)	—		(488		)
Reclassification to Long-term assets held for sale	—			—			—		—		(32,740		)	—		(32,740		)
Impairments	—			—			—		—		—			—		—
Currency translation adjustments	(7,682		)	22,388			24,243		—		9,943			954		49,846
Adjustments to prior acquisitions	—			—			—		—		—			—		—
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	493,373		$	503,373		$	321,762	$	58,005	$	117,413		$	460,740	$	1,954,666

During 2016, the Company announced a change in its operating segments. Accordingly, goodwill was re-allocated among the operating segments based on the relative fair value of the affected reporting units at the time of the segment change. As discussed in Note 7, Business and Geographic Segment Information, the Company also changed its operating segments in 2017, but this change did not affect the reporting units within the operating segments.

As of both December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, accumulated goodwill impairment losses were $159,895, with $96,754 and $63,141 relating to our Central America & U.S. Campuses and EMEAA segments, respectively.

Other Intangible Assets

Amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization was $12,079, $12,526 and $20,430 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The estimated future amortization expense for intangible assets for the years ending December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and beyond is $6,200, $3,744, $3,124, $2,877, $2,562 and $17,420, respectively.

The following table summarizes our identifiable intangible assets as of December 31, 2017:



	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Weighted Average Amortization Period (Yrs)
Subject to amortization:
Student rosters	$	98,266	$	(96,558	)	$	1,708	1.8
Other	82,790		(48,571		)	34,219		11.4
Not subject to amortization:
Tradenames	1,295,614		—			1,295,614		—
Total	$	1,476,670	$	(145,129	)	$	1,331,541

The following table summarizes our identifiable intangible assets as of December 31, 2016:



	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Weighted Average Amortization Period (Yrs)
Subject to amortization:
Student rosters	$	96,712	$	(92,567	)	$	4,145	2.7
Other	82,000		(39,445		)	42,555		11.8
Not subject to amortization:
Tradenames	1,307,633		—			1,307,633		—
Total	$	1,486,345	$	(132,012	)	$	1,354,333

Impairment Tests

The following table summarizes the Loss on impairment of assets:



For the years ended December 31,	2017		2016		2015
Impairments of Tradenames, by segment:
Brazil	$	—	$	—	$	—
Mexico	—		—		—
Andean & Iberian	—		—		—
Central America & U.S. Campuses	5,443		—		—
EMEAA	3,089		—		—
Online & Partnerships	—		—		—
Total Impairments of Tradenames	8,532		—		—
Impairments of Goodwill, by segment:
Brazil	—		—		—
Mexico	—		—		—
Andean & Iberian	—		—		—
Central America & U.S. Campuses	—		—		—
EMEAA	—		23,465		—
Online & Partnerships	—		—		—
Total Impairments of Goodwill	—		23,465		—
Impairments of Deferred costs and Other intangible assets, net	3,073		—		—
Impairments of long-lived assets	28,992		—		—
Total	$	40,597	$	23,465	$	—

We perform annual impairment tests of our non-amortizable intangible assets, which consist of Goodwill and Tradenames, in the fourth quarter of each year. The impairment charges discussed below were recorded to reduce the assets' carrying values to fair value.

For the purposes of our annual impairment testing of the Company's goodwill, fair value measurements were determined primarily using the income approach, based largely on inputs that are not observable to active markets, which would be deemed “Level 3” fair value measurements as defined in Note 21, Fair Value Measurement. These inputs include our expectations about future revenue growth and profitability, marginal income tax rates by jurisdiction, and the rate at which the cash flows should be discounted in order to determine this fair value estimate. Where a market approach is used, the inputs also include publicly available data about our competitors' financial ratios and transactions.

For purposes of our annual impairment testing of the Company’s indefinite-lived tradename assets, fair value measurements were determined using the income approach, based largely on inputs that are not observable to active markets, which would be deemed “Level 3” fair value measurements as defined in Note 21, Fair Value Measurement. These inputs include our expectations about future revenue growth and profitability, marginal income tax rates by jurisdiction, and the rate at which the cash flows should be discounted in order to determine the fair value estimate for indefinite-lived tradenames using a relief-from-royalty method. We use publicly available information and proprietary third-party arm’s length agreements that Laureate has entered into with various licensors in determining certain assumptions to assist us in estimating fair value using market participant assumptions.

2017 Loss on Impairment of Assets

The impairment charges recorded in 2017 relate almost entirely to the disposal groups described in Note 3, Assets Held for Sale, which, under ASC 360-10, are required to be recorded at the lower of their carrying values or their estimated 'fair values less costs to sell'. The Tradenames impairment for the Central America & U.S. Campuses segment of $5,443, as well as approximately $12,000 of the total $28,992 of impairments of long-lived assets, are attributable to two subsidiaries in our Central America & U.S. Campuses segment that met the held-for-sale criteria during the fourth quarter of 2017 and whose estimated 'fair values less costs to sell' were less than their carrying values. The amount of the difference resulted in the long-lived assets of these subsidiaries, which primarily included Tradenames and Property and equipment, net, being written down to a carrying value of $0.

The Tradenames impairment for the EMEAA segment of $3,089, as well as approximately $13,000 of the total $28,992 of impairments of long-lived assets, are attributable to several subsidiaries that are classified as held for sale at December 31, 2017. The Company began receiving bids for these entities during the fourth quarter of 2017, and determined that the range of bids received provided a reasonable estimate of fair value. Based on the estimated fair value of the disposal group as compared to its carrying value, we recorded an impairment on the long-lived assets and wrote the assets down to a carrying value of $0. The long-lived assets consisted primarily of Tradenames and Property and equipment, net.

The remaining portion of the impairment charges recorded in 2017 related to impairments of certain Property and equipment, net as well as impairments of Deferred costs and Other intangible assets, which were not associated with the assets held for sale. These included the impairment of a lease intangible, certain modular buildings and software development costs.

2016 Loss on Impairment of Assets

Upon completion of our impairment testing for 2016, we recorded a total impairment loss of $23,465 in our EMEAA segment. We recorded goodwill impairment charges of $4,163 related to our institutions in Germany and $19,302 at MSA. The weakness of the South African Rand and challenging economic conditions resulted in a change to our capital allocation strategy for this business, resulting in the impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2016. We determined the fair value of the reporting units using an income approach based primarily on discounted cash flow projections.