Goodwill and other intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill, by reportable operating segment, for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:



	Vascular North America			Interventional North America			Anesthesia North America			Surgical North America		EMEA			Asia			OEM		All other			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2015
Goodwill	$	485,986		$	84,615		$	225,653		$	250,912	$	306,009		$	141,067		$	1,194	$	132,544		$	1,627,980
Accumulated impairment losses	(219,527		)	(5,528		)	(84,531		)	—		—			—			—		(22,542		)	(332,128		)
	266,459			79,087			141,122			250,912		306,009			141,067			1,194		110,002			1,295,852
Goodwill related to acquisitions	—			—			—			—		—			—			3,689		—			3,689
Translation adjustment	—			—			131			—		(15,968		)	(2,882		)	—		(4,102		)	(22,821		)
Balance as of December 31, 2016	$	266,459		$	79,087		$	141,253		$	250,912	$	290,041		$	138,185		$	4,883	$	105,900		$	1,276,720
Goodwill related to acquisitions	—			342,901			15,599			—		161,543			59,954			—		313,714			893,711
Translation and other adjustments	(1,590		)	11,061			437			—		42,964			11,061			—		1,228			65,161
Balance as of December 31, 2017	$	264,869		$	433,049		$	157,289		$	250,912	$	494,548		$	209,200		$	4,883	$	420,842		$	2,235,592

Intangible assets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 consisted of the following:



	Gross Carrying Amount				Accumulated Amortization
	2017		2016		2017			2016
	(Dollars in thousands)
Customer relationships	$	1,023,837	$	622,428	$	(281,263	)	$	(239,055	)
In-process research and development	34,672		16,532		—			—
Intellectual property	1,287,487		519,962		(258,580		)	(203,390		)
Distribution rights	23,697		23,021		(16,996		)	(15,239		)
Trade names	571,510		379,724		(22,069		)	(13,974		)
Non-compete agreements	23,429		2,692		(1,976		)	(1,038		)
	$	2,964,632	$	1,564,359	$	(580,884	)	$	(472,696	)

As of December 31, 2017, trade names having a carrying value of $236.1 million are considered indefinite-lived. Acquired IPR&D is indefinite-lived until the completion of the related development project, at which point amortization of the carrying value of the technology will commence. See Note 3 for additional details regarding intangible assets acquired during 2017.

During the fourth quarter 2017, the Company reassessed the useful life of one of its trade names as a result of increased competition experienced in the product categories utilizing it. The trade name, which had a carrying value of $57.1 million as of December 31, 2017, was reclassified from an indefinite lived intangible asset to a finite lived intangible asset and will be amortized on a straight line basis over its estimated useful life of 25 years.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recognized a $41.0 million pre-tax impairment charge ($26.1 million after tax) resulting from the discontinuation of research and development efforts associated with an IPR&D project.

Amortization expense related to intangible assets was $98.8 million, $63.5 million, and $62.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Estimated annual amortization expense for each of the five succeeding years is as follows:



	(Dollars in thousands)
2018	$	145,300
2019	144,400
2020	143,600
2021	142,800
2022	140,900

- 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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