v2.4.0.8
Acquisitions and Divestitures
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Acquisitions [Abstract]  
Acquisitions and Divestitures

 

 

 

 

 

4. Acquisitions and Divestiture

We completed the following acquisitions in 2013 and 2012. Financial results of each transaction are included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income from the dates of each acquisition.

2013 Acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase Consideration

 

Total Net Assets (Liabilities) Acquired

 

Purchased Intangible Assets

 

Goodwill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in millions)

eSpeed

 

$

1,239 

 

$

 

$

715 

 

$

519 

TR Corporate Solutions businesses

 

 

366 

 

 

(37)

 

 

91 

 

 

312 

 

The amounts in the table above represent the preliminary allocation of the purchase price and are subject to revision during the remainder of the measurement period, a period not to exceed 12 months from the acquisition date. Adjustments to the provisional values during the measurement period will be recorded as of the date of acquisition. Comparative information for periods after acquisition but before the period in which the adjustments are identified will be adjusted to reflect the effects of the adjustments as if they were taken into account as of the acquisition date. Changes to amounts recorded as assets and liabilities may result in a corresponding adjustment to goodwill. There were no adjustments to the provisional values for the above acquisitions during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013. 

Acquisition of eSpeed for Trading of U.S. Treasuries

On  June 28, 2013, we acquired from BGC Partners, Inc. and certain of its affiliates, or BGC, certain assets and assumed certain liabilities, including 100% of the equity interests in eSpeed Technology Services, L.P., eSpeed Technology Services Holdings, LLC, Kleos Managed Services, L.P. and Kleos Managed Services Holdings, LLC; the eSpeed brand name; various assets comprising the fully electronic portion of BGC’s benchmark U.S. Treasury brokerage, market data and co-location service businesses, or eSpeed, for $1.2 billion.  We acquired net assets, at fair value, totaling $5 million and purchased intangible assets of $715 million which consisted of $578 million for the eSpeed trade name, $121 million in customer relationships and $16 million in technology. The eSpeed businesses are part of our Market Services and Information Services segments.

The purchase price consisted of $755 million in cash and contingent future annual issuances of 992,247 shares of NASDAQ OMX common stock approximating certain tax benefits associated with the transaction of $484 million. Such contingent future issuances of NASDAQ OMX common stock will be paid ratably over 15 years if NASDAQ OMX achieves a designated revenue target in each such year.  The contingent future issuances of NASDAQ OMX common stock are subject to anti-dilution protections and acceleration upon certain events.

NASDAQ OMX used the majority of the net proceeds from the issuance of 600 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior unsecured notes due June 2021, or the 2021 Notes, to fund the cash consideration payable by us for the acquisition of eSpeed. See “3.875% Senior Unsecured Notes,” of Note 8, “Debt Obligations,” for further discussion.

Intangible Assets

The following table presents the details of the purchased intangible assets acquired in the acquisition of eSpeed. All purchased intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method. See Note 5, “Goodwill and Purchased Intangible Assets,” for further discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated

 

 

 

 

Average Remaining

 

 

Value

 

Useful Life

Intangible assets:

 

(in millions)

 

(in years)

Trade name:

 

 

 

 

  Market Services

$

528 

 

Indefinite

  Information Services

 

50 

 

Indefinite

Total trade name

 

578 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer relationships:

 

 

 

 

  Market Services

 

105 

 

13 years

  Information Services

 

16 

 

13 years

Total customer relationships

 

121 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technology:

 

 

 

 

  Market Services

 

14 

 

5 years

  Information Services

 

 

5 years

Total technology

 

16 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total intangible assets

$

715 

 

 

 

Below is a discussion of the methods used to determine the fair value of eSpeed’s intangible assets, as well as a discussion of the estimated average remaining useful life of each intangible asset. The carrying amounts of all other assets and liabilities were deemed to approximate their estimated fair values.

Trade Name

NASDAQ OMX has incorporated eSpeed into two reporting segments—Market Services and Information Services. The eSpeed trade name was valued as used in each of these reporting segments. The trade name is recognized in the industry and carries a reputation for quality. As such, eSpeed and related brands’ reputation and positive recognition embodied in the trade name are valuable assets to NASDAQ OMX. The trade name was considered the primary asset acquired in this transaction. In valuing the acquired trade name, we used the income approach, specifically the excess earnings method. The excess earnings method examines the economic returns contributed by the identified tangible and intangible assets of a company, and then isolates the excess return that is attributable to the intangible asset being valued.

A discount rate of 10% was utilized, which reflects the amount of risk associated with the hypothetical cash flows generated by the eSpeed trade name in the future. In developing a discount rate for the trade name, we estimated a weighted average cost of capital for the overall business and we employed this rate when discounting the cash flows. The resulting discounted cash flows were then tax-effected at a rate of 40.0%, and a discounted tax amortization benefit was added to the fair value of the asset under the assumption that the trade name would be amortized for tax purposes over a period of 15 years for both Market Services and Information Services.

We have estimated the remaining useful life of the trade name to be indefinite. The estimated remaining useful life was based on several factors including the number of years the name has been in service, its popularity within the industry, and our intention to continue its use.

Customer Relationships

Customer relationships represent the non-contractual and contractual relationships that eSpeed has with its customers. The eSpeed customer relationships were valued using the income approach, specifically the with-and-without method. The with-and-without method is commonly used when the cash flows of a business can be estimated with and without the asset in place. The premise associated with this valuation technique is that the value of an asset is represented by the differences in the subject business’ cash flows under scenarios where (a) the asset is present and is used in operations (with); and (b) the asset is absent and not used in operations (without). Cash flow differentials are then discounted to present value to arrive at an estimate of fair value for the asset.

We estimated that without current customer relationships, it would take approximately 4-5 years for the customer base to grow from 10% of current revenues to 100% of revenues. We also made estimates related to compensation levels and other expenses such as sales and marketing that would be incurred as the business was ramped up through year 5, which is the year the customer base would be expected to reach the level that currently exists.

A discount rate of 10%, which reflects the estimated weighted average cost of capital for the overall business, was utilized when discounting the cash flows. The resulting discounted cash flows were then tax-effected at a rate of 40.0%, and a discounted tax amortization benefit was added to the fair value of the asset under the assumption that the customer relationships would be amortized for tax purposes over a period of 15 years.

Based on the historical behavior of the customers and a parallel analysis of the customers using the excess earnings method, we have estimated the remaining useful life to be 13 years for the acquired customer relationships.

Technology

The fair value of the eSpeed acquired developed technology was valued using the income approach, specifically the relief from royalty method, or RFRM. The RFRM is used to estimate the cost savings that accrue to the owner of an intangible asset who would otherwise have to pay royalties or license fees on revenues earned through the use of the asset. The royalty rate is applied to the projected revenue over the expected remaining life of the intangible asset to estimate royalty savings. The net after-tax royalty savings are calculated for each year in the remaining economic life of the intangible asset and discounted to present value.

To determine the royalty rate we searched for and identified market transactions and royalty rates for comparable technology. Due to the limited data, we relied on our estimates and benchmarked the estimated excess earnings of eSpeed to determine a range of royalty rates that would be reasonable for the use of its intangible assets based on a profit split methodology. Profit split theory states that a reasonable market participant would be willing and able to make revenue based royalty payments of 25 to 33 percent of their operating profit to receive the rights to certain licensable intellectual property necessary for conducting business. Conversely, the owner of such intellectual property would save that amount or be relieved from making those royalty payments. By analyzing these profit splits at 25 and 33 percent, we estimated supportable royalty rates for the technology and selected a pre-tax royalty rate of 5%.  

A discount rate of 10% was utilized, which reflects the estimated weighted average cost of capital for the overall business and we employed this rate when discounting the cash flows. The resulting discounted cash flows were then tax-effected at a rate of 40.0%, and a discounted tax amortization benefit was added to the fair value of the asset under the assumption that the technology would be amortized for tax purposes over a period of 15 years for both Market Services and Information Services.

We have estimated the remaining useful life to be 5 years for the acquired developed technology.

Acquisition of the Investor Relations, Public Relations and Multimedia Solutions Businesses of Thomson Reuters

On  May 31, 2013, we acquired from Thomson Reuters their Investor Relations, Public Relations and Multimedia Solutions businesses, or the TR Corporate Solutions businesses, which provide insight, analytics and communications solutions, for $390 million ($366 million cash paid plus $24 million in working capital adjustments).  We acquired net liabilities, at fair value, totaling $37 million and purchased intangible assets of $91 million which consisted of $89 million in customer relationships and $2 million in technology. The TR Corporate Solutions businesses are part of our Corporate Solutions business within our Technology Solutions segment. 

NASDAQ OMX used cash on hand and borrowed $50 million under the revolving credit commitment to fund this acquisition. See “2011 Credit Facility,” of Note 8, “Debt Obligations,” for further discussion.

Intangible Assets

The following table presents the details of the purchased intangible assets acquired in the acquisition of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses. All purchased intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method. See Note 5, “Goodwill and Purchased Intangible Assets,” for further discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated

 

 

 

 

Average Remaining

 

 

Value

 

Useful Life

Intangible assets:

 

(in millions)

 

(in years)

  Customer relationships

$

89 

 

9-14 years

  Technology

 

 

2-5 years

Total intangible assets

$

91 

 

 

 

Below is a discussion of the methods used to determine the fair value of the purchased intangible assets acquired in the acquisition of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses, as well as a discussion of the estimated average remaining useful life of each intangible asset. The carrying amounts of all other assets and liabilities were deemed to approximate their estimated fair values.

Customer Relationships

Customer relationships represent the non-contractual and contractual relationships that each of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses has with its customers and represented a key intangible asset in this transaction. Customer relationships were identified and valued individually for each of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses using the income approach, specifically an excess earnings method. This valuation method relied on assumptions regarding projected revenues, attrition rates, and operating cash flows for each of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses.

We assumed annual revenue attrition of 10.0% for the customers for each of the TR Corporate Solutions businesses, as well as charges for contributory assets. Operating expenses associated with maintaining the assets were applied to the attrition adjusted revenues. For the five years following 2016, operating margins were adjusted in order to reach a normalized operating margin level that included an estimate for the fixed costs for the businesses. From 2021 onward, the operating margin was held constant at a normalized level. The tax-effected cash flows were discounted at a rate of 11% to 11.5% based on the risk associated with the hypothetical cash flows generated by the customer base for each specific business line.

The cash flows were then tax-effected at a rate of 40.0%, and a discounted tax amortization benefit was added to the fair value of the assets under the assumption that the customer relationships would be amortized for tax purposes over a period of 15 years.

The estimated remaining useful life captured 90.0% of the present value of the cash flows generated by each customer relationship.

Technology

The fair values of the acquired developed technologies were valued using the income approach, specifically the RFRM, as discussed above under technology relating to eSpeed. 

To determine the royalty rate we searched for and identified market transactions and royalty rates for comparable technology and relied on our estimates and expectations surrounding the relative importance of the acquired developed technologies, competing technologies, foreseeable shifts in the market, and expected royalty payments for comparable technologies. We also performed a profit split analysis, as described above in technology, for each separate acquired technology in order to estimate an acceptable royalty rate. Based on the information obtained and the profit spilt analysis, we selected a pre-tax royalty rate of 1.5% for the webhosting technology and 0.5% for the public relations and multimedia solutions technologies.

A discount rate of 11% was utilized based on the risk associated with the hypothetical cash flows generated by the developed technologies and we employed this rate when discounting the cash flows. The resulting discounted cash flows were then tax-effected at a rate of 40.0%, and a discounted tax amortization benefit was added to the fair value of the asset under the assumption that the developed technology would be amortized for tax purposes over a period of 15 years.

We have estimated the remaining useful life to be 2-5 years for the acquired developed technology.

Formation of The NASDAQ Private Market Joint Venture 

In March 2013, we formed a joint venture with SharesPost, Inc., or SharesPost, creating The NASDAQ Private Market, or NPM, a preeminent marketplace for private growth companies. We own a majority interest in NPM, combining NASDAQ OMX’s resources, market and operating expertise with SharesPost’s leading web-based platform. NPM plans to provide improved access to liquidity for early investors, founders and employees while enabling the efficient buying and selling of private company shares. Subject to regulatory approvals, NPM is expected to launch later in 2013. NPM is part of our U.S. Listing Services business within our Listing Services segment.

Acquisition of Dutch Cash Equities and Equity Derivatives Trading Venue 

In April 2013, we acquired a  25%  equity interest in The Order Machine, or TOM, a Dutch cash equities and equity derivatives trading venue. The terms of the transaction also provide us an option to acquire an additional 25.1% of the remaining shares at a future date. This transaction delivers on our strategy to expand our derivatives presence across the European market and is part of our Market Services segment. We account for our investment in TOM under the equity method of accounting. See “Equity Method Investments,” of Note 6, “Investments,” for further discussion of our equity method investments.

 

 

 

 

2012 Acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase Consideration

 

Total Net Assets (Liabilities) Acquired

 

Purchased Intangible Assets

 

Goodwill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in millions)

NOS Clearing(1)

 

$

40 

 

$

43 

 

$

 

$

 -

BWise

 

 

77 

 

 

(11)

 

 

35 

 

 

53 

 

(1)   In the third quarter of 2012, we recognized a gain of $4 million on our acquisition of NOS Clearing, which is included in merger and strategic initiatives expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

Acquisition of NOS Clearing

In July 2012, we acquired NOS Clearing for approximately $40 million (233 million Norwegian Krone) in cash. NOS Clearing is a leading Norway-based clearinghouse primarily for OTC traded derivatives for the freight market and seafood derivatives market. We acquired net assets of $43 million, primarily restricted cash related to regulatory capital. The purchased intangible assets totaling $1 million consisted of customer relationships. NOS Clearing is part of our European derivative trading and clearing business within our Market Services segment.

Acquisition of BWise

In May 2012, we acquired a 72% ownership interest in BWise Beheer B.V., or BWise, a Netherlands-based service provider that offers enterprise governance, risk management and compliance software and services to help companies track, measure and manage key organizational risks for approximately $57 million (47 million Euro) in cash. We have agreed to purchase the remaining 28% ownership interest in BWise in two separate transactions, resulting in 100% ownership by the first half of 2015 for a total purchase price of approximately $77 million (62 million Euro). We acquired net liabilities of $2 million and recorded a current deferred tax liability of $1 million and a non-current deferred tax liability of $8 million related to purchased intangible assets, resulting in total net liabilities acquired of $11 million. The total deferred tax liabilities of $9 million represent the tax effect of the difference between the estimated assigned fair value of the acquired intangible assets ($35 million) and the tax basis ($0) of such assets. The estimated amount of $9 million was determined by multiplying the difference of $35 million by BWise’s effective tax rate of 25%. The purchased intangible assets of $35 million consisted of $23 million in customer relationships, $7 million in technology and $5 million for the BWise trade name. BWise is part of our Market Technology business within our Technology Solutions segment.

Due to changes in the anticipated performance of BWise, the estimated amount of future expected contingent purchase price obligations are $12 million at September 30, 2013 with payment dates through March 31, 2015. As a result, an $8 million reduction was recorded to merger and strategic initiatives expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2013.

We finalized the allocation of the purchase price for BWise in the second quarter of 2013 and NOS Clearing in the third quarter of 2013. There were no adjustments to the provisional values for the above acquisitions during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013. 

Acquisition of the Index Business of Mergent, Inc., including Indxis

In December 2012, we acquired the index business of Mergent, Inc., including Indxis, for $15 million in cash. The $5 million in intangible assets, $9 million in goodwill and $1 million in net assets resulting from this acquisition are included in our Index Licensing and Services business within our Information Services segment.

Pro Forma Results and Acquisition-related Costs

Pro forma financial results for the acquisitions completed in 2013 and 2012 have not been presented since these acquisitions both individually and in the aggregate were not material to our financial results.

Acquisition-related costs for the transactions described above were expensed as incurred and are included in merger and strategic initiatives expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

 

2012 Divestiture

In August 2012, we sold our majority-owned subsidiary International Derivatives Clearing Group, LLC, or IDCG, to LCH Clearnet Group Limited, or LCH.  Under the terms of the transaction, NASDAQ OMX received ordinary shares of LCH valued at 19 Euros per share, resulting in NASDAQ OMX having a 3.7% pro forma ownership in LCH at that time. We recorded a $14 million loss, which is included in loss on divestiture of business in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the quarter and first nine months ended September 30, 2012. IDCG was part of our U.S. derivative trading and clearing business within our Market Services segment.