Goodwill and other intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill, by reporting segment, for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:



	Vascular North America			Anesthesia North America			Surgical North America		EMEA			Asia			OEM		All other			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2014
Goodwill	$	564,177		$	214,429		$	250,912	$	339,029		$	144,712		$	—	$	142,422		$	1,655,681
Accumulated impairment losses	(219,527		)	(84,531		)	—		—			—			—		(28,070		)	(332,128		)
	344,650			129,898			250,912		339,029			144,712			—		114,352			1,323,553
Goodwill related to acquisitions	896			12,398			—		1,142			4,095			1,194		—			$	19,725
Translation adjustment	—			(1,174		)	—		(34,162		)	(7,740		)	—		(4,350		)	(47,426		)
Balance as of December 31, 2015	$	345,546		$	141,122		$	250,912	$	306,009		$	141,067		$	1,194	$	110,002		$	1,295,852



	Vascular North America			Anesthesia North America			Surgical North America		EMEA			Asia			All other			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2013
Goodwill	$	564,089		$	214,898		$	250,506	$	373,417		$	136,946		$	146,475		1,686,331
Accumulated impairment losses	(219,527		)	(84,531		)	—		—			—			(28,070		)	(332,128		)
	344,562			130,367			250,506		373,417			136,946			118,405			1,354,203
Goodwill related to acquisitions	—			—			406		—			15,986			—			16,392
Translation adjustment	88			(469		)	—		(34,388		)	(8,220		)	(4,053		)	(47,042		)
Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	344,650		$	129,898		$	250,912	$	339,029		$	144,712		$	114,352		$	1,323,553

Intangible assets at December 31, 2015 and 2014 consisted of the following:



	Gross Carrying Amount				Accumulated Amortization
	2015		2014		2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Customer lists	$	621,078	$	624,574	$	(214,924	)	$	(192,876	)
In-process research and development	58,908		68,694		—			—
Intellectual property	522,374		467,068		(173,903		)	(146,131		)
Distribution rights	23,279		16,101		(14,393		)	(14,243		)
Trade names	384,821		396,269		(8,929		)	(2,764		)
Noncompete agreements	2,186		337		(522		)	(309		)
	$	1,612,646	$	1,573,043	$	(412,671	)	$	(356,323	)

As of December 31, 2015, trade names having a carrying value of $285.5 million and all of the IPR&D are considered indefinite lived. Acquired IPR&D is indefinite-lived until the completion of the associated efforts, at which point amortization of the carrying value of the technology will commence.

In May 2012, the Company acquired Semprus BioSciences Corp. ("Semprus"), a biomedical research and development company that developed a polymer surface treatment technology intended to reduce thrombus related complications. The Company experienced difficulties with respect to the development of the Semprus technology, and devoted further research and testing towards attempting to resolve the issue. As a result of these efforts, the Company believes it has resolved the issue and is focused on seeking regulatory approval and engaging in additional research and development efforts to achieve commercialization of the technology. Despite this progress, significant challenges to commercialization of the Semprus technology remain, and the Company ultimately may find it necessary to recognize impairment charges with respect to the related assets, which could be material. As of December 31, 2015, the Company has IPR&D intangible assets of $41.0 million related to this investment, which are recorded in intangible assets, net.

Amortization expense related to intangible assets was $62.4 million, $60.9 million, and $50.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Estimated annual amortization expense for each of the five succeeding years is as follows:



	(Dollars in thousands)
2016	$	64,300
2017	64,400
2018	64,200
2019	64,000
2020	63,500

- 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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