Equifax Inc. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

5. GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill. Goodwill represents the cost in excess of the fair value of the net assets acquired in a business combination. As discussed in Note 1, goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis and on an interim basis if an event occurs or circumstances change that would reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. As a result of the merger of our Brazilian business in the second quarter of 2011, we performed an interim impairment test on the Latin America reporting unit excluding our Brazilian business which resulted in no impairment. We perform our annual goodwill impairment tests as of September 30 each year. The fair value estimates for our reporting units were determined using a combination of the income and market approaches in accordance with the Company’s methodology. Our annual impairment tests as of September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009 resulted in no impairment of goodwill.

Changes in the amount of goodwill for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, are as follows:

	U.S. Consumer						TALX			North America		North America
	Information						Workforce			Personal		Commercial
(In millions)	Solutions			International			Solutions			Solutions		Solutions			Total
Balance, December 31, 2009	$	667.8		$	335.7		$	900.6		$	1.8	$	37.3		$	1,943.2
Acquisitions		41.0			6.5			-			-		-			47.5
Adjustments to initial purchase price allocation		(0.8	)		-			(0.7	)		-		-			(1.5	)
Foreign currency translation		-			4.7			-			-		0.3			5.0
Businesses sold		(79.5	)		-			-			-		-			(79.5	)
Balance, December 31, 2010		628.5			346.9			899.9			1.8		37.6			1,914.7
Acquisitions		10.1			30.9			34.6			-		-			75.6
Adjustments to initial purchase price allocation		(0.2	)		(0.1	)		0.5			-		-			0.2
Foreign currency translation		-			4.0			-			-		(0.1	)		3.9
Businesses sold		-			(33.2	)		-			-		-			(33.2	)
Balance, December 31, 2011	$	638.4		$	348.5		$	935.0		$	1.8	$	37.5		$	1,961.2

Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets. Indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of contractual/territorial rights representing the estimated fair value of rights to operate in certain territories acquired through the purchase of independent credit reporting agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Our contractual/territorial rights are perpetual in nature and, therefore, the useful lives are considered indefinite. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized. As discussed in Note 1, we are required to test indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually and whenever events or circumstances indicate that there may be an impairment of the asset value. We perform our annual indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test as of September 30 each year. Our annual impairment tests as of September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009 resulted in no impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible assets. Our contractual/territorial rights carrying amounts did not change materially during the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Purchased Intangible Assets. Purchased intangible assets net, recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and 2010, are as follows:

	December 31, 2011							December 31, 2010
			Accumulated							Accumulated
	Gross		Amortization			Net		Gross		Amortization			Net
	(In millions)
Definite-lived intangible assets:
Purchased data files	$	316.2	$	(240.5	)	$	75.7	$	339.2	$	(240.7	)	$	98.5
Acquired software and technology		68.3		(41.1	)		27.2		55.0		(33.3	)		21.7
Customer relationships		518.2		(130.3	)		387.9		489.2		(97.1	)		392.1
Proprietary database		125.0		(95.5	)		29.5		125.0		(74.4	)		50.6
Non-compete agreements		9.0		(3.1	)		5.9		7.2		(1.4	)		5.8
Trade names and other intangible assets		40.7		(16.7	)		24.0		37.4		(12.2	)		25.2
Total definite-lived intangible assets	$	1,077.4	$	(527.2	)	$	550.2	$	1,053.0	$	(459.1	)	$	593.9

Amortization expense related to purchased intangible assets was $90.5 million, $90.0 million, and $80.3 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively.

Estimated future amortization expense related to definite-lived purchased intangible assets at December 31, 2011 is as follows:

Years ending December 31,	Amount
	(In millions)
2012	$	85.9
2013		68.3
2014		56.0
2015		51.7
2016		38.9
Thereafter		249.4
	$	550.2

- 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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