UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20112014
Commission file number 0-24531
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| CoStar Group, Inc. |
| (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
Delaware |
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| Delaware | 52-2091509 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| |
| 1331 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) (zip code) |
| | |
| (202) 346-6500 |
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area codecode) |
| |
| (877) 739-0486 |
(Registrant’s facsimile number, including area codecode) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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| |
| Title of Each Class | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered |
| Common Stock, $.01 par value | NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes o¨ No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that registrant was required to submit and post such files.) Yes x No o¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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Large accelerated filer x | Accelerated filer o¨ |
Non-accelerated filer o¨ | Smaller reporting company o¨ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o¨ No x
Based on the closing price of the common stock on June 30, 20112014 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Nasdaq Global Select Market, the aggregate market value of registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $1.4$4.9 billion.
As of February 17, 2012,20, 2015, there were 25,445,86432,311,866 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement, which is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2011,2014, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| PART I | | |
| Item 1. | | |
| Item 1A. | | |
| Item 1B. | | 27 |
| Item 2. | | 27 |
| Item 3. | | 28 |
| Item 4. | | 28 |
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| PART II | | |
| Item 5. | | 29 |
| Item 6. | | 31 |
| Item 7. | | 32 |
| Item 7A. | | 50 |
| Item 8. | | 51 |
| Item 9. | | 51 |
| Item 9A. | | 51 |
| Item 9B. | | 52 |
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| PART III | | |
| Item 10. | | 53 |
| Item 11. | | 53 |
| Item 12. | | 53 |
| Item 13. | | 53 |
| Item 14. | | 53 |
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| PART IV | | |
| Item 15. | | 54 |
| | | 55 |
| | | 56 |
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PART I
In this report, the words “we,” “our,” “us,” “CoStar” or the “Company” refer to CoStar Group, Inc. and its direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. This report also refers to our websites, but information contained on those sites is not part of this report.
CoStar Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, founded in 1987, is the number one provider of information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces to the commercial real estate industry in the United States (U.S.(“U.S.”) and United Kingdom (U.K.(“U.K.”) based on the fact that we offer the most comprehensive commercial real estate database available,available; have the largest research department in the industry,industry; own and operate the leading online marketplaces for commercial real estate in the U.S. based on the number of unique visitors per month; provide more information, analytics and analyticmarketing services than any of our competitors and believe that we generate more revenues than any of our competitors. CoStar’s integrated suiteWe created and compiled our standardized platform of information, analytics and online marketplace services offers customers online access towhere members of the most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information, which has been researched and verifiedrelated business community can continuously interact and facilitate transactions by our team of researchers, currently covering the U.S., as well as Londonefficiently exchanging accurate and other parts of the U.K.standardized commercial real estate information. Our service offerings span all commercial property types, including office, retail, industrial, multifamily, commercial land, mixed-use properties and parts of France.hospitality. We manage our business geographically in two operating segments, with our primary areas of measurement and decision-making being North America, which includes the U.S. and Canada, and International, which includes the U.K. and France.
Strategy
Since our founding, CoStar’sour strategy has been to provide commercial real estate professionals with critical knowledge to explore and complete transactions by offering the most comprehensive, timely and standardized information on U.S. commercial real estate. As we have grown and further developed our plans, we have expanded our services for commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces in an effort to continue to meet the needs of this industry as it grows and evolves. We have also extended our offering of comprehensive commercial real estate information to include London and other parts of the U.K., Toronto, Canada, and parts of France, through acquisitions and internal growth and development. Information about CoStar’s revenues from, and long-lived assets and total assets located in, foreign countries is included in Notes 2 and 1112 of the Notes to our consolidated financial statements. CoStar’s revenues, EBITDA,Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The revenues; net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”); and total assets and liabilities broken out by segmentfor each of our segments are set forth in Note 1112 to our consolidated financial statements. Information about risks associated with our foreign operations is included in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”
We deliver our commercial real estate content to our U.S. customers primarily via an integrated suite of online service offerings that includes information about space available for lease, comparable sales information, tenant information, information about properties for sale, tenant information, internet marketing services, analytical capabilities, information for clients’ websites, information about industry professionals and their business relationships, data integration and industry news. We also operate complementary online marketplaces for commercial real estate listings and apartment rentals.
LoopNet, our subsidiary, operates an online marketplace that enables commercial property owners, landlords, and real estate agents working on their behalf to list properties for sale or for lease and to submit detailed information about property listings. Commercial real estate agents, buyers and tenants also use LoopNet's online marketplace to search for available property listings that meet their criteria.
Apartments, LLC (doing business as Apartments.com), our subsidiary, operates an online apartment marketplace for renters that matches apartment seekers with apartment homes and provides property managers and owners a platform for marketing their properties. Apartments.com draws on CoStar’s multifamily database, which contains detailed information on apartment properties, and a research effort to document the apartment industry in the U.S. CoStar designed the new Apartments.com site, which was launched in February 2015, around the needs of the renter in order to drive traffic to the site and attract advertisers who prefer to advertise on heavily trafficked apartment websites. The newly launched site provides a comprehensive selection of rentals, information on actual rental availabilities and rents, and in-depth data on neighborhoods, including restaurants, nightlife, history, schools and other important facts. To help renters find the information that meets their needs, the new site also offers innovative search tools.
We provide market research and analysis for commercial real estate investors and lenders via our PropertyCoStar Portfolio Strategy and Portfolio Research, Inc. (“PPR”)CoStar Market Analytics service offerings, portfolio and debt analysis, management and reporting capabilities through our Resolve Technology, Inc. (“Resolve Technology”)CoStar Investment Analysis and CoStar Risk Analytics service offerings,offerings; and real estate and lease management solutions, including lease administration and abstraction services, through our Virtual Premise, Inc. (“Virtual Premise”)CoStar Real Estate Manager service offerings. We have created and are continually improving aour standardized platform of information, analytics and analytic platformonline marketplaces where members of the commercial real estate and related business community can continuously interact and facilitate transactions by efficiently exchanging accurate and standardized commercial real estate information.
Our standardized platform includes the most comprehensive proprietary database in the industry; the largest research department in the industry; proprietary data collection, information management and quality control systems; a large in-house product development team; a broad suite of web-based information, analytics and analytic services;online marketplaces; a large team of analysts and economists; and a large base of clients. Our database has been developed and enhanced for more than 2427 years by a research department that makes thousands of daily database updates. In addition to our internal efforts to grow the database, we have obtained and assimilated over 7090 proprietary databases.
We have five flagship brands - CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, BizBuySell and LandsofAmerica. Our subscription-based information services consistingconsist primarily of CoStar Property Professional,SuiteTM services. CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional and FOCUS services, currently generate approximately 94% of our total revenues. CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, and CoStar COMPS Professional are generallySuite is sold as a suiteplatform of similar services service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar COMPS Professional®and compriseCoStar Tenant® and through our mobile application, CoStarGo®. CoStar Suite is our primary service offering in our U.S.North America and International operating segment.segments. Prior to the third quarter of 2014, FOCUS isTM was our primary service offering in our International operating segment. TheWe introduced CoStar Suite in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013.
Our subscription-based services consist primarily of similar services offered over the Internet to commercial real estate industry and related professionals. Our services are typically distributed to our clients under subscription-based license agreements that renew automatically, a majority of our contracts for our subscription-based information services typicallywhich have a minimum term of one year and renew automatically.year. Upon renewal, many of the subscription contract rates may change in accordance with contract provisions or as a result of contract renegotiations. To encourage clients to use our services regularly, we generally charge a fixed monthly amount for our subscription-based information services rather than charging fees based on actual system usage. Contract rates are generally based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size, the client’sclient's business focus, geography and the number and types of services to which a client subscribes. Our subscription clients generally pay contract fees on a monthly basis, but in some cases may pay us on a quarterly or annual basis.
Expansion and Growth
Acquisitions
Since 1994, weWe have continually expanded the geographical coverage of our existing information services and developed new information, analytics and analyticonline marketplace services. In addition to internal growth, we have grown our business through strategic acquisitions. Most recently, in October 2011, we acquired Virtual Premise, a Software as a Service, or on-demand software, provider of real estate information management solutions located in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, we have also signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet, Inc. (“LoopNet”) (NASDAQ: LOOP); the pending LoopNet acquisition is described below under “Pending Acquisition.”
Historically, our expansion includes the acquisitions of Chicago ReSource Inc. in Chicago in 1996 and New Market Systems Inc. in San Francisco in 1997. In August 1998, we expanded into the Houston region through the acquisition of Houston-based real estate information provider C Data Services, Inc.Services. In January 1999, we expanded further into the Midwest and Florida by acquiring LeaseTrend Inc. and into Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth by acquiring Jamison Research, Inc.Research. In February 2000, we acquired COMPS.COM, Inc., a San Diego-based provider of commercial real estate information. In November 2000, we acquired First Image Technologies, Inc., a California-based provider of commercial real estate software. In September 2002, we expanded further into Portland, Oregon through the acquisition of certain assets of Napier Realty Advisors (doing business as REAL-NET). In January 2003, we established a base in the U.K. with our acquisition of London-based FOCUS Information Limited. In May 2004, we expanded into Tennessee through the acquisition of Peer Market Research, Inc., and in June 2004, we extended our coverage of the U.K. through the acquisition of Scottish Property Network. In September 2004, we strengthened our position in Denver, Colorado through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of RealComp, Inc., a local comparable sales information provider.
In January 2005, we acquired National Research Bureau, a Connecticut-based provider of U.S. shopping center information. In December 2006, our U.K. subsidiary, CoStar Limited, acquired Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a provider of commercial property information and market-level surveys, studies and consulting services located in Paris, France. In February 2007, CoStar Limited also acquired Property Investment Exchange Limited (“Propex”), a provider of commercial property information and operator of an electronic platform that facilitates the exchange of investment property located in London, England. In April 2008, we acquired the assets of First CLS Inc. (doing business as the Dorey Companies and DoreyPRO), an Atlanta-based provider of local commercial real estate information. In July 2009, we acquired Massachusetts-based PPR,CoStar Portfolio Strategy (formerly known as Property and Portfolio Research), a provider of real estate analysis, market forecasts and credit risk analytics to the commercial real estate industry, and its wholly owned U.K. subsidiary Property and Portfolio Research Ltd., and in October 2009, we acquired Massachusetts-based CoStar Investment Analysis (formerly known as Resolve Technology,Technology), a provider of business intelligence and portfolio management software serving the institutional real estate investment industry.
Pending Acquisition
On April 27, In October 2011, we signedacquired CoStar Real Estate Manager (formerly known as Virtual Premise), a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet.Software as a Service, or on-demand software provider of real estate and lease management solutions located in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2012, we completed the acquisition of LoopNet, owns and operates an online marketplace for commercial real estate in the U.S. that enables property owners, landlords, and commercial real estate agents working on their behalf of property owners and landlords, to list properties for sale or for lease and to submit detailed information about property listings. More recently, on property listings in order to find a buyer or tenant. PursuantApril 1, 2014, we purchased certain assets and assumed certain liabilities related to the merger agreement, asApartments.com business (collectively, the “Apartments.com Business”), a result of the merger (a) each outstanding share of LoopNet common stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) $16.50 in cash (the “Cash Consideration”), without interestnational online apartment rentals resource for renters, property managers and (ii) 0.03702 shares of CoStar common stock (the “Stock Consideration”owners, from Classified Ventures, LLC (“CV”), and (b) each outstanding share of LoopNet Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, unless previously converted into LoopNet common stock, will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Stock Consideration, representing a total equity value of approximately $860.0 million and an enterprise value of $762.0 million as of April 27, 2011. The holders of LoopNet’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock delivered contingent conversion notices to LoopNet pursuant to which such shares will be converted into LoopNet common stock immediately prior to, and contingent upon, the completion of the merger. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, and the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LoopNet’s common stock and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, approved adoption of the merger agreement on July 11, 2011. Information about the LoopNet merger agreement can be found in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by CoStar on May 13, 2011, which was amended on June 3, 2011, under the heading “The Merger Agreement.”.
The LoopNet transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”). As previously disclosed in our proxy statement/prospectus dated June 6, 2011, both CoStarExpansion and LoopNet filed notification and report forms with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”), on May 31, 2011. As a result, the waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the proposed acquisition of LoopNet by CoStar (the “merger”) was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011. As previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on June 30, 2011, CoStar and LoopNet each received a request for additional information (commonly referred to as a “second request”) from the FTC with respect to the proposed merger. At the FTC’s request, CoStar and LoopNet subsequently agreed to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act from 30 to 60 days after the date of substantial compliance with the second request unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. On November 4, 2011, each of the Company and LoopNet certified as to its substantial compliance with the second request. As previously disclosed on January 3, 2012, CoStar and LoopNet voluntarily agreed to further extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act on a 45-day rolling basis to allow them to engage in discussions with the FTC to determine whether there is a possible basis for, and to discuss the possible terms of, a mutually acceptable consent order that would allow the merger to close. On January 31, 2012, CoStar and LoopNet mutually agreed to extend the date after which either party may individually elect to terminate the merger agreement from January 31, 2012 to April 30, 2012. While there can be no assurance that agreement on the terms of a possible consent order can be reached in a timely manner or at all, the Company believes the discussions with the FTC Staff are currently proceeding constructively and the Company is hopeful that they will in the near term result in an agreement with the FTC Staff on the terms of such a consent order, subject to FTC approval. Additional information about the merger and the risks associated with the merger can be found under “Item 1A. − Risk Factors” below.
The LoopNet transaction is not subject to a financing condition. We intend to fund the cash portion of the consideration payable to LoopNet stockholders in the merger through a combination of cash on hand, including the net proceeds of approximately $247.9 million from an equity offering we completed in June 2011, and a $175.0 million term loan facility available to us under a Credit Agreement we entered into on February 16, 2012 with a syndicate of lenders and J.P. Morgan Bank, as administrative agent. The obligation of the lenders to make the loans under the Credit Agreement is subject to the simultaneous closing of the merger with LoopNet and the satisfaction of certain other conditions precedent. See Notes 19 and 20 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding the financing commitment from J.P. Morgan Bank and the credit facility entered into subsequent to December 31, 2011.
Development
We intendexpect to continue our software development efforts to growimprove existing services, introduce new services, integrate products and services, cross-sell existing services, and expand and develop supporting technologies for our standardizedresearch, sales and marketing organizations. We are committed to supporting and improving our information, analytics and online marketplace solutions.
In October 2013, we introduced technology enhancements to CoStar Suite, our platform of commercial real estate informationservice offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar COMPS Professionaland CoStar Tenant. The enhancements improve Costar Suite's user interface, search functionality and analytic servicescapabilities. For example, the CoStar Multifamily® information search feature allows users to access our extensive multifamily property database. In addition, CoStar Lease AnalysisTM, an integrated workflow tool, provides users a simple way to produce understandable cash flows for any proposed or existing lease. We plan to continue our software development efforts to enhance our new Lease Analysis workflow tool and to expanddevelop other potential lease comparable services in 2015.
In October 2013, we also released CoStarGo® 2.0, the next generation of our service offerings, bothmobile application, which was launched in terms of geographical coverage and the scope of services offered. Most recently,U.S. on August 15, 2011 we launched CoStarGo™and introduced in the U.S.;U.K. on November 5, 2012. CoStarGo is anour iPad application that integrates and provides CoStar Suite subscribers mobile access to our comprehensive property, tenant and comparable sales information. CoStarGo 2.0 adds powerful analytic capabilities to our comprehensive mobile solution.
In 2014, we introduced enhancements to our flagship marketing platform, LoopNet.com. For example, we added a targeted advertising service that allows brokers or firms to purchase advertisements based on geographic and property type criteria. Additionally, we introduced ProVideo, a service that enables owners and brokers to enhance their LoopNet listings with high quality videos of interior spaces, amenities and exterior features.
In February 2015, as a result of our product development efforts, we launched a new Apartments.com website with a cleaner look, information in our suite of online products – CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar Tenant®about actual rental availabilities, rents and CoStar COMPS Professional®. Historically, our developmentother fees, and expansion efforts have included both geographic expansion and product development.better search functionality. In 2004,conjunction with the launch, we began research forplan to embark on a 21-market U.S. expansion effort. By the end ofwide-scale marketing campaign commencing during the first quarter of 2006, we had successfully launched service in each2015 and running throughout the remainder of those 21 markets. In addition, following our2015 to generate brand awareness and site traffic for Apartments.com, including an incremental investment of $75.0 million above Apartments.com’s 2014 annualized marketing spend since the close of the acquisition of National Research Bureauthe Apartments.com Business. The marketing campaign is expected to feature television and radio advertising, online/digital advertising, social media and out-of-home ads and will be reinforced by Search Engine Marketing.
We continue to integrate, develop and cross-sell the services offered by the businesses we have acquired, including Apartments.com and LoopNet. We evaluate potential changes to our service offerings from time to time in January 2005,order to better align the services we offer with customers’ needs. Further, in some cases, when integrating and coordinating our services and assessing industry and client needs, we may decide to combine, shift focus from, de-emphasize, phase out, or eliminate a service that, among other things, overlaps or is redundant with other services we offer. For example, we are currently assessing whether to transition the LoopNet marketplace to a pure marketing site for commercial real estate where, eventually, all listings would be paid and users could search the site for free.
To more fully integrate and connect our services and, ultimately, to provide improved access to our resources, we launched various research initiatives as parta new brand identity in May 2014. The new branding is designed to unite our flagship brands - CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, BizBuySell and LandsofAmerica - with a modern, cohesive look that will enhance customers’ access to the full breadth of our expansion intoinformation, analytics and marketplace solutions. The resulting streamlined network of platforms is expected to improve the customer experience and make it easier for customers to find the most useful tools for their commercial real estate information, for retail properties. We launchedanalytic and marketplace needs. The new brand identity was unveiled in connection with the new retail componentlaunch of our flagship product,new corporate website and newly designed website interfaces for CoStar, Property ProfessionalLoopNet and Apartments.com. Our new website interfaces provide streamlined navigation and search functions for visitors and enable customers to quickly access our market-leading services.
®, in May 2006. In July 2006,Internationally, we announcedcontinue to integrate our intention to commence actively researching commercial propertiesoperations more fully with those in approximately 81 new Core Based Statistical Areas (“CBSAs”) across the U.S. in an effort to expand the geographical coverage of our service offerings, including our new retail service. In the fourth quarter of 2007, we released our CoStar Property Professional service in the 81 new CBSAs across the U.S. In 2008, we released CoStar Showcase, an internet marketing service that provides commercial real estate professionals the opportunity to make their listings accessible to all visitorsSimilar to our public websites, www.CoStar.com and www.showcase.com.
During the second half of 2009, as part of our strategy to provide subscribers with tools for conducting primary research and analysis on commercial real estate,North America operating segment, we expanded subscribers’ capabilities to use our database of research-verified commercial property information to conduct in-depth analysis and generate reports on trends in sales and leasing activity online. Further, in support of our initiative to expand subscribers’ analytic capabilities, in July 2009 we acquired PPR and its wholly owned subsidiary, which provide real estate investment analysis and market forecasting services. In October 2009, we acquired Resolve Technology, including its business intelligence and portfolio management software used by institutional real estate investment companies, and in October 2011, we acquired Virtual Premise, a provider of real estate management solutions, including lease administration and abstraction services; both of these acquisitions enabled us to provide our customers with additional tools for analyzing commercial real estate markets and portfolios.
International Expansion and Development
We also intend to continue to upgrade our international platform of services and expand the coverage of our service offerings within our International segment and to integrate our International operations more fully withsegment. To further those initiatives, we introduced CoStar Suite in the U.S. In December 2006, our U.K. subsidiary,during the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013. CoStar Limited, acquired Grecam S.A.S., a provider of commercial property information and market-level surveys, studies and consulting services, located in Paris, France. In February 2007, CoStar Limited also acquired Property Investment Exchange Limited, a provider of commercial property information and operator of an electronic platform that facilitates the exchange of investment property located in London, England. Our July 2009 acquisition of PPR and PPR UK also expanded the market research capabilities of our U.K. operations.
We intend to introduceSuite is sold as a consistent international platform of service offerings in the upcoming future. In 2007, we introduced the “CoStar Group” as the brand encompassing our international operations. In early 2010 we launched Showcase, our internet marketing service that provides commercial real estate professionals with high quality internet lead generation, in the U.K. We expect to introduceconsisting of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar COMPS Professionaland CoStar Tenant and through the Company's mobile application, CoStarGo. CoStarGo 2.0 was released in the U.K. in October 2013 simultaneous with its release in the upcoming future.U.S. Additionally, we plan to upgrade back endupgraded our back-end research operations, fulfillment and Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) systems in the U.K. to support these new U.K. services. The financial performance of our International operating segment continues to improve. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, International EBITDA increased to a positive amount as a result of increased revenue and decreased operating expenses as compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. See the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details on the non-GAAP financial measures.
We recently expanded the geographic reach of our North America services. In order2014, we began offering our services in Toronto, Canada. Building on our experience in Toronto, we plan to implement these services and improvements in the U.K., we have incurred, and expect to incur increased development costs.expand our research into additional Canadian cities. We believe that our U.S.integration efforts and International expansion, continued investments in U.S. products, internationalizationour services, including expansion of our products and integration effortsexisting service offerings, have created a platform for long-term revenue growth. We expect these investments to result in further penetration of our subscription-based information services and the successful cross-selling of our services to customers in existing markets.
We have invested in the expansion and development of our field sales force to support the growth which we intendand expansion of our company in North America and internationally. We plan to continue to develop, invest in, evaluate and expand.strategically position our sales force as the Company continues to develop and grow. We are also investing in our research capacity to support continued growth of our information and analytics offerings, to support the Apartments.com Business and to expand into additional Canadian markets.
In support of our continued expansion and development, during June 2014, we completed a public equity offering of 3,450,000 shares of common stock for $160.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $529.4 million. We intend to use the net proceeds from the public equity offering to fund all or a portion of the costs of any strategic acquisitions we decide to pursue in the future, to finance the growth of our business and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Industry Overview
The market for commercial real estate information and analysis is vast based on the variety, volume and value of transactions related to commercial real estate. Each transaction has multiple participants and multiple information requirements, and in order to facilitate transactions, industry participants must have extensive, accurate and current information and analysis. Members of the commercial real estate and related business community require daily access to current data such as space availability, properties for sale, rental units available, rental rates, vacancy rates, tenant movements, sales comparables, supply, new construction, absorption rates and other important market developments to carry out their businesses effectively. Market research (including historical and forecast conditions) and applied analytics have also become instrumental to the success of commercial real estate industry participants operating in the current economic environment. There is a strong need for an efficient marketplace, where commercial real estate professionals can exchange information, evaluate opportunities using standardized data and interpretive analyses, and interact with each other on a continuous basis.
A large number of parties involved in the commercial real estate and related business community make use of the services we provide in order to obtain information they need to conduct their businesses, including:
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| • | Sales and leasing brokers | • | Government agencies |
| • | Property owners | • | Mortgage-backed security issuers |
| • | Property managers | • | Appraisers |
| • | Design and construction professionals | • | Pension fund managers |
| • | Real estate developers | • | Reporters |
| • | Real estate investment trust managers | • | Tenant vendors |
| • | Investment bankers | • | Building services vendors |
| • | Commercial bankers | • | Communications providers |
| • | Mortgage bankers | • | Insurance companies’ managers |
| • | Mortgage brokers | • | Institutional advisors |
| • | Retailers | • | Investors and asset managers |
The commercial real estate and related business community generally has operated in an inefficient marketplace because of the fragmented approach to gathering and exchanging information within the marketplace. Various organizations, including hundreds of brokerage firms, directory publishers and local research companies, collect data on specific markets and develop software to analyze the information they have independently gathered. This highly fragmented methodology has resulted in duplication of effort in the collection and analysis of information, excessive internal cost and the creation of non-standardized data containing varying degrees of accuracy and comprehensiveness, resulting in a formidable information gap.
The creation of a standardized information platform for commercial real estate requires an infrastructure including a standardized database, accurate and comprehensive research capabilities, experienced analysts, easy to use technology and intensive participant interaction. By combining our extensive database, approximately 1,0051,481 researchers and outside contractors, our experienced team of analysts and economists, technological expertise and broad customer base, we believe that we have created such a platform.
Within the apartment rental community, most apartment websites primarily supply only the listings that property owners pay to advertise and often return results that are inconsistent with the renter's search criteria. These limited results generally do not provide information about the actual rental availabilities. We believe that consumers expect accurate, actionable and comprehensive apartment rental information. To create the new Apartments.com website, we have drawn on our multifamily database and undertaken a research effort collecting and verifying information and visiting and photographing properties. With the launch of the new Apartments.com website, we believe that we have created an easily searchable site with a comprehensive selection of rentals, information on actual rental availabilities and rents, and in-depth data on neighborhoods, including restaurants, nightlife, history, schools and other important facts.
CoStar’s Comprehensive Database
CoStar has spent more than 2427 years building and acquiring a database of commercial real estate information, which includes information on leasing, sales, comparable sales, tenants, and demand statistics, as well as digital images.
As of January 31, 2012,30, 2015, our database of real estate information covered the U.S., London, England and other parts of the U.K. and parts of France,, and contained information about:
Approximately 1.51.3 million sale and lease listings;
Approximately 4.24.5 million total properties;
Approximately 10.08.2 billion square feet of sale and lease listings;
Approximately 8.15.8 million tenants;
Approximately 1.92.3 million sales transactions valued in the aggregate at approximately $4.1$5.7 trillion; and
Approximately 12.416.5 million digital attachments, including building photographs, aerial photographs, plat maps and floor plans.
This highly complex database is comprised of hundreds of data fields, tracking such categories as:
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| • | Location | • | Mortgage and deed information |
| • | Site and zoning information | • | For-sale information |
| • | Building characteristics | • | Income and expense histories |
| • | Space availability | • | Tenant names |
| • | Tax assessments | • | Lease expirations |
| • | Ownership | • | Contact information |
| • | Sales and lease comparables | • | Historical trends |
| • | Space requirements | • | Demographic information |
| • | Number of retail stores | • | Retail sales per square foot |
CoStar Research
We have developed a sophisticated data collection organization utilizing a multi-faceted research process. In 2011,2014, our full time researchers and contractors drove millions of miles, conducted hundreds of thousands of on-site building inspections, and conducted millions of interviews of brokers, owners, tenants, apartment community owners and tenants.property managers.
Research Department.As of January 31, 2012,30, 2015, we had approximately 1,0051,481 commercial real estate research professionals and outside contractors performing research. Our research professionals undergo an extensive training program so that we can maintain consistent research methods and processes throughout our research department. Our researchers collect and analyze commercial real estate information through millions of phone calls, e-mails and internet updates and faxes each year, in addition to field inspections, public records review, news monitoring and direct mail. Each researcher is responsible for maintaining the accuracy and reliability of database information. As part of their update process, researchers develop cooperative relationships with industry professionals that allow them to gather useful information. Because of the importance commercial real estate professionals place on our data and our prominent position in the industry, many of these professionals routinely take the initiative and proactively report available space and transactions to our researchers.
CoStar has an extensive field research effort that includes physical inspection of properties in order to research new markets, find additional property inventory, photograph properties and verify existing information.
CoStar's field research effort also includes creating high quality videos of interior spaces (including walk-through videos of apartment communities), amenities and exterior features of properties. CoStar utilizes 144146 high-tech, field research vehicles in 39 statesacross the U.S., Canada and the U.K. OfA significant majority of these vehicles 98 are custom-designedcustomized energy efficient hybrid cars that are equipped with computers, proprietary Global Positioning System tracking software, high resolution digital cameras and handheld laser instruments to help precisely measure buildings, geo-code them and position them on digital maps. Some of our researchers also use custom-designed trucks with the same equipment as well as pneumatic masts that extend up to an elevation of twenty-five feet to allow for unobstructed building photographs from “birds-eye” views. Each CoStar vehicle uses wireless technology to track and transmit field data. A typical site inspection consists of photographing the building, measuring the building, geo-coding the building, capturing “For Sale” or “For Lease” sign information, counting parking spaces, assessing property condition and construction, and gathering tenant information. Certain researchers canvass properties, interviewing tenantscollecting tenant data suite by suite. In addition, manyOur subsidiary, CoStar Field Research, LLC, recently entered into an agreement to purchase a low-flying airplane capable of our field researchers are photographers who take photographsconducting aerial research of commercial real estate propertiesestate. In 2015, we plan to addplace researchers on the low-flying aircraft to CoStar’s database of digital images.scout additional commercial developments and take aerial photographs.
Data and Image Providers.We license a small portion of our data and images from public record providers and third party data sources. Licensing agreements with these entities provide for our use of a variety of commercial real estate information, including property ownership, tenant information, demographic information, maps and aerial photographs, all of which enhance various CoStar services. These license agreements generally grant us a non-exclusive license to use the data and images in the creation and supplementation of our information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces and include what we believe are standard terms, such as a contract term ranging from one to five years, automatic renewal of the contract and fixed periodic license fees or a combination of fixed periodic license fees plus additional fees based upon our usage.
Management and Quality Control Systems.Our research processes include automated and non-automated controls to ensure the integrity of the data collection process. A large number of automated data quality tests check for potential errors, including occupancy date conflicts, available square footage greater than building area, typical floor space greater than land area and expired leases. We also monitor changes to critical fields of information to ensure all information is kept in compliance with our standard definitions and methodology. Our non-automated quality control procedures include:
· | calling our information sources on recently updated properties to re-verify information; |
· | performing periodic research audits and field checks to determine if we correctly canvassed buildings; |
· | providing training and retraining to our research professionals to ensure accurate data compilation; and |
· | compiling measurable performance metrics for research teams and managers for feedback on data quality. |
Finally, one of the most important and effective quality control measures we rely on is feedback provided by the commercial real estate professionals using our data every day.
Proprietary Technology
As of January 31, 2012,30, 2015, CoStar had a staff of 168417 product development, database and network professionals. CoStar’s information technology professionals focus on developing new services for our customers, integrating our current services, and delivering research automation tools that improve the quality of our data and increase the efficiency of our research analysts.
Our subscription-based information services consist primarily of CoStar SuiteTM services. CoStar Suite is sold as a platform of service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar COMPS Professional®and CoStar Tenant® and through our mobile application, CoStarGo®.
Our information technology team is responsible for developing, improving and maintaining CoStar services, including but not limited to CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar COMPS Professional®, CoStar Tenant®, CoStar ShowcaseShowcase®, CoStarGo®, CoStar Connect®, CoStar ConnectLease AnalysisTM, CoStar Multifamily®, CoStarGoLoopNet Premium Lister™TM, LoopNet Premium SearcherFOCUS™TM, ShoppropertyLoopLink™®, PPRCoStar Portfolio StrategyTM products and services, ResolveCoStar Market AnalyticsTM products and services, CoStar Investment AnalysisTM Portfolio Maximizer® and CoStar Investment AnalysisTMRequest, CoStar Real Estate Manager™TM products and Virtual Premiseservices, and Apartments.com products and services. In 2008, CoStar released CoStar Showcase, an internet marketing service that provides commercial real estate professionals the opportunity to make their listings accessible to all visitors to our public websites, www.CoStar.com and www.showcase.com. In 2009, we expanded subscribers’ capabilities to use CoStar’s database of research-verified commercial property information to conduct in-depth analysis and generate reports on trends in sales and leasing activity online. In 2010, we launched Showcase in the U.K. via www.Showcase.co.uk. On August 15, 2011, we launched CoStarGo in the U.S.; CoStarGo is an iPad application that integrates our comprehensive property, tenant and comparable sales information in our suite of online products – CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant and CoStar COMPS Professional.
Our information technology team is responsible for developing the infrastructure necessary to support CoStar’s business processes, our comprehensive database of commercial real estate information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces and our extensive image library. The team implements technologies and systems that introduce efficient workflows and controls that increase the production capacity of our research teams and improve the quality of our data. Over the years, the team has developed data collection and quality control mechanisms that we believe are unique to the commercial real estate industry. The team continues to develop and modify our enterprise information management system that integrates CoStar sales, research, field research, customer support and accounting information. We use this system to maintain our commercial real estate research information, manage contacts with the commercial real estate community, provide research workflow automation and conduct daily automated quality assurance checks. In addition, our information technology team has also developed fraud-detection technology to detect and prevent unauthorized access to our services.
Our information technology professionals also maintain the servers and network components necessary to support CoStar services and research systems. Our encrypted virtual private network provides remote researchers and salespeople secure accessCoStar's core services are served from multiple data centers to CoStar applications and network resources. CoStar maintains a comprehensive data protection policy that providessupport uninterrupted service for use of encrypted data fields and off-site storage of all system backups, among other protective measures.our customers. CoStar’s services are continually monitored in an effort to ensure our customers fast and reliable access.
CoStar's comprehensive data protection policy provides for use of secure networks, strong passwords, encrypted data fields, off-site storage and other protective measures in an effort to ensure the availability and security of all core systems.
Services
Our suite of information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces is branded and marketed to our customers. Our services are primarily derived from a database of building-specific information and offer customers specialized tools for accessing, analyzing and using our information. Over time, we expect to continue to enhance our existing information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces and develop additional services that make use of our comprehensive database to meet the needs of our existing customers as well as potential new categories of customers.
Our variousprincipal information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces as of January 30, 2015, are described in detail in the following paragraphs as of January 31, 2012:paragraphs:
CoStar
CoStar Property Professional® CoStar Property Professional, or “CoStar Property,” is the Company’s flagship service. It provides subscribers a comprehensive inventory of office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties and land in markets throughout the U.S., U.K. and Toronto, Canada, including for-lease and for-sale listings, historical data, building photographs, maps and floor plans. Commercial real estate professionals use CoStar Property to identify available space for lease, evaluate leasing and sale opportunities, value assets and position properties in the marketplace. Our clients also use CoStar Property to analyze market conditions by calculating current vacancy rates, absorption rates or average rental rates, and forecasting future trends based on user selected variables. CoStar Property provides subscribers with powerful map-based search capabilities as well as a user controlled, password protected extranet (or electronic “file cabinet”) where brokers may share space surveys and transaction-related documents online, in real time, with team members. When used together with CoStar Connect, CoStar Property enables subscribers to share space surveys and transaction-related documents with their clients, accessed through their corporate website. CoStar Property, along with all of CoStar’s other core information, analytics and analytic services,online marketplaces, is delivered solely via the internet.Internet.
•CoStar Multifamily®CoStar Multifamily information, included as part of CoStar Property Professional, provides subscribers a comprehensive multifamily property database combined with analytic and forecasting tools that enable them to make investment decisions about multifamily properties. CoStar Multifamily provides information about buildings with 20 or more units including rents and occupancy rates, comparable sales transactions, construction locations, floor plans, high-resolution property images and detailed information on amenities and concessions.
•CoStar Lease AnalysisTM CoStar Lease Analysis is an integrated workflow tool that allows subscribers to incorporate CoStar data with their own data to perform in depth lease analyses. CoStar Lease Analysis can be used to produce an understandable cash flow analysis as well as key metrics about any proposed or existing lease. It combines financial modeling with CoStar’s comprehensive property information, enabling the subscriber to compare lease alternatives.
CoStar COMPS Professional® CoStar COMPS Professional, or “COMPS Professional,”provides comprehensive coverage of comparable commercial real estate sales information in the U.S. commercial real estate industry., U.K. and Toronto, Canada. It is the industry’s most comprehensive database of comparable sales transactions and is designed for professionals who need to research property comparables, identify market trends, expedite the appraisal process and support property valuations. COMPS Professional offers subscribers numerous fields of property information, access to support documents (e.g., deeds of trust) for new comparables, demographics and the ability to view for-sale properties alongside sold properties in three formats – plotted on a map, aerial image or in a table.
CoStar Tenant® CoStar Tenant is a detailed online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool providing commercial real estate professionals with the most comprehensive commercial real estate-related U.S., U.K. and Toronto, Canada tenant information available. CoStar Tenantprofiles tenants occupying space in commercial buildings across the U.S. and provides updates on lease expirations - one of the service’s key features - as well as occupancy levels, growth rates and numerous other facts. Delivering this information via the internetInternet allows users to target prospective clients quickly through a searchable database that identifies only those tenants meeting certain criteria.
CoStarGoCoStarGo™® CoStarGo is an iPad application that integrates and provides subscribers of Costar Suite mobile access to our comprehensive property, tenantcomparable sales and comparable salestenant information in our suite of online productsservice offerings – consisting of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar TenantCOMPS Professional and CoStar COMPS Professional.Tenant. CoStarGo provides a single, location-centric mobile interface that allows users to access and display comprehensive information on millions of properties and gain instant access to analytic data and demographic information from the field.
CoStar ShowcaseAdvertising®® CoStar Showcase offers commercial real estate professionals a simple way to get their for-sale and for-lease listings in front of a broad internet audience who search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, Showcase.com and Costar.com to find commercial properties. When customers sign up for CoStar Showcase, their listings become accessible to visitors to Showcase.com and Costar.com, who can search those listings for free. To drive traffic to CoStar Showcase subscriber listings, CoStar invests in Google, Yahoo and Bing keyword based pay-per-click advertising to capture the high volume traffic of users actively searching for commercial properties on those search engines. As part of their CoStar Showcase subscription, subscribers also receive customized websites for each of their brokers that displays their bio, photo, contact information and updated listings that they can use to promote their services. CoStar Showcase can be purchased as a firm-wide annual subscription by firms who want all of their brokers to be able to access the service, or it can be purchased by individual brokers on a month-to-month basis.
CoStar Advertising®CoStar Advertising offers property owners and brokers a highly targeted and cost effective way to market a space for lease or a property for sale directly to the individualsCoStar subscribers looking for that type of space through interactive advertising. Our advertising model is based on varying levels of exposure, enabling the advertiser to target as narrowly or broadly as its budget permits. With the CoStar Advertising program, when the advertiser’s listings appear in a results set, they receive priority positioning and are enhanced to stand out. The advertiser can also purchase exposure in additional submarkets, or the entire market area so that this ad will appear even when this listing would not be returned in a results set.
CoStar Portfolio StrategyTMand CoStar Market Report™ The CoStar Market Report provides in-depth current and historical analytical information covering office, industrial and retail properties across the U.S. Published quarterly, each market report includes details such as absorption rates, vacancy rates, rental rates, average sales prices, capitalization rates, existing inventory and current construction activity. This data is presented using standard definitions and calculations developed by CoStar, and offers real estate professionals critical and unbiased information necessary to make intelligent commercial real estate decisions. CoStar Market Reports are available to CoStar Property Professional subscribers at no additional charge.
CoStar Property ExpressAnalytics® CoStar Property Express provides access, via an annual subscription, to a “light” or scaled down version of CoStar Property. Commercial real estate professionals use CoStar Property Express to look up and search for-lease and for-sale listings in CoStar’s comprehensive national database. CoStar Property Express provides base building information, photos, floor plans, maps and a limited number of reports.
CoStar Listings ExpressTM® CoStar Listings Express provides access via an annual subscription to a listings only version of CoStar Property Express. Commercial real estate professionals use CoStar Listings Express to look up and search for lease and for sale listings in CoStar’s comprehensive national database. CoStar Listings Express provides base building information, photos, floor plans, maps and a limited number of reports on only properties that are either for lease or for sale. CoStar Listings Express does not provide information on fully leased properties, as found in CoStar Property Professional and CoStar Property Express.
CoStar Connect® CoStar Connect allows commercial real estate firms to license CoStar’s technology and information to market their U.S. property listings on their corporate websites. Customers enhance the quality and depth of their listing information through access to CoStar’s database of content and digital images. The service automatically updates via the CoStar Property database and manages customers’ online property information, providing comprehensive listings coverage and significantly reducing the expense of building and maintaining their websites’ content and functionality.
CoStar Professional Directory® CoStar Professional Directory, a service available exclusively to CoStar Property Professional subscribers, provides detailed contact information for approximately 1.6 million commercial real estate professionals, including specific information about an individual’s current and prior activities such as completed transactions, current landlord representation assignments, sublet listings, major tenants and owners represented and local and national affiliations. Commercial real estate brokers can input their biographical information and credentials and upload their photo to create personal profiles. Subscribers use CoStar Professional Directory to network with their peers, identify and evaluate potential business partners, and maintain accurate mailing lists of other industry professionals for their direct mail marketing efforts.
Metropolis™ The Metropolis service is a single interface that combines commercial real estate data from multiple information providers into a comprehensive resource. The Metropolis service allows a user to input a property address and then view detailed information on that property from multiple information providers, including CoStar services. This technology offers commercial real estate professionals a simple and convenient solution for integrating a wealth of third party information and proprietary data, and is currently available for the Southern California markets.
PPR® Our subsidiary, PPR, and its U.K. subsidiary, PPR UK, offerCoStar Portfolio Strategy, offers products and services designed to meet the research needs of commercial real estate owners, investors and lenders. PPR coversCoStar Portfolio Strategy and CoStar Market Analytics cover metropolitan areas throughout the U.S., the U.K., Toronto, Canada and Europe, with offerings including historical and forecast market data and analysis by market and property type, and services including access to PPR’sCoStar Portfolio Strategy’s analysts, economists, and strategists to develop and deliver custom research solutions. Key tools include analysis of underlying property data, assessment of current market fundamentals, forecasts of future market performance, and credit default models.
•PPR Portal™CoStar Risk AnalyticsTM COMPASS is PPR’s primary delivery platform for research, forecasts, analytics, and granular data surrounding a specific address and property type. Information is organized around clearly defined tabs, for ease of access. The information is presented in written, table data, graphic, and map formats, and can easily be downloaded by the user for integration into its own analytical framework. PPR’s Portal is used by lenders, investors, and owners to identify and price investment opportunities, manage assets and portfolios, and source and service capital.
PPR COMPASS™ is PPR’sCoStar Portfolio Strategy’s premier commercial real estate risk management tool. It allows users to calculate Probability of Default, Loss Given Default, Expected Loss, and Confidence Interval (of Expected Loss) results for a loan or a portfolio. It provides direct comparisons of credit risk and refinance risk across Time, Market, Property Type, and Loan Structure for all macroeconomic forecast scenarios. COMPASSCRE is used by lenders, issuers, ratings agencies, and regulators to estimate required loss reserves and economic capital, target lending opportunities, set pricing strategy, objectively compare/price loans, more effectively allocate capital, and manage refinance risk.
CoStar Investment AnalysisResolveTM Portfolio Maximizer® ResolveCoStar Investment Analysis Portfolio Maximizer is an industry leading real estate portfolio management software solution. ResolveCoStar Investment Analysis Portfolio Maximizer allows users to model partnership structures, calculate waterfall distributions and fees, model and analyze debt obligations, and create multiple “what if” scenarios for alternative investment decisions.
CoStar Investment AnalysisRequest™TM Request CoStar Investment Analysis Request is the first business intelligence software solution built specifically for managing commercial real estate investments. CoStar Investment Analysis Request helps users eliminate some of the difficulties of consolidating real estate investment data from disparate sources and facilitates standardization of information presentation and reporting across an organization. CoStar Investment Analysis Request also provides a platform for users to develop business intelligence and reporting capabilities.
CoStar Real Estate ManagerVPTM Corporate Edition™Edition Our subsidiary, Virtual Premise, offers VP CoStar Real Estate Manager Corporate Edition is a real estate management software solution designed for corporate real estate managers, company executives, business unit directors, brokers and project managers. VPCoStar Real Estate Manager Corporate Edition helps users connect real estate initiatives with company strategic goals, streamline portfolio operations, automate the process for collecting and managing space requests, reduce occupancy costs with analytics that track location performance against targets, and maximize location performance through proactive portfolio management. Virtual PremiseCoStar Real Estate Manager also provides lease abstraction and data review services in order to facilitate the effective implementation of this software solution.
CoStar Real Estate ManagerVPTM Retail Edition™Edition VP CoStar Real Estate Manager Retail Edition is a real estate management software solution designed for company executives, real estate dealmakers and store planning and construction managers. VPCoStar Real Estate Manager Retail Edition helps users to utilize comprehensive and real-time data to establish goals and store strategies, manage the execution of real estate strategies, summarize critical portfolio data to drive cost-saving decisions, and benchmark prerequisite store-level information and metrics for maximizing location performance through proactive portfolio management. Virtual PremiseCoStar Real Estate Manager also provides lease abstraction and data review services in order to facilitate the effective implementation of this software solution.
FOCUS™ CoStar’s U.K. subsidiary, CoStar U.K. Limited, offers several services; its primary service is FOCUS. FOCUS isPrivate Sale NetworkTM CoStar Private Sale Network provides clients with custom-designed and branded websites to market their listings directly to investors. CoStar Private Sale Network allows investors to customize a digital online service offering information on the U.K. commercial real estate market. This service seamlessly links data on individual propertieswebsite and companies across the U.K., including comparable sales, available space, requirements, tenants, lease deals, planning information, socio-economicsbuild and demographics, credit ratings, photossend email communications to announce listings, calls for offers, and maps.bid deadlines.
CoStar Brokerage ApplicationsShowcase.co.ukTM Showcase.co.uk CoStar Brokerage Applications provides users with access to the latest tools to effectively manage and optimize business operations. These structured and consistent project management tools allow users to track critical dates, employee or organization-wide results, and current and prospective projects.
LoopNet
LoopNet® Basic and Premium Membership Our subsidiary, LoopNet, offers two types of memberships on the LoopNet marketplace, basic and premium. Basic membership is available free-of-charge to anyone who registers at our LoopNet website and enables members to experience some of the benefits of the LoopNet offering, with limited functionality. As of January 30, 2015, LoopNet had approximately 9.4 million registered members, of which 81,856 were premium members.
•LoopNetPremium ListerTM LoopNet Premium Lister is designed for commercial real estate professionals a simple way to get their for-sale and for-lease listings in front of a broad internet audienceother customers who search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Showcase.co.uk to find commercial properties. When customers sign upseek the broadest possible exposure for Showcase.co.uk, their listings, become accessibleaccess to leads lists, and advanced marketing and searching tools. LoopNet Premium Lister provides subscribers with the ability to market their listings to all LoopNet.com visitors, to www.Showcase.co.ukas well as numerous other features. LoopNet Premium Lister is available for a quarterly or annual subscription.
•LoopNet Premium SearcherTMLoopNet Premium Searcher is designed for members searching for commercial real estate who need commercial real estate marketplace searching access, reports and other CoStar URLs whomarketing and searching tools. LoopNet Premium Searcher provides subscribers with full access to all LoopNet property listings, including Premium and Basic Listings, as well as numerous other features. LoopNet Premium Searcher is available for a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription.
LoopLink® LoopLink is an online real estate marketing and database services suite that enables commercial real estate firms to showcase their available properties both on the LoopNet marketplace and on the brokerage firm’s own website using hosted search software. Within LoopNet, each LoopLink listing is branded with the client’s logo and is hyperlinked to the client’s website. Additionally, the LoopLink service provides customizable, branded property search and results screens that can be integrated into the client’s website. The LoopNet import service offers the opportunity to simplify the process of submitting listings to LoopNet from the client’s internal databases, and features advanced data matching and data integrity rules and file conversion capabilities. LoopNet charges a monthly subscription fee to commercial real estate firms for the LoopLink service. Key features of LoopLink include comprehensive reporting and listing administration tools, a searchable and seamlessly integrated professional directory, property mapping for geographic and feasibility analysis, thumbnail photos and expanded property descriptions in search results.
Apartments.com
Apartments.comTM Our subsidiary, Apartments, LLC (doing business as Apartments.com), operates an online apartment marketplace for renters that matches apartment seekers with apartment homes and provides property managers and owners a platform for marketing their properties. Apartments.com provides a variety of ad packages and enhancements that allow property managers and owners to fully showcase their apartment community through increased exposure and interactions that allow renters to view, engage and connect with the community, including featured community listings, customized flyers and brochures, and special offer coupons.
ApartmentHomeLiving.comTM ApartmentHomeLiving.com provides renters with another national online apartment rentals resource that showcases apartments for rent with official prices, pictures, floor plans and detailed information on each apartment.
LandsofAmerica
LandsofAmericaTM and LandAndFarmTMLandsofAmerica.com and LandAndFarm.com are leading online marketplaces for rural land for sale. Sellers pay a fee to list their land for sale, and interested buyers can search thosethe respective sites' listings for free.
BizBuySell
BizBuySell® and BizQuest® BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com are leading online marketplaces for operating businesses for sale. Business sellers pay a fee to list their operating businesses for sale, and interested buyers can search the respective sites' listings for free. To drive trafficThe BizBuySell and BizQuest Franchise Directories allow interested business buyers to Showcase.co.uk subscriber listings, CoStar UK Limited investssearch hundreds of franchise opportunities, and franchisors can list their availabilities in Google, Yahoo and Bing keyword based pay-per-click advertising to capture the high volume traffic of users actively searching for commercial propertiesdirectory on those search engines. As part of their Showcase.co.uk subscription, subscribers also receive customized websites for each of their brokers that displays their bio, photo, contact information and updated listings that they can use to promote their services. Showcase.co.uk is available as a firm-wide annual subscription by firms who want all of their brokers to be able to access the service or can be purchased by a single location of a national firm on an annual subscriptioncost per lead basis.
Propex™ Propex gives users access to the commercial property investment market. It is used by U.K. investment agencies and professional investors and is a secure online exchange through which investment deals may be introduced. It is a primary channel for the distribution of live transaction data and property research data in the U.K. investment market. Propex also provides private investors with a gateway into the commercial property investment market. It is a free-access listing website, which provides details of commercial property investments. It is used by U.K. agencies to sell investments suitable for the private investor.
Shopproperty.co.uk™ Shopproperty is a listing database of available retail units across the U.K. on a free-access website. Shopproperty.co.uk is the only specialist listing website with fully licensed Goad street-trader plans.
Grecam™ Our French subsidiary, Grecam S.A.S., provides commercial real estate information throughout the Paris region through its Observatoire Immobilier D’ Entreprise (“OIE”) service offering. The OIE service provides commercial property availability and transaction information to its subscribers through both an online service and market reports.
Clients
We draw clients from across the commercial real estate and related business community. Commercial real estate brokers have traditionally formed the largest portion of CoStar clients, however, we also provide services to owners, developers, landlords, property managers, financial institutions, retailers, vendors, appraisers, investment banks, governmentalgovernment agencies and other parties involved in commercial real estate. The following chart lists U.S. and U.K. clients that are well known or have the highest annual subscription fees in each of the various categories, each as of January 31, 2012.30, 2015:
|
| | | | |
| Brokers | | Lenders, Investment Bankers | | Institutional Advisors, Asset Managers |
Binswanger
Avison Young | | AEGON USA Realty Advisors Inc. | | Bravo Strategies — U.K. |
| Binswanger | | Bank of America, N.A. | | AEW Capital Management LP |
BNP Paribas — U.K. | | Capital One Bank of America, N.A. | | BlackRock |
Carter
CB Richard Ellis | | Citibank | | Hartford Investment Management Company |
Cassidy Turley
| | Deutsche Bank
| | ING Clarion Partners
|
CB Richard Ellis
| | GE Capital
| | Manulife Financial
|
CB Richard Ellis — U.K. | | Citigroup Global Markets — U.K. | | ING Investment Management |
| Charles Dunn Company | | Deutsche Bank | | Lasalle Investment Management — U.K. |
| Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT | | JP Morgan Chase Bank | | Metropolitan Life
Manulife Financial |
Charles Dunn Company, Inc.
Colliers | | Key Bank | | NorthMarq Capital
MetLife Real Estate Investment |
Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT
| | Q10 Capital LLC
| | Progressive Casualty Insurance Co.
|
Colliers
| | Suntrust
| | Prudential
|
Colliers International UK — U.K. | | TD Bank
Q10 Capital LLC | | Prudential — U.K.
NorthMarq Capital |
CRESA | | Wells Fargo
Suntrust | | USAA Real Estate Company
Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. |
| Cushman & Wakefield | | TD Bank | | Prudential |
| Cushman & Wakefield — U.K. | | Wells Fargo | | Standard Life Investments — U.K. |
| DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services | | Wells Fargo — U.K. | | USAA Real Estate Company |
| Drivers Jonas Deloitte — U.K. | | | | |
Cushman & Wakefield — U.K.
DTZ, a UGL company | | | | |
DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services
Gerald Eve — U.K. | | | | |
Drivers Jonas DeloitteGVA Grimley — U.K.
| | Owners, Developers | | Appraisers, Accountants |
| HFF | | Europa Capital Partners — U.K. | | Deloitte |
| Jones Lang LaSalle | | Hines | | Integra |
| Jones Lang LaSalle — U.K. | | Industrial Developments | | KPMG |
| Kidder Mathews | | LNR Property Corp | | Marvin F. Poer |
| Knight Frank LLP — U.K. | | Shorenstein Properties, LLC | | Price Waterhouse Coopers |
| Lambert Smith Hampton — U.K. | | Tishman Speyer | | Ryan LLC |
| Lee & Associates | | | | |
DTZ — U.K.
| | Owners, Developers
| | Appraisers, Accountants
|
Gerald Eve — U.K.
| | Hines
| | Deloitte
|
GrubbMarcus & Ellis
| | Industrial Developments International
| | Integra
|
GVA Grimley — U.K.
| | LNR Property Corp
| | KPMG
|
HFF
| | MWB Business Services — U.K.
| | Marvin F. Poer
|
Japan Real Estate Institute — U.K.
| | Shorenstein Company, LLC
| | Price Waterhouse Coopers
|
Jones Lang LaSalle
| | Tishman Speyer
| | Thomson Reuters
|
Jones Lang LaSalle — U.K.
Millichap | | | | |
Kidder Mathews
Mohr Partners | | | | |
Lambert Smith HamptonMontagu Evans — U.K.
| | | | |
Marcus & Millichap
| | | | |
Mohr Partners
Retailers | | RetailersGovernment
| | Government Agencies
|
NAI Global | | 7-Eleven | | City of Chicago |
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank | | Denny’s
Carter's | | Cook County Assessor’s Office |
Re/Max | | Dollar General Corporation | | County of Los Angeles |
Savills Commercial — U.K. | | Herman Miller
Jos. A Bank | | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |
Sperry Van Ness
Savills Studley | | Massage Envy | | Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
Studley
Sperry Van Ness | | Rent-A-Center
Petco | | Internal Revenue Service |
UGL
Transwestern | | Sony
Rent-A-Center | | Scottish Enterprise — U.K.
|
U.S. Equities Realty
| | Spencer Gifts LLC
| | Transportation Security Administration |
USI Real Estate Brokerage Services | | Taco Bell
Sony | | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development |
Weichert Commercial Brokerage
Voit Real Estate Services | | Walgreens
Spencer Gifts LLC | | U.S. General Services Administration |
| Weichert Commercial Brokerage | | Walgreens | | Valuation Office Agency — U.K. |
| | | | | |
| REITs | | Property Managers | | Vendors |
| Boston Properties | | AP Commercial | | Comcast Corporation |
| Brandywine Realty Trust | | Elliott Associates | | Cox Communications |
REITs
Duke Realty Corporation | | Property Managers
Leggat McCall Properties | | Vendors
Kastle Systems |
Boston Properties
KBS Realty Advisors | | Asset Plus Corporation
Lincoln Property Company | | ADT Security
Regus |
BrandywineKimco Realty Trust
Corporation | | Leggat McCall Properties
Navisys Group | | Comcast Corporation
Time Warner Cable |
Brookfield Properties
Simon Property Group | | Lincoln Property Osprey Management Company
| | Cox Communications, Inc.
|
Duke Realty Corporation
| | Navisys Group
| | Kastle Systems
|
Kimco Realty Corporation
| | Osprey Management Company
| | Time Warner Cable, Inc.
|
Simon Property Group, Inc.
| | PM Realty Group
| | Turner Construction Company |
Vornado/Charles E. Smith | | Transwestern Commercial Services
| | Verizon Communications, Inc.
|
| | PM Realty Group | | |
| | | | Verizon Communications |
For the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, no single client accounted for more than 5% of our revenues.
Sales and Marketing
As of January 31, 2012, we30, 2015, CoStar had 313a staff of 751 sales, marketing and customer support employees,professionals, with the majority of our direct sales force located in field sales offices. Our sales teams are primarily located in 2631 field sales offices throughout the U.S. and in offices located in London, England; Manchester, England; Glasgow, ScotlandScotland; Paris, France and Paris, France.Toronto, Canada. Our inside sales team isteams are located in our downtown Washington, DC, office. This team prospectsDC; San Francisco, California; and Chicago, Illinois offices. These teams prospect for new clients and performsperform service demonstrations exclusively by telephone and over the internetInternet to support the direct sales force. A portion of the inside sales teams are also responsible for selling some of our services.
Our local offices typically serve as the platform for our in-market sales, customer support and field research operations for their respective regions. The sales force is responsible for selling to new prospects, training new and existing clients, providing ongoing customer support, renewing existing client contracts and identifying cross-selling opportunities. In addition, the sales force has primary front line responsibility for customer care. Our customer service and support staff is charged with ensuring high client satisfaction by providing ongoing customer support.
Our sales strategy is to aggressively attract new clients, while providing ongoing incentives for existing clients to subscribe to additional services. We actively manage client accounts in order to retain clients by providing frequent service demonstrations as well as company-client contact and communication. We place a premium on training new and existing client personnel on the use of our services so as to promote maximum client utilization and satisfaction with our services. Our strategy also involves entering into multi-year, multi-market license agreements with our larger clients.
We seek to make our services essential to our clients’ businesses. To encourage clients to use our services regularly, we generally charge a fixed monthly amount for our subscription-based information services rather than fees based on actual system usage. Contract rates for subscription-based services are generally based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size, the client’s business focus, geography and the number and types of services to which a client subscribes. Our subscription clients generally pay contract fees on a monthly basis, but in some cases may pay us on a quarterly or annual basis.
Our customer service and support staff is charged with ensuring high client satisfaction by providing ongoing customer support.
Our primary marketing methods include: service demonstrations; face to face networking; web-based marketing; direct marketing; communication via our corporate website and news services; participation in trade show and industry events; Company-sponsored events; print advertising in trade magazines and other business publications; client referrals; CoStar AdvisorTM, LoopNewsTMand CoStar Advisor™, the Company’s newsletter, which isother company newsletters distributed via email to our clients and prospects. We currently offer dozens of webinars each year aimed at helping customers learn moreIn addition, we recently launched an improved Apartments.com website with a cleaner look, information about the commercial real estate industry and how to use our services. The webinars are available both as live presentations and as on-demand programs hosted on our website. On a monthly basis, we issue the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sales Index (CCRSI), a comprehensive set of benchmarks that investorsactual rental availabilities, rents and other market participants can usefees, and better search functionality. In conjunction with the launch, we plan to better understand commercial real estate price movements.embark on a wide-scale marketing campaign commencing during the first quarter of 2015 and running throughout the remainder of 2015 to generate brand awareness and site traffic for Apartments.com, including an incremental investment of $75.0 million above Apartments.com’s 2014 annualized marketing spend since the close of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business. The Indexmarketing campaign is produced using our underlying dataexpected to feature television and is publicly distributed by CoStar through the newsradio advertising, online/digital advertising, social media and made available online at www.costar.com/ccrsi.out-of-home ads and will be reinforced by Search Engine Marketing.
Web-based marketing and direct marketing are the most cost-effectiveeffective means for us to find prospective clients. Our web-based marketing efforts include search engine optimization, paid advertising with major search engines and display advertising on commercial real estate news sitesand business websites and mobile applications, and our direct marketing efforts include direct mail, email and telemarketing, and make extensive use of our unique, proprietary database. Once we have identified a prospective client, our most effective sales method is a service demonstration. We use various forms of advertising to build brand identity and reinforce the value and benefits of our services. We also sponsor and attend local association activities and events, including industry-leading events for commercial real estate brokers, owner/investors and retail and financial services institutions, and attend and/or exhibit at industry trade shows and conferences to reinforce our relationships with our core user groups.
We currently offer dozens of webinars each year aimed at helping customers learn more about the commercial real estate industry and how to use our services. The webinars are available both as live presentations and as on-demand programs hosted on our website. On a monthly basis, we issue the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sales Index ("CCRSI"), a comprehensive set of benchmarks that investors and other market participants can use to better understand commercial real estate price movements. The Index is produced using our underlying data and is publicly distributed by CoStar through the news media and made available online at http://www.costargroup.com/costar-news/ccrsi.
Our sales and marketing efforts have focused and will continue to focus on cross-selling and marketing our services. We continue to cross-sell the services offered by the businesses we have acquired, including Apartments.com and LoopNet. Our goal is to upsell clients to the services that best meet their needs and to create further cross-selling revenue synergies.
Competition
The market for information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces generally is competitive and rapidly changing. In the commercial real estate industry,and apartment rentals industries, we believe the principal competitive factors for commercial real estate information and analyticaffecting these services and providers are:
quality and depth of the underlying databases;
ease of use, flexibility, and functionality of the software;
intuitiveness and appeal of the user interface;
timeliness of the data;data, including listings;
breadth of geographic coverage and services offered;
completeness and accuracy of content;
client service and support;
perception that the service offered is the industry standard;
effectiveness of marketing and sales efforts;
proprietary nature of methodologies, databases and technical resources;
brand loyalty among customers; and
We compete directly and indirectly for customers with the following categories of companies:
online marketing services or websites targeted to commercial real estate brokers, buyers and sellers of commercial real estate properties, insurance companies, mortgage brokers and lenders, such as commercialsearch.com, PropertyLine.com, LoopNet, Inc., Reed Business Information Limited, officespace.com, MrOfficeSpace.com, TenantWise, Inc.,www.propertyshark.com, Rofo, BuildingSearch.com, CIMLS, CompStak, Rightmove, WorkplaceIQ, RealPoint LLC and RealUp;
estatesgazette.com;
publishers and distributors of information, analytics and analyticmarketing services, including regional providers and national print publications, such as Xceligent, Inc., eProperty Data, CBRE Economic Advisors, Marshall & Swift, Yale Robbins, Inc., Reis, Inc., Real Capital Analytics, Inc. and The Smith Guide, Pierce Eislen and Axiometrics, Inc.;
internet listing services featuring apartments for rent, such as ApartmentGuide.com, ApartmentFinder.com, ForRent.com, Zillow Rentals, Trulia Rent, Craigslist, ApartmentList.com, Rent.com, and Move.com;
locally controlled real estate boards, exchanges or associations sponsoring property listing services and the companies with whom they partner, such as Xceligent, Inc., eProperty Data, Catalyst, the National Association of Realtors, CCIM Institute, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, (SIOR) the Commercial Association of Realtors Data Services and the Association of Industrial Realtors (AIR);
Realtors;
real estate portfolio management software solutions, such as Cougar Software, Yardi Systems, MRI Software, Altus (Argus Software) and Intuit Inc.;
Intuit;
real estate lease management and administration software solutions, such as Accruent, Tririga, Manhattan Software and AMT;
in-house research departments operated by commercial real estate brokers; and
As the commercial real estatemarket for information, analytics and analytic services marketplaceonline marketplaces develops, additional competitors (including companies which could have greater access to data, financial, product development, technical, analytic or marketing resources than we do) may enter the market and competition may intensify. AFor example, a company like Bloomberg L.P. has the resources, and has previously announced an intention, to move into the commercial real estate information business. Further, a company like Google, which has a far-reaching web presence and substantial data aggregation capabilities, could easily enter the commercial real estate marketing arena. A company like Zillow, which already has a presence in residential real estate and the apartment rentals industry, could use its resources to further expand in the online apartment rentals industry creating greater competition among internet listing services for the marketing budgets of property managers and property owners. While we believe that we have successfully differentiated ourselves from existing competitors, current or future competitors could materially harm our business.
Proprietary Rights
To protect our proprietary rights in our methodologies, database, software, trademarks and other intellectual property, we depend upon a combination of:
trade secret, misappropriation, copyright, trademark, computer fraud, database protection and other laws;
registration of copyrights and trademarks;
nondisclosure, noncompetition and other contractual provisions with employees and consultants;
license agreements with customers;
We seek to protect our software’s source code, our database and our photography as trade secrets and under copyright law. Although copyright registration is not a prerequisite for copyright protection, we have filed for copyright registration for many of our databases, photographs, software and other materials. Under current U.S. copyright law, the arrangement and selection of data may be protected, but the actual data itself may not be. In addition, with respect to ourCertain U.K. databases, certain database protection laws provide additional protections of thesefor our U.K. databases. We license our services under license agreements that grant our clients non-exclusive, non-transferable licenses.rights. These agreements restrict the disclosure and use of our information and prohibit the unauthorized reproduction or transfer of theany of our proprietary information, and analytic services we license.methodologies or analytics.
We also attempt to protect the secrecy of our proprietary database,databases, our trade secrets and our proprietary information through confidentiality and noncompetition agreements with our employees and consultants. Our services also include technical measures designed to detect, discourage and detectprevent unauthorized copying of our intellectual property. We have established an internal antipiracy team that uses fraud-detection technology to continually monitor use of our services to detect and prevent unauthorized access, and we actively prosecute individuals and firms that engage in this unlawful activity.
We have filedmaintain U.S. and international trademark registrations for CoStar’s core service names and proactively file U.S. and international trademark applications to register trademarks for a variety of names for CoStar servicescovering our new and other marks, and have obtainedplanned service names. Our federally registered trademarks for a variety of our marks, including “CoStar,” “COMPS,” “CoStar Property,” “CoStar Tenant,” “CoStar Showcase”include CoStar®, CoStar Property®, CoStar COMPS Professional®, CoStar Tenant®, CoStarGo®, CoStar Showcase®, and “CoStar Group.” Depending uponLoopNet®, among many others. In the jurisdiction,U.S., trademarks are generally valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained and they have not been found to becomebe generic. We consider our trademarks in the aggregate to constitute a valuable asset. In addition, we have filed severalmaintain a patent applications coveringportfolio that protects certain of our methodologiessystems and software andmethodologies. We currently have one granted patent in the U.K., which expires in 2021, covering, among other things, certain of our field research methodologies and six patents in the U.S. which expire in 2020, 2021 (2 patents), 2022 2023 (2 patents) and 2025, respectively, covering, among other things, critical elements of CoStar’s proprietary field research technology and mapping tools. We regard the rights underprotected by our patents as valuable to our business, but do not believe that our business is materially dependent on any single patent or on our portfolio of patents as a whole.
Employees
As of January 31, 2012,30, 2015, we employed 1,5142,444 employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We have experienced no work stoppages. We believe that our employee relations are excellent.
Available Information
Our investor relations internet website is http://www.costar.com/investors.aspx.www.costargroup.com/investors. The reports we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report, quarterly reports and current reports, as well as amendments to those reports, are available free of charge on our internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may review and copy any of the information we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Commission's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SECSecurities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the Commission at http://www.sec.gov.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
We have made forward-looking statements in this Report and make forward-looking statements in our press releases and conference calls that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information that is not purely historic fact and include, without limitation, statements concerning our financial outlook for 20122015 and beyond, our possible or assumed future results of operations generally, and other statements and information regarding assumptions about our revenues, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) net income, non-GAAP net income non-GAAPper share, net income, net income per share, fully diluted net income combined financial metrics related to the LoopNet acquisition, the timing of the LoopNet acquisition,per share, weighted-average outstanding shares, taxable income, cash flow from operating activities, available cash, operating costs, amortization expense, intangible asset recovery, net income per share, diluted net income per share, weighted-average outstanding shares, capital and other expenditures, effective tax rate, equity compensation charges, future taxable income, purchase amortization, the anticipated benefits of completed acquisitions, the anticipated benefits of cross-selling efforts, product development and release, sales and marketing campaigns, product integrations, elimination and de-emphasizing of services, contract renewal rate, the timing of future payments of principal under our $400.0 million term loan facility available to us under a credit agreement dated April 1, 2014 (the “2014 Credit Agreement”), expectations regarding our compliance with financial and restrictive covenants in the 2014 Credit Agreement, acquisitions, financing plans, geographic expansion, product development, acquisitions, contract renewal rate, capital structure, contractual obligations, legal proceedings and claims, our database, database growth, services and facilities, employee relations, future economic performance, our ability to liquidate or realize our long-term investments, management’s plans, goals and objectives for future operations, and growth and markets for our stock. Sections of this Report which contain forward-looking statements include “Business,” “Risk Factors,” “Properties,” “Legal Proceedings,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” “Controls and Procedures” and the Financial Statements and related Notes.
Our forward-looking statements are also identified by words such as “believes,“hope,” “expects,“anticipate,” “thinks,“may,” “anticipates,“believe,” “intends,“expect,” “estimates,“intend,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue” and “potential” or similar expressions.the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should understand that these forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting our judgment, beliefs and expectations, not guarantees of future performance. They are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. The following important factors, in addition to those discussed or referred to under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other unforeseen events or circumstances, could affect our future results and could cause those results or other outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements: commercial real estate market conditions; the pace of recovery in the commercial real estate market; general economic conditions; our ability to identify, acquire and integrate acquisition candidates; the possibility that the FTC will request additional extensions to the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act; the possibility that CoStar, LoopNet and the FTC cannot reach a mutually acceptable resolution in a timely manner or at all; the possibility that the LoopNet merger does not close, including, but not limited to, due to the failure to obtain governmental approval; conditions, divestitures or changes relating to the operations or assets of LoopNet and CoStar that may be required to obtain governmental clearances or approvals to the merger; our ability to realize the expected benefits, cost savings or other synergies from acquisitions, including the LoopNet mergerApartments.com acquisition, on a timely basis or at all; our ability to combine theacquired businesses of CoStar and LoopNet successfully or in a timely and cost-efficient manner; failure to obtain any required financing on favorable terms; the degree of business disruption relating to the LoopNet merger; the useintegration of the net proceeds of our June 2011 equity offering;acquired businesses or other business initiatives; the amount of investment in CoStarGofor sales and marketing initiatives;and our ability to realize expected expense savings from various initiatives, including office consolidations;a return on investments in sales and marketing; our ability to effectively and strategically combine, eliminate or de-emphasize service offerings; reductions in revenues as a result of service changes; the time and resources required to develop upgraded services and expand service offerings; changes or consolidations within the commercial real estate industry; customer retention; our ability to attract new clients; our ability to sell additional services to existing clients; our ability to integrate our U.S.North America and internationalInternational product offerings; our ability to successfully introduce new products or upgraded services in U.S. and foreign markets; our ability to attract consumers to our online marketplaces; competition; foreign currency fluctuations; global credit market conditions affecting investments; our ability to continue to expand successfully;successfully, timely and in a cost-efficient manner, including internationally; our ability to effectively penetrate the market for retail real estate information and gain acceptance in that market;new sectors; our ability to control costs; litigation; changes in accounting policies or practices; release of new and upgraded services or entry into new markets by us or our competitors; data quality; expansion, growth, development and reorganization of our sales force; employee retention; technical problems with our services; managerial execution; changes in relationships with real estate brokers and other strategic partners; legal and regulatory issues; and successful adoption of and training on our services.
Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of, and are based on information available to us on, the date of this Report. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We do not undertake any obligation to update any such statements or release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events or circumstances after the date of this Report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Risk Factors
Risks Related to our Pending Acquisition of LoopNetBusiness
The failure to successfully integrate LoopNet’s businessOur revenues and operations and/or fully realize synergies from the merger in the expected time frame mayfinancial position will be adversely affect our future results. Assuming completion of the merger with LoopNet, the success of that merger will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully integrate LoopNet’s business and operations and fully realize the anticipated benefits and synergies from combining our business and LoopNet’s business. However, to realize these anticipated benefits and synergies, our business and LoopNet’s business must be successfully combined. Ifaffected if we are not able to achieve these objectives followingattract and retain clients. Our success and revenues depend on attracting and retaining subscribers to our information, analytics and online marketplaces. Our subscription-based information, analytics and online marketplaces generate the merger, the anticipated benefits and synergies of the merger may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.
We and LoopNet have operated and, until the completion of the merger, will continue to operate independently. The integration process could result in the loss of key employees, loss of key clients, increases in operating costs, or the disruption of each company’s ongoing businesses, any or all of which could adversely affect our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits and synergies of the merger. Integration efforts between the two companies will also divert management attention and resources. The success of the merger will depend in part on our ability to realize the anticipated growth opportunities and cost savings from integrating our business and LoopNet’s business, while minimizing or eliminating any difficulties that may occur. Even if the integrationlargest portion of our two businesses is successful, it may not result in the realization of the full benefits of the growth opportunities and cost savings thatrevenues. However, we currently expect or these benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame. Any failure to timely realize these anticipated benefits could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, expenses and operating results.
Our business relationships, including client relationships, may be subject to disruption due to uncertainty associated with the merger. Parties with which we and LoopNet do business may experience uncertainty associated with the transaction, including with respect to current or future business relationships with us, LoopNet or the combined business of both companies. Our and LoopNet’s business relationships may be subject to disruption as clients and others may attempt to negotiate changes in existing business relationships or consider entering into business relationships with parties other than us, LoopNet or the combined business. These disruptions could have an adverse effect on the businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the combined business. The adverse effect of such disruptions could be exacerbated by delays in the completion of the merger or termination of the merger agreement.
The merger agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the merger may not be completed. The merger agreement is subject to a number of conditions which must be fulfilled in order to complete the merger. Those conditions include: obtaining regulatory and antitrust approvals, absence of orders prohibiting the completion of the merger or imposing a “Substantial Detriment” (as defined in the merger agreement), continued accuracy of the representations and warranties by both parties to the merger agreement and the performance by both parties of their covenants and agreements.
In addition, both we and LoopNet have rights to terminate the merger agreement under certain circumstances specified in the merger agreement.
The merger is subject to the receipt of consents and approvals from governmental and regulatory entities that may delay the date of completion of the merger or impose conditions that could have an adverse effect on us. Before the merger may be completed, approvals must be obtained from governmental authorities. Both CoStar and LoopNet filed notification and report forms with the Department of Justice and the FTC pursuant to the HSR Act, on May 31, 2011. As a result, the waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the proposed merger between us and LoopNet was originally scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011. As previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on June 30, 2011, CoStar and LoopNet each received a request for additional information (commonly referred to as a “second request”) from the FTC in connection with its review of the merger. The second request extended the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act until 30 days after the parties have substantially complied with the second request unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. At the FTC’s request, CoStar and LoopNet subsequently agreed to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act from 30 days to 60 days after the date of substantial compliance with the second request, subject to further extension. On
November 4, 2011, each of CoStar and LoopNet certified as to its substantial compliance with the second request. CoStar and LoopNet subsequently voluntarily agreed to further extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act on a 45-day rolling basis to allow them to engage in discussions with the FTC to determine whether there is a possible basis for, and to discuss the possible terms of, a mutually acceptable consent order that would allow the merger to close. If either CoStar and LoopNet, on the one hand, or the FTC Staff, on the other hand, believe that discussions towards a possible consent order are no longer moving forward productively, either may trigger commencement of the 45-day period, in writing, after the expiration of which the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act will expire, unless extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. As of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the parties have not yet reached agreement on the terms of a consent order, and there can be no assurance that such agreement will be reached in a timely manner or at all. In the event the parties do not reach agreement on a consent decree and/or a party triggers commencement of the 45-day period, the FTC may seek an injunction to block consummation of the merger.
In addition, the FTC may include conditions on the completion of the merger or require divestitures or other changes relating to our operations or assets, or LoopNet’s. Such conditions, divestitures or changes could have the effect of jeopardizing or delaying completion of the merger or reducing the anticipated benefits of the merger, any of which might have a material adverse effect on the combined company following the merger. We are not obligated to complete the merger if the regulatory approvals received in connection with the completion of the merger include any conditions or restrictions that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to impose a Substantial Detriment, but we could choose to waive this condition.
We will incur significant transaction costs as a result of the merger. We expect to incur significant one-time transaction costs related to the merger. These transaction costs include investment banking, legal and accounting fees and expenses and filing fees, printing expenses and other related charges. We may also incur additional unanticipated transaction costs in connection with the merger. A portion of the transaction costs related to the merger will be incurred regardless of whether the merger is completed. Additional costs will be incurred in connection with integrating the two companies’ businesses, such as IT integration expenses. Costs in connection with the merger and integration may be higher than expected. These costs could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operation or prospects of the combined business.
Failure to complete the merger in certain circumstances could require us to pay a termination fee or expenses. If the merger agreement is terminated under certain circumstances, we could be obligated to pay LoopNet a $51.6 million termination fee. Payment of the termination fee could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.
Our indebtedness following the completion of the merger will be substantially greater than our indebtedness on a stand-alone basis and greater than the combined indebtedness of CoStar and LoopNet existing prior to the transaction. This increased level of indebtedness could adversely affect us, including by decreasing our business flexibility and increasing our borrowing costs. On February 16, 2012, we entered into a Credit Agreement by and among CoStar, as borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as co-borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto and J.P. Morgan Bank, as administrative agent. The Credit Agreement provides for a $175.0 million term loan facility and a $50.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The obligation of the lenders to make the loans under the Credit Agreement is subject to the simultaneous closing of the merger with LoopNet and the satisfaction of certain other conditions precedent. We expect to use the proceeds of the term loan facility on the date on which such conditions are satisfied along with net proceeds from the equity offering in June 2011 to pay a portion of the merger consideration and transaction costs related to the merger. The proceeds of the revolving credit facility may be used, on the closing date, to pay for transaction costs related to the merger and, thereafter, for working capital and other general corporate purposes of CoStar and its subsidiaries.
The Credit Agreement contains customary restrictive covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions that may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests. These covenants restrict our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries (i) to incur additional indebtedness, (ii) to create, incur, assume or permit to exist any liens, (iii) to enter into mergers, consolidations or similar transactions, (iv) to make investments and acquisitions, (v) to make certain dispositions of assets, (vi) to make dividends, distributions and prepayments of certain indebtedness, and (vii) to enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The operating restrictions and financial covenants in the Credit Agreement and any future financing agreements may limit our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities. Our ability to comply with any financial covenants could be materially affected by events beyond our control, and there can be no assurance that we will satisfy any such requirements. If we fail to comply with these covenants, we may need to seek waivers or amendments of such covenants, seek alternative or additional sources of financing or reduce its expenditures. We may be unable to obtain such waivers, amendmentsattract new clients, and our existing clients may decide not to add, not to renew or alternative or additional financing at all, or on favorable terms.
If an event of default occurs, the lenders under the Credit Agreement are able to declare all outstanding borrowings, together with accrued interestcancel subscription services. In addition, in order to increase our revenue, we must continue to attract new customers, continue to keep our cancellation rate low and other fees,continue to be immediately due and payable and exercise remedies in respect of the collateral.sell new services to our existing customers. We may not be able to repay all amounts due undercontinue to grow our customer base, keep the Credit Agreementcancellation rate for customers and services low or sell new services to existing customers as a result of several factors, including without limitation: economic pressures; the business failure of a current client or clients; a decision that customers have no need for our services; a decision to use alternative services; customers’ and potential customers’ pricing and budgetary constraints; consolidation in the event these amounts are declared due upon an eventreal estate and/or financial services industries; data quality; technical problems; or competitive pressures. We compete against many other commercial real estate information, analytics, and marketing service providers for business, including competitors that offer their services through rapidly changing methods of default.
Wedelivering real estate information. If clients cancel services or decide not to renew their subscription agreements, and LoopNet may have difficulty attracting, motivating and retaining executives and other key employees in light of the merger. Uncertainty about the effect of the merger on our employees and LoopNet employees may have an adverse effect on us and LoopNet, respectively, and consequently, the combined business. This uncertainty may impair each company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate key personnel until the merger is completed, or longer for the combined entity. Employee retention may be particularly challenging during the pendency of the merger, as employees of each company may experience uncertainty about their future roles with the combined business. Additionally, LoopNet’s officers and employees may own shares of LoopNet’s common stock and/or have stock option or restricted stock unit grants and, if the merger is completed, may therefore be entitled to the merger consideration, the payment of which could provide sufficient financial incentive for certain officers and employees to no longer pursue employment with the combined business. If our key employees or LoopNet’s key employees depart, we may have to incur significant costs in identifying, hiring and retaining replacements for departing employees, which could reduce our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the merger.
An adverse judgment in a lawsuit challenging the merger may prevent the merger from becoming effective or from becoming effective within the expected timeframe. One of the conditions to the closing of the merger is that no order, injunction or decree or other legal restraint or prohibition that prevents the completion of the merger be in effect. If any plaintiff were successful in obtaining an injunction prohibiting LoopNet or CoStar from completing the merger on the agreed-upon terms, then such injunction may prevent the merger from becoming effective or from becoming effective within the expected timeframe.
Risks Relateddo not sell new services to our Businessexisting clients or attract new clients, then our renewal rate and revenues may decline.
A downturn or consolidation in the commercial real estate industry may decrease customer demand for our services. The commercial real estate market may be adversely impacted by many different factors, including lower than expected job growth or job losses resulting in reduced real estate demand; rising interest rates and slowing transaction volumes that negatively impact investment returns; excessive speculative new construction in localized markets resulting in increased vacancy rates and diminished rent growth; and unanticipated disasters and other adverse events such as slowing of the growth in the working age population resulting in reduced demand for all types of real estate. A reversal of recent improvements in the commercial real estate industry’s leasing activity and absorption rates or a renewed downturn in the commercial real estate market may affect our ability to generate revenues and may lead to more cancellations by our current or future customers, either of which could cause our revenues or our revenue growth rate to decline and reduce our profitability. A depressed commercial real estate market has a negative impact on our core customer base, which could decrease demand for our information, analytics and analytic services.online marketplaces. Also, companies in this industry are consolidating, often in order to reduce expenses. Consolidation, or other cost-cutting measures by our customers, may lead to more cancellations of our information, analytics and analyticonline marketplace services by our customers, reduce the number of our existing clients, reduce the size of our target market or increase our clients’ bargaining power, all of which could cause our revenues to decline and reduce our profitability. If cancellations, reductions of services, and failures to pay increase, and we are unable to offset the resulting decrease in revenue by increasing sales to new or existing customers, our revenues may decline or grow at lower rates.
If we are unable to hire qualified persons for, or retain and continue to develop, our sales force, or if our sales force is unproductive, our revenues could be adversely affected. In order to support revenues and future revenue growth, we need to continue to develop, train and retain our sales force. Our ability to build and develop a strong sales force may be affected by a number of factors, including: our ability to attract, integrate and motivate sales personnel; our ability to effectively train our sales force; the ability of our sales force to sell an increased number and different types of services; our ability to manage effectively an outbound telesales group; the length of time it takes new sales personnel to become productive; the competition we face from other companies in hiring and retaining sales personnel; our ability to effectively structure our sales force; and our ability to effectively manage a multi-location sales organization. If we are unable to hire qualified sales personnel and develop and retain the members of our sales force, including sales force management, or if our sales force is unproductive, our revenues or growth rate could decline and our expenses could increase.
Negative general economic conditions could increase our expenses and reduce our revenues. Our business and the commercial real estate industry are particularly affected by negative trends in the general economy. The success of our business depends on a number of factors relating to general global, national, regional and local economic conditions, including perceived and actual economic conditions, recessions, inflation, deflation, exchange rates, interest rates, taxation policies, availability of credit, employment levels, and wage and salary levels. Negative general economic conditions could adversely affect our business by reducing our revenues and profitability. If we experience greater cancellations or reductions of services and failures to timely pay, and we do not acquire new clients or sell new services to our existing clients, our revenues may decline and our financial position would be adversely affected. Adverse national and global economic events, as well as any significant terrorist attack, are likely to have a dampening effect on the economy in general, which could negatively affect our financial performance and our stock price. Market disruptions may also contribute to extreme price and volume fluctuations in the stock market that may affect our stock price for reasons unrelated to our operating performance. In addition, a significant increase in inflation could increase our expenses more rapidly than expected, the effect of which may not be offset by corresponding increases in revenue. Conversely, deflation resulting in a decline of prices could reduce our revenues. In the current economic environment, it is difficult to predict whether we will experience significant inflation or deflation in the near future. A significant increase in either could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our revenuesWe may not be able to compete successfully against existing or future competitors in attracting advertisers, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial position willcondition. We compete to attract advertisers. Large companies with significant brand recognition have large numbers of direct sales personnel and web traffic, which may provide a competitive advantage. To compete successfully for advertisers against future and existing competitors, we must continue to invest resources in developing our advertising platform and proving the effectiveness and relevance of our advertising services. Pressure from competitors seeking to acquire a greater share of our advertisers’ overall marketing budget could adversely affect our pricing and margins, lower our revenue, and increase our research and development and marketing expenses. If we are unable to compete successfully against our existing or future competitors, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be adversely affectedaffected.
We may be unable to increase awareness of our brands, including CoStar, LoopNet or Apartments.com, which could adversely affect our business. We rely heavily on our brands, which we believe are key assets of our Company. Awareness and differentiation of our brands are important for attracting and expanding the number of users of, and subscribers to, our online marketplaces, such as Apartments.com and LoopNet.com. In 2015, we expect to increase our investment in sales and marketing activities by approximately $75.0 million to increase brand awareness and grow traffic in conjunction a wide-scale marketing campaign commencing during the first quarter of 2015 and running throughout the remainder of 2015 to generate brand awareness and site traffic for the improved Apartments.com website. Further, we expect that sales and marketing expenses for our other brands will continue to increase as we seek to grow the number of subscribers or advertisers to our marketplaces. Increased advertising may not be successful in increasing brand awareness or, ultimately, be cost-effective. If we are unable to maintain or enhance user and advertiser awareness of our brands, or if we are unable to recover our additional marketing and advertising costs through increased usage of our services, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We rely on Internet search engines to drive traffic to our websites. If search results do not feature our websites prominently, traffic to our websites would decrease and our business could be adversely affected. Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other Internet search websites drive traffic to our websites, including Apartments.com and LoopNet.com. For example, when a user types an apartment building address into an Internet search engine, organic search ranking of our Apartments.com webpages will determine how prominently such webpages are displayed in the search results. However, our ability to maintain high organic search result rankings is not entirely within our control. Our competitors’ search engine optimization, or SEO, efforts may result in their websites receiving a higher search result page ranking than the rankings our websites receive, or Internet search engines could revise their methodologies in a way that would adversely affect our search result rankings, each of which could slow the growth of our user base. Further, search engine providers could align with our competitors, which could adversely affect traffic to our websites. Our websites have experienced fluctuations in search result rankings in the past, and we anticipate similar fluctuations in the future. If we experience a material reduction in the number of users directed to our websites through Internet search engines, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
If we are unable to maintain or increase traffic to our marketplaces, our business and operating results could be adversely affected. Our ability to generate revenue from our marketplace businesses depends, in part, on our ability to attract users to our websites. If we fail to maintain or increase traffic to our marketplaces, our ability to acquire additional subscribers or advertisers and deliver leads to existing subscribers and advertisers could be adversely affected. We expect that our marketing expenses may increase in connection with our efforts to maintain or increase traffic to our websites. Our efforts to maintain or generate additional traffic to our marketplaces may not be successful. Even if we are able to attract additional users, increases in our operating expenses could negatively impact our operating results if we are unable to generate more revenue through increased sales of subscriptions to our marketplace products. We also face competition to attract users to our marketplace websites. Our existing and potential competitors include companies that could devote greater technical and other resources than we have available to provide services that users might view as superior to our offerings. Any of our future or existing competitors may introduce different solutions that attract users away from our services or provide solutions similar to our own that have the advantage of better branding or marketing resources. If we are unable to increase traffic to our marketplaces, or if we are unable to generate enough additional revenue to offset increases in expenses related to increasing traffic to our marketplaces, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
If real estate professionals or other advertisers reduce or cancel their advertising spending with us and we are unable to attract new advertisers, our operating results would be harmed. Our marketplace businesses, including the Apartments.com Business and LoopNet.com, depend on advertising revenue generated primarily through sales to persons in the real estate industry, including property managers and owners, and other advertisers. Our ability to attract and retain clientsadvertisers, and ultimately to generate advertising revenue, depends on a number of factors, including:.
increasing the number of unique visitors to, and users of, our websites and mobile applications;
the quantity and quality of the leads that we provide to our advertisers;
the success of any increased marketing and product development efforts directed at attracting additional users and advertisers to our marketplaces;
keeping pace with changes in technology and with our competitors; and
offering an attractive return on investment to our advertisers for their advertising spending with us.
Further, with respect to the Apartments.com marketplace, our ability to attract and retain advertisers also depends on the current apartment rental market and apartment vacancy rates. If vacancy rates are too high or too low, advertisers may not need to utilize our marketplace services.
We do not have long-term contracts with most of the advertisers who advertise on our marketplaces. These advertisers could choose to modify or discontinue their relationships with us with little or no advance notice. In addition, as existing subscriptions for advertising expire, we may not be successful in renewing these subscriptions or securing new subscriptions. We may not succeed in retaining existing advertisers’ spending or capturing a greater share of such spending if we are unable to convince advertisers of the effectiveness of our services as compared to alternatives. In addition, future changes to our pricing methodology for advertising services may cause advertisers to reduce or discontinue their advertising with us. If current advertisers reduce or end their advertising spending with us and we are unable to attract new advertisers, our advertising revenue and business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
If we do not invest in product development and provide services that are attractive to our users and to our advertisers, our business could be adversely affected. Our success depends on our continued improvements to provide services that make our marketplaces useful for users, and revenues depend on attracting and retaining subscribersattractive to our informationadvertisers. As a result, we must continually invest resources in research and analytic services. Our subscription-based informationdevelopment to improve the appeal and analytic services generate the largest portioncomprehensiveness of our revenues. However,services and effectively incorporate new technologies. If we are unable to provide services that users want to use, then users may become dissatisfied and use competitors’ websites. If we are unable to continue offering innovative services, we may be unable to attract newadditional users and advertisers or retain our current users and advertisers, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are not able to successfully finance and/or integrate acquisitions, our business operations and financial position could be adversely affected. We have expanded our markets and services in part through acquisitions of complementary businesses, services, databases and technologies, and expect to continue to do so in the future. Our strategy to acquire complementary companies or assets depends on our ability to identify, and the availability of, suitable acquisition candidates. We may incur costs in the preliminary stages of an acquisition, but may ultimately be unable or unwilling to consummate the proposed transaction for various reasons. In addition, acquisitions involve numerous risks, including the ability to realize or capitalize on synergy created through combinations; managing the integration of personnel and products; potential increases in operating costs; managing geographically remote operations; the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns and potential disruptions in ongoing operations during integration; the inherent risks in entering markets and sectors in which we have either limited or no direct experience; and the potential loss of key employees, clients or vendors and other business partners of the acquired companies. We may not successfully integrate acquired businesses or assets and may not achieve anticipated benefits of an acquisition, including expected synergies. Acquisitions could result in dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, one-time write-offs of goodwill and substantial amortization expenses of other intangible assets. We may be unable to obtain financing on favorable terms, or at all, if necessary to finance future acquisitions making it impossible or more costly to acquire complementary businesses. If we are able to obtain financing, the terms may be onerous and restrict our operations. Further, certain acquisitions may be subject to regulatory approval, which can be time consuming and costly to obtain, and the terms of such regulatory approvals may impose limitations on our ongoing operations or require us to divest assets or lines of business.
The failure to successfully integrate the Apartments.com Business and/or fully realize expected synergies from the acquisition in the expected time frame or at all may adversely affect our future results and our existing clients may decide notbusiness. The success of the Apartments.com acquisition will depend, in part, on our ability to add, notsuccessfully integrate the Apartments.com Business and realize the benefits and synergies we anticipate to renew or to cancel subscription services. In addition, in order to increaseresult from the combination of our revenue, we must continue to attract new customers, continue to keep our cancellation rate lowbusiness and continue to sell new services to our existing customers.the Apartments.com Business, including anticipated growth opportunities and cost savings. We may not be able to achieve these objectives in whole or in part. Any failure to timely realize these anticipated benefits could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, expenses and operating results.
The success of the acquisition will also depend in part on our ability to minimize or eliminate any difficulties that may occur in connection with the integration of our business and the Apartments.com Business. The integration process could result in the loss of key employees, loss of key clients, loss of key vendors and other business partners, increases in operating costs, increases in taxes, or the disruption of each company's ongoing businesses, any or all of which could adversely affect our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits and synergies of the acquisition. Our efforts to integrate the two businesses will divert management's attention and other resources from uses that could otherwise have been beneficial to the Company. In addition, management may decide to combine or eliminate products or services currently offered by Apartments.com, which could also result in the loss of revenues, key employees, key clients, key vendors or other business partners.
During the integration process, we will depend on CV to provide certain services to us during a transitional period, including, among others, billing and collection services. If these services are not provided to us, we may incur additional expense to replicate or procure these services from other third parties.
Our current or future geographic expansion plans may not result in increased revenues, which may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial position. Expanding into new markets and investing resources towards increasing the depth of our coverage within existing markets imposes additional burdens on our research, systems development, sales, marketing and general managerial resources. During 2015, we plan to continue to growincrease the depth of our customer base, keepcoverage in the cancellation rateU.S., Canada and the U.K. If we are unable to manage our expansion efforts effectively, if our expansion efforts take longer than planned or if our costs for these efforts exceed our expectations, our financial position could be adversely affected. In addition, if we incur significant costs to improve data quality within existing markets, or are not successful in marketing and selling our services in these markets or in new markets, our expansion may have a material adverse effect on our financial position by increasing our expenses without increasing our revenues, adversely affecting our profitability.
If we are not able to obtain and maintain accurate, comprehensive or reliable data, we could experience reduced demand for our information, analytics and online marketplace services. Our success depends on our clients’ confidence in the comprehensiveness, accuracy and reliability of the data and analysis we provide. The task of establishing and maintaining accurate and reliable data and analysis is challenging. If our data, including the data we obtain from third parties, or analysis is not current, accurate, comprehensive or reliable, we could experience reduced demand for our services or legal claims by our customers, which could result in lower revenues and higher expenses. Our U.S. researchers use integrated internal research processes to update our database. Any inefficiencies, errors, or technical problems with this application could reduce the quality of our data, which could result in reduced demand for our services, lowlower revenues and higher costs.
We may not be able to successfully introduce new or sellupgraded information, analytics and online marketplace services or combine or shift focus from services with less demand, which could decrease our revenues and our profitability. Our future business and financial success will depend on our ability to continue to anticipate the needs of, and to introduce new and upgraded services into the marketplace. To be successful, we must adapt to changes in the industry, as well as rapid technological changes by continually enhancing our information, analytics and online marketplace services. Developing new services and upgrades to existing customersservices, as well as integrating and coordinating current services, imposes heavy burdens on our systems department, management and researchers. The processes are costly, and our efforts to develop, integrate and enhance our services may not be successful. As we continue to combine our operations with those that we have acquired, we must continue to assess the purposes for which various services may be used alone or together, and how we can best address those uses through stand-alone services or combinations or coordinating applications thereof. In addition, successfully launching and selling a resultnew or upgraded service puts pressure on our sales and marketing resources. We recently launched the new Apartments.com website after undergoing extensive product development. We also plan to launch a wide-scale marketing campaign in an effort to increase brand awareness and site traffic. The launch of several factors, including without limitation: economic pressures; the business failure of a current client or clients; a decision that customers have no need for our services; a decision to use alternative services; customers’ and potential customers’ pricing and budgetary constraints; consolidation in the real estatenew site and/or the new marketing campaign may not result in increased brand awareness, site traffic and/or revenues. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining greater market share, we may not be able to offset the expense associated with the new launch and marketing campaign, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial services industries; data quality; technical problems;results.
If we are unable to develop new or competitive pressures. If clients cancelupgraded services or decide to combine, shift focus from, or phase out a service that overlaps or is redundant with other services we offer, then our customers may choose a competitive service over ours and our revenues may decline and our profitability may be reduced. For example, we are currently assessing whether to transition the LoopNet marketplace to a pure marketing site for commercial real estate where, eventually, all listings would be paid and users could search the site for free. We would expect to see a short-term reduction in revenues and earnings if we implement this transition. Although we are assessing the best strategy to implement this shift and will seek to convert customers to higher value, more profitable annual subscription information services to increase revenues and earnings over time, we cannot predict with certainty whether we will be successful in shifting customers to higher value, more profitable subscriptions and, consequently, in offsetting any reduction in revenue and earnings; therefore, if we make this transition, our revenues and earnings may ultimately decline. In addition, if we incur significant costs in developing new or upgraded services or combining and coordinating existing services, are not to renew their subscription agreements,successful in marketing and we do not sellselling these new services or upgrades, or our customers fail to accept these new or combined and coordinating services, it could have a material adverse effect on our existing clients or attract new clients, thenresults of operations by decreasing our renewal rate,revenues and revenues may decline.reducing our profitability.
Competition could render our services uncompetitive. The market for information systems and services in general is highly competitive and rapidly changing. Competition in this market may increase further as a result of current recessionaryif economic conditions asor other circumstances cause customer bases and customer spending have decreasedto decrease and service providers are competingto compete for fewer customer resources. Our existing competitors, or future competitors, may have greater name recognition, larger customer bases, better technology or data, lower prices, easier access to data, greater user traffic or greater financial, technical or marketing resources than we have. Our competitors may be able to undertake more effective marketing campaigns, obtain more data, adopt more aggressive pricing policies, make more attractive offers to potential employees, subscribers, distribution partners and content providers or may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies or changes in user requirements. If we are unable to retain customers or obtain new customers, our revenues could decline. Increased competition could result in lower revenues and higher expenses, which would reduce our profitability.
Our current or future geographic expansion plansfocus on internal and external investments may place downward pressure on our operating margins. Over the past few years, we have increased the rate of investments in our business, including internal investments in product development and sales and marketing, to expand the breadth and depth of services we provide to our customers. Our investment strategy is intended to increase our revenue growth in the future. Our operating margins may experience downward pressure in the short term as a result of investments. Furthermore, our investments may not result in increased revenues, whichhave their intended effect. For instance, our external investments may lose value and we may incur impairment charges with respect to such investments. Such impairment charges may negatively impact our profitability. If we are unable to successfully execute our investment strategy or if we fail to adequately anticipate and address potential problems, we may experience decreases in our revenues and operating margins.
If we are unable to enforce or defend our ownership and use of intellectual property, our business, brands, competitive position and operating results could be harmed. The success of our business depends in large part on our intellectual property, including intellectual property involved in our methodologies, database, services and software. We rely on a combination of trademark, trade secret, patent, copyright and other laws, nondisclosure and noncompetition provisions, license agreements and other contractual provisions and technical measures to protect our intellectual property rights. However, current law may not provide for adequate protection of our databases and the actual data. In addition, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of proprietary rights in internet related businesses are uncertain and evolving, and changes in these standards may adversely impact the viability or value of our proprietary rights. If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property, including our content, our brands and our business, results of operations and financial position. Expanding into new marketscondition could be harmed. The same would be true if a court found that our services infringe other persons’ intellectual property rights. Any intellectual property lawsuits or threatened lawsuits in which we are involved, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant, could cost us a significant amount of time and investing resources towards increasingmoney and distract management’s attention from operating our business. In addition, if we do not prevail on any intellectual property claims, this could result in a change to our methodology or information, analytics and online marketplace services and could reduce our profitability.
Effective trademark, trade secret, patent, and copyright protection may not be available in every country in which our services may be provided. The laws of certain countries do not protect proprietary rights to the depthsame extent as the laws of the United States and, therefore, in certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to protect our intellectual property and our proprietary technology adequately against unauthorized third-party copying or use, which could harm our competitive position.
In addition, we seek to enforce our rights against people and entities that infringe our intellectual property, including through legal action. Taking such action may be costly, and we cannot ensure that such actions will be successful. Any increase in the unauthorized use of our coverage within existing markets imposes additional burdensintellectual property could make it more expensive for us to do business and harm our results of operations or financial condition.
We are subject to a number of risks related to acceptance of credit cards and debit cards for customer payments. We accept payments for our services through credit and debit card transactions. For credit and debit card payments, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time. An increase in those fees may require us to increase the prices we charge and would increase our cost of revenues, either of which could harm our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We depend on processing vendors to complete credit and debit card transactions. If we or our research,processing vendors fail to maintain adequate systems development, sales, marketingfor the authorization and general managerial resources. During 2012,processing of credit card transactions, it could cause one or more of the major credit card companies to disallow our continued use of their payment products. We could lose customers if we planare not able to continue to increaseuse payment products of the depthmajor credit card companies. In addition, if the systems for the authorization and processing of credit card transactions fail to work properly and, as a result, we do not charge our customers’ credit cards on a timely basis or at all, our business, revenue, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted in ways that make it more difficult for us to comply. We are required to comply with payment card industry security standards. Failing to comply with those standards may violate payment card association operating rules, federal and state laws and regulations, and the terms of our coveragecontracts with payment processors. Any failure to comply also may subject us to fines, penalties, damages and civil liability, and may result in the U.S., U.K.loss of our ability to accept credit and France,debit card payments. Further, there is no guarantee that such compliance will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss, or misuse of data pertaining to credit and debit cards, card holders and transactions. If we fail to adequately control fraudulent credit card transactions, we may expand into additional geographies. face civil liability, diminished public perception of our security measures, and significantly higher credit card-related costs, each of which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are unable to managemaintain our expansion efforts effectively,chargeback rate or refund rates at acceptable levels, our processing vendors may increase our transaction fees or terminate their relationships with us. Any increases in our credit and debit card fees could harm our results of operations, particularly if we elect not to raise our expansion effortsrates for our services to offset the increase. The termination of our ability to process payments on any major credit or debit card would significantly impair our ability to operate our business.
We may not be able to successfully halt the operation of websites that aggregate our data, as well as data from other companies, such as copycat websites that may misappropriate our data. Third parties may misappropriate our data through website scraping, robots or other means and aggregate this data on their websites with data from other companies. In addition, “copycat” websites may misappropriate data on our website and attempt to imitate our brands or the functionality of our website. We may not be able to detect all such websites in a timely manner and, even if we could, technological and legal measures may be insufficient to stop their operations. In some cases, particularly in the case of websites operating outside of the U.S., our available remedies may not be adequate to protect us against the misappropriation of our data. Regardless of whether we can successfully enforce our rights against the operators of these websites, any measures that we may take longer than plannedcould require us to expend significant financial or other resources.
Litigation or government investigations in which we become involved may significantly increase our expenses and adversely affect our stock price. Currently and from time to time, we are a party to various lawsuits. Any lawsuits, threatened lawsuits or government investigations in which we are involved could cost us a significant amount of time and money to defend, could distract management’s attention away from operating our business, could result in negative publicity and could adversely affect our stock price. In addition, if any claims are determined against us or if a settlement requires us to pay a large monetary amount or take other action that materially restricts or impedes our costs for these efforts exceedoperations, our expectations,profitability could be significantly reduced and our financial position could be adversely affected. In addition,Our insurance may not be sufficient to cover any losses we incur in connection with litigation claims.
If we fail to protect confidential information against security breaches, or if customers or potential customers are reluctant to use our services because of privacy concerns, we might face additional costs and could lose customers or potential customers. We collect, use and disclose personally identifiable information, including among other things names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. We also collect, store and use sensitive or confidential transaction information and, in certain circumstances, credit card information. Our policies concerning the collection, use and disclosure of these types of information are described on our websites. While we believe that our policies are appropriate and that we are in compliance with our policies, we could be subject to legal claims, government action, harm to our reputation or experience significant remediation costs if we experience a security breach or our practices fail, or are seen as failing, to comply with our policies or with applicable laws concerning personally identifiable information.
We may be subject to legal liability for collecting, displaying or distributing information. Because the content in our database is collected from various sources and distributed to others, we may be subject to claims for breach of contract, defamation, negligence, unfair competition or copyright or trademark infringement or claims based on other theories. We could also be subject to claims based upon the content that is accessible from our website through links to other websites or information on our website supplied by third parties. We could also be subject to claims that the collection or provision of certain information breached laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection. Even if these claims do not result in liability to us, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending against any claims. Our potential liability for information distributed by us to improve data quality within existing markets, or are not successful in marketingothers could require us to implement measures to reduce our exposure to such liability, which may require us to expend substantial resources and sellinglimit the attractiveness of our services in these markets or in new markets,information, analytics and online marketplaces to users.
Concern of prospective customers regarding our expansion may have a material adverse effectuse of the personal information collected on our financial position by increasingwebsites could keep prospective customers from subscribing to our expenses without increasingservices. Industry-wide incidents or incidents with respect to our revenues, adversely affectingwebsites, including misappropriation of third-party information, security breaches, or changes in industry standards, regulations or laws, could deter people from using the Internet or our profitability.
websites to conduct transactions that involve the transmission of confidential information, which could harm our business. Under various state laws, if there is a breach of our computer systems and we know or suspect that unencrypted personal customer data has been stolen, we are required to inform any customers whose data was stolen, which could result in significant costs and harm our reputation and business.
IfIn addition, certain state laws require businesses that maintain personal information in electronic databases to implement reasonable measures to keep that information secure. Various states have enacted different and sometimes contradictory requirements for protecting personal information collected and maintained electronically. Compliance with numerous and contradictory requirements of the different states is particularly difficult for an online business such as ours which collects personal information from customers in multiple jurisdictions.
We may face adverse publicity and loss of consumer confidence if we are not able to successfully identify, finance and/comply with laws requiring us to take adequate measures to assure the confidentiality of the personally identifiable information that our customers have given to us. This could result in a loss of customers and revenue that could jeopardize our success. Even if we are in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, we may face liability or integrate acquisitions,disruption of business if we do not comply in every instance or if the security of the customer data that we collect is compromised, regardless of whether our practices comply or not. If we were required to pay any significant amount of money in satisfaction of claims under these laws, or if we were forced to suspend operations for any length of time due to our inability to comply fully with any such laws, our business, operationsoperating results and financial positioncondition could be adversely affected. We have expanded our markets and services in part through acquisitions of complementary businesses, services, databases and technologies, and expect to continue to do so in the future. Our strategy to acquire complementary companies or assets depends on our ability to identify, and the availability of, suitable acquisition candidates. We may incur costs in the preliminary stages of an acquisition, but may ultimately be unable or unwilling to consummate the proposed transaction for various reasons. In addition, acquisitions involve numerous risks, including the ability to realize or capitalize on synergy created through combinations; managing the integration of personnel and products; managing geographically remote operations, such as SPN in Scotland, Grecam S.A.S. in France, CoStar U.K. Limited, Propex and Property and Portfolio Research Ltd. in the U.K.; the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; the inherent risks in entering markets and sectors in which we have either limited or no direct experience; and the potential loss of key employees or clients of the acquired companies. We may not successfully integrate acquired businesses or assets and may not achieve anticipated benefits of an acquisition, including expected synergies. Acquisitions could result in dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, one-time write-offs of goodwill and substantial amortization expenses of other intangible assets. We may be unable to obtain financing on favorable terms, or at all, if necessary to finance future acquisitions making it impossible or more costly to acquire complementary businesses. If we are able to obtain financing, the terms may be onerous and restrict our operations.affected.
If we are unable to hire qualified persons for, or retain and continue to develop, our sales force, or if our sales force is unproductive, our revenues could be adversely affected. In order to support revenues and future revenue growth, we need to continue to develop, train and retain our sales force. Our ability to build and develop a strong sales force may be affected by a number of factors, including: our ability to attract, integrate and motivate sales personnel; our ability to effectively train our sales force; the ability of our sales force to sell an increased number of services; our ability to manage effectively an outbound telesales group; the length of time it takes new sales personnel to become productive; the competition we face from other companies in hiring and retaining sales personnel; and our ability to effectively manage a multi-location sales organization. If we are unable to hire qualified sales personnel and develop and retain the members of our sales force, including sales force management, or if our sales force is unproductive, our revenues or growth rate could decline and our expenses could increase. See “We and LoopNet may have difficulty attracting, motivating and retaining executives and other key employees in light of the merger” for a discussion of the impact the pending merger with LoopNet may have on our ability to attract, retain and motivate members of our sales force.
Our business depends on retaining and attracting highly capable management and operating personnel. Our success depends in large part on our ability to retain and attract management and operating personnel, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Florance, and our other officers and key employees. Our business requires highly skilled technical, sales, management, web development, marketing and research personnel, who are in high demand and are often subject to competing offers. To retain and attract key personnel, we use various measures, including employment agreements, awards under a stock incentive plan and incentive bonuses for key executive officers.employees. These measures may not be enough to retain and attract the personnel we need or to offset the impact on our business of the loss of the services of Mr. Florance or other key officers or employees. See “
We and LoopNet may have difficulty attracting, motivating and retaining executives and other key employees in light of the merger” for a discussionacquisition of the impactApartments.com Business. Uncertainty about the pending merger with LoopNeteffect of the acquisition on our employees, including employees who joined the Company as a result of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business, may have an adverse effect on the combined business. This uncertainty may impair our ability to attract, retain and motivate memberskey personnel. If our managementkey employees or Apartments.com key employees depart, we may incur costs in identifying, hiring, training and operating personnel.retaining replacements for departing employees, which could reduce our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business.
An impairment in the carrying value of goodwill could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and net worth. Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets not subject to amortization are tested annually by each reporting unit on October 1 of each year for impairment and are tested for impairment more frequently based upon the existence of one or more indicators. We consider our operating segments, North America and International, as our reporting units under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) authoritative guidance for consideration of potential impairment of goodwill. We assess the impairment of long-lived assets, identifiable intangibles and goodwill whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Judgments made by management relate to the expected useful lives of long-lived assets and our ability to realize undiscounted cash flows of the carrying amounts of such assets. The accuracy of these judgments may be adversely affected by several factors, including the factors listed below:
Significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results;
Significant changes in the manner of our use of acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business;
Significant negative industry or economic trends; or
Significant decline in our market capitalization relative to net book value for a sustained period.
These types of events or indicators and the resulting impairment analysis could result in goodwill impairment charges in the future, which would reduce our profitability. Impairment charges could negatively affect our financial results in the periods of such charges, which may reduce our profitability. As of December 31, 2014, we had approximately $1.1 billion of goodwill, including $1.1 billion in our North America segment and $24.4 million in our International segment.
As a result of the consolidation of certain of our facilities, we may incur additional costs. We have taken, and may continue to take, actions that may increase our cost structure in the short-term but are intended to reduce certain portions of our long-term cost structure, such as consolidation of office space. As a result of consolidation of office space, we may reduce our long-term occupancy costs, but incur restructuring charges. If our long-term cost reduction efforts are ineffective or our estimates of cost savings are inaccurate, our profitability could be negatively impacted. Expected savings from relocating facilities can be highly variable and uncertain. Further, we may not be successful in achieving the operating efficiencies or operating cost reductions expected from these efforts in the amounts or at the times we anticipate.
If we are unable to obtain or retain listings from commercial real estate brokers, agents, property owners, and apartment property managers, our commercial real estate ("CRE") marketplace services, including but not limited to LoopNet, Apartments.com, CoStar Showcase, LandandFarm.com and Lands of America, could be less attractive to current or potential customers, which could reduce our revenues. The value of our CRE marketplace services to our customers depends on our ability to increase the number of property listings provided and searches conducted. The success of our CRE marketplace services depends substantially on the number of property listings submitted by brokers, agents, property owners and, in the case of apartment rentals, property managers. This is because an increase in the number of listings increases the utility of the online service and of its associated search, listing and marketing services. If agents marketing large numbers of property listings, such as large brokers in key real estate markets, choose not to continue their listings with us, or choose to list them with a competitor, our CRE marketplace services could be less attractive to other real estate industry transaction participants, resulting in reduced revenue. Similarly, the value and utility of our other marketplaces, including BizBuySell and BizQuest, are also dependent on attracting and retaining listings.
If we are unable to convince commercial real estate professionals that our CRE marketplace services are superior to traditional methods of listing, searching, and marketing commercial real estate, they could choose not to use those services, which could reduce our revenues or increase our expenses. The primary source of new customers for our CRE marketplace services is participants in the commercial real estate community. Many commercial real estate professionals are used to listing, searching and marketing real estate in traditional and off-line ways, such as by distributing print brochures, sharing written lists, placing signs on properties, word-of-mouth, and newspaper advertisements. Commercial real estate and investment professionals may prefer to continue to use traditional methods or may be slow to adopt and accept our online products and services. If we are not able to persuade commercial real estate participants of the efficacy of our online products and services, they may choose not to use our CRE marketplace services, which could negatively impact our business. Similarly, if we are unable to convince the business and investment community to utilize our online business for sale marketplaces rather than traditional methods of listing and marketing businesses for sale, our revenues could be negatively affected.
The number of LoopNet's registered members is higher than the number of actual members. The number of registered members in LoopNet's network is higher than the number of actual members because some members have multiple registrations or others may have registered under fictitious names. Given the challenges inherent in identifying these accounts, we do not have a reliable system to accurately identify the number of actual members, and thus we rely on the number of registered members as a measure of the size of the LoopNet marketplace. If the number of LoopNet's actual members does not continue to grow and those members do not convert to premium members, then the LoopNet marketplace business may not grow as fast as we expect, which could harm our operating and financial results.
If we are unable to increase our revenues or our operating costs are higher than expected, our profitability may continue to decline and our operating results may fluctuate significantly. We may not be able to accurately forecast our revenues or future revenue growth rate. Many of our expenses, particularly personnel costs and occupancy costs, are relatively fixed. As a result, we may not be able to adjust spending quickly enough to offset any unexpected increase in expenses or revenue shortfall. We may experience higher than expected operating costs, including increased personnel costs, occupancy costs, selling and marketing costs, investments in geographic expansion, acquisition costs, communications costs, travel costs, software development costs, professional fees and other costs. If operating costs exceed our expectations and cannot be adjusted accordingly, our profitability may be reduced and our results of operations and financial position will be adversely affected. Additionally, we may not be able to sustain our historic revenue growth rates, and our percentage revenue growth rates may decline. Our ability to increase our revenues and operating profit will depend on increased demand for our services. Our sales are affected by, among other things, general economic and commercial real estate conditions. Reduced demand, whether due to changes in customer preference, a further weakening of the U.S. or global economy, competition or other reasons, may result in decreased revenue and growth, adversely affecting our operating results.
International operations expose us to additional business risks, which may reduce our profitability. Our international operations and expansion subject us to additional business risks, including: currency exchange rate fluctuations; adapting to the differing business practices and laws in foreign countries; difficulties in managing foreign operations; limited protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; difficulty in collecting accounts receivable and longer collection periods; costs of enforcing contractual obligations; impact of recessions in economies outside the U.S.; and potentially adverse tax consequences. In addition, international expansion imposes additional burdens on our executive and administrative personnel, systems development, research and sales departments, and general managerial resources. If we are not able to manage our international operations successfully, we may incur higher expenses and our profitability may be reduced. Finally, the investment required for additional international expansion could exceed the profit generated from such expansion, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
Fluctuating foreign currencies may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial positionposition. . Due to our acquisitions of CoStar U.K. Limited (formerly FOCUS Information Limited), SPN, Grecam S.A.S., Propex, and Property and Portfolio Research Ltd., as well as our expansion into Canada, a portion of our business is denominated in the British Pound, and Euro and asCanadian dollar. As a result, fluctuations in foreign currencies may have an impact on our business, results of operations and financial position. Foreign currency exchange rates have fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate. Significant foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations may negatively impact our international revenue, which in turn affects our consolidated revenue. Currencies may be affected by internal factors, general economic conditions and external developments in other countries, all of which can have an adverse impact on a country’s currency. Currently, we are not party to any hedging transactions intended to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. We may seek to enter into hedging transactions in the future, but we may be unable to enter into these transactions successfully, on acceptable terms or at all. We cannot predict whether we will incur foreign exchange losses in the future. Further, significant foreign exchange fluctuations resulting in a decline in the British Pound or Eurorespective, local currency may decrease the value of our foreign assets, as well as decrease our revenues and earnings from our foreign subsidiaries, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
Our indebtedness could adversely affect us, including by decreasing our business flexibility and increasing our costs. On April 1, 2014 (the “Closing Date”), we entered into the 2014 Credit Agreement by and among CoStar, as borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as co-borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent. The 2014 Credit Agreement provides for a $400.0 million term loan facility and a $225.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The proceeds of the term loan facility and the initial borrowing under the revolving credit facility on the Closing Date in an amount of $150.0 million were used to refinance the term loan facility and revolving credit facility established under a credit agreement dated February 16, 2012 (the “2012 Credit Agreement”), including related fees and expenses, and pay a portion of the consideration and transaction costs related to the acquisition. The 2014 Credit Agreement contains customary restrictive covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions that may limit our ability to engage in acts that we believe may be in our long-term best interests. These covenants restrict our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to (i) incur additional indebtedness, (ii) create, incur, assume or permit to exist any liens, (iii) enter into mergers, consolidations or similar transactions, (iv) make investments and acquisitions, (v) make certain dispositions of assets, (vi) make dividends, distributions and prepayments of certain indebtedness, and (vii) enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
The operating restrictions and financial covenants in the 2014 Credit Agreement and any future financing agreements may limit our ability to finance future operations or capital needs, to engage in other business activities or to respond to changes in market conditions. Our ability to comply with any financial covenants could be affected materially by events beyond our control, and we may be unable to satisfy any such requirements. If we fail to comply with these covenants, we may need to seek waivers or amendments of such covenants, seek alternative or additional sources of financing or reduce our expenditures. We may be unable to obtain such waivers, amendments or alternative or additional financing on a timely basis or at all, or on favorable terms.
We are required to make periodic principal and interest payments pursuant to the terms of the 2014 Credit Agreement. If an event of default occurs, the interest rate on overdue amounts will increase and the lenders under the 2014 Credit Agreement may declare all outstanding borrowings, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable and may exercise remedies in respect of the collateral. We may not be able to repay all amounts due under the 2014 Credit Agreement in the event these amounts are declared due upon an event of default.
Negative conditions in the global credit markets may affect the liquidity of a portion of our long-term investments. Currently, our long-term investments include mostly AAA-rated auction rate securities (“ARS”), which are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”) of the U.S. Department of Education. Continuing negative conditions in the global credit markets have prevented some investors from liquidating their holdings of auction rate securities because the amount of securities submitted for sale has exceeded the amount of purchase orders for such securities. As of December 31, 2014, we held $18.7 million par value of ARS, all of which failed to settle at auctions. When an auction fails for ARS in which we have invested, we may be unable to liquidate some or all of these securities at par. In the event we need or desire to immediately access these funds, we will not be able to do so until a future auction on these investments is successful, a buyer is found outside the auction process or an alternative action is determined. If a buyer is found but is unwilling to purchase the investments at par, we may incur a loss, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
Our ARS investments are not currently actively trading and therefore do not currently have a readily determinable market value. The estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. We have used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of our investment in ARS as of December 31, 2014. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model include estimates for interest rates, credit spreads, timing and amount of cash flows, liquidity risk premiums, expected holding periods and default risk of the ARS. We update the discounted cash flow model on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes in the assumptions used in the model and settlements of ARS investments that occurred during the period. Based on this assessment of fair value, as of December 31, 2014, we determined there was a decline in the fair value of our ARS investments of approximately $691,000. The decline was deemed to be a temporary impairment and was recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. If the issuers of these ARS are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, we may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
We have not made any material changes in the accounting methodology used to determine the fair value of the ARS. We do not expect any material changes in the near term to the underlying assumptions used to determine the unobservable inputs used to calculate the fair value of the ARS as of December 31, 2014. However, if changes in these assumptions occur, and, should those changes be significant, we may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments.
U.S. political, credit and financial market conditions may negatively impact or impair the value of our current portfolio of cash, cash equivalents and investments, including U.S. Treasury securities and U.S.-backed investments, as well as our access to credit. Our cash, cash equivalents and investments are held in a variety of common financial instruments, including U.S. treasury securities. Deterioration in the U.S. credit and financial markets may result in losses or deterioration in the fair value of our cash, cash equivalents, or investments. On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor’s lowered its long term sovereign credit rating on the United States of AmericaU.S. from AAA to AA+. This downgrade, and any future downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, could impact the stability of future U.S. treasury auctions, affect the trading market for U.S. government securities, result in increased interest rates and impair access to credit. These factors could negatively impact the liquidity or valuation of our current portfolio of cash, cash equivalents, and investments, which may affect our ability to fund future obligations. Further, these factors may result in an increase in interest rates and borrowing costs and make it more difficult to obtain credit on acceptable terms, which may affect our ability to fund future obligations and increase the costs of obtaining financing for future obligations.
Negative conditions in the global credit markets may affect the liquidity of a portion of our long-term investments. Currently, our long-term investments include mostly AAA-rated auction rate securities (“ARS”), which are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”) of the U.S. Department of Education. Continuing negative conditions in the global credit markets have prevented some investors from liquidating their holdings of auction rate securities because the amount of securities submitted for sale has exceeded the amount of purchase orders for such securities. As of December 31, 2011, we held $27.3 million par value of ARS, all of which failed to settle at auctions. When an auction fails for ARS in which we have invested, we may be unable to liquidate some or all of these securities at par. In the event we need or desire to immediately access these funds, we will not be able to do so until a future auction on these investments is successful, a buyer is found outside the auction process or an alternative action is determined. If a buyer is found but is unwilling to purchase the investments at par, we may incur a loss, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
Our ARS investments are not currently trading and therefore do not currently have a readily determinable market value. The estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. We have used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of our investment in ARS as of December 31, 2011. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model include estimates for interest rates, credit spreads, timing and amount of cash flows, liquidity risk premiums, expected holding periods and default risk of the ARS. Based on this assessment of fair value, as of December 31, 2011, we determined there was a decline in the fair value of our ARS investments of approximately $2.7 million. The decline was deemed to be a temporary impairment and was recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. If the issuers of these ARS are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, we may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
We have not made any material changes in the accounting methodology used to determine the fair value of the ARS. We do not expect any material changes in the near term to the underlying assumptions used to determine the unobservable inputs used to calculate the fair value of the ARS as of December 31, 2011. However, if changes in these assumptions occur, and, should those changes be significant, we may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments.
We may be subject to legal liability for collecting, displaying or distributing information. Because the content in our database is collected from various sources and distributed to others, we may be subject to claims for breach of contract, defamation, negligence, unfair competition or copyright or trademark infringement or claims based on other theories. We could also be subject to claims based upon the content that is accessible from our website through links to other websites or information on our website supplied by third parties. We could also be subject to claims that the collection or provision of certain information breached laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection. Even if these claims do not result in liability to us, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending against any claims. Our potential liability for information distributed by us to others could require us to implement measures to reduce our exposure to such liability, which may require us to expend substantial resources and limit the attractiveness of our information and analytic services to users.
LitigationTechnical problems or government investigations in which we become involved may significantly increase our expenses and adversely affect our stock price. Currently and from time to time, we are a party to various lawsuits. Any lawsuits, threatened lawsuits or government investigations in which we are involved could cost us a significant amount of time and money to defend, could distract management’s attention away from operating our business, could result in negative publicity and could adversely affect our stock price. In addition, if any claims are determined against us or if a settlement requires us to pay a large monetary amount or take other action that materially restricts or impedes our operations, our profitability could be significantly reduced and our financial position could be adversely affected. We cannot make assurances that we will have any or sufficient insurance to cover any litigation claims.
An impairment in carrying value of goodwill could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and net worth. Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets not subject to amortization are tested annually by each reporting unit on October 1st of each year for impairment and are tested for impairment more frequently based upon the existence of one or more indicators. We consider our operating segments, U.S. and International, as our reporting units under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) authoritative guidance for consideration of potential impairment of goodwill. We assess the impairment of long-lived assets, identifiable intangibles and goodwill whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. The existence of one or more of the following indicators could cause us to test for impairment prior to the annual assessment:
Significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results;
Significant changes in the manner of our use of acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business;
Significant negative industry or economic trends; or
Significant decline in our market capitalization relative to net book value for a sustained period.
These types of events or indicators and the resulting impairment analysis could result in goodwill impairment charges in the future, which would reduce our profitability. Impairment charges could negatively affect our financial results in the periods of such charges, which may reduce our profitability. As of December 31, 2011, we had $91.8 million of goodwill, $67.5 million in our U.S. segment and $24.3 million in our International segment. We expect to record significant, additional goodwill in connection with the LoopNet merger if that transaction is consummated.
We may not be able to successfully introduce new or upgraded information and analytic services, which could decrease our revenues and our profitability. Our future business and financial success will depend on our ability to continue to introduce new and upgraded services into the marketplace. To be successful, we must adapt to rapid technological changes by continually enhancing our information and analytic services. Developing new services and upgrades to services imposes heavy burdens on our systems department, management and researchers. This process is costly, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully develop and enhance our services. In addition, successfully launching and selling a new service puts pressure on our sales and marketing resources. If we are unable to develop new or upgraded services, then our customers may choose a competitive service over ours and our revenues may decline and our profitability may be reduced. In addition, if we incur significant costs in developing new or upgraded services, are not successful in marketing and selling these new services or upgrades, or our customers fail to accept these new services, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations by decreasing our revenues and reducing our profitability.
Our expansion into the commercial real estate analytics sector may not be successful or may not result in increased revenues, which may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial position. Expanding into the commercial real estate market research and forecasting arena imposes additional burdens on our research, systems development, sales, marketing and general management resources. During 2012, we expect to continue to expand our presence in the commercial real estate analytics sector. If we are unable to manage this expansion effectively or if our costs for this effort exceed our expectations, our financial position could be adversely affected. In addition, if we incur additional costs to expand our analytics services and we are not successful in marketing or selling these expanded services, our expansion may have a material adverse effect on our financial position by increasing our expenses without increasing our revenues, adversely affecting our profitability.
As a result of consolidation of facilities, we may incur additional costs. We have taken, and may continue to take, actions that may increase our cost structure in the short-term but are intended to reduce certain portions of our long-term cost structure, such as consolidation of office space. As a result of consolidation of office space, we may reduce our long-term occupancy costs, but incur restructuring charges. If our long-term cost reduction efforts are ineffective or our estimates of cost savings are inaccurate, our profitability could be negatively impacted. Expected savings from relocating facilities can be highly variable and uncertain. Further, we may not be successful in achieving the operating efficiencies or operating cost reductions expected from these efforts in the amounts or at the times we anticipate.
If we are unable to enforce or defend our ownership and use of intellectual property, our business, competitive position and operating results could be harmed. The success of our business depends in large part on the intellectual property involved in our methodologies, database, services and software. We rely on a combination of trade secret, patent, copyright and other laws, nondisclosure and noncompetition provisions, license agreements and other contractual provisions and technical measures to protect our intellectual property rights. However, current law may not provide for adequate protection of our databases and the actual data. In addition, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of proprietary rights in internet related businesses are uncertain and evolving, and we cannot assure you of the future viability or value of any of our proprietary rights. Our business could be significantly harmed if we are not able to protect our content and our other intellectual property. The same would be true if a court found that our services infringe other persons’ intellectual property rights. Any intellectual property lawsuits or threatened lawsuits in which we are involved, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant, could cost us a significant amount of time and money and distract management’s attention from operating our business. In addition, if we do not prevail on any intellectual property claims, this could result in a change to our methodology or information and analytic services and could reduce our profitability.
Technical problemsdisruptions that affect either our customers’ ability to access our services, or the software, internal applications, database and network systems underlying our services, could damage our reputation and brands and lead to reduced demand for our information, analytics and analyticonline marketplace services, lower revenues and increased costs. Our business, increasingly dependsbrands and reputation depend upon the satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our website,websites, the internetInternet and our service providers. Problems withInterruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses, software errors, physical or electronic break-ins, or malicious hacks or attacks on our website,systems (such as denial of service attacks), could affect the internetsecurity and availability of our services on our mobile applications and our websites and prevent or inhibit the ability of users to access our services. Our operations also depend on our ability to protect our databases, computers and software, telecommunications equipment and facilities against damage from potential dangers such as fire, flood, power loss, security breaches, computer viruses, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, acts of war, electronic and physical break-ins, computer viruses, earthquakes and similar events. Our users rely on our services provided bywhen conducting their own businesses. Disruptions in, or reductions in ability to access, our local exchange carriers or internet service providersservices for whatever reason could damage our users’ businesses, harm our reputation, result in slower connections for our customersadditional costs or interfere with our customers’ access to our information and analytic services. If we experience technical problemsresult in distributing our services, we could experience reduced demand for our information, analytics and analytic services. online marketplace services, any of which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, the software, internal applications and systems underlying our services are complex and may not be efficient or error-free. Our careful development and testing may not be sufficient to ensure that we will not encounter technical problems when we attempt to enhance our software, internal applications and systems. Any inefficiencies, errors or technical problems with our software, internal applications and systems could reduce the quality of our services or interfere with our customers’ access to our information, analytics and analytic services,online marketplaces, which could reduce the demand for our services, lower our revenues and increase our costs.
If we are not able to obtain and maintain accurate, comprehensive or reliable data, we could experience reduced demand for our information and analytic services. Our success depends on our clients’ confidence in the comprehensiveness, accuracy and reliability29
The majority of the datacommunications, network and analysis we provide. The taskcomputer hardware used to operate our mobile applications and websites are located at facilities in Virginia and California. We do not own or control the operation of establishingcertain of these facilities. Our systems and maintaining accurate and reliable data and analysis is challenging. If our data, including the data we obtainoperations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from third parties, or analysis is not current, accurate, comprehensive or reliable, we could experience reduced demand for our services or legal claims by our customers, which could result in lower revenues and higher expenses. Our U.S. researchers use integrated internal research processes to update our database. Any inefficiencies, errors, or technical problems with this application could reduce the quality of our data, which could result in reduced demand for our services, lower revenues and higher costs.
Temporary or permanent outages of our computers, software or telecommunications equipment could lead to reduced demand for our information and analytic services, lower revenues and increased costs. Our operations depend on our ability to protect our database, computers and software, telecommunications equipment and facilities against damage from potential dangers such as fire, flood, power loss, security breaches, computer viruses, telecommunications failure, terrorist attacks, acts of war, electronic and telecommunications failures.physical break-ins, earthquakes and similar events. These risks may be increased with respect to operations housed at facilities we do not own or control. The occurrence of any of the foregoing events could result in damage to our systems and hardware or could cause them to fail completely, and our insurance may not cover such events or may be insufficient to compensate us for losses that may occur.
A failure of our systems at any site could result in reduced functionality for our users, and a total failure of our systems could cause our mobile applications or websites to be inaccessible. Problems faced or cause by our information technology service providers, including content distribution service providers, private network providers, internet providers and third-party web-hosting providers, or with the systems by which they allocate capacity among their customers (as applicable), could adversely affect the experience of our users. Any temporaryfinancial difficulties, such as bankruptcy reorganization, faced by these third-party service providers or permanent lossany of onethe service providers with whom they contract may have negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict. If our third-party service providers are unable to keep up with our growing needs for capacity, our business could be harmed. In addition, if distribution channels for our mobile applications experience disruptions, such disruptions could adversely affect the ability of users and potential users to access or more of these systems or facilities from an accident, equipment malfunction or some other causeupdate our mobile applications, which could harm our business.
Our business interruption insurance may not cover certain events or may be insufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to the future growth of our business, which may result from interruptions in our service as a result of system failures or malicious attacks. Any errors, defects, disruptions or other performance problems with our services could harm our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our operating results and revenues are subject to fluctuations and our quarterly financial results may be subject to seasonality and market cyclicality, each of which could cause our stock price to be negatively affected. The commercial real estate market may be influenced by general economic conditions, economic cycles, annual seasonality factors and many other factors, which in turn may impact our financial results. The market is large and fragmented. The different sectors of the industry, such as office, industrial, retail, multifamily, and others, are influenced differently by different factors, and have historically moved through economic cycles with different timing. As such, it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of economic cycles and conditions or seasonality from year-to-year on our overall operating results. In addition, our results may be impacted by seasonality. The timing of widely observed holidays and vacation periods, particularly slow downs during the end-of-year holiday period, and availability of real estate agents and related service providers during these periods, could significantly affect our quarterly operating results during that period. If we experience a failure that prevents usare unable to adequately respond to economic, seasonal or cyclical conditions, our revenues, expenses and operating results may fluctuate from delivering our information and analytic servicesquarter to clients, we could experience reduced demand for our information and analytic services, lowerquarter. Our operating results, revenues and increased costs.expenses may fluctuate for many reasons, including those described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
Rates of subscriber adoption and retention;
Timing of our sales conference or significant marketing events;
A slow-down during the end-of-year holiday period;
Changes in our pricing strategy and timing of changes;
The timing and success of new service introductions and enhancements;
The shift of focus from, or phase out of services that overlap or are redundant with other services we offer;
The amount and timing of our operating expenses and capital expenditures;
Our ability to control expenses;
The amount and timing of non-cash stock-based charges;
Costs related to acquisitions of businesses or technologies or impairment charges associated with such investments and acquisitions;
Competition;
Changes or consolidation in the real estate industry;
Our investments in geographic expansion and to increase coverage in existing markets;
Interest rate fluctuations;
Successful execution of our expansion and integration plans;
The development of our sales force;
Foreign currency and exchange rate fluctuations;
Inflation; and
Changes in client budgets.
These fluctuations or seasonality effects could negatively affect our results of operations during the period in question and/or future periods or cause our stock price to decline. In addition, changes in accounting policies or practices may affect our level of net income. Fluctuations in our financial results, revenues and expenses may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
The consent order approved by the Federal Trade Commission in connection with the LoopNet merger imposes conditions that could have an adverse effect on us and our business, and failure to comply with the terms of the consent order may result in adverse consequences for the combined company.On April 26, 2012, the FTC accepted the consent order in connection with the LoopNet merger that was previously agreed to among the FTC staff, CoStar, and LoopNet on April 17, 2012. The consent order was subject to a 30-day public comment period, and on August 29, 2012, the FTC issued its final acceptance of the consent order.
The consent order, which is publicly available on the FTC's website at http://www.ftc.gov/, requires CoStar to maintain certain business practices that the FTC believes are pro-competitive. For example, the consent order requires CoStar to maintain its customary practice of selling its products separately and on a market-by-market basis. It also requires CoStar to license its products to customers who have bought its competitors' products on a non-discriminatory basis. In addition, CoStar is required to maintain its customary licensing practices with respect to the length of its contracts, to allow customers with multi-year contracts to cancel with one year's advance notice, and to agree to reduce the cost of any litigation with customers by offering to arbitrate certain disputes. In the event that CoStar fails or is unable to comply with the terms of the consent order, CoStar could be subject to an enforcement proceeding that could result in substantial fines and/or injunctive relief. Further, the provisions of the consent order may result in unanticipated adverse effects on the combined company and, therefore, reduce our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the merger. For example, the terms of the consent order that require us to continue to sell our products separately may prohibit us from combining or eliminating certain business lines, products or services that we believe would result in a long-term positive impact on our revenue and earnings.
We have incurred and will continue to incur acquisition-related costs.We have incurred severance costs and expect to incur additional costs to integrate prior acquisitions, such as IT integration expenses and costs related to the renegotiation of redundant vendor agreements. Costs in connection with acquisitions and integrations may be higher than expected, and we may also incur unanticipated acquisition-related costs. These costs could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operation or prospects of the combined business.
Changes in accounting and reporting policies or practices may affect our financial results or presentation of results, which may affect our stock price. Changes in accounting and reporting policies or practices could reduce our net income, which reductions may be independent of changes in our operations. These reductions in reported net income could cause our stock price to decline. For example, in 2006, we adopted authoritative guidance for stock compensation, which required us to expense the value of granted stock options.
Our stock price may be negatively affected by fluctuations in our financial results. Our operating results, revenues and expenses may fluctuate as a result of changes in general economic conditions and also for many other reasons, many of which are outside of our control, such as: cancellations or non-renewals of our services; competition; our ability to control expenses; loss of clients or revenues; technical problems with our services; changes or consolidation in the real estate industry; our investments in geographic expansion and to increase coverage in existing markets; interest rate fluctuations; the timing and success of new service introductions and enhancements; successful execution of our expansion plans; data quality; the development of our sales force; managerial execution; employee retention; foreign currency and exchange rate fluctuations; inflation; successful adoption of and training on our services; litigation; acquisitions of other companies or assets; sales, brand enhancement and marketing promotional activities; client support activities; changes in client budgets; or our investments in other corporate resources. In addition, changes in accounting policies or practices may affect our level of net income. Fluctuations in our financial results, revenues and expenses may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Market volatility may have an adverse effect on our stock price. The trading price of our common stock has fluctuated widely in the past, and we expect that it will continue to fluctuate in the future. The price could fluctuate widely based on numerous factors, including: economic factors; quarter-to-quarter variations in our operating results; changes in analysts’ estimates of our earnings; announcements by us or our competitors of technological innovations, new services, or new services;other significant or strategic information; general conditions in the commercial real estate industry; developments or disputes concerning copyrights or proprietary rights or other legal proceedings; and regulatory developments. In addition, the stock market in general, and the shares of internet-related and other technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price fluctuations. This volatility has had a substantial effect on the market prices of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to the operating performance of the specific companies and may have the same effect on the market price of our common stock.
| |
| Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments |
None.
On February 5, 2010, we purchased a 169,429 square-foot office buildingOur headquarters is located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC, through our wholly owned subsidiary, 1331 L Street Holdings, LLC (“Holdings”), for use as our new headquarters and have since relocated to this location. This facility is used primarily by our U.S. segment. Thewhere we occupy approximately 149,500 square feet of office space. Our lease for our previous headquarters in Bethesda, MD expired on October 15, 2010.
On February 2, 2011, Holdings and GLL L-Street 1331, LLC (“GLL”), an affiliate of Munich-based GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH, entered into a purchase and sale agreement pursuant to which (i) Holdings agreed to sell to GLL its interest in the office building located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC, and (ii) CoStar Realty Information, Inc. (“CoStar Realty”), our wholly owned subsidiary, agreed to enter into a lease expiringexpires May 31, 2025 (with two 5-year renewal options) with GLL to lease back 149,514 square feet of the office space located in this building, which we continue to use as. Our headquarters is used primarily by our corporate headquarters. The closing of the sale took place on February 18, 2011.
North America operating segment. Our principal facility in the U.K. is located in London, England, where we occupy approximately 11,0007,000 square feet of office space. Our lease for this facility has a maximum term ending October 20, 2018,July 8, 2023, with early termination at our option on October 21, 2013,July 9, 2018, with advance notice. This facility is used primarily by our International operating segment.
In addition to ourtwo downtown Washington, DC leased facilities (including our headquarters) and our London, England facilities,facility, our research operations are principally run out of leased spaces in San Diego, California; Columbia, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Glasgow, Scotland; and Paris, France. Additionally, we lease office space in a variety of other metropolitan areas, which generally house our field sales offices.areas. These locations include, without limitation, the following: New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Sacramento; Boston; Manchester, England; Orange County, California; Philadelphia; Houston; Atlanta; Phoenix; Detroit; Pittsburgh; Fort Lauderdale;Miami; Orlando; Denver; Dallas; Kansas City; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Austin; Salt Lake City; Las Vegas; Seattle; PortlandPortland; St. Louis; Louisville; Minneapolis; San Luis Obispo, California; Ontario, California; Charlotte; Durham, North Carolina; Manchester, England and St. Louis. Our subsidiaries, PPR and Resolve Technology, share space with CoStar in one facility leased in Boston, Massachusetts. Our subsidiary, Virtual Premise, leases a facility in Atlanta, Georgia.Toronto, Canada.
We believe these facilities are suitable and appropriately support our business needs.
Currently, and from time to time, we are involved in litigation incidental to the conduct of our business. Certain pending legal proceedings are discussed in Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We are not a party to any lawsuit or proceeding that, in the opinion of our management based on consultations with legal counsel, is likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.
| |
| Item 4. | Mine SafetySafety Disclosures |
Not Applicable.
PART II
Price Range of Common Stock.Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CSGP.” The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low daily closing prices per share of our common stock, as reported by the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
| | | High | | | Low | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year Ended December 31, 2010 | | | | | | | |
| | | High | | Low |
| Year Ended December 31, 2013 | | | | |
| First Quarter | | $ | 42.97 | | | $ | 38.22 | | $ | 109.46 |
| | $ | 89.28 |
|
| Second Quarter | | $ | 45.95 | | | $ | 38.80 | | $ | 129.51 |
| | $ | 105.73 |
|
| Third Quarter | | $ | 49.53 | | | $ | 37.66 | | $ | 170.09 |
| | $ | 131.03 |
|
| Fourth Quarter | | $ | 57.75 | | | $ | 48.86 | | $ | 186.62 |
| | $ | 161.29 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year Ended December 31, 2011 | | | | | | | | | |
| Year Ended December 31, 2014 | | |
| | |
|
| First Quarter | | $ | 62.89 | | | $ | 55.58 | | $ | 214.00 |
| | $ | 166.78 |
|
| Second Quarter | | $ | 72.84 | | | $ | 55.86 | | $ | 188.95 |
| | $ | 150.55 |
|
| Third Quarter | | $ | 59.50 | | | $ | 46.70 | | $ | 160.10 |
| | $ | 138.76 |
|
| Fourth Quarter | | $ | 68.39 | | | $ | 49.22 | | $ | 188.39 |
| | $ | 137.60 |
|
As of February 1, 2012,2, 2015, there were 559900 holders of record of our common stock.
Dividend Policy.We have never declared or paid any dividends on our common stock. The 2014 Credit Agreement includes covenants that, subject to certain exceptions, restrict our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or distributions. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to applicable limitations under Delaware law, and will be dependent upon our results of operations, financial position and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. We do not anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock during the foreseeable future, but intend to retain any earnings for future growth of our business.
Recent Issues of Unregistered Securities.We did not issue any unregistered securities during the year ended December 31, 2011.2014.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. The following table is a summary of our repurchases of common stock during each of the three months in the quarter ended December 31, 2011:2014:
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Month, 2011 | | Total Number of Shares Purchased | | Average Price Paid per Share | | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | | Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs |
| October 1 through 31 | | ¾ | | ¾ | | ¾ | | ¾ |
| November 1 through 30 | | ¾ | | ¾ | | ¾ | | ¾ |
| December 1 through 31 | | 5,099 | | $65.93 | | ¾ | | ¾ |
| Total | | 5,099 (1) | | $65.93 | | ¾ | | ¾ |
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| Month, 2014 | | Total Number of Shares Purchased | | | Average Price Paid per Share | | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | | Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs |
| October 1 through 31 | | 58 | | | $148.32 | | — | | — |
| November 1 through 30 | | — | | | — | | — | | — |
| December 1 through 31 | | 3,273 | | | 167.10 | | — | | — |
| Total | | 3,331 | (1) | | $166.78 | | — | | — |
(1)(1) The number of shares purchased consists of shares of common stock tendered by employees to the Company to satisfy the employees’ minimum tax withholding obligations arising as a result of vesting of restricted stock grants under the Company’s 1998 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, and the Company’s 2007 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, which shares were purchased by the Company based on their fair market value on the vesting date. None of these share purchases were part of a publicly announced program to purchase common stock of the Company.
Stock Price Performance Graph
The stock performance graph below shows how an initial investment of $100 in our common stock would have compared to:
· | An equal investment in the Standards & Poor's Stock 500 (“S&P 500”) Index. |
An equal investment in the Standards & Poor's Stock 500 (“S&P 500”) Index;
· | An equal investment in the S&P 500 Application Software Index. |
An equal investment in the S&P 500 Internet Software & Services Index; and
The comparison covers the period beginning December 31, 2006,2009, and ending on December 31, 2011,2014, and assumes the reinvestment of any dividends. You should note that this performance is historical and is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.
| Company / Index | | 12/31/06 | | | 12/31/07 | | | 12/31/08 | | | 12/31/09 | | | 12/31/10 | | | 12/31/11 | |
| CoStar Group, Inc. | | | 100 | | | | 88.22 | | | | 61.50 | | | | 77.99 | | | | 107.47 | | | | 124.59 | |
| S&P 500 Index | | | 100 | | | | 105.49 | | | | 66.46 | | | | 84.05 | | | | 96.71 | | | | 98.76 | |
| S&P 500 Application Software Index | | | 100 | | | | 111.07 | | | | 60.72 | | | | 97.04 | | | | 130.42 | | | | 114.62 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Company / Index | | 12/31/09 | | 12/31/10 | | 12/31/11 | | 12/31/12 | | 12/31/13 | | 12/31/14 |
| CoStar Group, Inc. | | 100 |
| | 137.80 |
| | 159.76 |
| | 213.96 |
| | 441.90 |
| | 439.62 |
|
| S&P 500 Index | | 100 |
| | 115.06 |
| | 117.49 |
| | 136.30 |
| | 180.44 |
| | 205.14 |
|
| S&P 500 Internet Software & Services Index | | 100 |
| | 102.56 |
| | 107.95 |
| | 129.36 |
| | 192.46 |
| | 205.16 |
|
30
34
Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data
| |
| Item 6. | Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data |
Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data
(in thousands, except per share data and other operating data)
The following table provides selected consolidated financial and other operating data for the five years ended December 31, 2011.2014. The consolidated statement of operations data shown below for each of the three years ended December 31, 2009, 2010,2012, 2013, and 20112014 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 20102013 and 20112014 are derived from audited consolidated financial statements that are included in this report. The consolidated statement of operations data for each of the years ended December 31, 20072010 and 20082011 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2007, 2008,2010, 2011, and 20092012 shown below are derived from audited consolidated financial statements for those years that are not included in this report.
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| Consolidated Statement of Operations Data: | | 2007 | | | 2008 | | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Revenues | | $ | 192,805 | | | $ | 212,428 | | | $ | 209,659 | | | $ | 226,260 | | | $ | 251,738 | |
| Cost of revenues | | | 76,704 | | | | 73,408 | | | | 73,714 | | | | 83,599 | | | | 88,167 | |
| Gross margin | | | 116,101 | | | | 139,020 | | | | 135,945 | | | | 142,661 | | | | 163,571 | |
| Operating expenses | | | 98,249 | | | | 99,232 | | | | 104,110 | | | | 119,886 | | | | 141,800 | |
| Income from operations | | | 17,852 | | | | 39,788 | | | | 31,835 | | | | 22,775 | | | | 21,771 | |
| Interest and other income, net | | | 8,045 | | | | 4,914 | | | | 1,253 | | | | 735 | | | | 798 | |
| Income before income taxes | | | 25,897 | | | | 44,702 | | | | 33,088 | | | | 23,510 | | | | 22,569 | |
| Income tax expense, net | | | 9,946 | | | | 20,079 | | | | 14,395 | | | | 10,221 | | | | 7,913 | |
| Net income | | $ | 15,951 | | | $ | 24,623 | | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | |
Net income per share - basic | | $ | 0.84 | | | $ | 1.27 | | | $ | 0.95 | | | $ | 0.65 | | | $ | 0.63 | |
Net income per share - diluted | | $ | 0.82 | | | $ | 1.26 | | | $ | 0.94 | | | $ | 0.64 | | | $ | 0.62 | |
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic | | | 19,044 | | | | 19,372 | | | | 19,780 | | | | 20,330 | | | | 23,131 | |
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted | | | 19,404 | | | | 19,550 | | | | 19,925 | | | | 20,707 | | | | 23,527 | |
| | | As of December 31, | |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: | | 2007 | | | 2008 | | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments | | $ | 187,426 | | | $ | 224,590 | | | $ | 255,698 | | | $ | 239,316 | | | $ | 573,379 | |
| Working capital | | | 167,441 | | | | 183,347 | | | | 203,660 | | | | 188,279 | | | | 521,401 | |
| Total assets | | | 321,843 | | | | 334,384 | | | | 404,579 | | | | 439,648 | | | | 771,035 | |
| Total liabilities | | | 40,038 | | | | 30,963 | | | | 45,573 | | | | 58,146 | | | | 111,858 | |
| Stockholders’ equity | | | 281,805 | | | | 303,421 | | | | 359,006 | | | | 381,502 | | | | 659,177 | |
| | | As of December 31, | |
| Other Operating Data: | | 2007 | | | 2008 | | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Number of subscription client sites | | 14,467 | | | 15,920 | | | 16,020 | | | 16,781 | | | 18,183 | |
| Millions of properties in database | | 2.7 | | | 3.2 | | | 3.6 | | | 4.0 | | | 4.2 | |
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| Consolidated Statement of Operations Data: | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Revenues | $ | 226,260 |
| | $ | 251,738 |
| | $ | 349,936 |
| | $ | 440,943 |
| | $ | 575,936 |
|
| Cost of revenues | 83,599 |
| | 88,167 |
| | 114,866 |
| | 129,185 |
| | 156,979 |
|
| Gross margin | 142,661 |
| | 163,571 |
| | 235,070 |
| | 311,758 |
| | 418,957 |
|
| Operating expenses | 119,886 |
| | 141,800 |
| | 207,630 |
| | 257,604 |
| | 338,079 |
|
| Income from operations | 22,775 |
| | 21,771 |
| | 27,440 |
| | 54,154 |
| | 80,878 |
|
| Interest and other income | 735 |
| | 798 |
| | 526 |
| | 326 |
| | 516 |
|
| Interest and other expense | — |
| | — |
| | (4,832 | ) | | (6,943 | ) | | (10,481 | ) |
| Income before income taxes | 23,510 |
| | 22,569 |
| | 23,134 |
| | 47,537 |
| | 70,913 |
|
| Income tax expense, net | 10,221 |
| | 7,913 |
| | 13,219 |
| | 17,803 |
| | 26,044 |
|
| Net income | $ | 13,289 |
| | $ | 14,656 |
| | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| Net income per share — basic | $ | 0.65 |
| | $ | 0.63 |
| | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.07 |
| | $ | 1.48 |
|
| Net income per share — diluted | $ | 0.64 |
| | $ | 0.62 |
| | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.05 |
| | $ | 1.46 |
|
| Weighted average shares outstanding — basic | 20,330 |
| | 23,131 |
| | 26,533 |
| | 27,670 |
| | 30,215 |
|
| Weighted average shares outstanding — diluted | 20,707 |
| | 23,527 |
| | 26,949 |
| | 28,212 |
| | 30,641 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | As of December 31, |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments | $ | 239,316 |
| | $ | 573,379 |
| | $ | 177,726 |
| | $ | 277,943 |
| | $ | 544,163 |
|
| Working capital | 188,279 |
| | 521,401 |
| | 97,925 |
| | 196,913 |
| | 480,521 |
|
| Total assets | 439,648 |
| | 771,035 |
| | 1,165,139 |
| | 1,256,982 |
| | 2,083,682 |
|
| Total long-term liabilities | 7,252 |
| | 50,076 |
| | 237,158 |
| | 217,567 |
| | 450,846 |
|
| Stockholders’ equity | 381,502 |
| | 659,177 |
| | 826,343 |
| | 927,862 |
| | 1,513,546 |
|
| |
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains “forward-looking statements,” including statements about our beliefs and expectations. There are many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Potential factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those stated above in Item 1A. under the headings “Risk Factors ¾- Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “¾“- Risk Factors,” as well as those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements are based on information available to us on the date of this filing and we assume no obligation to update such statements.statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
CoStar Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “CoStar”) is the number one provider of information, analytics and analytic servicesonline marketplaces to the commercial real estate industry in the United States ("U.S.") and the United Kingdom ("U.K.") based on the fact that we offer the most comprehensive commercial real estate database available,available; have the largest research department in the industry,industry; own and operate the leading online marketplaces for commercial real estate in the U.S. based on the number of unique visitors per month; provide more information, analytics and analyticmarketing services than any of our competitors and believe that we generate more revenues than any of our competitors. We have created aand compiled our standardized platform of information, analytics and analytic platformonline marketplace services where members of the commercial real estate and related business community can continuously interact and facilitate transactions by efficiently exchanging accurate and standardized commercial real estate information.
We have five flagship brands - CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, BizBuySell and LandsofAmerica. Our subscription-based information services consist primarily of CoStar SuiteTM services. CoStar Suite is sold as a platform of service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar COMPS Professional®and CoStar Tenant® and through our mobile application, CoStarGo®. Our integrated suite of online service offerings includes information about space available for lease, comparable sales information, tenant information, information about properties for sale, tenant information, internet marketing services, analytical capabilities, information for clients' websites, information about industry professionals and their business relationships, data integration and industry news. We also provide market research and analysis for commercial real estate investors and lenders via our PPRCoStar Portfolio Strategy and CoStar Market Analytics service offerings, portfolio and debt analysis, management and reporting capabilities through our Resolve TechnologyCoStar Investment Analysis and CoStar Risk Analytics service offerings, and real estate and lease management solutions, including lease administration and abstraction services, through our Virtual PremiseCoStar Real Estate Manager service offerings.
LoopNet, our subsidiary, operates an online marketplace that enables commercial property owners, landlords, and real estate agents working on their behalf to list properties for sale or for lease and to submit detailed information about property listings. Commercial real estate agents, buyers and tenants also use LoopNet's online marketplace to search for available property listings that meet their criteria.
Apartments, LLC (doing business as Apartments.com), our subsidiary, operates an online apartment marketplace for renters that matches apartment seekers with apartment homes and provides property managers and owners a platform for marketing their properties. BizBuySell is an online marketplace for operating businesses for sale, and LandsofAmerica is an online marketplace for rural land for sale.
Our service offerings span all commercial property types, including office, retail, industrial, retail,multifamily, commercial land, mixed-use hospitality and multifamily.hospitality.
To more fully integrate and connect our services and, ultimately, to provide improved access to our resources, we launched a new brand identity in May 2014. The new branding is designed to unite our flagship brands - CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, BizBuySell and LandsofAmerica - with a modern, cohesive look that will enhance customers’ access to the full breadth of our information, analytics and online marketplace solutions. The resulting streamlined network of platforms is expected to improve the customer experience and make it easier for customers to find the most useful tools for their commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplace needs. The new brand identity was unveiled in connection with the launch of our new corporate website and newly designed website interfaces for CoStar, LoopNet and Apartments.com. Our new website interfaces provide streamlined navigation and search functions for visitors and enable customers to quickly access our market-leading services. Since introducing our new brand identity in May 2014, we have relaunched the Apartments.com website.
Subscription-Based Services
Our subscription-based information services consist primarily of CoStar SuiteTM services. CoStar Suite is our primary service offering in our North America and International operating segments. Prior to the third quarter of 2014, FOCUSTM was our primary service offering in our International operating segment. We introduced CoStar Suite in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013.
Our subscription-based services consist primarily of similar services offered over the Internet to commercial real estate industry and related professionals. Our services are typically distributed to our clients under subscription-based license agreements that renew automatically, a majority of which have a term of one year. Upon renewal, many of the subscription contract rates may change in accordance with contract provisions or as a result of contract renegotiations. To encourage clients to use our services regularly, we generally charge a fixed monthly amount for our subscription-based information services rather than charging fees based on actual system usage. Contract rates are generally based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size, the client's business focus, geography and the number and types of services to which a client subscribes. Our subscription clients generally pay contract fees on a monthly basis, but in some cases may pay us on a quarterly or annual basis.
As of December 31, 2013 and 2014, our annualized net new sales of subscription-based services on annual contracts were approximately $15.8 million and $17.3 million, respectively, calculated based on the annualized amount of change in our sales resulting from new annual subscription-based contracts or upsales on existing annual subscription-based contracts, less write downs and cancellations, for the period reported. We recognize subscription revenue on a straight-line basis over the life of the contract. Annual and quarterly advance payments result in deferred revenue, substantially reducing the working capital requirements generated by accounts receivable.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, our contract renewal rate for existing CoStar subscription-based services was approximately 93% and 92%, respectively, and therefore our cancellation rate for those services was approximately 7% and 8%, respectively, for the same time periods. Our contract renewal rate is a quantitative measurement that is typically closely correlated with our revenue results. As a result, management also believes that the rate may be a reliable indicator of short-term and long-term performance. Our trailing twelve-month contract renewal rate may decline if, among other reasons, negative economic conditions lead to greater business failures and/or consolidations among our clients, reductions in customer spending, or decreases in our customer base.
Recent Acquisition
On April 1, 2014 (the “Closing Date”), we increased our presence in the multifamily vertical by acquiring the Apartments.com Business, a national online apartment rentals resource for renters, property managers and owners. We purchased from CV the Apartments.com Business for $584.2 million in cash, after taking into account net working capital adjustments.
Apartments.com offers renters a database of apartment listings and provides professional property management companies and landlords with an advertising destination. Renters can conduct personalized searches of apartment listings and view video demonstrations and community reviews through the Apartments.com website and mobile applications. The Apartments.com network of rental websites also includes ApartmentHomeLiving.com, another national online apartment rentals resource.
Apartments.com draws on CoStar’s multifamily database, which contains detailed information on apartment properties, and a research effort to document the apartment industry in the U.S. CoStar designed the new Apartments.com website, which was launched in February 2015, around the needs of the renter in order to drive traffic to the site and attract advertisers who prefer to advertise on heavily trafficked apartment websites. The newly launched site provides a comprehensive selection of rentals, information on actual availabilities and rents, and in-depth data on neighborhoods, including restaurants, nightlife, history, schools and other important facts. To help renters find the information that meets their needs, the new site also offers innovative search tools.
Similar to our other past acquisitions, we plan to integrate, further develop and cross-sell the services offered by the Apartments.com Business and the other services we offer. We have incurred and plan to continue to incur product development costs to improve the online Apartments.com platform, and we plan to increase our sales and marketing expenses in order to support the Apartments.com Business and to increase brand awareness. In conjunction with the launch of the new Apartments.com website, we plan to embark on a wide-scale marketing campaign commencing during the first quarter of 2015 and running throughout the remainder of 2015 to generate brand awareness and site traffic for Apartments.com, including an incremental investment of $75.0 million above Apartments.com’s 2014 annualized marketing spend since the close of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business. The marketing campaign is expected to feature television and radio advertising, online/digital advertising, social media and out-of-home ads and will be reinforced by Search Engine Marketing.
On the Closing Date, we also entered into the 2014 Credit Agreement by and among CoStar, as Borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as Co-Borrower, the Lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent. The 2014 Credit Agreement provides for a $400.0 million term loan facility and a $225.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The proceeds of the term loan facility and the initial borrowing of $150.0 million under the revolving credit facility on the Closing Date were used to refinance the term loan facility and revolving credit facility established under a credit agreement dated February 16, 2012 (the “2012 Credit Agreement”), including related fees and expenses, and to pay a portion of the consideration and transaction costs related to the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business. The undrawn proceeds of the revolving credit facility are available for our working capital needs and other general corporate purposes. The obligations under the 2014 Credit Agreement are guaranteed by all of our material subsidiaries and are secured by a lien on substantially all of our assets and those of our material subsidiaries, in each case subject to certain exceptions, pursuant to security and guarantee documents entered into on the Closing Date.
Expansion and Development
We expect to develop and distributecontinue our software development efforts to improve existing services, introduce new services, expandintegrate products and services, cross-sell existing services, within our current platform (including internationally), and expand and develop supporting technologies for our research, sales and marketing organization.organizations. We are committed to supporting and improving our information, news, analytic and online marketplace solutions.
The launch of the new Apartments.com website in February 2015 is one example of our software development efforts to improve existing services, introduce new services, integrate products and services, and cross-sell existing services. We believe the improved site, enhanced search capabilities, and real-time vacancies will draw more consumers, making the service more valuable to property managers and increasing cross-selling opportunities. Another example is our introduction in October 2013 of technology enhancements to CoStar Suite, our platform of service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar COMPS Professionaland CoStar Tenant. The enhancements improve CoStar Suite's user interface, search functionality and analytic capabilities. For example, the CoStar Multifamily® information search allows users to access our extensive multifamily property database. In addition, CoStar Lease AnalysisTM, an integrated workflow tool, provides users a simple way to produce understandable cash flows for any proposed or existing lease. We plan to continue our software development efforts to enhance our new Lease Analysis workflow tool and to develop other potential lease comparable services in 2015. We believe this greater functionality will make our services valuable to an even broader audience and help us increase sales of our services to brokers, banks, owners and institutional investors. These initiativestechnology enhancements are expected to includedrive continued devleopmentrevenue growth in 2015 and for the foreseeable future.
In October 2013, we also released CoStarGo® 2.0, the next generation of CoStarGo, enhancements to our core information services, including our suite of online services, and development of new services for our brokerage clients. Most recently,mobile application, which was launched in the U.S. on August 15, 2011 we launched CoStarGoand introduced in the U.S.;U.K. on November 5, 2012. CoStarGo is anour iPad application that integrates and provides CoStar Suite subscribers mobile access to our comprehensive property, tenant and comparable sales informationinformation. CoStarGo 2.0 adds powerful analytic capabilities to our comprehensive mobile solution.
In 2014, we introduced enhancements to our flagship marketing platform, LoopNet.com. For example, we added a targeted advertising service that allows brokers or firms to purchase advertisements based on geographic and property type criteria. Additionally, we introduced ProVideo, a service that enables owners and brokers to enhance their LoopNet listings with high quality videos of interior spaces, amenities and exterior features.
We continue to integrate, develop and cross-sell the services offered by the businesses we have acquired, including Apartments.com and LoopNet. Our goal is to upsell clients to the services that best meet their needs and to create further cross-selling revenue synergies.
We evaluate potential changes to our service offerings from time to time in order to better align the services we offer with customers’ needs. Further, in some cases, when integrating and coordinating our suiteservices and assessing industry and client needs, we may decide to combine, shift focus from, de-emphasize, phase out, or eliminate a service that, among other things, overlaps or is redundant with other services we offer. In the event that we eliminate or phase out service offerings, we may experience reduced revenues and earnings. The decision to eliminate or phase out a service offering may also ultimately result in increased revenues and earnings from sales of online products – CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant and CoStar COMPS Professional. We supported the launch with an extensive marketing campaign during the third quarter of 2011, including a 34-city national launch tour to drive early adoptionother services we offer in lieu of the service.eliminated or phased out services. For example, we are currently assessing whether to transition the LoopNet marketplace to a pure marketing site for commercial real estate where, eventually, all listings would be paid and users could search the site for free. We incurred expenseswould expect to see a short-term reduction in revenues and earnings if we implement this transition. Although we are assessing the best strategy to implement this shift and will seek to convert customers to higher value, more profitable annual subscription information services to increase revenues and earnings over time, we cannot predict with certainty the amount or timing of approximately $3.4 million duringany reductions in revenues and earnings or subsequent increases in revenues and earnings, if any, resulting from eliminations or phasing out of the third quarterLoopNet information services or any other service offering, if implemented.
Our revenues have increased as a result of 2011 in connection withrevenue from acquired businesses and from cross-selling opportunities among the launchcustomers of CoStarGo.CoStar and the acquired companies. We expect to continue to achieve revenue synergies from acquisitions as a result of cross-selling opportunities. We may incur additionalincreased expenses associatedin connection with theany related marketing and salesales campaigns involving cross-selling opportunities and initiatives and in connection with promotion of CoStarGo.our new services and brands.
We alsoInternationally, we continue to integrate our operations more fully with those in the U.S. Similar to our North America operating segment, we intend to continue to upgrade our international platform of services and expand the coverage of our service offerings within our International segment and to integrate our International operations more fully withsegment. To further those initiatives, we introduced CoStar Suite in the U.S. We have gained operational efficienciesU.K. during the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013. CoStar Suite is sold as a result of consolidating a majority of our U.K. research operations in one location in Glasgow and combining the majority of our remaining U.K. operations in one central location in London. We intend to introduce a consistent international platform of service offerings in the upcoming future. As partconsisting of our integration efforts, in 2007, we introduced the “CoStar Group” as the brand encompassing our international operations, and in early 2010 we launched Showcase, our Internet marketing service that provides commercial real estate professionals high quality internet lead generation, in the U.K. We expect to introduce CoStar Property Professional®,Professional, CoStar COMPS Professional®,Professionaland CoStar Tenant®Tenant and CoStarGo™, our iPadthrough the Company's mobile application, CoStarGo. CoStarGo 2.0 was released in the U.K. in October 2013 simultaneous with its release in the upcoming future.U.S. Additionally, we plan to upgrade back endhave upgraded our back-end research operations, fulfillment and CRMCustomer Relationship Management systems in the U.K. to support these new U.K. services. The financial performance of our International operating segment continues to improve. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, International EBITDA increased to a positive amount as a result of increased revenue and decreased operating expenses as compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. See the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details on the non-GAAP financial measures.
We recently expanded the geographic reach of our North America services. In order to implement these2014, we began offering our services in the U.K.,Toronto, Canada. Building on our experience in Toronto, we have incurred, and expectplan to incur increased development costs.expand our research into additional Canadian cities. We believe that our integration efforts and continued investments in U.S. products, internationalizationour services, including expansion of our products and integration effortsexisting service offerings, have created a platform for long-term revenue growth. We expect these investments to result in further penetration of our subscription-based information services and the successful cross-selling of our services to customers in existing markets.
We have invested in the expansion and development of our field sales force to support the growth whichand expansion of our company in North America and internationally. We plan to continue to invest in, evaluate and strategically position our sales force as the Company continues to develop and grow. We are also investing in our research capacity to support continued growth of our information and analytics offerings, to support the Apartments.com Business and to expand into additional Canadian markets. While we believe investments we make in our business create a platform for growth, those investments may reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
We intend to continue to assess the need for additional investments in our business, in addition to the investments discussed above in order to develop invest in and expand.
distribute new services within our current platform or expand the reach of our current service offerings. Any future product development or expansion of services, combination and coordination of services or elimination of services or internal expansion, development or restructuring efforts could reduce our profitability and increase our capital expenditures. Therefore, while we expect current service offerings to remain profitable, driving overall earnings throughout 2012in 2015 and providing substantial cash flow for our business, it is possible that any new investments, changes to our service offerings or other unforeseen events could cause us to generate losses and negative cash flow from operations in the future.
Our goal is to provide additional tools that make our research and analytics even more valuable to subscribers. For example, we are focusing on further integration and development of the services offered by the companies we have most recently acquired, PPR, Resolve Technology and Virtual Premise. We have launched an initiative to develop a lease discounted cash flow (“LDCF”) forecasting and valuation solution that effectively integrates the combined capabilities of CoStar’s market and property information and PPR’s analytics and forecasting expertise with Resolve Technology’s and Virtual Premise’s commercial real estate investment and management software expertise. In order to implement this initiative, we have incurred, and expect to continue to incur additional costs. While our investments in PPR, Resolve Technology and Virtual Premise have resulted and may continue to result in an increase in expenses, our revenues have also increased as a result of these acquisitions, and we have experienced increased cross-selling opportunities among CoStar and the acquired companies.
On April 27, 2011, we signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet. Pursuant to the merger agreement, as a result of the merger (a) each outstanding share of LoopNet common stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) $16.50 in cash, without interest and (ii) 0.03702 shares of CoStar common stock, and (b) each outstanding share of LoopNet Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, unless previously converted into LoopNet common stock, will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Stock Consideration, representing a total equity value of approximately $860.0 million and an enterprise value of $762.0 million as of April 27, 2011. The holders of LoopNet’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock delivered contingent conversion notices to LoopNet pursuant to which such shares will be converted into LoopNet common stock immediately prior to, and contingent upon, the completion of the merger. The boards of directors of CoStar and LoopNet have unanimously approved the transaction, and the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LoopNet’s common stock and Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, have approved adoption of the merger agreement on July 11, 2011.
We intend to fund the cash portion of the consideration payable to LoopNet stockholders in the merger through a combination of cash on hand, including the net proceeds of approximately $247.9 million from an equity offering we completed in June 2011 and the proceeds of a $175.0 million term loan facility available to us under a Credit Agreement, dated February 16, 2012, by and among CoStar, as borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as co-borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Bank, as administrative agent. The obligation of the lenders to make the loans under the Credit Agreement is subject to the simultaneous closing of the merger with LoopNet and the satisfaction of certain other conditions precedent. The proceeds of a $50 million revolving credit facility also available to us under the Credit Agreement may be used, on the closing date of the LoopNet merger, to pay for transaction costs related to the merger and, thereafter, for working capital and other general corporate purposes. In addition, we received a commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank on April 27, 2011 for a fully committed term loan of $415.0 million and a $50.0 million revolving credit facility, of which $37.5 million is committed. This commitment letter remains outstanding and available, subject to customary conditions, to fund the LoopNet acquisition and our ongoing working capital needs following the closing. However, we do not currently anticipate utilizing this commitment.
The LoopNet transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act. As previously disclosed in the proxy statement/prospectus dated June 6, 2011, both CoStar and LoopNet filed notification and report forms with the Department of Justice and the FTC pursuant to the HSR Act, on May 31, 2011. As a result, the waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the proposed merger between CoStar and LoopNet (the “merger”) was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011. As previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on June 30, 2011, CoStar and LoopNet each received a request for additional information (commonly referred to as a “second request”) from the FTC with respect to the proposed merger. At the FTC’s request, CoStar and LoopNet subsequently agreed to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act from 30 to 60 days after the date of substantial compliance with the second request unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. On November 4, 2011, each of the Company and LoopNet certified as to its substantial compliance with the second request. As previously disclosed on January 3, 2012, CoStar and LoopNet voluntarily agreed to further extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act on a 45-day rolling
basis to allow them to engage in discussions with the FTC to determine whether there is a possible basis for, and to discuss the possible terms of, a mutually acceptable consent order that would allow the merger to close. On January 31, 2012, CoStar and LoopNet mutually agreed to extend the date after which either party may individually elect to terminate the merger agreement from January 31, 2012 to April 30, 2012. While there can be no assurance that agreement on the terms of a possible consent order can be reached in a timely manner or at all, the Company believes the discussions with the FTC Staff are currently proceeding constructively and the Company is hopeful that they will in the near term result in an agreement with the FTC Staff on the terms of such a consent order, subject to FTC approval.
In certain circumstances set forth in the LoopNet merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, LoopNet may be obligated to pay us a termination fee of $25.8 million. Similarly, in certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, we may be obligated to pay LoopNet a termination fee of $51.6 million.
In light of our agreement to acquire LoopNet, we are currently evaluating how best to integrate the two businesses. We expect that while we await final antitrust approval of the transaction we will continue to assess and finalize any plans for additional investments in our business for the foreseeable future. At this time, we expect to continue to develop and distribute new services within our current platform. We expect to continue our efforts to integrate the combined capabilities of CoStar’s market and property information and PPR’s analytics and forecasting expertise with Resolve Technology’s real estate investment software expertise. We also plan to continue efforts to integrate Virtual Premise’s real estate management solutions with CoStar’s business.
While we expect current service offerings to remain profitable, driving overall earnings for 2012 and providing substantial cash flow for our business, our proposed merger with LoopNet and the subsequent integration of our two businesses could reduce our profitability, cause us to generate losses and adversely affect our financial position. Further, our credit facilities contain restrictive covenants that will restrict our operations and use of our cash flow, if the LoopNet acquisition is completed.which may prevent us from taking certain actions that we believe could increase our profitability or otherwise enhance our business.
In support of our continued expansion and development, during June 2014, we completed a public equity offering of 3,450,000 shares of common stock for $160.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $529.4 million. We intend to use the net proceeds from the public equity offering to fund all or a portion of the costs of any strategic acquisitions we decide to pursue in the future, to finance the growth of our business and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
There continue to be clear signs of improving conditions in the commercial real estate industry, including strong leasing activity and positive net absorption of office space. However, the extent and duration of continued improvement of the economy and the commercial real estate industry is unknown. Continuing risks related to lower than expected job growth, spiking energy costs and uncertainty over U.S. and global economic issues may impede the ability and willingness of clients to purchase services from us or result in reductions of services purchased.
In some cases, the business operations of some of our clients continue to be negatively affected by challenging economic conditions in the U.S. and the world, resulting at times in business consolidations and, in some circumstances, business failure. If cancellations, reductions of services and failures to pay increase, and we are unable to offset the resulting decrease in revenue by increasing sales to new or existing customers, our revenues may decline or grow at reduced rates. We compete against many other commercial real estate information and analytic service providers for business. If customers choose to cancel our services for cost-cutting or other reasons, our revenue could decline.
Financial Matters
Our financial reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. Changes in exchange rates can significantly affect our reported results and consolidated trends. We believe that our increasing diversification beyond the U.S. economy through our international businesses benefits our stockholders over the long term. We also believe it is important to evaluate our operating results before and after the effect of currency changes, as it may provide a more accurate comparison of our results of operations over historical periods. Currency exchange rate volatility may continue, which may impact (either positively or negatively) our reported financial results and consolidated trends and period-to-period comparisons of our consolidated operations.
We currently issue stock options and/or restricted stock to our officers, directors and employees, and as a result we record additional compensation expense in our consolidated statements of operations. The amount and timing of the compensation expense that we record depends on the amount and types of equity grants made. We plan to continue theto use of stock-based compensation for our officers, directors and employees, which may include, among other things, restricted stock, restricted stock units or stock option grants that typically will require us to record additional compensation expense in our consolidated statements of operations and reduce our net income. Grants of equity awards may vest over time or based on achievement of pre-approved performance conditions or market conditions.
In February 2014, the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of our Board of Directors approved grants of restricted common stock to our executive officers that vest based on our achievement of a three-year cumulative revenue goal established at the grant date, and are subject to forfeiture in the event the foregoing performance condition is not met by December 31, 2016.These grants of restricted common stock are also subject to continuing employment requirements and a market condition based on total shareholder return (“TSR”). The actual number of shares that vest at the end of the respective three-year period is determined based on our achievement of the three-year performance goals described above, as well as our TSR relative to the Russell 1000 Index over the related three-year performance period. As of December 31, 2014, we reassessed the probability of achieving the performance and market conditions and determined that it was still probable that the performance and market conditions for these awards would be met by the December 31, 2016 forfeiture date. As a result, we recorded a total of approximately $1.1 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock for the year ended December 31, 2014. No stock-based compensation expense related to the grant of 2014 performance-based restricted common stock was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013. We expect to record an estimated unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock awards of approximately $2.7 million over the periods 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Property Developments
On February 5, 2010,As in the past, we took advantage of favorable market conditionsexpect to continue to identify new facilities and purchased an office building in downtown Washington, DC for $41.25 million for use as our new headquarters and have since relocatedconsolidate existing facilities to this location (the “DC Office Building”). The lease for our previous headquarters in Bethesda, MD expired on October 15, 2010; therefore, we incurred overlapping occupancy costs throughbetter accommodate the end of the Bethesda lease term as we transitioned to our new headquarters. We were able to create value through our occupancy of the DC Office Building and on February 18, 2011 sold the building for aggregate consideration of $101.0 million, $15.0 million of which was designated to fund additional build-out and planned improvements at the building. Approximately $12.5 million of the $15.0 million additional build-out is recorded as a leasehold improvement in property and equipment. As part of the sale, we entered into a long-term lease with the buyer to lease back approximately 88% of the office space, where our corporate headquarters is expected to remain.
During the third quarter of 2011, we incurred approximately $1.5 million of restructuring costs associated with the consolidationchanging demands of our White Marsh, Maryland office with our Columbia, Marylandbusiness and Washington, DC offices.
Subscription-Based Services
Our subscription-based information services, consisting primarily of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional, and FOCUS services currently generate approximately 94% of our total revenues. CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, and CoStar COMPS Professional are generally sold as a suite of similar services and comprise our primary service offering in our U.S. operating segment. FOCUS is our primary service offering in our International operating segment. The majority of our contracts for our subscription-based information services typically have a minimum term of one year and renew automatically. Upon renewal, many of the subscription contract rates may change in accordance with contract provisions or as a result of contract renegotiations. To encourage clients to use our services regularly, we generally charge a fixed monthly amount for our subscription-based information services rather than fees based on actual system usage. Contract rates are generally based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size, the client’s business focus, geography and the number of services to which a client subscribes. Our subscription clients generally pay contract fees on a monthly basis, but in some cases may pay us on a quarterly or annual basis. We recognize this revenue on a straight-line basis over the life of the contract. Annual and quarterly advance payments result in deferred revenue, substantially reducing the working capital requirements generated by accounts receivable.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, our contract renewal rate for subscription-based services was approximately 93% and 90%, respectively, and therefore our cancellation rate was approximately 7% and 10%, respectively, for the same periods of time. Our contract renewal rate is a quantitative measurement that is typically closely correlated with our revenue results.employees. As a result, management also believes thatwe may incur additional lease restructuring charges for the rate may be a reliable indicatorabandonment of short-termcertain lease space and long-term performance. Our trailing twelve-month contract renewal rate may decline if negative economic conditions lead to greater business failures and/or consolidations among our clients, further reductions in customer spending, or decreases in our customer base.the impairment of leasehold improvements.
Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and revenues and expenses during the period reported. The following accounting policies involve a “critical accounting estimate” because they are particularly dependent on estimates and assumptions made by management about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimates are made. In addition, while we have used our best estimates based on facts and circumstances available to us at the time, different acceptable assumptions would yield different results. Changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, which may have a material impact on the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations. We review these estimates and assumptions periodically and reflect the effects of revisions in the period that they are determined to be necessary.
Fair Value of Auction Rate Securities
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received in the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. There is a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which categorizes assets and liabilities by the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions. Our Level 3 assets consist of auction rate securities (“ARS”), whose underlying assets are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”) of the U.S. Department of Education.
Our ARS investments are not currently actively trading and therefore do not currently have a readily determinable market value. The estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. We have used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of our investment in ARS as of December 31, 2011.2014. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model include estimates for interest rates, credit spreads, timing and amount of contractual cash flows, liquidity risk premiums, expected holding periods and default risk of the ARS. We update the discounted cash flow model on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes in the assumptions used in the model and settlements of ARS investments that occurred during the period.
The only significant unobservable input in the discounted cash flow model is the discount rate. The discount rate used represents our estimate of the yield expected by a market participant from the ARS investments. The weighted average discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 was approximately 4.9% and 4.1%, respectively. Selecting another discount rate within the range used in the discounted cash flow model would not result in a significant change to the fair value of the ARS.
Based on this assessment of fair value, as of December 31, 2011,2014, we determined there was a decline in the fair value of our ARS investments of approximately $2.7 million.$691,000. The decline was deemed to be a temporary impairment and recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. If the issuers of these ARS are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, we may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments, which would reduce our profitability and adversely affect our financial position.
We have not made any material changes in the accounting methodology used to determine the fair value of the ARS. We do not expect any material changes in the near term to the underlying assumptions used to determine the unobservable inputs used to calculate the fair value of the ARS as of December 31, 2011.2014. However, if changes in these assumptions occur, and, should those changes be significant, we may be exposed to additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments.
Fair Value of Deferred Consideration
We had no Level 3 liabilities as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2010, we held Level 3 liabilities for deferred consideration related to the October 19, 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology. The deferred consideration totaled $3.2 million as of December 31, 2010 and included (i) a potential deferred cash payment two years after closing based on the incremental growth of Resolve Technology’s revenue, and (ii) other potential deferred cash payments for successful completion of operational and sales milestones during the period from closing through October 31, 2013, which period may be extended by the parties to a date no later than December 31, 2014. On June 24, 2011, we made a payment to the seller of Resolve Technology of $500,000 as a result of the successful completion of one of the operational milestones. On September 8, 2011, we entered into an agreement to settle all remaining potential deferred cash payments due under the original agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, we made a payment of $1.6 million on September 14, 2011 to settle the entire obligation. We reversed the remaining $1.2 million originally recorded as deferred consideration by reducing general and administrative expense during the three months ended September 30, 2011.
Prior to the settlement on September 8, 2011, we used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of our Level 3 liabilities. The significant assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model included the discount rate, estimates for future incremental revenue growth and probabilities for completion of operational and sales milestones.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for equity instruments issued in exchange for employee services using a fair-value based method and we recognize the fair value of such equity instruments as an expense in the consolidated statements of operations. We estimated the fair value of each option granted on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires us to estimate the dividend yield, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate and expected life of the stock option. For equity instruments that vest based on a market condition, we estimate the fair value of each equity instrument granted on the date of grant using a Monte-Carlo simulation model, which also requires us to estimate the dividend yield, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate and expected life of the equity instruments. These assumptions and the estimation of expected forfeitures are based on multiple factors, including historical employee behavior patterns of exercising options and post-employment termination behavior, expected future employee option exercise patterns, and the historical volatility of the Company’sour stock price. For equity instruments that vest based on performance, we assess the probability of the achievement of the performance conditions at the end of each reporting period, or more frequently based upon the occurrence of events that may change the probability of whether the performance conditions would be met. If our initial estimates of the achievement of the performance conditions change, the related stock-based compensation expense and timing of recognition may fluctuate from period to period based on those estimates. If the performance conditions are not met, no stock-based compensation expense will be recognized, and any previously recognized stock-based compensation expense will be reversed.
We do not expect any material changes in the near term to the underlying assumptions used to calculate stock-based compensation expense for the twelve monthsyear ended December 31, 2011.2014. However, if significant changes in these assumptions occur, and, should those changes be significant, they could have a material impact on our stock-based compensation expense.
Valuation of Long-Lived and Intangible Assets and Goodwill
We assess the impairment of long-lived assets, identifiable intangibles and goodwill whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Judgments made by management relate to the expected useful lives of long-lived assets and our ability to realize any undiscounted cash flows of the carrying amounts of such assets. The accuracy of these judgments may be adversely affected by several factors, including the factors listed below:
Significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results;
Significant changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business;
Significant negative industry or economic trends; or
Significant decline in our market capitalization relative to net book value for a sustained period.
When we determine that the carrying value of long-lived and identifiable intangible assets may not be recovered based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators, we test for impairment.
Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets that are not subject to amortization are tested annually for impairment by each reporting unit on October 1 of each year and are also tested for impairment more frequently based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators. We consider our operating segments, U.S.North America and International, as our reporting units under FASBFinancial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) authoritative guidance for consideration of potential impairment of goodwill.
TheTo determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test, we may first assess qualitative factors to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If we conclude that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount or if we elect not to assess qualitative factors, then we perform the two-step process. The first step is to determine the fair value of each reporting unit. We estimate the fair value of each reporting unit based on a projected discounted cash flow model that includes significant assumptions and estimates including our discount rate, growth rate and future financial performance andperformance. Assumptions about the discount rate are based on a weighted average cost of capital. capital for comparable companies. Assumptions about the growth rate and future financial performance of a reporting unit are based on our forecasts, business plans, economic projections and anticipated future cash flows. Our assumptions regarding the future financial performance of the International reporting unit reflect our expectation as of October 1, 2014, that revenues will continue to increase as a result of further penetration of our international subscription-based information services and the successful cross-selling of our services to our customers in existing markets due to the release of our upgraded international platform and expansion of coverage of our international service offerings. These assumptions are subject to change from period to period and could be adversely impacted by the uncertainty surrounding global market conditions, commercial real estate conditions, and the competitive environment in which we operate. Changes in these or other factors could negatively affect our reporting units' fair value and potentially result in impairment charges. Such impairment charges could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
The fair value of each reporting unit is compared to the carrying amount of the reporting unit. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value, then the second step of the process is performed to measure the impairment loss. We measure impairment loss based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by our management to be commensurate with the risk in our current business model. As of October 1, 2011,2014, the date of our most recent impairment analysis, the estimated fair value of each of our reporting units substantially exceeded the carrying value of our reporting units. There have been no events or changes in circumstances since the date of our impairment analysis on October 1, 20112014 that would indicate that the carrying value of eithereach reporting unit may not be recoverable.
To determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets, we may first assess qualitative factors to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than the carrying amount. If we conclude that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than the carrying amount or if we elect not to assess qualitative factors, then we perform the quantitative impairment test similar to the test performed on goodwill discussed above.
As of October 1, 2014, the date of our most recent annual impairment analysis, the estimated fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets substantially exceeded the carrying value. There have been no events or changes in circumstances since the date of our impairment analysis on October 1, 2014 that would indicate that the carrying value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset may not be recoverable.
During the first quarter of 2014, we finalized a branding initiative plan that included, among other things, re-branding some of the services provided by our wholly owned subsidiaries, in order to better organize, update, streamline and optimize our branding strategy. We launched the branding initiative externally in the second quarter of 2014. Following the external launch of the branding initiative, we ceased using certain of our trade names. We evaluated these assets for impairment during the first quarter of 2014 and determined that the carrying value of trade names we ceased using exceeded the fair value. The adjusted carrying value of our trade name intangible assets associated with the branding initiative was amortized through the date of the external launch of the branding initiative and the fully amortized gross carrying amount was written off during the three months ended June 30, 2014.
During the third quarter of 2014, we finalized and launched a separate marketing plan that included the re-branding of a service provided by another one of our wholly owned subsidiaries, in order to provide our customers with a more enhanced experience. Following the external launch of the branding initiative, we ceased using one of our trade names. We evaluated the asset for impairment during the third quarter of 2014 and determined that the carrying value of the trade name that we ceased using exceeded the fair value.
As a result of these branding and marketing plans during 2014, we recorded impairment charges of approximately $1.8 million in cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations within our North America operating segment for the year ended December 31, 2014.
Accounting for Income Taxes
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process requires us to estimate our actual current tax exposure and assess the temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as deferred revenue or deductibility of certain intangible assets, for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included within our consolidated balance sheets. We must then also assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income, and, to the extent we believe that it is more-likely-than not that some portion or all of our deferred tax assets will not be realized, we must establish a valuation allowance. To the extent we establish a valuation allowance or change the allowance in a period, we must reflect the corresponding increase or decrease within the tax provision in the consolidated statements of operations.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We prepare and publicly release quarterly unaudited financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. We also disclose and discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in our public releases, investor conference calls and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures that we may disclose include EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share.share (also referred to as "non-GAAP EPS"). EBITDA is our net income (loss) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. We typically disclose EBITDA on a consolidated and an operating segment basis in our earnings releases, investor conference calls and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Adjusted EBITDA is different from EBITDA because we further adjust EBITDA for stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-relatedacquisition- and integration-related costs, restructuring costs, headquarters acquisition and transition related costs and settlements and impairments incurred outside our ordinary course of business. Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share are similarly adjusted for stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-relatedacquisition- and integration-related costs, restructuring costs, headquarters acquisition and transition related costs, settlement and impairment costs incurred outside our ordinary course of business as well as purchase amortization and other related costs. We may disclose adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share on a consolidated basis in our earnings releases, investor conference calls and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures that we use may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Also, in the future, we may disclose different non-GAAP financial measures in order to help our investors more meaningfully evaluate and compare our results of operations to our previously reported results of operations or to those of other companies in our industry.
We view EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share as operating performance measures and as such we believe that the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is net income (loss).income. In calculating EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share, we exclude from net income (loss) the financial items that we believe should be separately identified to provide additional analysis of the financial components of the day-to-day operation of our business. We have outlined below the type and scope of these exclusions and the material limitations on the use of these non-GAAP financial measures as a result of these exclusions. EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as a measure of liquidity, as an alternative to net income (loss) or as an indicator of any other measure of performance derived in accordance with GAAP. Investors and potential investors in our securities should not rely on EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share as a substitute for any GAAP financial measure, including net income (loss).income. In addition, we urge investors and potential investors in our securities to carefully review the GAAP financial information included as part of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as our quarterly earnings releases, and compare the GAAP financial information with our EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share.
EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share may be used by management to internally measure our operating and management performance and may be used by investors as supplemental financial measures to evaluate the performance of our business. We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when viewed with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, provide additional information that is useful to understand the factors and trends affecting our business. We have spent more than 2427 years building our database of commercial real estate information and expanding our markets and services partially through acquisitions of complementary businesses. Due to the expansion of our information, analytics and analyticonline marketplace services, which has included acquisitions, our net income (loss) has included significant charges for purchase amortization, depreciation and other amortization, acquisitionacquisition- and integration-related costs and restructuring costs. Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share exclude these charges and provide meaningful information about the operating performance of our business, apart from charges for purchase amortization, depreciation and other amortization, acquisitionacquisition- and integration-related costs, restructuring costs and settlement and impairment costs incurred outside our ordinary course of business. We believe the disclosure of non-GAAP measures can help investors meaningfully evaluate and compare our performance from quarter to quarter and from year to year. We also believe the non-GAAP measures we disclose are measures of our ongoing operating performance because the isolation of non-cash charges, such as amortization and depreciation, and other items, such as interest, income taxes, stock-based compensation expenses, acquisition costs, headquarters acquisitionacquisition- and transition relatedintegration-related costs, restructuring costs and settlement and impairment costs incurred outside our ordinary course of business, provides additional information about our cost structure, and, over time, helps track our operating progress. In addition, investors, securities analysts and others have regularly relied on EBITDA and may rely on adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income or non-GAAP net income per diluted share to provide a financial measure by which to compare our operating performance against that of other companies in our industry.
Set forth below are descriptions of the financial items that have been excluded from our net income (loss) to calculate EBITDA and the material limitations associated with using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to net income (loss):
| · | Purchase amortization in cost of revenues may be useful for investors to consider because it represents the use of our acquired database technology, which is one of the sources of information for our database of commercial real estate information. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure. |
| · | Purchase amortization in operating expenses may be useful for investors to consider because it represents the estimated attrition of our acquired customer base and the diminishing value of any acquired trade names. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure. |
| · | Depreciation and other amortization may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent the wear and tear on our property and equipment used in our operations. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure. |
| · | The amount of net interest income we generate may be useful for investors to consider and may result in current cash inflows or outflows. However, we do not consider the amount of net interest income to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business. |
| · | Income tax expense (benefit) may be useful for investors to consider because it generally represents the taxes which may be payable for the period and the change in deferred income taxes during the period and may reduce the amount of funds otherwise available for use in our business. However, we do not consider the amount of income tax expense (benefit) to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business. |
Set forth below are descriptions of the financial items that have been excluded from our net income (loss)to calculate EBITDA and the material limitations associated with using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to net income:
Purchase amortization in cost of revenues may be useful for investors to consider because it represents the use of our acquired database technology, which is one of the sources of information for our database of commercial real estate information. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure.
Purchase amortization in operating expenses may be useful for investors to consider because it represents the estimated attrition of our acquired customer base and the diminishing value of any acquired trade names. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure.
Depreciation and other amortization may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent the wear and tear on our property and equipment used in our operations. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure.
The amount of interest income we generate may be useful for investors to consider and may result in current cash inflows. However, we do not consider the amount of interest income to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business.
The amount of interest expense we incur may be useful for investors to consider and may result in current cash outflows. However, we do not consider the amount of interest expense to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business.
Income tax expense may be useful for investors to consider because it generally represents the taxes which may be payable for the period and the change in deferred income taxes during the period and may reduce the amount of funds otherwise available for use in our business. However, we do not consider the amount of income tax expense to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business.
Set forth below are descriptions of the financial items that have been excluded from our net income to calculate adjusted EBITDA and the material limitations associated with using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to net income (loss):income:
| · | Purchase amortization in cost of revenues, purchase amortization in operating expenses, depreciation and other amortization, interest income, net,Purchase amortization in cost of revenues, purchase amortization in operating expenses, depreciation and other amortization, interest income, interest expense, and income tax expense (benefit) as previously described above with respect to the calculation of EBITDA. |
| · | Stock-based compensation expense may be useful for investors to consider because it represents a portion of the compensation of our employees and executives. Determining the fair value of the stock-based instruments involves a high degree of judgment and estimation and the expenses recorded may bear little resemblance to the actual value realized upon the future exercise or termination of the related stock-based awards. Therefore, we believe it is useful to exclude stock-based compensation in order to better understand the long-term performance of our core business. |
| · | The amount of acquisition-related costs incurred may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent professional service fees and direct expenses related to the acquisition. Because we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle we do not consider the amount of acquisition-relatedThe amount of acquisition- and integration-related costs incurred may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent professional service fees and direct expenses related to the acquisition. Because we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle we do not consider the amount of acquisition- and integration-related costs to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business. |
| · | The amount of restructuring costs incurred may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent costs incurred in connection with a change in the makeup of our properties or personnel. We do not consider the amount of restructuring related costs to be a representative component of the day-to-day operating performance of our business. |
| · | The amount of headquarters acquisition and transition related costs incurred may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent the overlapping rent and building carrying costs, legal costs and other related costs incurred to relocate our headquarters. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing charges related to our operating cost structure. |
| · | The amount of material settlement and impairment costs incurred outside of our ordinary course of business may be useful for investors to consider because they generally represent gains or losses from the settlement of litigation matters. We do not believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost structure. |
The financial items that have been excluded from our net income (loss) to calculate non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share are purchase amortization and other related costs, stock-based compensation, acquisition-relatedacquisition- and integration-related costs, restructuring costs, headquarter acquisition and transition related costs and settlement and impairment costs incurred outside our ordinary course of business. These items are discussed above with respect to the calculation of adjusted EBITDA alongtogether with the material limitations associated with using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to net income (loss).income. We subtract an assumed provision for income taxes to calculate non-GAAP net income. We assumeIn 2012, 2013 and 2014, we assumed a 40%38% tax rate in order to approximate our long-term effective corporate tax rate.
Non-GAAP net income per diluted share is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents non-GAAP net income divided by the number of diluted shares outstanding for the period used in the calculation of GAAP net income per diluted share.
Management compensates for the above-described limitations of using non-GAAP measures by using a non-GAAP measure only to supplement our GAAP results and to provide additional information that is useful to understand the factors and trends affecting our business.
The following table shows our EBITDA reconciled to our net income and our net cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the indicated periods (in thousands):
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | |
Purchase amortization in cost of revenues | | | 2,389 | | | | 1,471 | | | | 1,353 | |
Purchase amortization in operating expenses | | | 3,412 | | | | 2,305 | | | | 2,237 | |
Depreciation and other amortization | | | 8,875 | | | | 9,873 | | | | 9,262 | |
Interest income, net | | | (1,253 | ) | | | (735 | ) | | | (798 | ) |
Income tax expense, net | | | 14,395 | | | | 10,221 | | | | 7,913 | |
EBITDA | | $ | 46,511 | | | $ | 36,424 | | | $ | 34,623 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Net cash flows provided by (used in) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Operating activities | | $ | 38,445 | | | $ | 39,269 | | | $ | 25,685 | |
Investing activities | | $ | 4,532 | | | $ | (40,504 | ) | | $ | 58,366 | |
Financing activities | | $ | 2,172 | | | $ | 2,042 | | | $ | 254,780 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Net income | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| Purchase amortization in cost of revenues | 8,634 |
| | 11,883 |
| | 26,290 |
|
| Purchase amortization in operating expenses | 13,607 |
| | 15,183 |
| | 28,432 |
|
| Depreciation and other amortization | 10,511 |
| | 12,992 |
| | 15,650 |
|
| Interest income | (526 | ) | | (326 | ) | | (516 | ) |
| Interest expense | 4,832 |
| | 6,943 |
| | 10,481 |
|
| Income tax expense, net | 13,219 |
| | 17,803 |
| | 26,044 |
|
| EBITDA | $ | 60,192 |
| | $ | 94,212 |
| | $ | 151,250 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Net cash flows provided by (used in) | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Operating activities | $ | 86,126 |
| | $ | 108,298 |
| | $ | 143,909 |
|
| Investing activities | $ | (640,398 | ) | | $ | (18,966 | ) | | $ | (605,987 | ) |
| Financing activities | $ | 164,941 |
| | $ | 10,405 |
| | $ | 733,513 |
|
Consolidated Results of Operations
The following table provides our selected consolidated results of operations for the indicated periods (in thousands of dollars and as a percentage of total revenue):
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Revenues | | $ | 209,659 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 226,260 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 251,738 | | | | 100.0 | % |
| Cost of revenues | | | 73,714 | | | | 35.2 | | | | 83,599 | | | | 36.9 | | | | 88,167 | | | | 35.0 | |
| Gross margin | | | 135,945 | | | | 64.8 | | | | 142,661 | | | | 63.1 | | | | 163,571 | | | | 65.0 | |
| Operating expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Selling and marketing | | | 42,508 | | | | 20.3 | | | | 52,455 | | | | 23.2 | | | | 61,164 | | | | 24.3 | |
| Software development | | | 13,942 | | | | 6.6 | | | | 17,350 | | | | 7.7 | | | | 20,037 | | | | 8.0 | |
| General and administrative | | | 44,248 | | | | 21.1 | | | | 47,776 | | | | 21.1 | | | | 58,362 | | | | 23.2 | |
| Purchase amortization | | | 3,412 | | | | 1.6 | | | | 2,305 | | | | 1.0 | | | | 2,237 | | | | 0.9 | |
| Total operating expenses | | | 104,110 | | | | 49.7 | | | | 119,886 | | | | 53.0 | | | | 141,800 | | | | 56.4 | |
| Income from operations | | | 31,835 | | | | 15.2 | | | | 22,775 | | | | 10.1 | | | | 21,771 | | | | 8.6 | |
| Interest and other income, net | | | 1,253 | | | | 0.6 | | | | 735 | | | | 0.3 | | | | 798 | | | | 0.3 | |
| Income before income taxes | | | 33,088 | | | | 15.8 | | | | 23,510 | | | | 10.4 | | | | 22,569 | | | | 8.9 | |
| Income tax expense, net | | | 14,395 | | | | 6.9 | | | | 10,221 | | | | 4.5 | | | | 7,913 | | | | 3.1 | |
| Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | | 8.9 | % | | $ | 13,289 | | | | 5.9 | % | | $ | 14,656 | | | | 5.8 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Revenues | $ | 349,936 |
| | 100.0 | % | | $ | 440,943 |
| | 100.0 | % | | $ | 575,936 |
| | 100.0 | % |
| Cost of revenues | 114,866 |
| | 32.8 |
| | 129,185 |
| | 29.3 |
| | 156,979 |
| | 27.3 |
|
| Gross margin | 235,070 |
| | 67.2 |
| | 311,758 |
| | 70.7 |
| | 418,957 |
| | 72.7 |
|
| Operating expenses: | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Selling and marketing | 84,113 |
| | 24.0 |
| | 98,708 |
| | 22.4 |
| | 150,305 |
| | 26.1 |
|
| Software development | 32,756 |
| | 9.4 |
| | 46,757 |
| | 10.6 |
| | 55,426 |
| | 9.6 |
|
| General and administrative | 77,154 |
| | 22.0 |
| | 96,956 |
| | 22.0 |
| | 103,916 |
| | 18.0 |
|
| Purchase amortization | 13,607 |
| | 3.9 |
| | 15,183 |
| | 3.4 |
| | 28,432 |
| | 4.9 |
|
| Total operating expenses | 207,630 |
| | 59.3 |
| | 257,604 |
| | 58.4 |
| | 338,079 |
| | 58.6 |
|
| Income from operations | 27,440 |
| | 7.9 |
| | 54,154 |
| | 12.3 |
| | 80,878 |
| | 14.1 |
|
| Interest and other income | 526 |
| | 0.2 |
| | 326 |
| | 0.1 |
| | 516 |
| | 0.1 |
|
| Interest and other expense | (4,832 | ) | | (1.4 | ) | | (6,943 | ) | | (1.6 | ) | | (10,481 | ) | | (1.8 | ) |
| Income before income taxes | 23,134 |
| | 6.7 |
| | 47,537 |
| | 10.8 |
| | 70,913 |
| | 12.4 |
|
| Income tax expense, net | 13,219 |
| | 3.9 |
| | 17,803 |
| | 4.1 |
| | 26,044 |
| | 4.6 |
|
| Net income | $ | 9,915 |
| | 2.8 | % | | $ | 29,734 |
| | 6.7 | % | | $ | 44,869 |
| | 7.8 | % |
Comparison of Year Ended December 31, 20112014 and Year Ended December 31, 20102013
Revenues. Revenues increased to $251.7$575.9 million in 2011,2014, from $226.3$440.9 million in 2010.2013. The $135.0 million increase in revenueswas primarily attributable to increased revenue of approximately $25.4$76.8 million is primarily attributable tofrom our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business as well as the further penetration of our subscription-based information services and successful cross-selling of our services to our customers in existing markets, combined with continued high renewal rates. Our subscription-based information services, consisting primarily of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional and FOCUS, currently generate approximately 94% of our total revenues.
Gross Margin. Gross margin increased to $163.6$419.0 million in 2011,2014, from $142.7$311.8 million in 2010.2013. The gross margin percentage increased to 65.0%72.7% in 2011,2014, from 63.1%70.7% in 2010.2013. The increase in the gross margin amount and percentage was principally due to a $25.4 millionan increase in revenue partially offset by an increase in cost of revenues. Costrevenues of revenues increased$27.8 million primarily due to $88.2 million in 2011, from $83.6 million in 2010. The increase inthe additional cost of revenues was principally due to an increase in research personnel costs.from our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business.
Selling and Marketing Expenses. Selling and marketing expenses increased to $61.2$150.3 million in 2011,2014, from $52.5$98.7 million in 2010,2013, and increased as a percentage of revenues to 24.3%26.1% in 2011,2014, from 23.2%22.4% in 2010.2013. The increase in the amount and percentage of selling and marketing expenses was primarily due to an increase in sales personnel coststhe additional selling and marketing expenses from our April 1, 2014 acquisition of approximately $4.9 million and the marketing effort related to the launch of CoStarGo of approximately $3.4 million.Apartments.com Business.
Software Development Expenses. Software development expenses increased to $20.0$55.4 million in 2011,2014, from $17.4$46.8 million in 2010,2013, and increaseddecreased as a percentage of revenues to 8.0%9.6% in 2011,2014, from 7.7%10.6% in 2010.2013. The increase in the amount and percentage of software development expense was primarily due to increased personnel costs to support newthe additional software development efforts.expenses from our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased to $58.4$103.9 million in 2011,2014, from $47.8$97.0 million in 2010,2013, and increaseddecreased as a percentage of revenues to 23.2%18.0% in 2011,2014 from 21.1%22.0% in 2010.2013. The increase in the amount and percentage of general and administrative expenses was principally due to the incurrence of approximately $14.2 million in acquisition-related costs in connection with the pending LoopNet acquisition,additional general and approximately $1.5 million in lease restructuring charges related to the consolidation ofadministrative expenses from our White Marsh, Maryland office. These increases are partially offset by the deferred consideration adjustment of approximately $1.2 million in September 2011 related to the October 19, 2009April 1, 2014 acquisition of Resolve Technology. Additionally, during 2010 we incurred expenses that did not recur in 2011, including the $2.0 million accrual of our litigation with Nokia U.K. Limited
in June 2010, approximately $800,000 accrued in anticipation of the settlement of the litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in June 2010, as well as the lease restructuring charges related to the consolidation of our Boston, Massachusetts office of approximately $1.3 million in September 2010.
Purchase Amortization. Purchase amortization remained relatively constant at approximately $2.2 million in 2011, from $2.3 million in 2010.Apartments.com Business.
Purchase Amortization Expense. Purchase amortization expense increased to approximately $28.4 million in 2014, from $15.2 million in 2013, and increased as a percentage of revenue to 4.9% in 2014, compared to 3.4% in 2013. The increase in the amount and percentage of purchase amortization expense was due to additional purchase amortization expenses from our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business.
Interest and Other Income, Net. Income.Interest and other income net remained relatively constant atincreased to approximately $800,000$516,000 in 2011,2014 compared to approximately $700,000$326,000 in 2010.2013. The increase was primarily due to our higher cash and cash equivalent balance in 2014 resulting from the public equity offering completed in June 2014.
Interest and Other Expense. Interest and other expense increased to $10.5 million in 2014 compared to $6.9 million in 2013. The increase was due to the increase in interest expense resulting from a higher outstanding long-term debt balance during 2014, compared to 2013.
Income Tax Expense, Net.Income tax expense, net decreasedincreased to $7.9$26.0 million in 2011,2014, from $10.2$17.8 million in 2010.2013. This decreaseincrease was primarily due to tax benefits resulting from the movehigher income before income taxes in 2014 as a result of our headquarters to Washington, DC.increased profitability.
Comparison of Business Segment Results for Year Ended December 31, 20112014 and Year Ended December 31, 20102013
We manage our business geographically in two operating segments, with our primary areas of measurement and decision-making being North America, which includes the U.S. and Canada, and International, which includes the U.K. and France. Management relies on an internal management reporting process that provides revenue and operating segment EBITDA, which is our net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Management believes that operating segment EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operational performance of our operating segments. EBITDA is used by management to internally measure our operating and management performance and to evaluate the performance of our business. However, this measure should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, income from operations or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
SegmentSegment Revenues. CoStar Suite is sold as a platform of service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar COMPS Professional and CoStar Tenant and CoStar COMPS Professional are generally sold as a suite of similar servicesthrough our mobile application, CoStarGo, and compriseis our primary service offering in our U.S.North America and International operating segments. Prior to the third quarter of 2014, FOCUS was our primary service offering in our International operating segment. U.S.We introduced CoStar Suite in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013. North America revenues increased to $233.4 million from $208.5$552.1 million for the yearsyear ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.2014, compared to $420.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2013. This increase in U.S. revenueNorth America revenues was primarily due to increased revenues of approximately $76.8 million from our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business as well as further penetration of our subscription-based information services and successful cross-selling of our services to our customers in existing markets, combined with continued high renewal rates. FOCUS is our primary service offering in our International operating segment. International revenues increased to $18.4 million from $17.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. This increase was primarily due to foreign currency fluctuations. Intersegment revenue remained relatively constant at $1.1$23.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2011,2014, compared to $1.3$20.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.2013. This increase was primarily due to further penetration of our subscription-based information services resulting from sales of CoStar Suite. Intersegment revenue isdecreased to $57,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $339,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013. Intersegment revenue recorded during 2014 was attributable to services performed for the Company’sCoStar Portfolio Strategy by Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a wholly owned subsidiary PPR,of CoStar Limited, the Company's wholly owned U.K. holding company. Intersegment revenue recorded during 2013 was attributable to services performed for our wholly owned subsidiary, CoStar Portfolio Strategy by Property and Portfolio Research Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of PPR.CoStar Portfolio Strategy. Intersegment revenue is recorded at an amount the Company believeswe believe approximates fair value. Intersegment revenue is eliminated from total revenues.
Segment EBITDA. U.S. North America EBITDA decreasedincreased to $38.1 million from $39.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The decrease in U.S. EBITDA was due primarily to approximately $14.2 million in acquisition-related costs for the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of the pending LoopNet acquisition, approximately $1.5 million in lease restructuring charges related to the consolidation of our White Marsh, Maryland office, approximately $3.4 million due to the marketing effort related to the launch of CoStarGo as well as increased personnel costs of approximately $11.0 million. These decreases in U.S. EBITDA are partially offset by an approximate $24.9 million increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 from the year ended December 31, 2010 and the deferred consideration adjustment of approximately $1.2 million in September 2011 related to the October 19, 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology. Additionally, during 2010 we incurred expenses that did not recur in 2011, including approximately $800,000 accrued in anticipation of the settlement of the litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in June 2010 as well as the lease restructuring charges related to the consolidation of our Boston, Massachusetts office of approximately $1.3 million in September 2010. International EBITDA decreased to a higher loss of $3.5$148.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from a $3.22014, compared to $97.3 million loss for the year ended December 31, 2010. This higher loss2013. The increase in North America EBITDA was due primarily due to an increase in revenues in 2014 compared to 2013. International EBITDA increased personnel costs of approximately $1.5to $2.3 million and other expenses of approximately $800,000 for the year ended December 31, 2011, partially offset by2014, compared to a loss of $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2013. This increase in International EBITDA was primarily due to an increase in revenue and a decrease in operating expenses. North America EBITDA includes an allocation of approximately $2.0$1.1 million connection withand $800,000 for the settlementyears ended 2014 and 2013, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for International employees involved in development activities of our litigation with Nokia U.K. Limited in 2010 that did not recur in 2011.North America operating segment. International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $800,000$300,000 and $400,000 for the years ended December 31, 20112014 and 2010,2013, respectively. The corporateThis allocation represents costs incurred for U.S.North America employees involved in international management and expansion activities.activities of our International operating segment. See the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details on the non-GAAP financial measures.
Comparison of Year Ended December 31, 20102013 and Year Ended December 31, 20092012
Revenues. Revenues increased to $226.3$440.9 million in 2010,2013, from $209.7$349.9 million in 2009.2012. The $91.0 million increase in revenueswas primarily attributable to increased revenue of approximately $16.6$52.8 million is primarily due to additional revenue from our July 2009April 30, 2012 acquisition of PPR. Our subscription-based information services consist primarilyLoopNet as well as the further penetration of CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional and FOCUS. As of December 31, 2010, our subscription-based information services represented more than 94%and successful cross-selling of our total revenues.services to our customers in existing markets, combined with continued high renewal rates.
Gross Margin. Gross margin increased to $142.7$311.8 million in 2010,2013, from $135.9$235.1 million in 2009.2012. The gross margin percentage increased to 70.7% in 2013, from 67.2% in 2012. The increase in the amount of gross margin amount and percentage was principally due to a $16.6 millionan increase in revenue partially offset by an increase in cost of revenues. The gross margin percentage decreased to 63.1% in 2010, from 64.8% in 2009. The decrease in the percentagerevenues of gross margin was principally$14.3 million primarily due to an increase in the costresearch personnel costs of revenues. Costapproximately $6.4 million and an increase of revenues increased to $83.6approximately $3.5 million in 2010,purchase amortization from $73.7 million in 2009. The increase in cost of revenues was principally due to additional cost of revenues of approximately $7.4 million included as a result of our July 2009April 30, 2012 acquisition of PPR and our October 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology.LoopNet.
Selling and Marketing Expenses. Selling and marketing expenses increased to $52.5$98.7 million in 2010,2013, from $42.5$84.1 million in 2009,2012, and increaseddecreased as a percentage of revenues to 23.2%22.4% in 2010,2013, from 20.3%24.0% in 2009.2012. The increase in the amount and percentage of selling and marketing expenses was primarily due to increased costs of approximately $6.1 million due to increased sales personnel costs, as well asthe additional selling and marketing expenses of approximately $1.7 million included as a result offrom our July 2009April 30, 2012 acquisition of PPR and our October 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology.LoopNet.
Software Development Expenses. Software development expenses increased to $17.4$46.8 million in 2010,2013, from $13.9$32.8 million in 2009,2012, and increased as a percentage of revenues to 7.7%10.6% in 2010,2013, from 6.6%9.4% in 2009.2012. The increase in the amount and percentage of software development expense was primarily due to additional software development expenses included as a result ofincreased personnel costs to support enhancements and upgrades to our July 2009 acquisition of PPR and our October 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology.services.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased to $47.8$97.0 million in 2010,2013, from $44.2$77.2 million in 2009,2012, and remained relatively constant as a percentage of revenues at 21.1%approximately 22.0% in 20102013 and 2009.2012. The increase in the amount of general and administrative expenses was principally due to $2.8 million recorded for the settlement of two litigation mattersan increase in June 2010, the 2010 lease restructuring charge of approximately $1.3 million, and additional general and administrative expense of approximately $2.0 million included as a result of our July 2009 acquisition of PPR and our October 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology, partially offset by a decrease in bad debt expense of approximately $3.0 million.stock-based compensation expense.
Purchase Amortization.Amortization Expense. Purchase amortization decreasedexpense increased to $2.3approximately $15.2 million in 2010,2013, from $3.4$13.6 million in 2009,2012, and decreased as a percentage of revenuesrevenue to 1.0%3.4% in 2010, from 1.6%2013, compared to 3.9% in 2009.2012. The decreaseincrease in the amount of purchase amortization expense iswas due to the completionadditional purchase amortization expenses from our April 30, 2012 acquisition of amortization for certain identifiable intangible assets in 2010.LoopNet.
Interest and Other Income, Net. Income.Interest and other income net decreased to approximately $700,000$326,000 in 2010, from $1.3 million2013 compared to approximately $526,000 in 2009, primarily due to lower short-term investment balances.
Income Tax Expense, Net. Income tax expense, net decreased to $10.2 million in 2010, from $14.4 million in 2009. This2012. The decrease was primarily due to our lower cash and cash equivalent balance in 2013 resulting from the net cash paid for our April 30, 2012 acquisition of LoopNet.
Interest and Other Expense. Interest and other expense increased to $6.9 million in 2013 compared to $4.8 million in 2012. The increase was due to the additional interest expense incurred in 2013 compared to 2012, resulting from the $175.0 million borrowed under the term loan facility on April 30, 2012 and used to fund a portion of the merger consideration and transaction costs for the LoopNet acquisition.
Income Tax Expense, Net. Income tax expense, net increased to $17.8 million in 2013, from $13.2 million in 2012. This increase was primarily due to higher income before income taxes.taxes in 2013 as a result of our increased profitability, partially offset by a lower effective tax rate in 2013. The higher effective tax rate in 2012 was primarily due to costs related to the LoopNet acquisition that reduced income from operations but were not deductible for tax purposes.
Comparison of Business Segment Results for Year Ended December 31, 20102013 and Year Ended December 31, 2009
We manage our business geographically in two operating segments, with our primary areas of measurement and decision-making being the U.S. and International, which includes the U.K. and France. Management relies on an internal management reporting process that provides revenue and operating segment EBITDA, which is our net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Management believes that operating segment
EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operational performance of our operating segments. EBITDA is used by management to internally measure our operating and management performance and to evaluate the performance of our business. However, this measure should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, income from operations or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.2012
SegmentSegment Revenues. CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, and CoStar COMPS Professional are generally sold as a suite of similar services and comprise our primary service offering in our U.S. operating segment. U.S.North America revenues increased to $208.5$420.8 million from $191.6$330.8 million for the years ended December 31, 20102013 and 2009,2012 respectively. This increase in U.S.North America revenue was primarily due to additional revenuesincreased revenue of approximately $52.8 million from our April 30, 2012 acquisition of LoopNet as a resultwell as further penetration of our July 2009 acquisitionsubscription-based information services and successful cross-selling of PPR. FOCUS is our primary service offeringservices to our customers in our International operating segment.existing markets, combined with continued high renewal rates. International revenues decreased approximately $300,000increased to $20.1 million from $19.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. This increase was primarily due to foreign currency fluctuations, offset by intersegment revenuesfurther penetration of approximately $1.3our subscription-based information services resulting from sales of CoStar Suite. Intersegment revenue decreased to $339,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013, compared to $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. Intersegment revenue is attributable to services performed for CoStar Portfolio Strategy by Property and Portfolio Research Ltd. for PPR. PPR and Property and Portfolio Research Ltd. were acquired in July 2009. Intersegment revenues arerevenue is recorded at an amount we believe approximates fair value. Intersegment revenue is eliminated from total revenues.
Segment EBITDA. U.S. North America EBITDA decreasedincreased to $39.6$97.3 million from $47.7$70.2 million for the years ended December 31, 20102013 and 2009,2012, respectively. The decreaseincrease in U.S.North America EBITDA was due primarily to additional personnel cost of approximately $8.1 million, increased legal settlement charges of approximately $800,000, and a lease restructuring charge of approximately $1.3 million relatedan increase in revenues in 2013 compared to the consolidation of our three facilities located in Boston, Massachusetts,2012, partially offset by a decreasean increase in bad debtpersonnel costs, including the stock-based compensation expense of approximately $2.2 million.we recorded in 2013. International EBITDA increased to a lower loss of $3.2$3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 20102013 from a $1.2$10.0 million loss for the year ended December 31, 2009.2012. This increasedlower loss was primarily due to a decrease in personnel costs. The International operating segment continues to experience improved financial performance and during the three months ended December 31, 2013, International EBITDA increased to a positive amount as a result of increased revenue and decreased operating expenses. North America EBITDA includes an allocation of approximately $2.0 million paid$800,000 and $0 for the years ended 2013 and 2012, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for International employees involved in connection with the settlementdevelopment activities of our litigation with Nokia U.K. Limited.North America operating segment. International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $400,000 and $500,000$5.3 million for the years ended December 31, 20102013 and 2009,2012, respectively. The corporateThis allocation represents costs incurred for U.S.North America employees involved in international management and expansion activities.activities of our International operating segment. The corporate allocation for the year ended December 31, 2012 consists primarily of development costs incurred for services of North America employees to upgrade the international platform of services and expand the coverage of service offerings within the International reporting unit.
Consolidated Quarterly Results of Operations
The following tables summarize our consolidated results of operations on a quarterly basis for the indicated periods (in thousands, except per share amounts, and as a percentage of total revenues):
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| | | Mar. 31 | | | Jun. 30 | | | Sep. 30 | | | Dec. 31 | | | Mar. 31 | | | Jun. 30 | | | Sep. 30 | | | Dec. 31 | |
| Revenues | | $ | 55,093 | | | $ | 55,838 | | | $ | 57,144 | | | $ | 58,185 | | | $ | 59,618 | | | $ | 62,127 | | | $ | 63,829 | | | $ | 66,164 | |
| Cost of revenues | | | 21,200 | | | | 20,360 | | | | 20,762 | | | | 21,277 | | | | 22,566 | | | | 22,412 | | | | 21,175 | | | | 22,014 | |
| Gross margin | | | 33,893 | | | | 35,478 | | | | 36,382 | | | | 36,908 | | | | 37,052 | | | | 39,715 | | | | 42,654 | | | | 44,150 | |
| Operating expenses | | | 28,791 | | | | 30,987 | | | | 30,247 | | | | 29,861 | | | | 29,956 | | | | 35,806 | | | | 39,650 | | | | 36,388 | |
| Income from operations | | | 5,102 | | | | 4,491 | | | | 6,135 | | | | 7,047 | | | | 7,096 | | | | 3,909 | | | | 3,004 | | | | 7,762 | |
| Interest and other income, net | | | 238 | | | | 196 | | | | 156 | | | | 145 | | | | 202 | | | | 178 | | | | 194 | | | | 224 | |
| Income before income taxes | | | 5,340 | | | | 4,687 | | | | 6,291 | | | | 7,192 | | | | 7,298 | | | | 4,087 | | | | 3,198 | | | | 7,986 | |
| Income tax expense, net | | | 2,451 | | | | 1,436 | | | | 2,909 | | | | 3,425 | | | | 2,766 | | | | 1,450 | | | | 887 | | | | 2,810 | |
| Net income | | $ | 2,889 | | | $ | 3,251 | | | $ | 3,382 | | | $ | 3,767 | | | $ | 4,532 | | | $ | 2,637 | | | $ | 2,311 | | | $ | 5,176 | |
Net income per share - basic | | $ | 0.14 | | | $ | 0.16 | | | $ | 0.17 | | | $ | 0.18 | | | $ | 0.22 | | | $ | 0.12 | | | $ | 0.09 | | | $ | 0.21 | |
Net income per share - diluted | | $ | 0.14 | | | $ | 0.16 | | | $ | 0.16 | | | $ | 0.18 | | | $ | 0.22 | | | $ | 0.12 | | | $ | 0.09 | | | $ | 0.20 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 | | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 |
| Revenues | $ | 104,033 |
| | $ | 108,999 |
| | $ | 112,301 |
| | $ | 115,610 |
| | $ | 119,076 |
| | $ | 147,708 |
| | $ | 153,056 |
| | $ | 156,096 |
|
| Cost of revenues | 33,606 |
| | 32,101 |
| | 31,724 |
| | 31,754 |
| | 33,643 |
| | 39,481 |
| | 40,932 |
| | 42,923 |
|
| Gross margin | 70,427 |
| | 76,898 |
| | 80,577 |
| | 83,856 |
| | 85,433 |
| | 108,227 |
| | 112,124 |
| | 113,173 |
|
| Operating expenses | 73,025 |
| | 61,615 |
| | 60,807 |
| | 62,157 |
| | 68,292 |
| | 91,318 |
| | 88,644 |
| | 89,825 |
|
| Income (loss) from operations | (2,598 | ) | | 15,283 |
| | 19,770 |
| | 21,699 |
| | 17,141 |
| | 16,909 |
| | 23,480 |
| | 23,348 |
|
| Interest and other income | 104 |
| | 83 |
| | 52 |
| | 87 |
| | 137 |
| | 62 |
| | 46 |
| | 271 |
|
| Interest and other expense | (1,755 | ) | | (1,758 | ) | | (1,736 | ) | | (1,694 | ) | | (1,615 | ) | | (3,753 | ) | | (2,698 | ) | | (2,415 | ) |
| Income (loss) before income taxes | (4,249 | ) | | 13,608 |
| | 18,086 |
| | 20,092 |
| | 15,663 |
| | 13,218 |
| | 20,828 |
| | 21,204 |
|
| Income tax expense (benefit), net | (1,839 | ) | | 5,315 |
| | 7,034 |
| | 7,293 |
| | 5,923 |
| | 4,969 |
| | 7,871 |
| | 7,281 |
|
| Net income (loss) | $ | (2,410 | ) | | $ | 8,293 |
| | $ | 11,052 |
| | $ | 12,799 |
| | $ | 9,740 |
| | $ | 8,249 |
| | $ | 12,957 |
| | $ | 13,923 |
|
| Net income (loss) per share — basic | $ | (0.09 | ) | | $ | 0.30 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.46 |
| | $ | 0.34 |
| | $ | 0.28 |
| | $ | 0.41 |
| | $ | 0.44 |
|
| Net income (loss) per share — diluted | $ | (0.09 | ) | | $ | 0.29 |
| | $ | 0.39 |
| | $ | 0.45 |
| | $ | 0.34 |
| | $ | 0.28 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.43 |
|
| | | 2010 | | 2011 |
| | | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 | | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 |
| Revenues | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % | | | 100.0 | % |
| Cost of revenues | | 38.5 | | | | 36.5 | | | | 36.3 | | | | 36.6 | | | | 37.9 | | | | 36.1 | | | | 33.2 | | | | 33.3 | |
| Gross margin | | 61.5 | | | | 63.5 | | | | 63.7 | | | | 63.4 | | | | 62.1 | | | | 63.9 | | | | 66.8 | | | | 66.7 | |
| Operating expenses | | 52.3 | | | | 55.5 | | | | 52.9 | | | | 51.3 | | | | 50.2 | | | | 57.6 | | | | 62.1 | | | | 55.0 | |
| Income from operations | | 9.3 | | | | 8.0 | | | | 10.7 | | | | 12.1 | | | | 11.9 | | | | 6.3 | | | | 4.7 | | | | 11.7 | |
| Interest and other income, net | | 0.4 | | | | 0.4 | | | | 0.3 | | | | 0.2 | | | | 0.3 | | | | 0.3 | | | | 0.3 | | | | 0.3 | |
| Income before income taxes | | 9.7 | | | | 8.4 | | | | 11.0 | | | | 12.4 | | | | 12.2 | | | | 6.6 | | | | 5.0 | | | | 12.0 | |
| Income tax expense, net | | 4.4 | | | | 2.6 | | | | 5.1 | | | | 5.9 | | | | 4.6 | | | | 2.4 | | | | 1.4 | | | | 4.2 | |
| Net income | | 5.2 | % | | | 5.8 | % | | | 5.9 | % | | | 6.5 | % | | | 7.6 | % | | | 4.2 | % | | | 3.6 | % | | | 7.8 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 | | Mar. 31 | | Jun. 30 | | Sep. 30 | | Dec. 31 |
| Revenues | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % | | 100.0 | % |
| Cost of revenues | 32.3 |
| | 29.5 |
| | 28.2 |
| | 27.5 |
| | 28.3 |
| | 26.7 |
| | 26.7 |
| | 27.5 |
|
| Gross margin | 67.7 |
| | 70.5 |
| | 71.8 |
| | 72.5 |
| | 71.7 |
| | 73.3 |
| | 73.3 |
| | 72.5 |
|
| Operating expenses | 70.2 |
| | 56.5 |
| | 54.1 |
| | 53.7 |
| | 57.3 |
| | 61.9 |
| | 57.9 |
| | 57.6 |
|
| Income (loss) from operations | (2.5 | ) | | 14.0 |
| | 17.7 |
| | 18.8 |
| | 14.4 |
| | 11.4 |
| | 15.4 |
| | 14.9 |
|
| Interest and other income | 0.1 |
| | 0.1 |
| | — |
| | 0.1 |
| | 0.1 |
| | 0.1 |
| | — |
| | 0.2 |
|
| Interest and other expense | (1.7 | ) | | (1.6 | ) | | (1.5 | ) | | (1.5 | ) | | (1.3 | ) | | (2.5 | ) | | (1.8 | ) | | (1.5 | ) |
| Income (loss) before income taxes | (4.1 | ) | | 12.5 |
| | 16.2 |
| | 17.4 |
| | 13.2 |
| | 9.0 |
| | 13.6 |
| | 13.6 |
|
| Income tax expense (benefit), net | (1.8 | ) | | 4.9 |
| | 6.4 |
| | 6.3 |
| | 5.0 |
| | 3.4 |
| | 5.1 |
| | 4.7 |
|
| Net income (loss) | (2.3 | )% | | 7.6 | % | | 9.8 | % | | 11.1 | % | | 8.2 | % | | 5.6 | % | | 8.5 | % | | 8.9 | % |
Recent Acquisitions
Apartments.comVirtual Premise. On October 25, 2011,April 1, 2014, we acquired Virtual Premise, a SaaS provider of real estate information management solutions. Pursuantpurchased from CV certain assets and assumed certain liabilities, in each case, related to the terms of the acquisition agreement, we paid approximately $17.2Apartments.com Business, for $584.2 million in cash, approximately 80% of which was paid on the closing date to the Virtual Premise stockholders and the remaining 20% of which will be held in escrow until paid 270 days after the closing date, subject to use of such funds to satisfy any post-closing net working capital adjustments or indemnification claims made prior to such date. The purchase price was later reduced by approximately $200,000 after taking into account post-closing purchase price adjustments and this amount is expected to be paid to us from the escrow fund. net working capital adjustments.
Accounting Treatment. We have applied the acquisition method to account for the Virtual PremiseApartments.com transaction which requires that, among other things, assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at their fair values as of the acquisition date. The purchase price was allocated to tradenames,trade names, customer base, database technology, building photography, goodwill and various other asset and liability accounts. The acquired customer base for the acquisitions, whichacquisition consists of one distinct intangible asset, and is composed of acquired customer contracts and the related customer relationships, and has an estimated useful life of 10 years. The acquired database technology has an estimated useful life of 1 year due to our intent to replace the existing database technology in 2015. The acquired trade names and other intangible assets have a weighted average estimated useful life of 13 years. The acquired building photography has an estimated useful life of 3 years. Amortization of the acquired customer base is being amortizedrecognized on an accelerated basis related to the expected economic benefit of the intangible asset, while amortization of the acquired database technology, acquired building photography and acquired trade names and other intangible assets are recognized on a 125% declining balance methodstraight-line basis over ten years. The identified intangibles are amortized over theirthe estimated useful lives.life. Goodwill for these acquisitionsthe acquisition is not amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests. The results of operations of Virtual PremiseApartments.com have been consolidated with those of the Company since the date of the acquisition. See Note 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details on the acquisition and are not considered material to our consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, pro forma financial information has not been presented forof the acquisition. The purchase accounting is preliminary and is subject to change.Apartments.com Business.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal sources of liquidity are cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.debt from our term loan and revolving credit facility. Total cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $548.8$527.0 million at December 31, 20112014 compared to $210.1cash and cash equivalents of $256.0 million at December 31, 2010.2013. The increase in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments for the year ended December 31, 20112014 was primarily due to $247.9$529.4 million in net proceeds from our public equity offering in June 20112014 of 4,312,5003,450,000 shares of common stock for $60.00$160.00 per share. In addition, in February 2011, we soldshare and borrowings of $400.0 million under the 169,429 square-foot office building located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC2014 Credit Agreement, partially offset by the net cash paid for $101.0our April 1, 2014 acquisition of the Apartments.com Business of $584.2 million in cash, $15.0and the $148.8 million repayment of which was designated to fund additional build-out and planned improvements at the building.amounts owed under the 2012 Credit Agreement.
Changes in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments are dependent upon changes in, among other things, working capital items such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, various accrued expenses and deferred revenues, as well as changes in our capital structure due to stock option exercises purchases and sales of short-term investments and similar events.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 20112014 was $25.7$143.9 million compared to $39.3$108.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.2013. The $13.6$35.6 million decreaseincrease in net cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to a decreasean increase of approximately $21.3$40.2 million from net income plus non-cash items, partially offset by a $7.7net decrease of approximately $4.6 million net increase in changes in operating assets and liabilities due to differences in timing of collection of receipts and payments of disbursements. The $21.3 million decrease from net income plus non-cash items was primarily related to a decrease
Net cash used in changes in deferred income taxes, net of approximately $18.8 million. The change in deferred income taxes, net of $18.8 million is primarily comprised of approximately $13.5 million related to the tax treatment of the deferred gain on the sale of the building and approximately $5.4 million related to the tax
treatment of acquisition related costs associated with the pending LoopNet acquisition. The $7.7 million net increase in changes in operating assets and liabilities was primarily related to an increase in changes in income tax receivable of approximately $9.0 million partially offset by a decrease in changes in accounts payable and other liabilities of approximately $2.7 million. The increase in changes in income tax receivable of approximately $9.0 million was due to the 2011 collection of approximately $4.1 million of the $4.9 million income tax receivable recorded in 2010, as the tax legislation enacted during the fourth quarter of 2010 allowed us to deduct 100% of qualifying assets purchased after September 8, 2010. The decrease in changes in accounts payable and other liabilities of approximately $2.7 million was primarily due to the $2.1 million payment made for the deferred considerationinvesting activities for the year ended December 31, 2011, as a result of the settlement of the deferred consideration related2014 was $606.0 million compared to the Company’s October 19, 2009 acquisition of Resolve Technology. See Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements for details of the deferred consideration settlement.
Net cash provided by investing activities was $58.4$19.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to2013. This $587.0 million increase in net cash used in investing activities of $40.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This $98.9 million increased change in net cash provided by investing activities2014 was primarily due to the sale$584.2 million of our new headquarters in downtown Washington, DC, in February 2011 as well as the February 2010 purchase of that building partially offset bycash used for the acquisition of Virtual Premise.the Apartments.com Business on April 1, 2014.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $254.8$733.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011,2014, compared to $2.0$10.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.2013. This $252.8$723.1 million increase in net cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to proceeds of $550.0 million received under the term loan facility and revolving credit facility on April 1, 2014 and the $529.4 million in net proceeds from our public equity offering of 4,312,500 shares of common stock for $60.00 per share completed in June 2011. Net proceeds from2014 less the equity offering were approximately $247.9$148.8 million after deducting approximately $10.4repayment of amounts owed under the 2012 Credit Agreement, $150.0 million repayment of underwriting discountsthe revolving credit facility associated with the 2014 Credit Agreement and commissions and offering expensesthe $10.0 million payment of approximately $500,000.debt issuance costs associated with the 2014 Credit Agreement which did not occur during 2013.
Contractual Obligations. The following table summarizes our principal contractual obligations at December 31, 20112014 and the effect such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods (in thousands):
| | | Total | | | 2012 | | | 2013-2014 | | | 2015-2016 | | | 2017 and thereafter | |
Operating leases | | $ | 124,274 | | | $ | 13,420 | | | $ | 20,206 | | | $ | 17,794 | | | $ | 72,854 | |
Purchase obligations(1) | | | 8,625 | | | | 5,915 | | | | 2,710 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | |
| Total contractual principal cash obligations | | $ | 132,899 | | | $ | 19,335 | | | $ | 22,916 | | | $ | 17,794 | | | $ | 72,854 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Total | | 2015 | | 2016-2017 | | 2018-2019 | | 2020 and thereafter |
| Operating leases | $ | 166,297 |
| | $ | 19,442 |
| | $ | 37,390 |
| | $ | 33,587 |
| | $ | 75,878 |
|
Long-term debt obligations(1) | 385,000 |
| | 20,000 |
| | 55,000 |
| | 310,000 |
| | — |
|
Purchase obligations(2) | 10,565 |
| | 8,513 |
| | 2,006 |
| | 46 |
| | — |
|
| Total contractual principal cash obligations | $ | 561,862 |
| | $ | 47,955 |
| | $ | 94,396 |
| | $ | 343,633 |
| | $ | 75,878 |
|
| (1)Amounts do not include (i) contracts with terms of twelve months or less, or (ii) multi-year contracts that may be terminated by a third party or us. Amounts do not include unrecognized tax benefits of $2.2(1)Long-term debt obligations include scheduled principal payments and exclude interest payments, which are based on a variable rate of interest as defined in the Credit Agreement.
(2)Amounts do not include (i) contracts with terms of twelve months or less, or (ii) multi-year contracts that may be terminated by a third party or us. Amounts do not include unrecognized tax benefits of $4.7 million due to uncertainty regarding the timing of future cash payments. |
Concurrent with the sale of the 169,429 square-foot office building located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC, we entered into a lease with GLL L-Street 1331, LLC (“GLL”) to lease back 149,514 square feet of the office space located in the building for use as our corporate headquarters. The lease will expire May 31, 2025 (subject to two 5-year renewal options). The initial base rent is $38.50 per square foot of occupied space, escalating 2.5% per year commencing June 1, 2011. Minimum lease payments will be approximately $6.0 million, $6.1 million, $6.3 million, $6.4 million and $6.6 million for fiscal years 2012 through 2016, respectively, and a total of $62.6 million from 2017 to the end of the lease term.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, among others, our operating results, expansion and integration efforts, and our level of acquisition activity or other strategic transactions.
During 2011,2014, we incurred capital expenditures of approximately $15.0$27.4 million. We expect to make aggregate capital expenditures in 20122015 of approximately $15.0$30.0 million to $20.0 million.$40.0 million, primarily related to the build out of leased office space.
In conjunction with the launch of the improved Apartments.com website, we plan to embark on a wide-scale marketing campaign commencing during the first quarter of 2015 and running throughout the remainder of 2015, to generate brand awareness and site traffic for Apartments.com, including an incremental investment of $75.0 million above Apartments.com’s 2014 annualized marketing spend since the close of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business.
To date, we have grown in part by acquiring other companies and we may continue to make acquisitions. Our acquisitions may vary in size and could be material to our current operations. We may use cash, stock, debt or other means of funding to make these acquisitions.
On October 25, 2011,April 1, 2014, we acquired Virtual Premise,purchased the Apartments.com Business from CV for a SaaS provider of real estate information management solutions located in Atlanta, Georgia. Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement, we paid approximately $17.2 million in cash, approximately 80% of which was paid on the closing date and the remaining 20% of which will be held in escrow until paid 270 days after the closing date, subject to use of such funds to satisfy any post-closing net working capital adjustments or indemnification claims made prior to such date. The purchase price of $587.1 million, which was later reduced by approximately $200,000 after taking into account post-closing purchase price adjustments and this amount is expected to be paid from$2.9 million following the escrow fund tofinal determination of the Company.
On April 27, 2011, we signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet. Pursuant tonet working capital of the merger agreement, (a) each outstanding share of LoopNet common stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) $16.50 in cash, without interest and (ii) 0.03702 shares of CoStar common stock, and (b) each outstanding share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, unless previously converted into LoopNet common stock, will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Stock Consideration, representing a total equity value of approximately $860.0 million and an enterprise value of $762.0 millionApartments.com Business as of April 27, 2011. The holders of LoopNet’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock delivered contingent conversion notices to LoopNet pursuant to which such shares will be converted into LoopNet common stock immediately prior to, and contingent upon, the completion ofClosing Date. On the merger.
On April 27, 2011, we received a commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank for a fully committed term loan of $415.0 million and a $50.0 million revolving credit facility, of which $37.5 million are committed, which will be available, subject to customary conditions, to fund the LoopNet acquisition and the ongoing working capital needs of CoStar and its subsidiaries following the transaction. In June 2011, we completed an equity offering and received net proceeds of approximately $247.9 million. We intend to use these proceeds to fund a portion of the cash consideration payable in connection with the acquisition of LoopNet. On February 16, 2012,Closing Date, we entered into athe 2014 Credit Agreement by and among CoStar, as borrower,Borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as co-borrower,Co-Borrower, the lendersLenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent.Administrative Agent. We funded the purchase price for the Apartments.com Business at closing through a combination of cash on hand and the proceeds of the term loan facility and the initial borrowing under the revolving credit facility under the 2014 Credit Agreement. The 2014 Credit Agreement provides for a $175.0$400.0 million term loan facility and a $50.0$225.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The obligation of the lenders to make the loans under the Credit Agreement is subject to the simultaneous closing of the merger with LoopNet and the satisfaction of certain other conditions precedent. We expect to use the proceeds of the term loan facility and the initial borrowing of $150.0 million under the revolving credit facility on the date on which such conditions are satisfied along with net proceeds fromClosing Date were also used to refinance the equity offering in June 2011 to pay a portion ofterm loan facility and revolving credit facility established under the merger consideration2012 Credit Agreement, including related fees and transaction costs related to the merger.expenses. The undrawn proceeds of the revolving credit facility may be used, on the closing date, to payare available for transaction costs related to the merger and, thereafter, forour working capital needs and other general corporate purposespurposes. As of CoStarDecember 31, 2014, maturities of our borrowings under the 2014 Credit Agreement for each of the next five years ended December 31, 2015 to 2019, are expected to be $20.0 million, $20.0 million, $35.0 million, $55.0 million and its subsidiaries. $255.0 million, respectively. During June 2014, we repaid the $150.0 million initial borrowing under the revolving credit facility.
The original commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank received on April 27, 2011 remains outstandingrevolving credit facility includes a subfacility for swingline loans of up to $10.0 million, and available, subjectup to customary conditions, to fund the LoopNet acquisition and the ongoing working capital needs of CoStar and its subsidiaries following the LoopNet transaction until the earlier of funding$10.0 million of the revolving credit facility is available for the issuance of letters of credit. The term loan facility into escrowwill amortize in quarterly installments in amounts resulting in an annual amortization of 5% during each of the first, second and third years, 10% during the fourth year and 15% during the fifth year after the Closing Date, with the remainder payable at final maturity. The loans under the 2014 Credit Agreement bear interest, at our option, either (i) during any interest period selected by us, at the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars with a maturity comparable to such interest period, adjusted for statutory reserves (“LIBOR”), plus an initial spread of 2.00% per annum, subject to adjustment based on our First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement), or (ii) at the greatest of (x) the prime rate from time to time announced by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., (y) the federal funds effective rate plus ½ of 1% and (z) LIBOR for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, plus an initial spread of 1.00% per annum, subject to adjustment based on our First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio. If an event of default occurs under the 2014 Credit Agreement, the interest rate on overdue amounts will increase by 2.00% per annum. The obligations under the 2014 Credit Agreement are guaranteed by all of our material subsidiaries and are secured by a lien on substantially all of our assets and those of our material subsidiaries, in each case subject to certain exceptions, pursuant to security and guarantee documents entered into on the Closing Date.
The 2014 Credit Agreement if applicable, andrequires us to maintain (i) a First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined in the business day2014 Credit Agreement) not exceeding 4.00 to 1.00 during each full fiscal quarter after the beginningClosing Date through the three months ended March 31, 2016, and 3.50 to 1.00 thereafter and (ii) after the incurrence of additional indebtedness under certain specified exceptions in the marketing period under2014 Credit Agreement, a Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the merger agreement. However, we do2014 Credit Agreement) not currently anticipate utilizingexceeding 5.00 to 1.00 during each full fiscal quarter after the Closing Date through the three months ended March 31, 2016, and 4.50 to 1.00 thereafter. The 2014 Credit Agreement also includes other covenants, including covenants that, original commitment.subject to certain exceptions, restrict our ability to (i) incur additional indebtedness, (ii) create, incur, assume or permit to exist any liens, (iii) enter into mergers, consolidations or similar transactions, (iv) make investments and acquisitions, (v) make certain dispositions of assets, (vi) make dividends, distributions and prepayments of certain indebtedness, and (vii) enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
In connection with obtaining the term loan facility and revolving credit facility pursuant to the 2014 Credit Agreement, we expect to incurincurred approximately $10.6$10.1 million in debt issuance costs which will be capitalized and amortized as interest expense over the term of the Credit Agreement using the effective interest method.April 1, 2014. The debt issuance costs will bewere comprised of approximately $9.1$9.7 million in underwriting fees and approximately $1.5 million$400,000 primarily related to legal fees associated with the debt issuance. We have incurred approximately $900,000 inApproximately $10.0 million of the fees associated with the refinancing, along with the unamortized debt issuance costscost from the 2012 Credit Agreement, were capitalized and are amortized as interest expense over the term of December 31, 2011and have paid approximately $300,000.the 2014 Credit Agreement using the effective interest method.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance. We have expensed approximately $14.2 million in acquisition-related costs in general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of the pending LoopNet acquisition, of which we have paid approximately $13.4 million and expect to pay the remaining balance in 2012. We expect to incur approximately $1.0 million to $3.0 million in additional acquisition-related costs. The holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LoopNet’s common stock and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, approved the adoption of the merger agreement on July 11, 2011. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. In certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, LoopNet may be obligated to pay us a termination fee of $25.8 million. Similarly, in certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, we may be obligated to pay LoopNet a termination fee of $51.6 million. We are not in a position yet to estimate the financial impact the proposed merger will have on our operations.
We engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“J.P. Morgan”) to act as our financial advisor in connection with the acquisition. We are obligated to pay $4.0 million to J.P. Morgan if the acquisition closes. Completion of the merger remains subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and other customary closing conditions. As of December 31, 2011,2013 and 2014, no amounts were outstanding under our revolving credit facilities. Total interest expense for our term loan facilities and revolving credit facilities was approximately $4.8 million, $6.9 million and $10.5 million for the parties have not yet reached agreementyears ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Interest expense included amortized debt issuance costs of approximately $2.0 million, $3.0 million and $3.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Total interest paid for the term loan facilities was approximately $2.5 million, $4.3 million and $7.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
In 2012, we granted a total of 399,413 shares pursuant to performance-based restricted common stock awards with a forfeiture date of March 31, 2017. Upon vesting of these awards during the FTC onfirst quarter of 2014, consistent with minimum tax withholding requirements, a portion of the termsshares subject to the awards were remitted by the employees for payment of their individual income tax obligations. The shares remitted were canceled and we made a consent order withcash tax payment equivalent to the FTC, and there can be no assurance that such agreement will be reached in a timely manner or at all. fair market value of the canceled shares of approximately $31.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2014.
Based on current plans, we believe that our available cash combined with positive cash flow provided by operating activities should be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months.
As of December 31, 2011,2014, we had $27.3$18.7 million par value of long-term investments in student loan ARS, which failed to settle at auctions. The majority of these investments are of high credit quality with AAA credit ratings and are primarily securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”)FFELP of the U.S. Department of Education. While we continue to earn interest on these investments, the investments are not liquid in the short-term. In the event we need to immediately access these funds, we may have to sell these securities at an amount below par value. Based on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents and other short-term investments and our expected operating cash flows, we do not anticipate having to sell these investments below par value in order to operate our business in the foreseeable future.
As more fully described in Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on January 3, 2012, LoopNet, our wholly owned subsidiary, was sued by CIVIX-DDI, LLC (“Civix”) for alleged patent infringement, and the complaint was later amended to add CoStar as a defendant. The complaint sought unspecified damages, attorneys' fees and costs. On December 1, 2014, we settled all outstanding litigation with Civix for $2.9 million, which was paid on December 9, 2014.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In April 2009,May 2014, the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) jointly issued authoritative guidance related to the initiala new revenue recognition measurement and subsequent accounting for assets and liabilities arising from pre-acquisition contingencies in a business combination. It requiresstandard that such assets acquired or liabilities assumed be initially recognized at fair value at the acquisition date if fair value can be determined during the measurement period. When fair value cannot be determined, companies should typically account for the acquired contingencies using existing guidance. This guidance requires that companies expense acquisition and deal-related costs that were previously allowed to be capitalized. This guidance also requires that a systematic and rational basis for subsequently measuring and accounting for the assets or liabilities be developed depending on their nature. This guidance was effective for contingent assets or liabilities arising from business combinations with an acquisition date on or after January 1, 2009. The adoption of this guidance changes the accounting treatment and disclosure for certain specific items in a business combination with an acquisition date subsequent to December 31, 2008. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2009, and began expensing acquisition and deal-related costs in 2009 based on the issued authoritative guidance.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritativewill improve financial reporting by creating common recognition guidance for determining whether a market is active or inactive, and whether a transaction is distressed. This guidance is applicable to all assets and liabilities (financial and non-financial) and requires enhanced disclosures. We adopted this guidance for our interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in our financial statements.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring disclosures in interim reporting periods concerning the fair value of financial instruments that were previously only required in the annual financial statements. We adopted the provisions of this guidance for our interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in our financial statements.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that redefines what constitutes an other-than-temporary impairment, defines credit and non-credit components of an other-than-temporary impairment, prescribes their financial statement treatment, and requires enhanced disclosures relating to such impairments. We adopted this guidance for our interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in our financial statements.
In May 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued. This guidance was effective for all interim and annual reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. This guidance has not resulted in significant changes in the subsequent events that we report, either through recognition or disclosure, in our financial statements.
In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to amend the manner in which entities evaluate whether consolidation is required for variable interest entities (VIE). Previously, variable interest holders were required to determine whether they had a controlling financial interest in a VIE based on a quantitative analysis of the expected gains and/or losses of the entity. The new guidance requires an enterprise with a variable interest in a VIE to qualitatively assess whether it has a controlling financial interest in the entity, and if so, whether it is the primary beneficiary. This guidance also requires that companies continually evaluate VIEs for consolidation, rather than assessing whether consolidation is required based upon the occurrence of triggering events. This guidance enhances disclosures to provide financial statement users with greater transparency about transfers of financial assets and a transferor’s continuing involvement with transferred financial assets. This guidance is effective for the first annual reporting period beginning after November 15, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position or related disclosures.
In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which replaced the previous hierarchy of U.S. GAAP and establishes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities. This guidance is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to our disclosures in our financial statements.
In July 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to improve the consistency with which companies apply fair value measurements guidance to liabilities. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after September 30, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position or related disclosures.
In October 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends existing guidance for identifying separate deliverables in a revenue-generating transaction where multiple deliverables exist, and provides guidance for measuring and allocating revenue to one or more units of accounting. In addition, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on arrangements that include software elements. Under this guidance, tangible products containing software components and non-software components that are essential to the functionality of the tangible product will no longer be within the scope of the software revenue recognition guidance. This guidance is effective using the prospective application or the retrospective application for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010 with earlier application permitted. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.
In January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends the disclosure requirements related to recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements. This guidance requires new disclosures on the transfers of assets and liabilities between Level 1 (assets and liabilities measured using observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets) and Level 2 (assets and liabilities measured using inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable) of the fair value measurement hierarchy, including the amount and reason of the transfers. Additionally, this guidance requires a roll forward of activities on purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements of the assets and liabilities measured using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 fair value measurements). This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, with the exception of the additional disclosure for Level 3 assets and liabilities, which is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010, and for interim periods within those fiscal years. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to our disclosures in our interim and annual financial statements.
In February 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends the disclosure requirements related to subsequent events. This guidance includes the definition of a Securities and Exchange Commission filer, removes the definition of a public entity, redefines the reissuance disclosure requirements and allows public companies to omit the disclosure of the date through which subsequent events have been evaluated. This guidance is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after February 2010. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to our disclosures in our financial statements.
In April 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance related to the criteria that should be met for determining whether the milestone method of revenue recognition is appropriate. A vendor can recognize consideration that is contingent upon achievement of a milestone in its entirety as revenue in the period in which the milestone is achieved if the milestone is: (a) commensurate with either the vendor’s performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of the value of the item delivered; (b) relates solely to past performance; and (c) is reasonable relative to all deliverables and payment terms in the arrangement. This guidance is effective on a prospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.
In May 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to develop common requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements in accordance with GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). This guidance clarifiesprovides a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues, improves the intentcomparability of the existing fair value measurement andrevenue recognition practices across industries, provides more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosure requirements and modifies principles and requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurement. Thissimplifies the presentation of financial statements. The core principle of the guidance is effective on a prospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. This guidance is not expectedthat an entity should recognize revenue to materially impact our resultsdepict the transfer of operationspromised goods or financial position, but will require changesservices to customers in an amount that reflects the disclosures in our interim and annual financial statements.
In June 2011,consideration to which the FASB issued authoritative guidance to improve the comparability, consistency and transparency of financial reporting and to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income. This guidance requires changes in stockholders’ equityentity expects to be presented eitherentitled in a single continuous statement of comprehensive incomeexchange for those goods or in two separate but consecutive statements. Under the two-statement approach, the first statement should present total net income and its components followed consecutively by a second statement that should present total other comprehensive income, the components of other comprehensive income and the total of comprehensive income.services. This guidance is effective on a retrospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2011. 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. This guidance ispermits the use of either a full retrospective method or a modified retrospective approach in which it would be applied only to the most current period presented along with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. We have not expected toyet selected a transition method and are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but will require changes to the consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity and the addition of the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.statements.
In September 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to simplify how companies test goodwill for impairment. The guidance permits a company to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. This guidance is effective for goodwill impairment tests performed for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011, with early adoption permitted. This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.
In December 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to defer the effective date pertaining to the presentation of reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income previously established in the authoritative guidance issued in June 2011. This guidance also defers the presentation of the effect of those reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statements where net income is presented, by component of net income, and on the face of the financial statements where other comprehensive income is presented, by component of other comprehensive income. This guidance is effective on a retrospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position, but will require changes to the disclosures in our interim and annual financial statements.
We provide information, analytics and analyticonline marketplace services to the commercial real estate and related business community in the U.S., U.K., Toronto, Canada and France. Our functional currency for our operations in the U.K., Canada and France is the local currency. As such, fluctuations in the British Pound, Canadian dollar and Euro may have an impact on our business, results of operations and financial position. For the year ended December 31, 2011,2014, revenue denominated in foreign currencies was approximately 7.7%4.7% of total revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2011,2014, our revenue would have decreased by approximately $1.9 million$236,000 if the U.S. dollar exchange rate used strengthened by 10%. In addition, we have assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. A 10% strengthening of the U.S. dollar exchange rate against all currencies with which we have exposure at December 31, 20112014 would have resulted in an increase of approximately $1.5$3.3 million in the carrying amount of net assets. For the year ended December 31, 2011,2014, our revenue would have increased by approximately $1.9 million$236,000 if the U.S. dollar exchange rate used weakened by 10%. In addition, we have assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. A 10% weakening of the U.S. dollar exchange rate against all currencies with which we have exposure at December 31, 20112014 would have resulted in a decrease of approximately $1.5$3.3 million in the
carrying amount of net assets. We currently do not use financial instruments to hedge our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations with respect to our foreign subsidiaries. We may seek to enter hedging transactions in the future to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, but we may be unable to enter into hedging transactions successfully, on acceptable terms or at all. As of December 31, 2011,2014, accumulated other comprehensive loss included a loss from foreign currency translation adjustments of approximately $5.9$5.7 million.
We do not have material exposure to market risks associated with changes in interest rates related to cash equivalent securities held as of December 31, 2011.2014. As of December 31, 2011,2014, we had $548.8$527.0 million of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.equivalents. If there is an increase or decrease in interest rates, there will be a corresponding increase or decrease in the amount of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.equivalents.
As of December 31, 2014, we had $385.0 million of long-term debt bearing interest at a variable rate of LIBOR plus 2.00%, subject to adjustment based on our First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement). If there is an increase or decrease in interest rates, there will be a corresponding increase or decrease in the amount of interest expense on our long-term debt. Based on our outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2014, an increase in the interest rate by 25 basis points would result in an increase of approximately $1.0 million in interest expense annually. Based on our outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2014, a decrease in the interest rate by 25 basis points would result in a decrease of approximately $1.0 million in interest expense annually. Based on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments, and our expected operating cash flows, we do not believe that increases or decreases in interest rates will impact our ability to operate our business in the foreseeable future.
Included within our long-term investments are investments in mostly AAA-rated student loan ARS. These securities are primarily securities supported by guarantees from the FFELP of the U.S. Department of Education. As of December 31, 2011,2014, auctions for $27.3$18.7 million of our investments in auction rate securities failed.failed to settle at auction. As a result, we may not be able to sell these investments at par value until a future auction on these investments is successful. In the event we need to immediately liquidate these investments, we may have to locate a buyer outside the auction process, who may be unwilling to purchase the investments at par, resulting in a loss. Based on an assessment of fair value of these investments in ARS as of December 31, 2011,2014, we determined that there was a decline in the fair value of our ARS investments of approximately $2.7 million,$691,000, which was deemed to be a temporary impairment and recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. If the issuers are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, we may be required to adjust the carrying value of these investments as a temporary impairment and recognize a greater unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss or as an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings. Based on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments, and our expected operating cash flows, we do not anticipate having to sell these securities below par value in order to operate our business in the foreseeable future. See Notes 4 and 5 to the consolidated financial statementsNotes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.
We have approximately $112.3 million$1.4 billion in intangible assets as of December 31, 2011.2014. As of December 31, 2011,2014, we believe our intangible assets will be recoverable, however, changes in the economy, the business in which we operate and our own relative performance could change the assumptions used to evaluate intangible asset recoverability. In the event that we determine that an asset has been impaired, we would recognize an impairment charge equal to the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the asset. We continue to monitor these assumptions and their effect on the estimated recoverability of our intangible assets.
Financial Statements meeting the requirements of Regulation S-X are set forth beginning at page F-1. Supplementary data is set forth in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under the caption “Consolidated Results of Operations” and "Consolidated Quarterly Results of Operations.”"
None.
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
As of December 31, 2011,2014, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and were operating at the reasonable assurance level.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management of CoStar is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. As defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or supervised by, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.GAAP.
The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is supported by written policies and procedures, that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the Company’s assets; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of the Company’s management and directors; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In connection with the preparation of the Company's annual financial statements, management of the Company has undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 20112014 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013 framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“the COSO Framework”). Management's assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Company's internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Based on this assessment, management did not identify any material weakness in the Company's internal control, and management has concluded that the Company's internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2011.2014.
Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the Company's financial statements included in this report, has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, a copy of which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
None.
PART III
CoStar has adopted a Code of Conduct for its directors. In addition, CoStar has adopted a separate Code of Conduct for its officers and employees, including its principal executive, financial and accounting officers, or persons performing similar functions. Copies of each of these codes may be found in the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at http://www.costargroup.com/investors/governance. We intend to disclose future amendments to certain provisions of our Codes, or waivers of such provisions granted to executive officers and directors, as required by SEC rules on the website within four business days following the date of such amendment or waiver.
The remaining information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 20122015 annual meeting of stockholders.
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 20122015 annual meeting of stockholders.
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| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 20122015 annual meeting of stockholders.
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 20122015 annual meeting of stockholders.
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for our 20122015 annual meeting of stockholders.
PART IV
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| Item 15. | Exhibits and FinancialFinancial Statement Schedules |
(a)(1) The following financial statements are filed as a part of this report: CoStar Group, Inc. Consolidated Financial Statements.
(a)(2) Financial statement schedules:
Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
Years Ended December 31, 2009, 2010,2012, 2013, and 20112014 (in thousands):
Allowance for doubtful accounts and billing adjustments (1) | | Balance at Beginning of Year | | | Charged to Expense | | | Write-offs, Net of Recoveries | | | Balance at End of Year | |
Year ended December 31, 2009 | | $ | 3,213 | | | $ | 4,172 | | | $ | 4,522 | | | $ | 2,863 | |
Year ended December 31, 2010 | | $ | 2,863 | | | $ | 1,471 | | | $ | 1,919 | | | $ | 2,415 | |
Year ended December 31, 2011 | | $ | 2,415 | | | $ | 1,525 | | | $ | 1,416 | | | $ | 2,524 | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Billing Adjustments (1) | | Balance at Beginning of Year | | Charged to Expense | | Charged to Other Accounts (2) | | Write-offs, Net of Recoveries | | Balance at End of Year |
| Year ended December 31, 2012 | | $ | 2,524 |
| | $ | 1,456 |
| | $ | 475 |
| | $ | 1,520 |
| | $ | 2,935 |
|
| Year ended December 31, 2013 | | $ | 2,935 |
| | $ | 2,317 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,855 |
| | $ | 3,397 |
|
| Year ended December 31, 2014 | | $ | 3,397 |
| | $ | 4,822 |
| | $ | 881 |
| | $ | 4,285 |
| | $ | 4,815 |
|
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(1) | Additions to the allowance for doubtful accounts are charged to bad debt expense. Additions to the allowance for billing adjustments are charged against revenues. |
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(2) | Amounts represent opening balances from acquired businesses. |
Additional financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or not required or because the required information is incorporated herein by reference or included in the financial statements or related notes included elsewhere in this report.
(a)(3) The documents required to be filed as exhibits to this Report under Item 601 of Regulation S-K are listed in the Exhibit Index included elsewhere in this report, which list is incorporated herein by reference.
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, on the 2326rdth day of February 2012.2015.
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| | |
| | COSTAR GROUP, INC. |
| | | |
| | By: | /s/ Andrew C. Florance |
| | | Andrew C. Florance |
| | | President and Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Andrew C. Florance and Brian J. Radecki, and each of them individually, as their true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this report, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and to all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, herein by ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or his or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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| | | | |
| Signature | | Capacity | | Date |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Michael R. Klein | | Chairman of the Board | | February 23, 201226, 2015 |
| Michael R. Klein | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Andrew C. Florance | | Chief Executive Officer and | | February 23, 201226, 2015 |
| Andrew C. Florance | | President and a Director | | |
| | | (Principal Executive Officer) | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Brian J. Radecki | | Chief Financial Officer | | February 23, 201226, 2015 |
| Brian J. Radecki | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ David Bonderman | | Director | | February 23, 201226, 2015 |
| David Bonderman | | | | |
| | | | |
| /s/ Michael J. Glosserman | | Director | | February 22, 2015 |
| Michael J. Glosserman | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Warren H. Haber | | Director | | February 23, 201224, 2015 |
| Warren H. Haber | | | | |
| | | | |
| /s/ John W. Hill | | Director | | February 22, 2015 |
| John W. Hill | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Christopher J. Nassetta | | Director | | February 23, 20122015 |
| Christopher J. Nassetta | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Michael J. Glosserman | | Director | | February 23, 2012 |
Michael J. Glosserman | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ David J. Steinberg | | Director | | February 23, 20122015 |
| David J. Steinberg | | | | |
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| Exhibit No. | | Description |
| | | |
| 2.1 | | Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 27, 2011, by and among CoStar Group, Inc., Lonestar Acquisition Sub, Inc. and LoopNet, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on April 28, 2011). |
| 2.2 | | Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 20, 2011, among LoopNet, Inc., CoStar Group, Inc.the Registrant and Lonestar Acquisition Sub, Inc. (Incorporated by referenced to Exhibit 2.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 23, 2011). |
| 3.1 | | Restated Certificate of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 the Registration Statement on Form S-1 of the Registrant (Reg. No. 333-47953) filed with the Commission on March 13, 1998 (the “1998 Form S-1”)). |
3.2 | | Certificate of Amendment ofThird Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’sRegistrant's Current Report on Form 10-Q for8-K filed with the quarter endedCommission on June 30, 1999)6, 2013). |
3.33.2 | | Third Amended and Restated By-Laws (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 6, 2011.with the Commission on September 24, 2013). |
| 4.1 | | Specimen Common Stock Certificate (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 of the Registrant (Reg. No. 333-174214) filed with the Commission on June 3, 2011.2011). |
| *10.1 | | CoStar Group, Inc. 1998 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005). |
| *10.2 | | CoStar Group, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.210.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 8, 2011.2012). |
| *10.3 | | CoStar Group, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan French Sub-Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007). |
| *10.4 | | Form of Stock Option Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers, directors and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004). |
| *10.5 | | Form of Stock Option Agreement between the Registrant and Andrew C. Florance (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004). |
| *10.6 | | Form of Restricted Stock Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers, directors and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004). |
| *10.7 | | Form of 2007 Plan Restricted Stock Grant Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers, directors and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K filed June 22, 2007). |
| *10.8 | | Form of 2007 Plan Restricted Stock Unit Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013). |
| *10.9 | | Form of 2007 Plan Incentive Stock Option Grant Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
*10.910.10 | | Form of 2007 Plan Incentive Stock Option Grant Agreement between the Registrant and Andrew C. Florance (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
*10.1010.11 | | Form of 2007 Plan Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its officers and employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
*10.1110.12 | | Form of 2007 Plan Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its directors (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS ¾ (CONTINUED)
Exhibit No. | | Description |
*10.1210.13 | | Form of 2007 Plan Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Agreement between the Registrant and Andrew C. Florance (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
*10.1310.14 | | Form of 2007 Plan French Sub-Plan Restricted Stock Agreement between the Registrant and certain of its employees (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007). |
*10.1410.15 | | CoStar Group, Inc. 2011 Incentive Bonus Plan (Incorporated by referenced to Exhibit 99.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 8, 2011). |
*10.1510.16 | | CoStar Group, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010). |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS — (CONTINUED)
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| | |
| Exhibit No. | | Description |
*10.1610.17 | | Summary of Non-Employee Director Compensation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013). |
| *10.18 | | Employment Agreement for Andrew C. Florance (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 of the Registrant (Reg. No. 333-47953) filed with the Commission on April 27, 1998). |
*10.1710.19 | | First Amendment to Andrew C. Florance Employment Agreement, effective January 1, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008). |
*10.1810.20 | | Executive Service Contract dated February 16, 2007, between Property Investment Exchange Limited and Paul Marples (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007). |
| *10.21 | | Leaving Agreement dated February 27, 2013, between CoStar U.K. Limited and Paul Marples (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Registrant's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012). |
| *10.22 | | Separation Agreement and General Release dated October 6, 2013, between CoStar Realty Information, Inc. and Jennifer Kitchen (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the Registrant's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013). |
| 10.23 | | Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its officers and directors (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004). |
10.2010.24 | | Agreement for Lease between CoStar UK Limited and Wells Fargo & Company, dated August 25, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009). |
10.2110.25 | | Sub-Underlease between CoStar UK Limited and Wells Fargo & Company, dated November 18, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009). |
10.22 | | Purchase and Sale Agreement between 1331 L Street LLC and 1331 L Street Holdings, LLC, dated January 20, 2010 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010). |
10.2310.26 | | Deed of Office Lease by and between GLL L-Street 1331, LLC and CoStar Realty Information, Inc., dated February 18, 2011, and made effective as of June 1, 2010 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Report on form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011). |
10.2410.27 | | Purchase and SaleCredit Agreement dated February 16, 2012, by and between 1331 L Street Holdings, LLCamong the Registrant, as Borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as Co-Borrower, the Lenders from time to time party thereto and GLL L-Street 1331, LLC, dated February 2, 2011JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’sRegistrant's Report on formForm 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011)2012).
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10.2510.28 | | Voting and SupportFirst Amendment dated as of April 25, 2012, to the Credit Agreement dated as of February 16, 2012, among the Registrant, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., the Lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., as Administrative Agent (Incorporated by referenced to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 27, 2011,30, 2012).
|
| 10.29 | | Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 28, 2014, by and amongbetween Classified Ventures, LLC and CoStar Group, Inc., LoopNet, Inc., the holders of Series A convertible preferred stock of LoopNet, Inc., certain executive officers and the directors of LoopNet, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’sCoStar’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed withMarch 3, 2014). |
| 10.30 | | Credit Agreement, dated as of April 1, 2014, by and among CoStar Group, Inc., as Borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as Co-Borrower, the CommissionLenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to CoStar’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 28, 2011)4, 2014). |
| 21.1 | | Subsidiaries of the Registrant (filed herewith). |
| 23.1 | | Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (filed herewith). |
| 31.1 | | Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS ¾ (CONTINUED)
Exhibit No. | | Description |
| 31.2 | | Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
| 32.1 | | Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
| 32.2 | | Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS — (CONTINUED)
** |
| | |
| Exhibit No. | | Description |
| 101 | | The following materials from CoStar Group, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 2011,31, 2014, formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Consolidated Statement of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively; (ii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively; (iii) Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 20102013 and December 31, 2011,2014, respectively; (iii)(iv) Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively; (iv)(v) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively; (v)(vi) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements that have been detail tagged; and (vi)(vii) Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts (submitted electronically with this report). |
* Management Contract or Compensatory Plan or Arrangement.
** Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the Interactive Data Files on Exhibit 101 hereto are deemed not filed or part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise are not subject to liability under those sections.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
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| |
| Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | |
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 | |
| Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014 | |
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 20102013 and 20112014 | F-5 |
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 | F-6 |
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 | F-7 |
| Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements | F-8 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and ShareholdersStockholders of CoStar Group, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CoStar Group, Inc. as of December 31, 20112014 and 2010,2013, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011.2014. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of CoStar Group, Inc. at December 31, 20112014 and 2010,2013, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011,2014, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), CoStar Group, Inc.’s's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011,2014, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated February 23, 201226, 2015 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
McLean, Virginia
February 23, 201226, 2015
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and ShareholdersStockholders of CoStar Group, Inc.
We have audited CoStar Group, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011,2014, based on criteria established in Internal Control—IntegratedControl-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). CoStar Group, Inc.’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, CoStar Group, Inc.maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011,2014, based on the COSO criteria.criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of CoStar Group, Inc. as of December 31, 20112014 and 2010,2013, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011 of CoStar Group, Inc.2014 and our report dated February 23, 201226, 2015 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
McLean, Virginia
February 23, 201226, 2015
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share data)
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Revenues | | $ | 209,659 | | | $ | 226,260 | | | $ | 251,738 | |
| Cost of revenues | | | 73,714 | | | | 83,599 | | | | 88,167 | |
| Gross margin | | | 135,945 | | | | 142,661 | | | | 163,571 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Operating expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Selling and marketing | | | 42,508 | | | | 52,455 | | | | 61,164 | |
Software development | | | 13,942 | | | | 17,350 | | | | 20,037 | |
General and administrative | | | 44,248 | | | | 47,776 | | | | 58,362 | |
Purchase amortization | | | 3,412 | | | | 2,305 | | | | 2,237 | |
| | | | 104,110 | | | | 119,886 | | | | 141,800 | |
| Income from operations | | | 31,835 | | | | 22,775 | | | | 21,771 | |
| Interest and other income, net | | | 1,253 | | | | 735 | | | | 798 | |
| Income before income taxes | | | 33,088 | | | | 23,510 | | | | 22,569 | |
| Income tax expense, net | | | 14,395 | | | | 10,221 | | | | 7,913 | |
Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net income per share ¾ basic | | $ | 0.95 | | | $ | 0.65 | | | $ | 0.63 | |
Net income per share ¾ diluted | | $ | 0.94 | | | $ | 0.64 | | | $ | 0.62 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average outstanding shares ¾ basic | | | 19,780 | | | | 20,330 | | | | 23,131 | |
Weighted average outstanding shares ¾ diluted | | | 19,925 | | | | 20,707 | | | | 23,527 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| | | | | | |
| Revenues | $ | 349,936 |
| | $ | 440,943 |
| | $ | 575,936 |
|
| Cost of revenues | 114,866 |
| | 129,185 |
| | 156,979 |
|
| Gross margin | 235,070 |
| | 311,758 |
| | 418,957 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Operating expenses: | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Selling and marketing | 84,113 |
| | 98,708 |
| | 150,305 |
|
| Software development | 32,756 |
| | 46,757 |
| | 55,426 |
|
| General and administrative | 77,154 |
| | 96,956 |
| | 103,916 |
|
| Purchase amortization | 13,607 |
| | 15,183 |
| | 28,432 |
|
| | 207,630 |
| | 257,604 |
| | 338,079 |
|
| Income from operations | 27,440 |
| | 54,154 |
| | 80,878 |
|
| Interest and other income | 526 |
| | 326 |
| | 516 |
|
| Interest and other expense | (4,832 | ) | | (6,943 | ) | | (10,481 | ) |
| Income before income taxes | 23,134 |
| | 47,537 |
| | 70,913 |
|
| Income tax expense, net | 13,219 |
| | 17,803 |
| | 26,044 |
|
| Net income | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Net income per share — basic | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.07 |
| | $ | 1.48 |
|
| Net income per share — diluted | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.05 |
| | $ | 1.46 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Weighted average outstanding shares — basic | 26,533 |
| | 27,670 |
| | 30,215 |
|
| Weighted average outstanding shares — diluted | 26,949 |
| | 28,212 |
| | 30,641 |
|
See accompanying notes.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Net income | | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax | | | | | | |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | | 1,277 |
| | 610 |
| | (1,690 | ) |
| Net decrease in unrealized loss on investments | | 773 |
| | 378 |
| | 836 |
|
| Total other comprehensive income (loss) | | 2,050 |
| | 988 |
| | (854 | ) |
| Total comprehensive income | | $ | 11,965 |
| | $ | 30,722 |
| | $ | 44,015 |
|
See accompanying notes.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except per share data)
|
| | | | | | | |
| | December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| ASSETS | | | |
| Current assets: | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 255,953 |
| | $ | 527,012 |
|
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of approximately $3,397 and $4,815 as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively | 20,761 |
| | 38,694 |
|
| Deferred and other income taxes, net | 22,506 |
| | 20,007 |
|
| Income tax receivable | — |
| | 1,027 |
|
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 6,597 |
| | 9,736 |
|
| Debt issuance costs, net | 2,649 |
| | 3,335 |
|
| Total current assets | 308,466 |
| | 599,811 |
|
| | | | |
| Long-term investments | 21,990 |
| | 17,151 |
|
| Property and equipment, net | 57,719 |
| | 73,753 |
|
| Goodwill | 718,587 |
| | 1,138,805 |
|
| Intangible assets, net | 144,472 |
| | 241,622 |
|
| Deposits and other assets | 1,855 |
| | 2,676 |
|
| Debt issuance costs, net | 3,893 |
| | 9,864 |
|
| Total assets | $ | 1,256,982 |
| | $ | 2,083,682 |
|
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | |
| | |
|
| Current liabilities: | |
| | |
|
| Current portion of long-term debt | $ | 24,063 |
| | $ | 20,000 |
|
| Accounts payable | 4,939 |
| | 8,608 |
|
| Accrued wages and commissions | 20,104 |
| | 23,155 |
|
| Accrued expenses | 23,200 |
| | 27,001 |
|
| Deferred gain on the sale of building | 2,523 |
| | 2,523 |
|
| Income taxes payable | 2,362 |
| | — |
|
| Deferred revenue | 34,362 |
| | 38,003 |
|
| Total current liabilities | 111,553 |
| | 119,290 |
|
| | | | |
| Long-term debt, less current portion | 129,062 |
| | 365,000 |
|
| Deferred gain on the sale of building | 26,286 |
| | 23,762 |
|
| Deferred rent | 22,828 |
| | 27,032 |
|
| Deferred income taxes, net | 34,582 |
| | 30,349 |
|
| Income taxes payable | 4,809 |
| | 4,703 |
|
| Total liabilities | 329,120 |
| | 570,136 |
|
| | | | |
| Commitments and contingencies |
|
| |
|
|
| | | | |
| Stockholders’ equity: | |
| | |
|
| Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 2,000 shares authorized; none outstanding | — |
| | — |
|
| Common stock, $0.01 par value; 60,000 shares authorized; 28,848 and 32,318 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively | 288 |
| | 323 |
|
| Additional paid-in capital | 863,780 |
| | 1,405,414 |
|
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (5,530 | ) | | (6,384 | ) |
| Retained earnings | 69,324 |
| | 114,193 |
|
| Total stockholders’ equity | 927,862 |
| | 1,513,546 |
|
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 1,256,982 |
| | $ | 2,083,682 |
|
| | | December 31, | |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| ASSETS | | | | | | |
| Current assets: | | | | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 206,405 | | | $ | 545,280 | |
Short-term investments | | | 3,722 | | | | 3,515 | |
| Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of approximately $2,415 and $2,524 as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively | | | 13,094 | | | | 16,589 | |
Deferred income taxes, net | | | 5,203 | | | | 11,227 | |
Income tax receivable | | | 4,940 | | | | 850 | |
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | | 5,809 | | | | 5,722 | |
Total current assets | | | 239,173 | | | | 583,183 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Long-term investments | | | 29,189 | | | | 24,584 | |
Deferred income taxes, net | | | ¾ | | | | 10,224 | |
Property and equipment, net | | | 69,921 | | | | 37,571 | |
Goodwill | | | 79,602 | | | | 91,784 | |
Intangibles and other assets, net | | | 18,774 | | | | 20,530 | |
Deposits and other assets | | | 2,989 | | | | 3,159 | |
Total assets | | $ | 439,648 | | | $ | 771,035 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | | | | | | | | |
| Current liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accounts payable | | $ | 3,123 | | | $ | 6,010 | |
Accrued wages and commissions | | | 12,465 | | | | 16,695 | |
Accrued expenses | | | 18,411 | | | | 12,761 | |
Deferred gain on the sale of building | | | ¾ | | | | 2,523 | |
Income taxes payable | | | ¾ | | | | 978 | |
Deferred rent | | | ¾ | | | | 544 | |
Deferred revenue | | | 16,895 | | | | 22,271 | |
Total current liabilities | | | 50,894 | | | | 61,782 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Deferred gain on the sale of building | | | ¾ | | | | 31,333 | |
Deferred rent | | | 4,032 | | | | 16,592 | |
Deferred income taxes, net | | | 1,450 | | | | ¾ | |
Income taxes payable | | | 1,770 | | | | 2,151 | |
| Total liabilities | | | 58,146 | | | | 111,858 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Commitments and contingencies | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Stockholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
| Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 2,000 shares authorized; none outstanding | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | |
| Common stock, $0.01 par value; 30,000 shares authorized; 20,773 and 25,426 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively | | | 208 | | | | 254 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 374,981 | | | | 637,816 | |
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | | | (8,706 | ) | | | (8,568 | ) |
Retained earnings | | | 15,019 | | | | 29,675 | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | | 381,502 | | | | 659,177 | |
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | | $ | 439,648 | | | $ | 771,035 | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(in(in thousands)
| | | | | | | | | | | | Accumulated | | | Retained | | | |
| | | | | | | | Additional | | | | Other | | | Earnings | | | Total |
| | | Comprehensive | | | Common Stock | | Paid-In | | | | Comprehensive | | | (Accumulated | | | Stockholders’ |
| | | Income | | | Shares | | | | Amount | | Capital | | | | Income (Loss) | | | Deficit) | | | Equity |
| Balance at December 31, 2008 | | | | | | 19,733 | | | $ | 197 | | | $ | 333,983 | | | $ | (13,796 | ) | | $ | (16,963 | ) | | $ | 303,421 | |
| Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | | | | | | |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | | | 3,671 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | | |
| Net unrealized gain on investments | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | | |
| Comprehensive income | | $ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Exercise of stock options | | | | | | | 85 | | | | | | | | 2,232 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 2,232 | |
| Restricted stock grants | | | | | | | 237 | | | | 2 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 2 | |
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | | | | | | | (44 | ) | | | | | | | (672 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (672 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 6,438 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 6,438 | |
| ESPP | | | | | | | 7 | | | | ¾ | | | | 230 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 230 | |
| Consideration for PPR | | | | | | | 573 | | | | 6 | | | | 20,897 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 20,903 | |
| Consideration for Resolve Technology | | | | | | | 26 | | | | 1 | | | | 1,124 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 1,125 | |
| Excess tax benefit for exercised stock options | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 403 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 403 | |
| Balance at December 31, 2009 | | | | | | | 20,617 | | | | 206 | | | | 364,635 | | | | (7,565 | ) | | | 1,730 | | | | 359,006 | |
| Net income | | $ | 13,289 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 13,289 | | | | 13,289 | |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | | | (1,064 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (1,064 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | (1,064 | ) |
Net unrealized loss on investments | | | (77 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (77 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | (77 | ) |
| Comprehensive income | | $ | 12,148 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Exercise of stock options | | | | | | | 138 | | | | 2 | | | | 3,720 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 3,722 | |
| Restricted stock grants | | | | | | | 113 | | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | | |
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | | | | | | | (103 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | (2,906 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (2,906 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 8,270 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 8,270 | |
| ESPP | | | | | | | 8 | | | | ¾ | | | | 360 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 360 | |
| Excess tax benefit for exercised stock options | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 902 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 902 | |
| Balance at December 31, 2010 | | | | | | | 20,773 | | | | 208 | | | | 374,981 | | | | (8,706 | ) | | | 15,019 | | | | 381,502 | |
| Net income | | $ | 14,656 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 14,656 | | | | 14,656 | |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | | | 25 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 25 | | | | ¾ | | | | 25 | |
Net unrealized gain on investments | | | 113 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 113 | | | | ¾ | | | | 113 | |
| Comprehensive income | | $ | 14,794 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Exercise of stock options | | | | | | | 198 | | | | 2 | | | | 6,212 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 6,214 | |
| Restricted stock grants | | | | | | | 197 | | | | 1 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 1 | |
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | | | | | | | (63 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | (2,307 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (2,307 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 8,056 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 8,056 | |
| Stock issued for equity offering | | | | | | | 4,313 | | | | 43 | | | | 247,881 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 247,924 | |
| ESPP | | | | | | | 8 | | | | ¾ | | | | 452 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 452 | |
| Excess tax benefit for exercised stock options | | | | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 2,541 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 2,541 | |
| Balance at December 31, 2011 | | | | | | | 25,426 | | | $ | 254 | | | $ | 637,816 | | | $ | (8,568 | ) | | $ | 29,675 | | | $ | 659,177 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | | Retained Earnings | | Total Stockholders’ Equity |
| | Shares | | Amount | | | | |
| Balance at December 31, 2011 | 25,426 |
| | $ | 254 |
| | $ | 637,816 |
| | $ | (8,568 | ) | | $ | 29,675 |
| | $ | 659,177 |
|
| Net income | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 9,915 |
| | 9,915 |
|
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 1,277 |
| | — |
| | 1,277 |
|
| Net decrease in unrealized loss on investments | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 773 |
| | — |
| | 773 |
|
| Exercise of stock options | 273 |
| | 2 |
| | 9,194 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 9,196 |
|
| Restricted stock grants | 855 |
| | 8 |
| | (8 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | (96 | ) | | — |
| | (4,204 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (4,204 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | — |
| | — |
| | 12,207 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 12,207 |
|
| Employee stock purchase plan | 10 |
| | — |
| | 749 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 749 |
|
| Consideration for LoopNet | 1,880 |
| | 19 |
| | 137,036 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 137,055 |
|
| Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation | — |
| | — |
| | 198 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 198 |
|
| Balance at December 31, 2012 | 28,348 |
| | 283 |
| | 792,988 |
| | (6,518 | ) | | 39,590 |
| | 826,343 |
|
| Net income | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 29,734 |
| | 29,734 |
|
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 610 |
| | — |
| | 610 |
|
| Net decrease in unrealized loss on investments | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 378 |
| | — |
| | 378 |
|
| Exercise of stock options | 409 |
| | 3 |
| | 16,820 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 16,823 |
|
| Restricted stock grants | 238 |
| | 2 |
| | (2 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | (158 | ) | | — |
| | (8,469 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (8,469 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | — |
| | — |
| | 41,403 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 41,403 |
|
| Employee stock purchase plan | 11 |
| | — |
| | 1,455 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 1,455 |
|
| Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation | — |
| | — |
| | 19,585 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 19,585 |
|
| Balance at December 31, 2013 | 28,848 |
| | 288 |
| | 863,780 |
| | (5,530 | ) | | 69,324 |
| | 927,862 |
|
| Net income | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 44,869 |
| | 44,869 |
|
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (1,690 | ) | | — |
| | (1,690 | ) |
| Net decrease in unrealized loss on investments | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 836 |
| | — |
| | 836 |
|
| Exercise of stock options | 68 |
| | 1 |
| | 3,802 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 3,803 |
|
| Restricted stock grants | 260 |
| | 2 |
| | (2 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Restricted stock grants surrendered | (321 | ) | | (2 | ) | | (50,553 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (50,555 | ) |
| Stock compensation expense, net of forfeitures | — |
| | — |
| | 28,503 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 28,503 |
|
| Stock issued for equity offering | 3,450 |
| | 34 |
| | 529,326 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 529,360 |
|
| Employee stock purchase plan | 13 |
| | — |
| | 2,152 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 2,152 |
|
| Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation | — |
| | — |
| | 28,406 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 28,406 |
|
| Balance at December 31, 2014 | 32,318 |
| | $ | 323 |
| | $ | 1,405,414 |
| | $ | (6,384 | ) | | $ | 114,193 |
| | $ | 1,513,546 |
|
See accompanying notes.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
| | | | | Year Ended December 31, | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Operating activities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
|
Depreciation | | | 7,583 | | | | 8,607 | | | | 8,435 | | 10,053 |
| | 12,495 |
| | 15,111 |
|
Amortization | | | 7,093 | | | | 5,042 | | | | 4,417 | | 22,699 |
| | 27,563 |
| | 55,261 |
|
Deferred income tax expense, net | | | (2,428 | ) | | | 1,675 | | | | (17,104 | ) | |
| Amortization of debt issuance costs | | 1,989 |
| | 3,014 |
| | 3,312 |
|
| Impairment loss | | — |
| | — |
| | 1,799 |
|
| Property and equipment write-off | | 122 |
| | 104 |
| | 1,004 |
|
| Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation | | (198 | ) | | (19,585 | ) | | (28,406 | ) |
| Stock-based compensation expense | | 12,282 |
| | 41,549 |
| | 28,267 |
|
| Deferred income tax expense (benefit), net | | 13,643 |
| | (12,740 | ) | | (1,366 | ) |
Provision for losses on accounts receivable | | | 4,172 | | | | 1,471 | | | | 1,525 | | 1,456 |
| | 2,317 |
| | 4,822 |
|
Excess tax benefit from stock options | | | (403 | ) | | | (902 | ) | | | (2,541 | ) | |
Stock-based compensation expense | | | 6,460 | | | | 8,306 | | | | 8,103 | | |
| Deferred consideration settlement | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | (1,207 | ) | |
Property and equipment write-off | | | 603 | | | | 674 | | | | 628 | | |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
|
Accounts receivable | | | (1,610 | ) | | | (1,776 | ) | | | (4,573 | ) | 1,295 |
| | (6,607 | ) | | (12,353 | ) |
Interest receivable | | | 97 | | | | 70 | | | | 4 | | |
Income tax receivable | | | ¾ | | | | (4,940 | ) | | | 4,090 | | |
| Income taxes payable | | 7,598 |
| | 29,295 |
| | 24,542 |
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | | (1,521 | ) | | | (714 | ) | | | 1,042 | | (3,316 | ) | | 2,934 |
| | (2,846 | ) |
Deposits and other assets | | | (1,013 | ) | | | (385 | ) | | | (154 | ) | 1,172 |
| | 399 |
| | (157 | ) |
Accounts payable and other liabilities | | | 1,531 | | | | 6,690 | | | | 4,030 | | 1,629 |
| | (3,882 | ) | | 6,078 |
|
Deferred revenue | | | (812 | ) | | | 2,162 | | | | 4,334 | | 5,787 |
| | 1,708 |
| | 3,972 |
|
Net cash provided by operating activities | | | 38,445 | | | | 39,269 | | | | 25,685 | | 86,126 |
| | 108,298 |
| | 143,909 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Investing activities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
| | |
|
Settlement of investments | | | 17,159 | | | | 16,854 | | | | 4,911 | | |
Proceeds from sale of building, net | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 83,553 | | |
| Proceeds from sale and settlement of investments | | 15,365 |
| | 76 |
| | 5,675 |
|
| Purchases of property and equipment and other assets | | | (9,420 | ) | | | (57,358 | ) | | | (15,013 | ) | (14,834 | ) | | (19,042 | ) | | (27,444 | ) |
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired | | | (3,207 | ) | | | ¾ | | | | (15,085 | ) | (640,929 | ) | | — |
| | (584,218 | ) |
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | | | 4,532 | | | | (40,504 | ) | | | 58,366 | | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | | (640,398 | ) | | (18,966 | ) | | (605,987 | ) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Financing activities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
| | |
|
Excess tax benefit from stock options | | | 403 | | | | 902 | | | | 2,541 | | |
| Proceeds from long-term debt | | 175,000 |
| | — |
| | 550,000 |
|
| Payments of long-term debt | | (4,375 | ) | | (17,500 | ) | | (318,125 | ) |
| Payments of debt issuance costs | | (11,546 | ) | | — |
| | (9,969 | ) |
| Payments of deferred consideration | | — |
| | (1,344 | ) | | (1,344 | ) |
| Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation | | 198 |
| | 19,585 |
| | 28,406 |
|
| Repurchase of restricted stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations | | | (672 | ) | | | (2,904 | ) | | | (2,307 | ) | (4,204 | ) | | (8,469 | ) | | (50,555 | ) |
| Proceeds from equity offering, net of transaction costs | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 247,924 | | — |
| | — |
| | 529,360 |
|
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options and ESPP | | | 2,441 | | | | 4,044 | | | | 6,622 | | |
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plan | | 9,868 |
| | 18,133 |
| | 5,740 |
|
Net cash provided by financing activities | | | 2,172 | | | | 2,042 | | | | 254,780 | | 164,941 |
| | 10,405 |
| | 733,513 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents | | | 655 | | | | (188 | ) | | | 44 | | 78 |
| | 189 |
| | (376 | ) |
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | | | 45,804 | | | | 619 | | | | 338,875 | | |
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | | (389,253 | ) | | 99,926 |
| | 271,059 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | | | 159,982 | | | | 205,786 | | | | 206,405 | | 545,280 |
| | 156,027 |
| | 255,953 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | | $ | 205,786 | | | $ | 206,405 | | | $ | 545,280 | | $ | 156,027 |
| | $ | 255,953 |
| | $ | 527,012 |
|
See accompanying notes.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 20112014
1. ORGANIZATION
CoStar Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “CoStar”) has created aprovides information, analytics and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate and related business community through its comprehensive, proprietary database of commercial real estate information covering the United States (“U.S.”), as well as parts of the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Toronto, Canada and parts of France. Based on its unique database, theThe Company provides information and analytic services to theonline marketplaces for commercial real estate listings, apartment rentals, lands for sale and related business community andbusinesses for sale. The Company operates within two operating segments, U.S.North America and International. The Company’s informationInternational, and analyticits services are typically distributed to its clients under subscription-based license agreements that renew automatically, a majority of which typically have a minimum term of one year and renew automatically..
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Accounting policies are consistent for each operating segment.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Revenue Recognition
The Company primarily derives revenues by providing access to its proprietary database of commercial real estate information. The Company generally charges a fixed monthly amount for its subscription-based services. Subscription contract rates are based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size, the client’s business focus, geography and the number and types of services to which a client subscribes. Subscription-basedA majority of the subscription-based license agreements typically have a minimum term of one year and renew automatically.
Revenue is recognized when (1) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement, (2) the fee is fixed and determinable, (3) services have been rendered and payment has been contractually earned and (4) collectability is reasonably assured.
Revenues from subscription-based services are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the agreement. Deferred revenue results from advance cash receipts from customers or amounts billed in advance to customers from the salessale of subscription licenses and is recognized over the term of the license agreement.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues principally consists of salaries and related expenses for the Company’s researchers who collect and analyze the commercial real estate data that is the basis for the Company’s information, analytics and analytic services.online marketplaces. Additionally, cost of revenues includes the cost of data from third party data sources, credit card and other transaction fees relating to processing customer transactions, which isare expensed as incurred, and the amortization of acquired trade names and other intangible assets and database technology.
Significant Customers
No single customer accounted for more than 5% of the Company’s revenues for each of the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Foreign Currency Translation
The Company’s functional currency in its foreign locations is the local currency. Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars as of the balance sheet dates. Revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated at the average exchange rates in effect during each period. Gains and losses resulting from translation are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).loss. Net gains or losses resulting from foreign currency exchange transactions are included in the consolidated statements of operations. There were no material gains or losses from foreign currency exchange transactions for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011.2014.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — (CONTINUED) |
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
The components of accumulated other comprehensive loss were as follows (in thousands):
| | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | 2010 | | 2011 | |
Foreign currency translation adjustment | | $ | (5,915 | ) | | $ | (5,890 | ) |
| Accumulated net unrealized loss on investments, net of tax | | | (2,791 | ) | | | (2,678 | ) |
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss | | $ | (8,706 | ) | | $ | (8,568 | ) |
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of tax | $ | (4,003 | ) | | $ | (5,693 | ) |
| Accumulated net unrealized loss on investments, net of tax | (1,527 | ) | | (691 | ) |
| Total accumulated other comprehensive loss | $ | (5,530 | ) | | $ | (6,384 | ) |
There were no amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss to the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Advertising Costs
The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. E-commerceAdvertising costs, which includes e-commerce, television, radio, print and other media advertising, expenses were approximately $3.3$6.2 million $3.0, $7.9 million and $2.5$28.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
Income Taxes
Deferred income taxes result from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the basis reported in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted rates expected to be in effect during the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are provided against assets, including net operating losses, if it is anticipated that some or all of an asset may not be realized through future taxable earnings or implementation of tax planning strategies. Interest and penalties related to income tax matters are recognized in income tax expense.
Net Income Per Share
Net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period on a basic and diluted basis. The Company’s potentially dilutive securities include stock options and restricted stock. Diluted net income per share considers the impact of potentially dilutive securities except in periods in which there is a net loss, as the inclusion of the potentially dilutive common shares would have an anti-dilutive effect.
Stock-Based Compensation
Equity instruments issued in exchange for employee services are accounted for using a fair-value based method and the fair value of such equity instruments is recognized as expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
Stock-based compensation costexpense is measured at the grant date of the share-basedstock-based awards that vest over set time periods based on their fair values, and is recognized on a straight linestraight-line basis as expense over the vesting periods of the awards, net of an estimated forfeiture rate. For equity instruments that vest based on performance, the Company assesses the probability of the achievement of the performance conditions at the end of each reporting period, or more frequently based upon the occurrence of events that may change the probability of whether the performance conditions would be met. If the Company's initial estimates of the achievement of the performance conditions change, the related stock-based compensation expense and timing of recognition may fluctuate from period to period based on those estimates. For equity instruments that vest based on a performance condition and a market condition, the Company estimates the fair value of each equity instrument granted on the date of grant using a Monte-Carlo simulation model. This pricing model uses multiple simulations to evaluate the probability of achieving the market condition to calculate the fair value of the awards. Stock-based compensation expense is updated based on the expected achievement of the related performance conditions at the end of each reporting period. If the performance conditions are not met, no stock-based compensation expense will be recognized, and any previously recognized stock-based compensation expense will be reversed.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES —2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED) |
Stock-Based Compensation¾— (Continued)
In 2012, the Company granted performance-based restricted common stock awards that vest upon the Company’s achievement of $90.0 million of cumulative net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) over a period of four consecutive calendar quarters if such performance is achieved by March 31, 2017, subject to certain approvals under the CoStar Group, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had satisfied all performance and service conditions, and as a result, the restricted common stock granted under these awards vested. The Company recorded approximately $0, $21.8 million and $2.2 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the 2012 performance-based restricted common stock awards for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
In February 2014, the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company approved grants of restricted common stock to the executive officers that vest based on the Company’s achievement of a three-year cumulative revenue goal established at the grant date, and are subject to forfeiture in the event the foregoing performance condition is not met by December 31, 2016. These grants of restricted common stock are also subject to continuing employment requirements and a market condition based on total shareholder return (“TSR”). The actual number of shares that vest at the end of the respective three-year period is determined based on the Company’s achievement of the three-year performance goals described above, as well as its TSR relative to the Russell 1000 Index over the related three-year performance period. As of December 31, 2014, the Company reassessed the probability of achieving the performance and market conditions and determined that it was probable that the performance and market conditions for these awards would be met by the December 31, 2016 forfeiture date. As a result, the Company recorded a total of approximately $1.1 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock awards with a market condition for the year ended December 31, 2014. No stock-based compensation expense related to the grant of 2014 performance-based restricted common stock was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013. The Company expects to record an estimated unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock awards of approximately $2.7 million over the periods 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Cash flows resulting from excess tax benefits are classified as part of net cash flows from operating and financing activities. Excess tax benefits represent tax benefits related tofor stock-based compensation in excess of the associated deferred tax asset for such equity compensation.compensation recorded as an increase to stockholders' equity. Net cash proceeds from the exercise of stock options and the purchase of shares under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) were approximately $2.4$9.9 million $4.0, $18.1 million and $5.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Company realized approximately $198,000, $19.6 million and $6.6$28.4 million of excess tax benefits from stock options exercised and restricted stock awards vested for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively. There were approximately $400,000, $900,000 and $2.5 million of excess tax benefits realized from stock option and award exercises for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Stock-based compensation expense for stock options and restricted stock issued under equity incentive plans and stock purchases under the ESPP included in the Company'sCompany’s results of operations waswere as follows (in thousands):
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Cost of revenues | $ | 2,556 |
| | $ | 4,553 |
| | $ | 4,759 |
|
| Selling and marketing | 1,966 |
| | 4,954 |
| | 3,776 |
|
| Software development | 2,241 |
| | 7,244 |
| | 5,095 |
|
| General and administrative | 5,519 |
| | 24,798 |
| | 14,637 |
|
| Total stock-based compensation | $ | 12,282 |
| | $ | 41,549 |
| | $ | 28,267 |
|
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Cost of revenues | | $ | 888 | | | $ | 1,504 | | | $ | 1,635 | |
| Selling and marketing | | | 1,125 | | | | 1,518 | | | | 1,339 | |
| Software development | | | 588 | | | | 949 | | | | 1,130 | |
| General and administrative | | | 3,859 | | | | 4,335 | | | | 3,999 | |
| Total stock-based compensation | | $ | 6,460 | | | $ | 8,306 | | | $ | 8,103 | |
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist of money market fund investments and commercial paper and U.S. Government Securities.paper. As of December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, cash of approximately $190,000$105,000 and $195,000,$0, respectively, was held to support letters of credit for security deposits.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — (CONTINUED) |
Investments
The Company determines the appropriate classification of debt and equity investments at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such designation as of each balance sheet date. The Company considers all of its investments to be available-for-sale. Short-termThe Company's investments consist of government/federal notes and bonds and corporate obligations with maturities greater than 90 days at the time of purchase. Available-for-sale short-term investments with contractual maturities beyond one year are classified as current in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets because they represent the investment of cash that is available for current operations. Long-term investments consist oflong-term variable rate debt instruments with an auction reset feature, referred to as auction rate securities (“ARS”). Investments are carried at fair value.
Concentration of Credit Risk and Financial Instruments
The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial conditionconditions and generally does not require that its customers’ obligations to the Company be secured. The Company maintains reserves for estimated inherent credit losses, and such losses have been within management’s expectations. The large size and widespread nature of the Company’s customer base and the Company’s lack of dependence on any individual customer mitigates the risk of nonpayment of the Company’s accounts receivable. No single customer accounted for more than 5% of the Company’s revenues for each of the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The carrying amount of the accounts receivable approximates the net realizable value. The carrying value of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, long-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and long-term debt approximates fair value.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount. Accounts receivable payment terms vary and amounts due from customers are stated in the financial statements net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on the Company’s assessment of the collectability of customer accounts. The Company regularly reviews the allowance by considering factors such as historical experience, the aging of the balances, and current economic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay.
Property and Equipment, Net
Property and equipment are stated at cost.cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization. All repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization are calculated on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives of the assets:
Building |
| | Thirty-nine years |
| Leasehold improvements | | Shorter of lease term or useful life |
| Furniture and office equipment | | Five to ten years |
| Research vehicles | | Five years |
| Computer hardware and software | | Two to five years |
Qualifying internal-use software costs incurred during the application development stage, which consist primarily of internal product development costs, outside services and purchased software license costs and internal product development costs are capitalized and amortized over the estimated useful life of the asset. All other costs are expensed as incurred.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — (CONTINUED) |
Goodwill Intangibles and OtherIntangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of costs over the fair value of assets of acquired businesses. Goodwill and intangible assets acquired in a business combination and determined to have an indefinite useful life are not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually by each reporting unit. The Company’s operating segments, U.S.North America and International, are the reporting units tested for potential impairment. TheTo determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test, the Company may first assess qualitative factors to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the Company concludes that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount or if the Company elects not to assess qualitative factors, then the Company performs the two-step process. The first step is to determine the fair value of each reporting unit. The estimate of the fair value of each reporting unit is based on a projected discounted cash flow model that includes significant assumptions and estimates including the Company’sCompany's discount rate, growth rate and future financial performance andperformance. Assumptions about the discount rate are based on a weighted average cost of capital.capital for comparable companies. Assumptions about the growth rate and future financial performance of a reporting unit are based on the Company's forecasts, business plans, economic projections and anticipated future cash flows. The fair value of each reporting unit is compared to the carrying amount of the reporting unit. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value, then the second step of the process is performed to measure the impairment loss, if any.loss. The impairment loss is measured based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by the Company’s management to be commensurate with the risk in its current business model.
To determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets, the Company may first assess qualitative factors to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than the carrying amount. If the Company concludes that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than the carrying amount or if the Company elects not to assess qualitative factors, then the Company performs the quantitative impairment test similar to the test performed on goodwill discussed above.
Intangible assets with estimable useful lives that arose from acquisitions on or after July 1, 2001 are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives using a method of amortization that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible assets are consumed or otherwise used up, and are reviewed at least annually for impairment.
Acquired database technology, customer base and trade names and other intangible assets are related to the Company’s acquisitions (see Notes 3, 7 and 8). Acquired database technology andis amortized on a straight-line basis over periods ranging from one to eight years. With the exception of the acquired trade name recorded in connection with the acquisition of LoopNet, acquired trade names and other intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over periods ranging from two to tenfifteen years. The acquired trade name recorded in connection with the LoopNet acquisition has an indefinite estimated useful life and is not amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests. The acquired intangible asset characterized as customer base consists of one distinct intangible asset composed of acquired customer contracts and the related customer relationships. Acquired customer bases that arose from acquisitions prior to July 1, 2001 are typically amortized on a straight-linean accelerated basis principally over a periodrelated to the expected economic benefit of ten years. Acquired customer bases that arose from acquisitions on or after July 1, 2001 are amortized on a 125% declining balance method over ten years.the intangible asset. The cost of capitalized building photography is amortized on a straight-line basis over periods ranging from three to five years.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets, such as property plant, and equipment, and purchased intangibles subject to amortization, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset or asset group. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset.
Assets to be disposed of would be separately presented in the balance sheet and reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell, and would no longer be depreciated. The assets and liabilities of a disposal group classified as held for sale would be presented separately in the appropriate asset and liability sections of the balance sheet.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — (CONTINUED) |
Capitalized Product Development Costs
Product development costs are expensed as incurred until technological feasibility has been established, at which time such costs are capitalized. Costs are capitalized, to the extent that the capitalizable costs do not exceed the realizable value of such costs, until the product is available for general release to customers. The Company defines the establishment of technological feasibility as the completion of all planning, designing, coding and testing activities that are necessary to establish products that meet design specifications including functions, features and technical performance requirements. The Company’s capitalized product development costs had a total net book value of approximately $0$111,000 and $493,000$0 as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, respectively. These capitalized product development costs are included in intangible and other assets in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Amortization is computed using a straight-line method over the remaining estimated economic life of the product, typically three to five years after the software is ready for its intended use. No amortization expense for capitalized product development costs was recognized by the Company for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010, respectively. The Company amortized capitalized product development costs of approximately $80,000$191,000, $191,000 and $111,000 for the yearyears ended December 31, 2011.2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Debt Issuance Costs
Costs incurred in connection with the issuance of long-term debt are capitalized and amortized as interest expense over the term of the related debt using the effective interest method. Upon a refinancing, previously capitalized debt issuance costs are expensed and included in loss on extinguishment of debt if the Company determines that there has been a substantial modification of the related debt. If the Company determines that there has not been a substantial modification of the related debt, any previously capitalized debt issuance costs are amortized as interest expense over the term of the new debt instrument using the effective interest method. The Company had capitalized debt issuance costs of approximately $0$6.5 million and $900,000$13.2 million as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, respectively. The debt issuance costs are associated with the financing commitment received from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“J.P. Morgan Bank”) on April 27, 2011, the subsequent term loan facility and revolving credit facility established under a credit agreement dated February 16, 2012 (the “2012 Credit Agreement”), the financing commitment received from J.P. Morgan Bank, Bank of America, N.A., SunTrust Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association on February 28, 2014, and the subsequent term loan facility and revolving credit facility entered into subsequent to December 31, 2011.established under a credit agreement dated April 1, 2014 (the “2014 Credit Agreement”). See Notes 19 and 20Note 9 for additional information regarding the financing commitment from J.P. Morgan Bankterm loan facility and therevolving credit facility entered into subsequent to December 31, 2011. No amortization expense forfacility. The Company amortized debt issuance costs was recognized by the Companyof approximately $2.0 million, $3.0 million and $3.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In April 2009,May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) jointly issued authoritative guidance related to the initiala new revenue recognition measurement and subsequent accounting for assets and liabilities arising from pre-acquisition contingencies in a business combination. It requiresstandard that such assets acquired or liabilities assumed be initially recognized at fair value at the acquisition date if fair value can be determined during the measurement period. When fair value cannot be determined, companies should typically account for the acquired contingencies using existing guidance. This guidance requires that companies expense acquisition and deal-related costs that were previously allowed to be capitalized. This guidance also requires that a systematic and rational basis for subsequently measuring and accounting for the assets or liabilities be developed depending on their nature. This guidance was effective for contingent assets or liabilities arising from business combinations with an acquisition date on or after January 1, 2009. The adoption of this guidance changes the accounting treatment and disclosure for certain specific items in a business combination with an acquisition date subsequent to December 31, 2008. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2009, and began expensing acquisition and deal-related costs in 2009 based on the issued authoritative guidance.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritativewill improve financial reporting by creating common recognition guidance for determining whether a market is active or inactive, and whether a transaction is distressed. This guidance is applicable to all assets and liabilities (financial and non-financial) and requires enhanced disclosures. The Company adopted this guidance for its interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in the Company’s financial statements.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring disclosures in interim reporting periods concerning the fair value of financial instruments that were previously only required in the annual financial statements. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance for the interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in the Company’s financial statements.
In April 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that redefines what constitutes an other-than-temporary impairment, defines credit and non-credit components of an other-than-temporary impairment, prescribes their financial statement treatment, and requires enhanced disclosures relating to such impairments. The Company adopted this guidance for the interim period ending June 30, 2009. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require additional disclosures in the Company’s financial statements.
In May 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued. This guidance was effective for all interim and annual reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. This guidance has not resulted in significant changes in the subsequent events that the Company reports, either through recognition or disclosure, in its financial statements.
In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to amend the manner in which entities evaluate whether consolidation is required for variable interest entities (VIE). Previously, variable interest holders were required to determine whether they had a controlling financial interest in a VIE based on a quantitative analysis of the expected gains and/or losses of the entity. The new guidance requires an enterprise with a variable interest in a VIE to qualitatively assess whether it has a controlling financial interest in the entity, and if so, whether it is the primary beneficiary. This guidance also requires that companies continually evaluate VIEs for consolidation, rather than assessing whether consolidation is required based upon the occurrence of triggering events. This guidance enhances disclosures to provide financial statement users with greater transparency about transfers of financial assets and a transferor’s continuing involvement with transferred financial assets. This guidance is effective for the first annual reporting period beginning after November 15, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or related disclosures.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Recent Accounting Pronouncements¾ (Continued)
In June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which replaced the previous hierarchy of U.S. GAAP and establishes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities. This guidance is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to the disclosures in the Company’s financial statements.
In July 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to improve the consistency with which companies apply fair value measurements guidance to liabilities. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after September 30, 2009. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or related disclosures.
In October 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends existing guidance for identifying separate deliverables in a revenue-generating transaction where multiple deliverables exist, and provides guidance for measuring and allocating revenue to one or more units of accounting. In addition, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on arrangements that include software elements. Under this guidance, tangible products containing software components and non-software components that are essential to the functionality of the tangible product will no longer be within the scope of the software revenue recognition guidance. This guidance is effective using the prospective application or the retrospective application for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010 with earlier application permitted. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.
In January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends the disclosure requirements related to recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements. This guidance requires new disclosures on the transfers of assets and liabilities between Level 1 (assets and liabilities measured using observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets) and Level 2 (assets and liabilities measured using inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable) of the fair value measurement hierarchy, including the amount and reason of the transfers. Additionally, this guidance requires a roll forward of activities on purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements of the assets and liabilities measured using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 fair value measurements). This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, with the exception of the additional disclosure for Level 3 assets and liabilities, which is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010, and for interim periods within those fiscal years. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to the disclosures in its interim and annual financial statements.
In February 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that amends the disclosure requirements related to subsequent events. This guidance includes the definition of a Securities and Exchange Commission filer, removes the definition of a public entity, redefines the reissuance disclosure requirements and allows public companies to omit the disclosure of the date through which subsequent events have been evaluated. This guidance is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after February 2010. This guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but did require changes to the Company’s disclosures in its financial statements.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Recent Accounting Pronouncements¾ (Continued)
In April 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance related to the criteria that should be met for determining whether the milestone method of revenue recognition is appropriate. A vendor can recognize consideration that is contingent upon achievement of a milestone in its entirety as revenue in the period in which the milestone is achieved if the milestone is: (a) commensurate with either the vendor’s performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of the value of the item delivered; (b) relates solely to past performance; and (c) is reasonable relative to all deliverables and payment terms in the arrangement. This guidance is effective on a prospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.
In May 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to develop common requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements in accordance with GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). This guidance clarifiesprovides a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues, improves the intentcomparability of the existing fair value measurement andrevenue recognition practices across industries, provides more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosure requirements and modifies principles and requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurement. Thissimplifies the presentation of financial statements. The core principle of the guidance is effective on a prospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. This guidance is not expectedthat an entity should recognize revenue to materially impactdepict the Company’s resultstransfer of operationspromised goods or financial position, but will require changesservices to customers in an amount that reflects the disclosures in its interim and annual financial statements.
In June 2011,consideration to which the FASB issued authoritative guidance to improve the comparability, consistency and transparency of financial reporting and to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income. This guidance requires changes in stockholders’ equityentity expects to be presented eitherentitled in a single continuous statement of comprehensive incomeexchange for those goods or in two separate but consecutive statements. Under the two-statement approach, the first statement should present total net income and its components followed consecutively by a second statement that should present total other comprehensive income, the components of other comprehensive income and the total of comprehensive income.services. This guidance is effective on a retrospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2011. 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. This guidance is not expected to havepermits the use of either a material impact on the Company’s results of operationsfull retrospective method or financial position, but will require changesa modified retrospective approach in which it would be applied only to the consolidated statementmost current period presented along with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of stockholders’ equityadoption. The Company has not yet selected a transition method and is currently evaluating the addition of the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.impact this guidance will have on its financial statements.
In September 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to simplify how companies test goodwill for impairment. The guidance permits a company to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. This guidance is effective for goodwill impairment tests performed for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011, with early adoption permitted. This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.
In December 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to defer the effective date pertaining to the presentation of reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income previously established in the authoritative guidance issued in June 2011. This guidance also defers the presentation of the effect of those reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statements where net income is presented, by component of net income, and on the face of the financial statements where other comprehensive income is presented, by component of other comprehensive income. This guidance is effective on a retrospective basis for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position, but will require changes to the consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity and the addition of the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
3. ACQUISITIONS
On October 25, 2011,February 28, 2014, the Company acquired Virtual Premise, Inc.and Classified Ventures, LLC (“Virtual Premise”CV”) entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, on April 1, 2014 (the “Closing Date”), the Company purchased from CV certain assets and assumed certain liabilities, in each case, related to the Apartments.com business (collectively, the “Apartments.com Business”). Apartments.com is a Softwarenational online apartment rentals resource for renters, property managers and owners. Apartments.com offers renters a database of apartment listings and provides professional property management companies and landlords with an advertising destination. Renters can conduct personalized searches of apartment listings and view video demonstrations and community reviews through the Apartments.com website and mobile applications. The Apartments.com network of rental websites also includes ApartmentHomeLiving.com, another national online apartment rentals resource. The acquisition increased the Company's presence in the multifamily vertical.
In consideration for the purchase of the Apartments.com Business, on April 1, 2014, the Company paid $587.1 million in cash, including an estimated $2.1 million in connection with a preliminary net working capital adjustment as a Service (“SaaS”) provider of real estate information management solutions.the Closing Date. Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement,Asset Purchase Agreement, the Company paidpurchase price was reduced by approximately $17.2$2.9 million in cash, approximately 80%following the final determination of which was paid on the closing date to the Virtual Premise stockholders and the remaining 20% of which will be held in escrow until paid 270 days after the closing date, subject to use of such funds to satisfy any post-closing net working capital adjustments or indemnification claims made prior to such date. The purchase price was later reduced by approximately $200,000 after taking into account post-closing purchase price adjustmentsof the Apartments.com Business as of the Closing Date, and this amount is expected to beCV paid from the escrow fund to the Company. Company $2.9 million on July 9, 2014.
The purchase priceCompany applied the acquisition method to account for the Virtual Premise acquisition was allocated as follows (in thousands):
| Acquired trade names and other | | $ | 740 | |
| Acquired customer base | | | 3,740 | |
| Acquired database technology | | | 810 | |
| Goodwill | | | 12,205 | |
| Other assets and liabilities | | | (529 | ) |
| Total purchase consideration | | $ | 16,966 | |
This acquisition was accounted for using the acquisition methodApartments.com transaction, which requires that, among other things, assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at their fair values as of the acquisition date. The purchase price was allocatedfollowing table summarizes the amounts for acquired assets and liabilities recorded at their fair values as of the acquisition date (in thousands):
|
| | | |
| Accounts receivable | $ | 11,402 |
|
| Goodwill | 421,724 |
|
| Acquired trade names and other intangible assets | 71,779 |
|
| Acquired customer base | 69,684 |
|
| Acquired database technology | 11,489 |
|
| Acquired building photography | 1,006 |
|
| Other assets and liabilities | (2,866 | ) |
| Fair value of identifiable net assets acquired | $ | 584,218 |
|
The net assets of Apartments.com were recorded at their estimated fair value. In valuing acquired assets and liabilities, fair value estimates were based on, but were not limited to, tradenames, customer base, database technology, goodwillfuture expected cash flows, market rate assumptions for contractual obligations, and various other asset and liability accounts. appropriate discount rates.
The acquired customer base for the acquisition which consists of one distinct intangible asset, and is composed of acquired customer contracts and the related customer relationships, is being amortized on a 125% declining balance method overand has an estimated useful life of ten years. The identified intangibles are amortized over theiracquired database technology has an estimated useful lives.life of one year due to the Company's intent to replace the existing database technology in 2015. The acquired trade names and other intangible assets have a weighted average estimated useful life of thirteen years. The acquired building photography has an estimated useful life of three years. Amortization of the acquired customer base is recognized on an accelerated basis related to the expected economic benefit of the intangible asset, while amortization of the acquired database technology, acquired building photography and acquired trade names and other intangible assets are recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life. Goodwill forrecorded in connection with this acquisition is not amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests. The $421.7 million of goodwill recorded as part of the acquisition is associated with the Company's North America operating segment and the entire amount of goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes in future periods.
Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the consideration transferred over the net assets recognized and represents the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired that could not be individually identified and separately recognized. Specifically, the goodwill recorded as part of the Apartments.com acquisition includes: (i) the expected synergies and other benefits that the Company believes will result from combining its operations with Apartments.com's operations; and (ii) any intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition, such as the assembled workforce.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 3. | ACQUISITIONS — (CONTINUED) |
The Company's consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014, included $76.8 million from the Apartments.com Business. The Company's consolidated income before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2014, included a $23.9 million loss before income taxes from the Apartments.com Business. The Company's consolidated revenue and income before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 did not include any amount from the Apartments.com Business.
The following unaudited pro forma amounts present consolidated information as if the acquisition had been completed as of January 1, 2013 (in thousands except per share data):
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Revenue | $ | 526,811 |
| | $ | 598,340 |
|
| Net income | $ | 14,432 |
| | $ | 51,649 |
|
| Net income per share — basic | $ | 0.52 |
| | $ | 1.71 |
|
| Net income per share — diluted | $ | 0.51 |
| | $ | 1.69 |
|
This information is based on historical results of operations, adjusted for the allocation of Virtual Premise have been consolidatedpurchase price and other acquisition accounting adjustments, including: (i) the amortization associated with thosethe acquired intangible assets; (ii) interest expense associated with debt used to fund a portion of the Company sinceacquisition; and (iii) income tax expense associated with pro forma adjustments and the datehistorical results of Apartments.com calculated at a tax rate of 38%. The unaudited pro forma results do not include: (i) any potential synergies, cost savings or other expected benefits of the acquisition and are not considered material to(ii) the Company’s consolidated financial statements.non-recurring acquisition costs incurred through the date of acquisition. Accordingly, the unaudited pro forma financial information hasamounts are for comparative purposes only and may not necessarily reflect the results of operations which would have resulted had the acquisition been presentedcompleted at the beginning of the applicable period and may not be indicative of the results that will be attained in the future.
As a result of the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business, the Company recorded approximately $1.4 million in acquisition-related costs for the acquisition.year ended December 31, 2014. These costs include expenses directly related to acquiring the Apartments.com Business, are expensed as incurred and are recorded in general and administrative expense. The purchase accounting is preliminaryCompany did not record any acquisition-related costs for the year ended December 31, 2013 and is subject to change.recorded approximately $5.2 million in acquisition-related costs for the year ended December 31, 2012 as a result of the acquisition of LoopNet on April 30, 2012.
4. INVESTMENTS
The Company determines the appropriate classification of debt and equity investments at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such designation as of each balance sheet date. The Company considers all of its investments to be available-for-sale. Short-termThe Company's investments consist of government/federal notes and bonds and corporate obligations with maturities greater than 90 days at the time of purchase. Available-for-sale short-term investments with contractual maturities beyond one year are classified as current in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets because they represent the investment of cash that is available for current operations. Long-term investments consist oflong-term variable rate debt instruments with an auction reset feature, referred to as “ARS”.ARS. Investments are carried at fair market value.
Scheduled maturities of investments classified as available-for-sale as of December 31, 2014 are as follows (in thousands):
|
| | | | |
| Maturity | | Fair Value |
| Due in: | | |
| 2015 | | $ | — |
|
| 2016 — 2019 | | 822 |
|
| 2020 — 2024 | | — |
|
| 2025 and thereafter | | 16,329 |
|
| Available-for-sale investments | | $ | 17,151 |
|
The Company had no realized gains on its investments for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Company had no realized losses on its investments for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are determined on a specific-identification basis.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
4. INVESTMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
| |
| 4. | INVESTMENTS — (CONTINUED) |
Scheduled maturities of investments classified as available-for-sale as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):
| Maturity | | | Fair Value | |
| Due in: | | | | |
| 2012 | | | $ | 3,461 | |
| 2013-2016 | | | | ¾ | |
| 2017-2021 | | | | 54 | |
| 2022 and thereafter | | | | 24,584 | |
| Available-for-sale investments | | | $ | 28,099 | |
The realized gains on the Company’s investments for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 were approximately $4,000, $11,000 and $0, respectively. The realized losses on the Company’s investments for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 were approximately $5,000, $41,000 and $0, respectively.
UnrealizedChanges in unrealized holding gains and losses, net of the related tax effect, on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)loss in stockholders’ equity until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are determined on a specific-identification basis. A decline in market value of any available-for-sale security below cost that is deemed to be other-than-temporary results in a reduction in carrying amount to fair value. The impairment is charged to earnings and a new cost basis for the security is established. Dividend and interest income are recognized when earned.
As of December 31, 2011,2014, the amortized cost basis and fair value of investments classified as available-for-sale arewere as follows (in thousands):
| | | Amortized Cost | | | Gross Unrealized Gains | | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | | Fair Value | | |
Corporate debt securities | | $ | 3,397 | | | $ | 64 | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 3,461 | | |
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations | | | 55 | | | | ¾ | | | | (1 | ) | | | 54 | | |
| | | | Amortized Cost | | Gross Unrealized Gains | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | Fair Value |
Auction rate securities | | | 27,325 | | | | ¾ | | | | (2,741 | ) | | | 24,584 | | $ | 17,842 |
| | $ | 380 |
| | $ | (1,071 | ) | | $ | 17,151 |
|
Available-for-sale investments | | $ | 30,777 | | | $ | 64 | | | $ | (2,742 | ) | | $ | 28,099 | | $ | 17,842 |
| | $ | 380 |
| | $ | (1,071 | ) | | $ | 17,151 |
|
As of December 31, 2010,2013, the amortized cost basis and fair value of investments classified as available-for-sale arewere as follows (in thousands):
| | | Amortized Cost | | | Gross Unrealized Gains | | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | | Fair Value | |
Collateralized debt obligations | | $ | 46 | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 46 | |
Corporate debt securities | | | 3,407 | | | | 196 | | | | ¾ | | | | 3,603 | |
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations | | | 74 | | | | ¾ | | | | (1 | ) | | | 73 | |
Auction rate securities | | | 32,175 | | | | ¾ | | | | (2,986 | ) | | | 29,189 | |
Available-for-sale investments | | $ | 35,702 | | | $ | 196 | | | $ | (2,987 | ) | | $ | 32,911 | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Amortized Cost | | Gross Unrealized Gains | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | Fair Value |
| Auction rate securities | $ | 23,517 |
| | $ | 411 |
| | $ | (1,938 | ) | | $ | 21,990 |
|
| Available-for-sale investments | $ | 23,517 |
| | $ | 411 |
| | $ | (1,938 | ) | | $ | 21,990 |
|
4. INVESTMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
The unrealized losses on the Company’s investments as of December 31, 20102013 and 20112014 were generated primarily from changes in interest rates.rates and ARS that failed to settle at auction, due to adverse conditions in the global credit markets. The losses are considered temporary, as the contractual terms of these investments do not permit the issuer to settle the security at a price less than the amortized cost of the investment. Because the Company does not intend to sell these instruments and it is not more likely than not that the Company will not be required to sell these instruments prior to anticipated recovery, which may be at maturity, itthe Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011.2014. See Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the fair value of the Company’s financial assets.
The components of the Company’s investments in an unrealized loss position for more than twelve months consists of the followingor longer were as follows (in thousands):
| | | December 31, | | |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Aggregate Fair Value | | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | | Aggregate Fair Value | | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | December 31, |
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations | | $ | 73 | | | $ | (1 | ) | | $ | 54 | | | $ | (1 | ) | |
| | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| | | Aggregate Fair Value | | Gross Unrealized Losses | | Aggregate Fair Value | | Gross Unrealized Losses |
Auction rate securities | | | 29,189 | | | | (2,986 | ) | | | 24,584 | | | | (2,741 | ) | $ | 21,137 |
| | $ | (1,938 | ) | | $ | 16,329 |
| | $ | (1,071 | ) |
Investments in an unrealized loss position | | $ | 29,262 | | | $ | (2,987 | ) | | $ | 24,638 | | | $ | (2,742 | ) | $ | 21,137 |
| | $ | (1,938 | ) | | $ | 16,329 |
| | $ | (1,071 | ) |
The Company did not have any investments in an unrealized loss position for less than twelve months as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received in the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. There is a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which categorizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets;assets or liabilities; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.
The following table represents the Company's fair value hierarchy for its financial assets (cash, cash equivalents and investments) measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 20112014 (in thousands):
| | | Level 1 | | | Level 2 | | | Level 3 | | | Total | |
| Assets: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | 75,688 | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 75,688 | |
Money market funds | | | 220,996 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 220,996 | |
Commercial paper | | | 248,596 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 248,596 | |
Corporate debt securities | | | ¾ | | | | 3,461 | | | | ¾ | | | | 3,461 | |
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations | | | ¾ | | | | 54 | | | | ¾ | | | | 54 | |
Auction rate securities | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 24,584 | | | | 24,584 | |
Total assets measured at fair value | | $ | 545,280 | | | $ | 3,515 | | | $ | 24,584 | | | $ | 573,379 | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
5. FAIR VALUE ¾ (CONTINUED) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
| Assets: | | | | | | | |
| Cash | $ | 160,275 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 160,275 |
|
| Money market funds | 310,482 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 310,482 |
|
| Commercial paper | 56,255 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 56,255 |
|
| Auction rate securities | — |
| | — |
| | 17,151 |
| | 17,151 |
|
| Total assets measured at fair value | $ | 527,012 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 17,151 |
| | $ | 544,163 |
|
The following table represents the Company's fair value hierarchy for its financial assets (cash, cash equivalents and investments) and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 20102013 (in thousands):
| | | Level 1 | | | Level 2 | | | Level 3 | | | Total | |
| Assets: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | 55,496 | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 55,496 | |
Money market funds | | | 150,909 | | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 150,909 | |
Collateralized debt obligations | | | ¾ | | | | 46 | | | | ¾ | | | | 46 | |
Corporate debt securities | | | ¾ | | | | 3,603 | | | | ¾ | | | | 3,603 | |
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations | | | ¾ | | | | 73 | | | | ¾ | | | | 73 | |
Auction rate securities | | | ¾ | | | | ¾ | | | | 29,189 | | | | 29,189 | |
Total assets measured at fair value | | $ | 206,405 | | | $ | 3,722 | | | $ | 29,189 | | | $ | 239,316 | |
| Liabilities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Deferred consideration | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 3,222 | | | $ | 3,222 | |
Total liabilities measured at fair value | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | ¾ | | | $ | 3,222 | | | $ | 3,222 | |
The Company’s Level 2 assets consist of collateralized debt obligations, corporate debt securities and government-sponsored enterprise obligations, which do not have directly observable quoted prices in active markets. The Company’s Level 2 assets are valued using matrix pricing. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
| Assets: | | | | | | | |
| Cash | $ | 134,989 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 134,989 |
|
| Money market funds | 50,593 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 50,593 |
|
| Commercial paper | 70,371 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 70,371 |
|
| Auction rate securities | — |
| | — |
| | 21,990 |
| | 21,990 |
|
| Total assets measured at fair value | $ | 255,953 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 21,990 |
| | $ | 277,943 |
|
| Liabilities: | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Deferred consideration | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,344 |
| | $ | 1,344 |
|
| Total liabilities measured at fair value | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,344 |
| | $ | 1,344 |
|
The Company’s Level 3 assets consist of ARS, whose underlying assets are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”) of the U.S. Department of Education.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 5. | FAIR VALUE — (CONTINUED) |
The following table summarizes changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets from December 31, 20072008 to December 31, 20112014 (in thousands):
| | | Auction Rate Securities | |
Balance at December 31, 2007 | | $ | 53,975 | |
Change in unrealized loss included in other comprehensive loss | | | (3,710 | ) |
Settlements | | | (20,925 | ) |
Balance at December 31, 2008 | | | 29,340 | |
Change in unrealized gain included in other comprehensive loss | | | 684 | |
Settlements | | | (300 | ) |
Balance at December 31, 2009 | | | 29,724 | |
Change in unrealized gain included in other comprehensive loss | | | 40 | |
Settlements | | | (575 | ) |
Balance at December 31, 2010 | | | 29,189 | |
Change in unrealized gain included in other comprehensive loss | | | 245 | |
Settlements | | | (4,850 | ) |
Balance at December 31, 2011 | | $ | 24,584 | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
5. FAIR VALUE ¾ (CONTINUED) |
| | | |
| | Auction Rate Securities |
| Balance at December 31, 2008 | $ | 29,340 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 684 |
|
| Settlements | (300 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2009 | 29,724 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 40 |
|
| Settlements | (575 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2010 | 29,189 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 245 |
|
| Settlements | (4,850 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2011 | 24,584 |
|
| Auction rate securities upon acquisition | 442 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 836 |
|
| Settlements | (4,200 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2012 | 21,662 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 378 |
|
| Settlements | (50 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2013 | 21,990 |
|
| Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss | 836 |
|
| Settlements | (5,675 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2014 | $ | 17,151 |
|
ARS are variable rate debt instruments whose interest rates are reset approximately every 28 days.days. The majority of the underlying securities have contractual maturities greater than twenty years.years. The ARS are recorded at fair value.
As of December 31, 2011,2014, the Company held ARS with $27.3$18.7 million par value, all of which failed to settle at auction. The majority of these investments are of high credit quality with AAA credit ratings and are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the FFELP of the U.S. Department of Education. The Company may not be able to liquidate and fully recover the carrying value of the ARS in the near term. As a result, these securities are classified as long-term investments in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011. 2014.
While the Company continues to earn interest on its ARS investments at the contractual rate, these investments are not currently actively trading and therefore do not currently have a readily determinable market value. The estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. The Company used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of its investment in ARS as of December 31, 2011.2014. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model include estimates for interest rates, credit spreads, timing and amount of contractual cash flows, liquidity risk premiums, expected holding periods and default risk. The Company updates the discounted cash flow model on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes in the assumptions used in the model and settlements of ARS investments that occurred during the period.
The only significant unobservable input in the discounted cash flow model is the discount rate. The discount rate used represents the Company's estimate of the yield expected by a market participant from the ARS investments. The weighted average discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 was approximately 4.9% and 4.1%, respectively. Selecting another discount rate within the range used in the discounted cash flow model would not result in a significant change to the fair value of the ARS.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 5. | FAIR VALUE — (CONTINUED) |
Based on this assessment of fair value, as of December 31, 2011,2014, the Company determined there was a decline in the fair value of its ARS investments of approximately $2.7 million.$691,000. The decline was deemed to be a temporary impairment and recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. In addition, while a majority of the ARS are currently rated AAA, if the issuers are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, the Company may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments.
As of December 31, 2011,2014, the Company had no Level 3 liabilities. As of December 31, 2010,2013, the Company held Level 3 liabilities for deferred consideration related tothat it acquired as a result of the Company’s October 19, 2009April 30, 2012 acquisition of Resolve Technology, Inc. (“Resolve Technology”).LoopNet. The deferred consideration totaled $3.2 million as of December 31, 2010 and included (i) a potential deferred cash payment due approximately two years after closing based on the incremental growth of Resolve Technology’s revenue as of September 2011 over its revenue as of September 2009, and (ii) other potential deferred cash payments for successful completion of operational and sales milestones during the period from closing through no later than October 31, 2013, which period may be extended by the parties to a date no later than December 31, 2014. On June 24, 2011, the Company made a payment of $500,000 for the successful completion of one of the operational milestones. On September 8, 2011, the Company entered into an agreement to settle all remainingin connection with acquisitions LoopNet completed in 2010 including: (i) potential deferred cash payments due underto the original agreement. Under the termssellers of the agreement, the Company made a paymentLandsofAmerica.com, LLC ("LandsofAmerica") on March 31, 2014 based on LandsofAmerica's achievement of $1.6 million on September 14, 2011 to settle the entire obligation. The Company reversed the remaining $1.2 millionfinancial and operational milestones, resulting in undiscounted deferred consideration as a reductionof December 31, 2013 of approximately $1.0 million; and (ii) potential deferred cash payments due to generalthe sellers of CoStar Private Sale NetworkTM (formerly known as Reaction Corp. (“Reaction Web”)) on March 31, 2014 based on CoStar Private Sale Network's achievement of revenue milestones, resulting in undiscounted deferred consideration as of December 31, 2013 of approximately $344,000. On March 28, 2013, the Company paid $1.0 million to the sellers of LandsofAmerica for the achievement of financial and administrative expense duringoperational milestones in 2012 and paid approximately $344,000 to the three months ended September 30, 2011.sellers of CoStar Private Sale Network for the achievement of revenue milestones in 2012. On March 31, 2014, the Company paid $1.0 million to the sellers of LandsofAmerica for the achievement of financial and operational milestones in 2013 and paid approximately $344,000 to the sellers of CoStar Private Sale Network for the achievement of revenue milestones in 2013.
The following table summarizes changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 liabilities from December 31, 20092012 to December 31, 20112014 (in thousands):
| | | Deferred Consideration | |
Balance at December 31, 2009 | | $ | 3,082 | |
Accretion for 2010 | | | 140 | |
Balance at December 31, 2010 | | | 3,222 | |
Accretion for 2011 | | | 85 | |
Payments made in 2011 | | | (2,100 | ) |
Adjustments made in 2011 | | | (1,207 | ) |
Balance at December 31, 2011 | | $ | ¾ | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
5. FAIR VALUE ¾ (CONTINUED) |
| | | |
| | Deferred Consideration |
| Balance at December 31, 2012 | $ | 2,304 |
|
| Accretion for 2013 | 384 |
|
| Payments made in 2013 | (1,344 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2013 | 1,344 |
|
| Payments made in 2014 | (1,344 | ) |
| Balance at December 31, 2014 | $ | — |
|
Prior to the settlement on September 8, 2011, theThe Company used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of its Level 3 liabilities. The significant assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model includedinclude the discount rate estimates for future incremental revenue growth and probabilities for completion of operationalfinancial and salesoperational milestones.
6. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENTThe only significant unobservable input in the discounted cash flow model used to determine the estimated fair value of the Company's Level 3 liabilities was the discount rate. The discount rate used represented LoopNet's cost of equity at the time of each acquisition plus a margin for counterparty risk.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
Property and equipment consists of the following (in thousands):
| | | December 31, | |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
Building | | $ | 42,920 | | | $ | ¾ | |
Leasehold improvements | | | 16,290 | | | | 24,029 | |
Furniture, office equipment and research vehicles | | | 21,116 | | | | 23,740 | |
Computer hardware and software | | | 24,354 | | | | 28,561 | |
| | | | 104,680 | | | | 76,330 | |
Accumulated depreciation and amortization | | | (34,759 | ) | | | (38,759 | ) |
Property and equipment, net | | $ | 69,921 | | | $ | 37,571 | |
|
| | | | | | | |
| | December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Leasehold improvements | $ | 36,933 |
| | $ | 42,026 |
|
| Furniture, office equipment and research vehicles | 27,395 |
| | 31,016 |
|
| Computer hardware and software | 36,391 |
| | 49,655 |
|
| Property and equipment, gross | 100,719 |
| | 122,697 |
|
| Accumulated depreciation and amortization | (43,000 | ) | | (48,944 | ) |
| Property and equipment, net | $ | 57,719 |
| | $ | 73,753 |
|
Depreciation expense for property and equipment was approximately $7.6$10.1 million $8.6, $12.5 million and $8.4$15.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011.
2014, respectively.
7. GOODWILL
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by operating segment consist of the following (in thousands):
| | | United States | | | International | | | Total | |
Goodwill, December 31, 2009 | | $ | 55,260 | | | $ | 25,061 | | | $ | 80,321 | |
Effect of foreign currency translation | | | ¾ | | | | (719 | ) | | | (719 | ) |
Goodwill, December 31, 2010 | | | 55,260 | | | | 24,342 | | | | 79,602 | |
Acquisitions | | | 12,205 | | | | ¾ | | | | 12,205 | |
Effect of foreign currency translation | | | ¾ | | | | (23 | ) | | | (23 | ) |
Goodwill, December 31, 2011 | | $ | 67,465 | | | $ | 24,319 | | | $ | 91,784 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | North America | | International | | Total |
| Goodwill, December 31, 2012 | $ | 692,639 |
| | $ | 25,439 |
| | $ | 718,078 |
|
| Effect of foreign currency translation | — |
| | 509 |
| | 509 |
|
| Goodwill, December 31, 2013 | 692,639 |
| | 25,948 |
| | 718,587 |
|
| Acquisitions | 421,724 |
| | — |
| | 421,724 |
|
| Effect of foreign currency translation | — |
| | (1,506 | ) | | (1,506 | ) |
| Goodwill, December 31, 2014 | $ | 1,114,363 |
| | $ | 24,442 |
| | $ | 1,138,805 |
|
The Company recorded goodwill of approximately $12.2$421.7 million in connection with the October 2011April 1, 2014 acquisition of Virtual Premise.the Apartments.com Business.
During the fourth quarters of 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, the Company completed the annual impairment test of goodwill and concluded that goodwill was not impaired.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
8. INTANGIBLES AND OTHER ASSETS
Intangibles and otherIntangible assets consist of the following (in thousands, except amortization period data):
| | | | | December 31, | | | Weighted- Average | | December 31, | | Weighted- Average Amortization Period (in years) |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | | | Amortization Period (in years) | | 2013 | | 2014 | |
Capitalized product development cost | | $ | 1,795 | | | $ | 2,140 | | | | 4 | | $ | 2,140 |
| | $ | 2,140 |
| | 4 |
Accumulated amortization | | | (1,795 | ) | | | (1,647 | ) | | | | | (2,029 | ) | | (2,140 | ) | | |
Capitalized product development cost, net | | | ¾ | | | | 493 | | | | | | 111 |
| | — |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Building photography | | | 11,771 | | | | 12,031 | | | | 5 | | 13,743 |
| | 14,943 |
| | 5 |
Accumulated amortization | | | (10,311 | ) | | | (11,122 | ) | | | | | (12,005 | ) | | (12,665 | ) | | |
Building photography, net | | | 1,460 | | | | 909 | | | | | | 1,738 |
| | 2,278 |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acquired database technology | | | 26,034 | | | | 25,140 | | | | 4 | | 77,368 |
| | 88,739 |
| | 4 |
Accumulated amortization | | | (22,150 | ) | | | (21,477 | ) | | | | | (41,073 | ) | | (60,498 | ) | | |
Acquired database technology, net | | | 3,884 | | | | 3,663 | | | | | | 36,295 |
| | 28,241 |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acquired customer base | | | 55,380 | | | | 58,576 | | | | 10 | | 130,960 |
| | 199,826 |
| | 10 |
Accumulated amortization | | | (43,349 | ) | | | (45,055 | ) | | | | | (74,734 | ) | | (102,443 | ) | | |
Acquired customer base, net | | | 12,031 | | | | 13,521 | | | | | | 56,226 |
| | 97,383 |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acquired trade names and other | | | 9,640 | | | | 10,376 | | | | 7 | | |
Acquired trade names and other intangible assets(1) | | 59,336 |
| | 128,171 |
| | 13 |
Accumulated amortization | | | (8,241 | ) | | | (8,432 | ) | | | | | (9,234 | ) | | (14,451 | ) | | |
Acquired trade names and other, net | | | 1,399 | | | | 1,944 | | | | | | |
| Acquired trade names and other intangible assets, net | | 50,102 |
| | 113,720 |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Intangibles and other assets, net | | $ | 18,774 | | | $ | 20,530 | | | | | | |
| Intangible assets, net | | $ | 144,472 |
| | $ | 241,622 |
| | |
(1) The weighted-average amortization period for acquired trade names excludes $48.7 million for acquired trade names recorded in connection with the LoopNet acquisition on April 30, 2012, which amount is not amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests.
Amortization expense for intangibles and otherintangible assets was approximately $7.1$22.7 million, $5.0$27.6 million and $4.4$55.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011.2014, respectively.
In the aggregate, amortization for intangibles and otherintangible assets existing as of December 31, 20112014 for future periods is expected to be approximately $4.1$48.5 million, $3.2$36.2 million, $2.6$22.4 million, $2.3$14.9 million and $2.2$12.9 million for the years ending December 31, 2012, 2013,2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
During the fourth quarter of 2014, 2015the Company completed the annual impairment test of the acquired trade name recorded in connection with the LoopNet acquisition and 2016, respectively.concluded that this indefinite-lived intangible asset was not impaired.
During the first quarter of 2014, the Company finalized a branding initiative plan that included, among other things, re-branding some of the services provided by its wholly owned subsidiaries, in order to better organize, update, streamline and optimize the Company’s branding strategy. The Company launched the branding initiative externally in the second quarter of 2014. Following the external launch of the branding initiative, the Company ceased using certain of its trade names. The Company evaluated these assets for impairment during the first quarter of 2014 and determined that the carrying value of trade names that the Company ceased using exceeded the fair value. The adjusted carrying value of the Company's trade name intangible assets associated with the branding initiative was amortized through the date of the external launch of the branding initiative and the fully amortized gross carrying amount was written off during the three months ended June 30, 2014.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 8. | INTANGIBLE ASSETS — (CONTINUED) |
During the third quarter of 2014, the Company finalized and launched a separate marketing plan that included the re-branding of a service provided by another one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, in order to provide its customers with a more enhanced experience. Following the external launch of the marketing plan, the Company ceased using one of its trade names. The Company evaluated the asset for impairment during the third quarter of 2014 and determined that the carrying value of the trade name that the Company ceased using exceeded the fair value.
As a result of these branding and marketing plans, during 2014, the Company recorded impairment charges of approximately $1.8 million in cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations within its North America operating segment for the year ended December 31, 2014.
On April 1, 2014, the Company entered into the 2014 Credit Agreement by and among the Company, as Borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as Co-Borrower, the Lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent. The 2014 Credit Agreement provides for a $400.0 million term loan facility and a $225.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The proceeds of the term loan facility and the initial borrowing of $150.0 million under the revolving credit facility on the Closing Date were used to refinance the 2012 Credit Agreement, including related fees and expenses, and to pay a portion of the consideration and transaction costs related to the acquisition of the Apartments.com Business. The undrawn proceeds of the revolving credit facility are available for the Company's working capital needs and other general corporate purposes. During June 2014, the Company repaid the $150.0 million initial borrowing under the revolving credit facility. The carrying value of the term loan facility approximates fair value and can be estimated through Level 3 unobservable inputs using an expected present value technique based on expected cash flows discounted using the current credit-adjusted risk-free rate, which approximates the rate of interest on the term loan facility at origination.
Effective April 1, 2014, the Company terminated the 2012 Credit Agreement and repaid all amounts outstanding thereunder, which amounts totaled $148.8 million. The Company evaluated the debt modification and determined that the modification did not qualify as an extinguishment of debt because the change in the present value of future cash flows between the initial term loan facility under the 2012 Credit Agreement and the new term loan facility under the 2014 Credit Agreement was not considered a substantial modification.
The revolving credit facility includes a subfacility for swingline loans of up to $10.0 million, and up to $10.0 million of the revolving credit facility is available for the issuance of letters of credit. The term loan facility will amortize in quarterly installments in amounts resulting in an annual amortization of 5% during each of the first, second and third years, 10% during the fourth year and 15% during the fifth year after the Closing Date, with the remainder payable at final maturity. The loans under the 2014 Credit Agreement bear interest, at the Company's option, either (i) during any interest period selected by the Company, at the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars with a maturity comparable to such interest period, adjusted for statutory reserves (“LIBOR”), plus an initial spread of 2.00% per annum, subject to adjustment based on the First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) of the Company, or (ii) at the greatest of (x) the prime rate from time to time announced by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., (y) the federal funds effective rate plus ½ of 1% and (z) LIBOR for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, plus an initial spread of 1.00% per annum, subject to adjustment based on the First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio of the Company. If an event of default occurs under the 2014 Credit Agreement, the interest rate on overdue amounts will increase by 2.00% per annum. The obligations under the 2014 Credit Agreement are guaranteed by all material subsidiaries of the Company and are secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company and those of its material subsidiaries, in each case subject to certain exceptions, pursuant to security and guarantee documents entered into on the Closing Date.
9. INCOME TAXESThe 2014 Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain (i) a First Lien Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) not exceeding 4.00 to 1.00 during each full fiscal quarter after the Closing Date through the three months ended March 31, 2016, and 3.50 to 1.00 thereafter and (ii) after the incurrence of additional indebtedness under certain specified exceptions in the 2014 Credit Agreement, a Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) not exceeding 5.00 to 1.00 during each full fiscal quarter after the Closing Date through the three months ended March 31, 2016, and 4.50 to 1.00 thereafter. The 2014 Credit Agreement also includes other covenants, including covenants that, subject to certain exceptions, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to (i) incur additional indebtedness, (ii) create, incur, assume or permit to exist any liens, (iii) enter into mergers, consolidations or similar transactions, (iv) make investments and acquisitions, (v) make certain dispositions of assets, (vi) make dividends, distributions and prepayments of certain indebtedness, and (vii) enter into certain transactions with affiliates. The Company was in compliance with the covenants in the 2014 Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2014.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 9. | LONG-TERM DEBT — (CONTINUED) |
In connection with obtaining the term loan facility and revolving credit facility pursuant to the 2014 Credit Agreement, the Company incurred approximately $10.1 million in debt issuance costs as of April 1, 2014. The debt issuance costs were comprised of approximately $9.7 million in underwriting fees and approximately $400,000 primarily related to legal fees associated with the debt issuance. Approximately $10.0 million of the fees associated with the refinancing, along with the unamortized debt issuance cost from the 2012 Credit Agreement were capitalized and are amortized as interest expense over the term of the 2014 Credit Agreement using the effective interest method.
As of December 31, 2013 and 2014, no amounts were outstanding under the revolving credit facilities. Total interest expense for the term loan facilities and revolving credit facilities was approximately $4.8 million, $6.9 million and $10.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Interest expense included amortized debt issuance costs of approximately $2.0 million, $3.0 million and $3.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Total interest paid for the term loan facilities was approximately $2.5 million, $4.3 million and $7.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Maturities of the Company's borrowings under the Credit Agreement for each of the next five years as of December 31, 2014 are as follows (in thousands):
|
| | | |
| Year ending December 31, | Maturities |
| Due in: | |
| 2015 | $ | 20,000 |
|
| 2016 | 20,000 |
|
| 2017 | 35,000 |
|
| 2018 | 55,000 |
|
| 2019 | 255,000 |
|
| Long-term debt, including current maturities | $ | 385,000 |
|
The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes attributable to operations consist of the following (in thousands):
| | | | | Year Ended December 31, | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Current: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Federal | | $ | 15,194 | | | $ | 7,061 | | | $ | 22,779 | | $ | (2,260 | ) | | $ | 26,516 |
| | $ | 24,741 |
|
State | | | 1,593 | | | | 1,424 | | | | 2,226 | | 1,974 |
| | 3,996 |
| | 2,761 |
|
Foreign | | | 26 | | | | 61 | | | | 12 | | 55 |
| | 31 |
| | 53 |
|
Total current | | | 16,813 | | | | 8,546 | | | | 25,017 | | (231 | ) | | 30,543 |
| | 27,555 |
|
| Deferred: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
| | |
|
Federal | | | (2,097 | ) | | | 1,706 | | | | (14,661 | ) | 15,512 |
| | (10,919 | ) | | (698 | ) |
State | | | (199 | ) | | | (6 | ) | | | (2,425 | ) | (2,067 | ) | | (1,849 | ) | | (813 | ) |
Foreign | | | (122 | ) | | | (25 | ) | | | (18 | ) | 5 |
| | 28 |
| | — |
|
Total deferred | | | (2,418 | ) | | | 1,675 | | | | (17,104 | ) | 13,450 |
| | (12,740 | ) | | (1,511 | ) |
Total provision for income taxes | | $ | 14,395 | | | $ | 10,221 | | | $ | 7,913 | | $ | 13,219 |
| | $ | 17,803 |
| | $ | 26,044 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 10. | INCOME TAXES — (CONTINUED) |
The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities consists of the following (in thousands):
| | | December 31, | |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Deferred tax assets: | | | | | | |
Reserve for bad debts | | $ | 921 | | | $ | 963 | |
Accrued compensation | | | 3,030 | | | | 3,987 | |
Stock compensation | | | 3,087 | | | | 4,049 | |
Net operating losses | | | 3,365 | | | | 6,129 | |
Accrued reserve | | | 961 | | | | 5,789 | |
Capital loss carryovers | | | 312 | | | | ¾ | |
Unrealized loss on securities | | | 1,074 | | | | 1,025 | |
Deferred rent | | | 1,546 | | | | 1,781 | |
Deferred revenue | | | 1,154 | | | | 1,180 | |
Other non-deductible liabilities | | | 226 | | | | 147 | |
| Deferred gain from sale of building | | | ¾ | | | | 13,504 | |
Total deferred tax assets | | | 15,676 | | | | 38,554 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Deferred tax liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Prepaids | | | (725 | ) | | | (1,054 | ) |
Depreciation | | | (2,396 | ) | | | (3,546 | ) |
Intangibles | | | (4,132 | ) | | | (7,233 | ) |
| Total deferred tax liabilities | | | (7,253 | ) | | | (11,833 | ) |
| | | | | | | | | |
Net deferred tax asset | | | 8,423 | | | | 26,721 | |
Valuation allowance | | | (4,670 | ) | | | (5,270 | ) |
Net deferred taxes | | $ | 3,753 | | | $ | 21,451 | |
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED) |
| | | | | | | |
| | December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Deferred tax assets: | | | |
| Reserve for bad debts | $ | 1,274 |
| | $ | 1,825 |
|
| Accrued compensation | 6,725 |
| | 7,287 |
|
| Stock compensation | 13,381 |
| | 8,758 |
|
| Net operating losses | 17,457 |
| | 15,665 |
|
| Accrued reserve and other | 4,284 |
| | 3,360 |
|
| Unrealized loss on securities | 786 |
| | 491 |
|
| Deferred rent | 4,329 |
| | 5,902 |
|
| Deferred revenue | 1,538 |
| | 1,879 |
|
| Deferred gain on the sale of building | 11,499 |
| | 10,690 |
|
| Total deferred tax assets | 61,273 |
| | 55,857 |
|
| | | | |
| Deferred tax liabilities: | |
| | |
|
| Prepaids | (1,096 | ) | | (1,258 | ) |
| Depreciation | (6,033 | ) | | (9,806 | ) |
| Intangibles | (55,284 | ) | | (47,720 | ) |
| Total deferred tax liabilities | (62,413 | ) | | (58,784 | ) |
| | | | |
| Net deferred tax liabilities, prior to valuation allowance | (1,140 | ) | | (2,927 | ) |
| Valuation allowance | (10,936 | ) | | (7,783 | ) |
| Net deferred tax liabilities | $ | (12,076 | ) | | $ | (10,710 | ) |
9. INCOME TAXES As of ¾ (CONTINUED)
For the years ended December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, a valuation allowance has been established for certain deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of realization. The valuation allowance for the years endedas of December 31, 2010 and 20112013 includes an allowance for unrealized losses on ARS investments, foreign deferred tax assets and certain state net operating loss carryforwards. The valuation allowance as of December 31, 2014 includes an allowance for unrealized losses on ARS investments and foreign deferred tax assets. The valuation allowance for the deferred tax asset for unrealized losses on ARS has been recorded as an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the valuation allowance also included an allowance for capital losses. In 2011, the capital losses were used to offset the capital gains resulting from the Company’s sale of the office building located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC (the “DC Office Building”), which sale closed on February 18, 2011. See Note 17 for details on the sale of the building. As a result of the sale, the valuation allowance for capital losses was no longer required for the year ended December 31, 2011.
The Company established the valuation allowance because it is more likely than not that a portion of the deferred tax asset for certain items will not be realized based on the weight of available evidence. A valuation allowance was established for the unrealized losses on securities and the capital loss carryovers as the Company has not historically generated capital gains, and it is uncertain whether the Company will generate sufficient capital gains in the future to absorb the capital losses. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company’s sale of the DC Office Building generated capital gains, but the Company does not expect to engage in similar transactions on a regular basis. The Company continues to maintain a valuation allowance as of December 31, 2011, for the unrealized losses on securities because it is uncertain as to whether the losses will be realized in a year such that the losses could be carried back to offset the gain from the Company’s sale of the DC Office Building. A valuation allowance was established for the foreign deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of future foreign taxable income.cumulative loss in recent years in those jurisdictions. The Company has not had sufficient taxable income historically to utilize the foreign deferred tax assets, and it is uncertain whether the Company will generate sufficient taxable income in the future to utilize the deferred tax assets. Similarly, the Company has established a valuation allowance for net operating losses in certain states where it is uncertain whether the Company will generate sufficient taxable income to utilize the net operating losses before theythe losses expire.
The Company’s change in valuation allowance was an increase of approximately $1.7$446,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013 and a decrease of approximately $3.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 and an increase of approximately $600,0002014. The decrease for the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase for the year ended December 31, 20112014 is primarily due to a decrease in the increasevaluation allowance for U.S. deferred tax assets of approximately $2.3 million primarily related to the write-off of tax credits and state net operating loss carryforwards and a decrease in the amount of unrealized losses on investments as well as the decrease in the valuation allowance for foreign deferred tax assets of approximately $900,000, which was partially offset by approximately $300,000 for the release of the valuation allowance for the capital loss upon the Company’s sale of the DC Office Building.$835,000.
The Company had U.S. income of approximately $39.0 million, $30.2 million and $29.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The Company had foreign losses of approximately $5.9 million, $6.7 million and $6.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 10. | INCOME TAXES — (CONTINUED) |
9. INCOME TAXES The Company had U.S. income before income taxes of approximately ¾$36.1 million (CONTINUED), $53.2 million and $70.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Company had foreign losses of approximately $13.0 million and $5.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, respectively. The Company had foreign income before income taxes of approximately $273,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014.
The Company’s provision for income taxes resulted in effective tax rates that varied from the statutory federal income tax rate as follows (in thousands):
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Expected federal income tax provision at statutory rate | $ | 8,097 |
| | $ | 16,638 |
| | $ | 24,820 |
|
| State income taxes, net of federal benefit | (1,360 | ) | | 885 |
| | 1,965 |
|
| Foreign income taxes, net effect | (2,971 | ) | | (724 | ) | | 336 |
|
| Stock compensation | (313 | ) | | (116 | ) | | 35 |
|
| Increase (decrease) in valuation allowance | 2,978 |
| | 588 |
| | (2,397 | ) |
| Nondeductible compensation | 656 |
| | 431 |
| | 554 |
|
| Nondeductible transaction costs | 5,829 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Other adjustments | 303 |
| | 101 |
| | 731 |
|
| Income tax expense, net | $ | 13,219 |
| | $ | 17,803 |
| | $ | 26,044 |
|
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Expected federal income tax provision at statutory rate | | $ | 11,581 | | | $ | 8,229 | | | $ | 7,899 | |
State income taxes, net of federal benefit | | | 1,778 | | | | 1,372 | | | | (123 | ) |
Foreign income taxes, net effect | | | 347 | | | | (1,688 | ) | | | (961 | ) |
Stock compensation | | | 300 | | | | 289 | | | | (143 | ) |
Increase in valuation allowance | | | 1,446 | | | | 1,657 | | | | 643 | |
Disregarded entity election | | | (1,477 | ) | | | (992 | ) | | | ¾ | |
Nondeductible compensation | | | 140 | | | | 945 | | | | 448 | |
Other adjustments | | | 280 | | | | 409 | | | | 150 | |
Income tax expense, net | | $ | 14,395 | | | $ | 10,221 | | | $ | 7,913 | |
The Company paid approximately $19.4$2.6 million $12.9, $6.5 million, and $19.5$3.0 million in income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
The Company has net operating loss carryforwards for international income tax purposes of approximately $15.9$27.9 million, which do not expire. The Company has federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $4.6$11.0 million that begin to expire in 2020, state net operating loss carryforwards with a tax value of approximately $4.4 million that begin to expire in 2020 and state income tax credit carryforwards with a tax value of approximately $600,000$1.9 million that begin to expire in 2020. The Company realized a cash benefit relating to the use of its tax loss carryforwards of approximately $4.2 million and $1.2 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The following tables summarizetable summarizes the activity related to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits (in thousands):
|
| | | |
| Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2011 | $ | 3,347 |
|
| Increase for current year tax positions | 792 |
|
| Decrease for prior year tax positions | (161 | ) |
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | (69 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2012 | 3,909 |
|
| Increase for current year tax positions | 66 |
|
| Increase for prior year tax positions | 2,037 |
|
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | (55 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2013 | 5,957 |
|
| Increase for current year tax positions | 51 |
|
| Decrease for prior year tax positions | (189 | ) |
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | (70 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2014 | $ | 5,749 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
| Unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 2008 | | $ | 1,558 | |
| Increase for current year tax positions | | | 69 | |
| Increase for prior year tax positions | | | 257 | |
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | | | (28 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 2009 | | | 1,856 | |
| Increase for current year tax positions | | | 70 | |
| Decrease for prior year tax positions | | | (116 | ) |
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | | | (44 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 2010 | | | 1,766 | |
| Increase for current year tax positions | | | 1,243 | |
| Increase for prior year tax positions | | | 445 | |
| Expiration of the statute of limitation for assessment of taxes | | | (107 | ) |
| Unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 2011 | | $ | 3,347 | |
| |
| 10. | INCOME TAXES — (CONTINUED) |
Approximately $244,000$1.6 million and $1.4$1.5 million of the unrecognized tax benefitbenefits as of December 31, 2010,2013 and 2011,2014, respectively, would favorably affect the annual effective tax rate, if recognized in future periods. During 2009, theThe Company recognized approximately $10,000 of interest benefit$58,000, $62,000 and $20,000 of penalties, and had total accruals of approximately $164,000$62,000 for interest and $54,000penalties in its consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. The Company had liabilities of $342,000, $404,000 and $466,000 for interest and penalties in its consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2009. During 2010, the Company recognized approximately $20,000 of interest2012, 2013 and $7,000 of penalties, and had total accruals of approximately $184,000 for interest and $61,000 for penalties as of December 31, 2010. During 2011, the Company recognized approximately $31,000 of interest and $8,000 of penalties, and had total accruals of approximately $215,000 for interest and $69,000 for penalties as of December 31, 2011.2014, respectively. The Company does not anticipate the amount of the unrecognized tax benefits to change significantly over the next twelve months.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
9. INCOME TAXES ¾ (CONTINUED)
The Company is subject to taxation in the U.S. and various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company’s federal and state income tax returns for tax years 20082011 through 20102013 remain open to examination. The Company’s U.K. income tax returns for tax years 20052008 through 20102013 remain open to examination.
10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIESThe Company was previously under an Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) audit in the U.S. for tax year 2010. During September 2014, the statute of limitations for tax year 2010 expired with no adjustments proposed by the IRS.
During July 2014, the IRS completed its audit of the tax returns filed by LoopNet, the Company's subsidiary, for tax years 2009, 2010, 2011 and the four months ended April 30, 2012. No adjustments were made to the financial statements as a result of the completion of the IRS audit.
| |
| 11. | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
The Company leases office facilities and office equipment under various noncancelable-operatingnon-cancelable operating leases. The leases contain various renewal options. Rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 was approximately $9.1$16.7 million $12.0, $18.3 million and $13.3$19.2 million, respectively.
Future minimum lease payments as of December 31, 20112014 are as follows (in thousands):
| | | | |
2012 | | $ | 13,420 | |
2013 | | | 11,055 | |
2014 | | | 9,151 | |
2015 | | | 8,882 | |
2016 | | | 8,912 | |
2017 and thereafter | | | 72,854 | |
| | | $ | 124,274 | |
|
| | | |
| 2015 | $ | 19,442 |
|
| 2016 | 18,783 |
|
| 2017 | 18,607 |
|
| 2018 | 17,680 |
|
| 2019 | 15,907 |
|
| 2020 and thereafter | 75,878 |
|
| Total future minimum lease payments | $ | 166,297 |
|
On April 27, 2011,1, 2014, the Company signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet, Inc. (“LoopNet”) (NASDAQ: LOOP). Pursuant toentered into the merger agreement, (a) each outstanding share of LoopNet common stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) $16.50 in cash (the “Cash Consideration”), without interest and (ii) 0.03702 shares of CoStar common stock (the “Stock Consideration”), and (b) each outstanding share of Series A Preferred Stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Stock Consideration, representing a total equity value of approximately $860.0 million and an enterprise value of $762.0 million as of April 27, 2011.2014 Credit Agreement. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance. The holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LoopNet’s common stock and Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, approved the adoption of the merger agreement on July 11, 2011. The Company engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“J.P. Morgan”) to act as its financial advisor in connection with the acquisition. On April 27, 2011, CoStar received a commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank2014 Credit Agreement provides for a fully committed$400.0 million term loan of $415.0 millionfacility and a $50.0$225.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of which $37.5 million are committed, which will be available, subject to customary conditions, to fund the acquisition and the ongoing working capital needs of the Company and its subsidiaries following the transaction.five years. See Note 209 for additional information regarding the financing commitment from J.P. Morgan Bankterm loan facility and therevolving credit facility entered into subsequent to December 31, 2011.facility.
The Company is obligated to pay $4.0 million to J.P. Morgan if the acquisition closes. Completion of the merger remains subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”) and other customary closing conditions. As of December 31, 2011, the parties have not yet reached agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) on the terms of a consent order with the FTC, and there can be no assurance that such agreement will be reached in a timely manner or at all. See Note 20 for further details on the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act and discussions with the FTC that occurred subsequent to December 31, 2011.
In certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, LoopNet may be obligated to pay the Company a termination fee of $25.8 million. Similarly, in certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, the Company may be obligated to pay LoopNet a termination fee of $51.6 million. See Note 19 for further details on the pending acquisition and Notes 19 and 20 for additional information regarding the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 11. | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES —10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES ¾ (CONTINUED) |
In May 2011, LoopNet, the Board of Directors of LoopNet (“the LoopNet Board”) and/or the Company were named as defendants in three purported class action lawsuits brought by alleged LoopNet stockholders challenging LoopNet’s proposedLoopNet's then-proposed merger with the Company. The stockholder actions allege,alleged, among other things, that (i) each member of the LoopNet Board breached his fiduciary duties to LoopNet and its stockholders in authorizing the sale of LoopNet to the Company, (ii) the merger doesdid not maximize value to LoopNet stockholders, (iii) LoopNet and the Company have made incomplete or materially misleading disclosures about the proposed transaction and (iv) LoopNet and the Company aided and abetted the breaches of fiduciary duty allegedly committed by the members of the LoopNet Board. The stockholder actions seeksought class action certification and equitable relief, including an injunction against consummation of the merger. The parties have stipulated to the consolidation of the actions, and to permitpermitted the filing of a consolidated complaint. In June 2011, counsel for the parties entered into a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed on the terms of a settlement of this litigation, which could result in a loss to the Company of approximately $100,000. The$200,000. On March 20, 2013, the California Superior Court declined to grant preliminary approval to the proposed settlement is conditioned upon, among other things,and issued an order scheduling a hearing on June 11, 2013 to show good cause why the executioncase should not be dismissed. Shortly before the hearing, the plaintiffs filed a third supplemental submission in support of an appropriate stipulation of settlement, consummation of the merger and finaltheir motion for preliminary approval of the proposed settlement. The show cause hearing took place on May 13, 2014 and a follow up hearing took place on July 16, 2014. At the July 16, 2014 hearing the Court again denied preliminary approval of the settlement and encouraged the parties to discuss a potential disposition of the case due to the mootness of plaintiffs’ disclosure claims. The parties engaged in such discussions, and on October 14, 2014, the plaintiffs requested that the Court dismiss their claims with prejudice. The Court dismissed the action and, pursuant to an agreement between the parties, the Company and its insurer reimbursed certain legal fees to plaintiffs’ counsel in the total amount of $300,000. The Company paid approximately $200,000 of this amount.
On January 3, 2012, LoopNet, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, was sued by CIVIX-DDI, LLC (“Civix”) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,385,622 and 6,415,291. The complaint sought unspecified damages, attorneys' fees and costs. On February 16, 2012, LoopNet filed an answer to Civix’s complaint and filed counterclaims against Civix seeking, among other things, declaratory relief that the asserted patents are invalid, not infringed, and that Civix committed inequitable conduct during the prosecution and re-examination of the asserted patents. On or about May 14, 2012, Civix filed a motion for leave to amend its complaint against LoopNet in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia seeking to add the Company as a defendant, alleging that the Company's products also infringe Civix’s patents. The Company filed a motion opposing Civix’s motion, and on June 21, 2012, the district court denied Civix’s motion to amend its complaint. On June 21, 2012, the Company filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity against Civix. On August 14, 2012, the Company amended its complaint against Civix to assert an affirmative claim against Civix for breach of contract, alleging Civix violated its license agreement with, and covenant not to sue, one of the Company's technology licensors. On August 30, 2012, the Eastern District of Virginia transferred Civix’s case against LoopNet to the Northern District of Illinois,. On October 29, 2012, Civix filed a separate action against LoopNet in the Northern District of Illinois alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,296,335. That case was later consolidated with Civix’s original lawsuit against LoopNet. Civix amended its complaint against the Company on November 8, 2012 to add claims under Patent No. 8,296,335 as well. On November 15, 2012, LoopNet filed an amended answer and counterclaim against Civix, asserting an affirmative claim against Civix for breach of contract, alleging Civix violated its license agreement with, and covenant not to sue, one of LoopNet's technology licensors. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois construed the language of the patent on September 23, 2013, but no trial date was set. On November 25, 2013, Civix submitted its expert’s report of damages, which estimated the payment it deemed appropriate in the event that the Company was found liable for infringement. The Company believed that Civix’s calculation of damages was based on improper assumptions and miscalculations, and was otherwise unsupported. The Company submitted its own expert’s report of damages, which concluded that the appropriate payment to be made in the event that the Company was found liable for infringement was significantly less than Civix’s estimate of appropriate damages. Moreover, the Company’s expert’s report of damages concluded that while Civix’s calculation of damages was fundamentally flawed and should not have been used to determine damages, simply applying certain necessary adjustments to Civix’s calculation as outlined in the Company’s report resulted in a significant reduction in Civix’s calculation of damages to approximately $3.7 million. The Court granted a motion submitted by the court.parties requesting a settlement conference, which took place on November 20, 2014. Subsequent to the settlement conference, on December 1, 2014 the Company settled all outstanding litigation with Civix for $2.9 million, which was paid on December 9, 2014.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 11. | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES — (CONTINUED) |
Currently, and from time to time, the Company is involved in litigation incidental to the conduct of its business. In accordance with GAAP, the Company records a provision for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. At the present time, while it is reasonably possible that an unfavorable outcome may occur as a result of one or more of the Company’s current litigation matters, management has concluded that it is not probable that a loss has been incurred in connection with the Company’s current litigation other than as described above. In addition, other than as described above, the Company is unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss that could result from an unfavorable outcome in the Company’s current litigation and accordingly, the Company has not recognized any liability in the consolidated financial statements for unfavorable results, if any, other than described above. Legal defense costs are expensed as incurred.
11. SEGMENT REPORTING
The Company manages its business geographically in two operating segments, with the primary areas of measurement and decision-making being North America, which includes the U.S. and Canada, and International, which includes the U.K. and France. The Company’s subscription-based information services consistingconsist primarily of CoStar SuiteTM services. CoStar Suite is sold as a platform of service offerings consisting of CoStar Property Professional®, CoStar Tenant®, CoStar COMPS Professional®, and FOCUSTM services, currently generate approximately 94% of the Company’s total revenues. CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, and CoStar COMPS Professional are generally sold as a suite of similar servicesTenant® and comprisethrough the Company's mobile application, CoStarGo®. CoStar Suite is the Company’s primary service offering in the U.S.North America and International operating segment.segments. Prior to the third quarter of 2014, FOCUS isTM was the Company’s primary service offering in the International operating segment. The Company introduced CoStar Suite in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2012 and no longer offered FOCUS to new clients beginning in 2013. CoStar's and its subsidiaries' subscription-based services consist primarily of similar services offered over the Internet to commercial real estate industry and related professionals. Management relies on an internal management reporting process that provides revenue and operating segment EBITDA, which is the Company’s net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Management believes that operating segment EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operational performance of the Company’s operating segments. EBITDA is used by management to internally measure operating and management performance and to evaluate the performance of the business. However, this measure should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, income from operations or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
11. SEGMENT REPORTING¾ (CONTINUED)
Summarized information by operating segment was as follows (in thousands):
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | 2011 | |
| Revenues | | | | | | | | | |
United States | | $ | 191,556 | | | $ | 208,463 | | | $ | 233,381 | |
| International | | | | | | | | | | | | |
External customers | | | 18,103 | | | | 17,797 | | | | 18,357 | |
Intersegment revenue | | | 898 | | | | 1,266 | | | | 1,140 | |
Total international revenue | | | 19,001 | | | | 19,063 | | | | 19,497 | |
Intersegment eliminations | | | (898 | ) | | | (1,266 | ) | | | (1,140 | ) |
Total revenues | | $ | 209,659 | | | $ | 226,260 | | | $ | 251,738 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| EBITDA | | | | | | | | | | | | |
United States | | $ | 47,697 | | | $ | 39,607 | | | $ | 38,099 | |
International | | | (1,186 | ) | | | (3,183 | ) | | | (3,476 | ) |
Total EBITDA | | $ | 46,511 | | | $ | 36,424 | | | $ | 34,623 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Reconciliation of EBITDA to net income | | | | | | | | | | | | |
EBITDA | | $ | 46,511 | | | $ | 36,424 | | | $ | 34,623 | |
Purchase amortization in cost of revenues | | | (2,389 | ) | | | (1,471 | ) | | | (1,353 | ) |
Purchase amortization in operating expenses | | | (3,412 | ) | | | (2,305 | ) | | | (2,237 | ) |
Depreciation and other amortization | | | (8,875 | ) | | | (9,873 | ) | | | (9,262 | ) |
Interest income, net | | | 1,253 | | | | 735 | | | | 798 | |
Income tax expense, net | | | (14,395 | ) | | | (10,221 | ) | | | (7,913 | ) |
Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | |
Intersegment revenue is attributable to services performed for the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Property and Portfolio Research, Inc. (“PPR”), by Property and Portfolio Research Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of PPR. Intersegment revenue is recorded at an amount the Company believes approximates fair value. U.S. EBITDA includes a corresponding cost for the services performed by Property and Portfolio Research Ltd. for PPR.
International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $500,000, $400,000 and $800,000 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The corporate allocation represents costs incurred for U.S. employees involved in management and expansion activities of the Company’s International operating segment.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
11. SEGMENT REPORTING¾ (CONTINUED)
Summarized information by operating segment consists of the following (in thousands):
| | | December 31, | |
| | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Property and equipment, net | | | | | | |
| United States | | $ | 67,076 | | | $ | 35,044 | |
| International | | | 2,845 | | | | 2,527 | |
| Total property and equipment, net | | $ | 69,921 | | | $ | 37,571 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Goodwill | | | | | | | | |
| United States | | $ | 55,260 | | | $ | 67,465 | |
| International | | | 24,342 | | | | 24,319 | |
| Total goodwill | | $ | 79,602 | | | $ | 91,784 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Assets | | | | | | | | |
| United States | | $ | 469,449 | | | $ | 808,930 | |
International | | | 39,038 | | | | 38,061 | |
Total operating segment assets | | $ | 508,487 | | | $ | 846,991 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Reconciliation of operating segment assets to total assets | | | | | | | | |
| Total operating segment assets | | $ | 508,487 | | | $ | 846,991 | |
| Investment in subsidiaries | | | (18,344 | ) | | | (18,344 | ) |
| Intercompany receivables | | | (50,495 | ) | | | (57,612 | ) |
| Total assets | | $ | 439,648 | | | $ | 771,035 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Liabilities | | | | | | | | |
United States | | $ | 52,482 | | | $ | 107,776 | |
| International | | | 47,944 | | | | 53,221 | |
| Total operating segment liabilities | | $ | 100,426 | | | $ | 160,997 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Reconciliation of operating segment liabilities to total liabilities | | | | | | | | |
| Total operating segment liabilities | | $ | 100,426 | | | $ | 160,997 | |
| Intercompany payables | | | (42,280 | ) | | | (49,139 | ) |
Total liabilities | | $ | 58,146 | | | $ | 111,858 | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Revenues | | | | | |
| North America | $ | 330,805 |
| | $ | 420,817 |
| | $ | 552,141 |
|
| International | | | |
| | |
|
| External customers | 19,131 |
| | 20,126 |
| | 23,795 |
|
| Intersegment revenue | 1,514 |
| | 339 |
| | 57 |
|
| Total International revenue | 20,645 |
| | 20,465 |
| | 23,852 |
|
| Intersegment eliminations | (1,514 | ) | | (339 | ) | | (57 | ) |
| Total revenues | $ | 349,936 |
| | $ | 440,943 |
| | $ | 575,936 |
|
| | | | | | |
| EBITDA | |
| | |
| | |
|
| North America | $ | 70,199 |
| | $ | 97,348 |
| | $ | 148,913 |
|
| International | (10,007 | ) | | (3,136 | ) | | 2,337 |
|
| Total EBITDA | $ | 60,192 |
| | $ | 94,212 |
| | $ | 151,250 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 12. | SEGMENT REPORTING — (CONTINUED) |
The reconciliation of EBITDA to net income consists of the following (in thousands):
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| EBITDA | $ | 60,192 |
| | $ | 94,212 |
| | $ | 151,250 |
|
| Purchase amortization in cost of revenues | (8,634 | ) | | (11,883 | ) | | (26,290 | ) |
| Purchase amortization in operating expenses | (13,607 | ) | | (15,183 | ) | | (28,432 | ) |
| Depreciation and other amortization | (10,511 | ) | | (12,992 | ) | | (15,650 | ) |
| Interest income | 526 |
| | 326 |
| | 516 |
|
| Interest expense | (4,832 | ) | | (6,943 | ) | | (10,481 | ) |
| Income tax expense, net | (13,219 | ) | | (17,803 | ) | | (26,044 | ) |
| Net income | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
Intersegment revenue recorded during 2014 was attributable to services performed for the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, CoStar Portfolio Strategy by Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CoStar Limited, the Company's wholly owned U.K. holding company. Intersegment revenue recorded during 2012 and 2013 was attributable to services performed for CoStar Portfolio Strategy by Property and Portfolio Research Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CoStar Portfolio Strategy. Intersegment revenue is recorded at an amount the Company believes approximates fair value. North America EBITDA includes a corresponding cost for the services performed by Grecam and Property and Portfolio Research Ltd.
There were no costs allocated to North America EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012. North America EBITDA includes an allocation of approximately $800,000 and $1.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for International employees involved in development activities of the Company's North America operating segment.
International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $5.3 million, $400,000 and $300,000 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for North America employees involved in management and expansion activities of the Company’s International operating segment.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 12. | SEGMENT REPORTING — (CONTINUED) |
Summarized information by operating segment consists of the following (in thousands):
|
| | | | | | | |
| | December 31, |
| | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Property and equipment, net | | | |
| North America | $ | 53,733 |
| | $ | 71,209 |
|
| International | 3,986 |
| | 2,544 |
|
| Total property and equipment, net | $ | 57,719 |
| | $ | 73,753 |
|
| | | | |
| Goodwill | |
| | |
|
| North America | $ | 692,639 |
| | $ | 1,114,363 |
|
| International | 25,948 |
| | 24,442 |
|
| Total goodwill | $ | 718,587 |
| | $ | 1,138,805 |
|
| | | | |
| Assets | |
| | |
|
| North America | $ | 1,311,292 |
| | $ | 2,138,768 |
|
| International | 43,464 |
| | 41,896 |
|
| Total operating segment assets | $ | 1,354,756 |
| | $ | 2,180,664 |
|
| | | | |
| Reconciliation of operating segment assets to total assets | |
| | |
|
| Total operating segment assets | $ | 1,354,756 |
| | $ | 2,180,664 |
|
| Investment in subsidiaries | (18,344 | ) | | (18,344 | ) |
| Intersegment receivables | (79,430 | ) | | (78,638 | ) |
| Total assets | $ | 1,256,982 |
| | $ | 2,083,682 |
|
| | | | |
| Liabilities | |
| | |
|
| North America | $ | 324,626 |
| | $ | 564,832 |
|
| International | 79,266 |
| | 75,584 |
|
| Total operating segment liabilities | $ | 403,892 |
| | $ | 640,416 |
|
| | | | |
| Reconciliation of operating segment liabilities to total liabilities | |
| | |
|
| Total operating segment liabilities | $ | 403,892 |
| | $ | 640,416 |
|
| Intersegment payables | (74,772 | ) | | (70,280 | ) |
| Total liabilities | $ | 329,120 |
| | $ | 570,136 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
Preferred Stock
The Company has 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value, authorized for issuance.issuance as of December 31, 2014. The Board of Directors may issue the preferred stock from time to time as shares of one or more classes or series.
Common Stock
The Company has 30,000,00060,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized for issuance. Dividends may be declared and paid on the common stock, subject in all cases to the rights and preferences of the holders of preferred stock and authorization by the Board of Directors. In the event of liquidation or winding up of the Company and after the payment of all preferential amounts required to be paid to the holders of any series of preferred stock, any remaining funds shall be distributed among the holders of the issued and outstanding common stock.
13. NET INCOME PER SHAREEquity Offering
During June 2014, the Company completed a public equity offering of 3,450,000 shares of common stock for $160.00 per share. Net proceeds from the public equity offering were approximately $529.4 million, after deducting approximately $22.1 million of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses of approximately $500,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities to fund all or a portion of the costs of any strategic acquisitions it determines to pursue in the future, to finance the growth of its business and for general corporate purposes. General corporate purposes may include additions to working capital, capital expenditures, repayment of debt, investments in the Company’s subsidiaries, possible acquisitions and the repurchase, redemption or retirement of securities, including the Company’s common stock.
The following table sets forth the calculation of basic and diluted net income per share (in thousands except per share data):
| | | Year Ended December 31, | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | |
| Numerator: | | | | | | | | | |
Net income | | $ | 18,693 | | | $ | 13,289 | | | $ | 14,656 | |
| Denominator: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Denominator for basic net income per share ¾ weighted-average outstanding shares | | | 19,780 | | | | 20,330 | | | | 23,131 | |
| Effect of dilutive securities: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Stock options and restricted stock | | | 145 | | | | 377 | | | | 396 | |
Denominator for diluted net income per share ¾ weighted-average outstanding shares | | | 19,925 | | | | 20,707 | | | | 23,527 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net income per share ¾ basic | | $ | 0.95 | | | $ | 0.65 | | | $ | 0.63 | |
Net income per share ¾ diluted | | $ | 0.94 | | | $ | 0.64 | | | $ | 0.62 | |
Stock options to purchase approximately 483,800, 167,000 and 2,300 shares that were outstanding as of December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because the exercise price of the stock options was greater than the average share price of the common shares during the period and, therefore, the effect would have been anti-dilutive.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Numerator: | | | | | |
| Net income | $ | 9,915 |
| | $ | 29,734 |
| | $ | 44,869 |
|
| Denominator: | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Denominator for basic net income per share — weighted-average outstanding shares | 26,533 |
| | 27,670 |
| | 30,215 |
|
| Effect of dilutive securities: | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Stock options and restricted stock | 416 |
| | 542 |
| | 426 |
|
| Denominator for diluted net income per share — weighted-average outstanding shares | 26,949 |
| | 28,212 |
| | 30,641 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Net income per share — basic | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.07 |
| | $ | 1.48 |
|
| Net income per share — diluted | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 1.05 |
| | $ | 1.46 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 14. | NET INCOME PER SHARE — (CONTINUED) |
14. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANSEmployee stock options with exercise prices greater than the average market price of the Company’s common stock for the period are excluded from the calculation of diluted net income per share as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. Additionally, shares of restricted common stock that vest based on Company performance and service conditions that have not been achieved as of the end of the period are not included in the computation of basic or diluted earnings per share. Finally, shares of restricted common stock units that vest based on Company service conditions that have not been achieved as of the end of the period are not included in the computation of basic or diluted earnings per share. The following table summarizes the potential common shares excluded from the diluted calculation (in thousands):
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
| Employee stock options | — |
| | — |
| | 80 |
|
| Performance-based restricted stock awards | 399 |
| | 379 |
| | 23 |
|
| Service-based restricted stock units | — |
| | — |
| | 1 |
|
| Total shares excluded from computation | 399 |
| | 379 |
| | 104 |
|
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS |
Stock Incentive Plans
In June 1998, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the 1998 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended, the “1998 Plan”) prior to consummation of the Company’s initial public offering. In April 2007, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the CoStar Group, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2007 Plan”), subject to stockholder approval, which was obtained on June 7, 2007. All shares of common stock that were authorized for issuance under the 1998 Plan that, as of June 7, 2007, remained available for issuance under the 1998 Plan (excluding shares subject to outstanding awards) were rolled into the 2007 Plan and, as of that date, no shares of common stock were available for new awards under the 1998 Plan. The 1998 Plan continues to govern unexercised and unexpired awards issued under the 1998 Plan prior to June 7, 2007. The 1998 Plan provided for the grant of stock and stock options to officers, directors and employees of the Company and its subsidiaries. Stock options granted under the 1998 Plan could be incentive or non-qualified. Thenon-qualified, and the exercise price for an incentive stock option may not be less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The vesting period of the options and restricted stock grants under the 1998 Plan was determined by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof and was generally three to four years.years. Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, as defined in the 1998 Plan, all outstanding unexercisable options and restricted stock grants under the 1998 Plan immediately become exercisable.
The 2007 Plan provides for the grant of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and stock appreciation rights to officers, employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries. Stock options granted under the 2007 Plan may be non-qualified or may qualify as incentive stock options. Except in limited circumstances related to a merger or other acquisition, the exercise price for an option may not be less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The vesting period for each grant of options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights under the 2007 Plan is determined by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof and is generally three to four years, subject to minimum vesting periods for restricted stock and restricted stock units of at least one year.year. In some cases, vesting of awards under the 2007 Plan may be based on performance conditions. The Company has issued and/or reserved the following shares of common stock for issuance under the 2007 Plan (including an increase of 1,300,000 shares of common stock pursuant to an amendment to the 2007 Plan approved by the Company’s stockholders on June 2, 2010)2010 and an increase of 900,000 shares of common stock pursuant to an amendment to the 2007 Plan approved by the Company’s stockholders on June 5, 2012): (a) 2,300,0003,200,000 shares of common stock, plus (b) 121,875 shares of common stock that were authorized for issuance under the 1998 Plan that, as of June 7, 2007, remained available for issuance under the 1998 Plan (not including any Shares that were subject as of such date to outstanding awards under the 1998 Plan), and (c) any shares of common stock subject to outstanding awards under the 1998 Plan as of June 7, 2007, that on or after such date cease for any reason to be subject to such awards (other than by reason of exercise or settlement of the awards to the extent they are exercised for or settled in vested and nonforfeitable shares). Unless terminated sooner, the 2007 Plan will terminate in April 2017, but will continue to govern unexercised and unexpired awards issued under the 2007 Plan prior to that date. Approximately 1.9 million and 1.31.2 million shares were available for future grant under the 2007 Plan as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011, respectively.2014.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS —14. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS ¾ (CONTINUED) |
Stock Incentive Plans ¾— (Continued)
Option activity was as follows:
| | | Number of Shares | | | Range of Exercise Price | | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | | | Weighted- Average Remaining Contract Life (in years) | | | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2008 | | | 815,586 | | | $16.20 - 55.07 | | | $33.98 | | | | | | | |
Granted | | | 267,756 | | | $25.00 - 40.13 | | | $31.05 | | | | | | | |
Exercised | | | (85,228 | ) | | $17.35 - 36.38 | | | $26.20 | | | | | | | |
Canceled or expired | | | (44,818 | ) | | $30.06 - 46.81 | | | $39.40 | | | | | | | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2009 | | | 953,296 | | | $16.20 - 55.07 | | | $33.60 | | | | | | | |
Granted | | | 160,892 | | | $40.06 - 54.51 | | | $43.49 | | | | | | | |
Exercised | | | (137,724 | ) | | $16.20 - 45.18 | | | $27.01 | | | | | | | |
Canceled or expired | | | (30,768 | ) | | $18.31 - 44.86 | | | $37.83 | | | | | | | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2010 | | | 945,696 | | | $17.34 - 55.07 | | | $36.10 | | | | | | | |
Granted | | | 111,470 | | | $57.16 - 60.23 | | | $57.28 | | | | | | | |
Exercised | | | (198,132 | ) | | $17.97 - 54.51 | | | $31.37 | | | | | | | |
Canceled or expired | | | (11,932 | ) | | $36.48 - 54.51 | | | $40.65 | | | | | | | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2011 | | | 847,102 | | | $17.34 - 60.23 | | | $39.93 | | | | 5.72 | | | $22,701 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Exercisable at December 31, 2009 | | | 650,063 | | | $16.20 - 55.07 | | | $33.60 | | | | | | | | | |
Exercisable at December 31, 2010 | | | 609,274 | | | $17.34 - 55.07 | | | $35.21 | | | | | | | | | |
Exercisable at December 31, 2011 | | | 558,849 | | | $17.34 - 55.07 | | | $37.15 | | | | 4.35 | | | $16,531 | |
The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between (i) the closing price of the common stock at December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and (ii) the exercise prices of the underlying awards, multiplied by the shares underlying options as of December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, that had an exercise price less than the closing price on that date. Options to purchase 85,228, 137,724 and 198,132 shares were exercised for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised, determined as of the date of option exercise, was $1.2 million, $2.5 million and $6.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
At December 31, 2011,2014, there was $14.2$51.3 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to stock-based payments, net of forfeitures, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average-period of 2.5 years.
Stock Options
COSTAR GROUP, INC.Option activity was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Number of Shares | | Range of Exercise Price | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | | Weighted- Average Remaining Contract Life (in years) | | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) |
| Outstanding at December 31, 2011 | 847,102 |
| | $17.34 - $60.23 | | $ | 39.93 |
| | | | |
| Granted | 102,000 |
| | $58.95 - $58.95 | | $ | 58.95 |
| | | | |
| Exercised | (274,842 | ) | | $17.34 - $57.16 | | $ | 34.04 |
| | | | |
| Canceled or expired | (541 | ) | | $54.51 - $54.51 | | $ | 54.51 |
| | | | |
| Outstanding at December 31, 2012 | 673,719 |
| | $25.00 - $60.23 | | $ | 45.20 |
| | | | |
| Granted | 126,800 |
| | $102.16 - $102.16 | | $ | 102.16 |
| | | | |
| Exercised | (409,799 | ) | | $25.00 - $58.95 | | $ | 41.05 |
| | | | |
| Canceled or expired | (16,380 | ) | | $36.48 - $58.95 | | $ | 47.54 |
| | | | |
| Outstanding at December 31, 2013 | 374,340 |
| | $36.48 - $102.16 | | $ | 68.94 |
| | | | |
| Granted | 87,700 |
| | $201.04 - $201.04 | | $ | 201.04 |
| | | | |
| Exercised | (68,126 | ) | | $39.00 - $102.16 | | $ | 55.81 |
| | | | |
| Canceled or expired | (23,735 | ) | | $58.95 - $201.04 | | $ | 124.09 |
| | | | |
| Outstanding at December 31, 2014 | 370,179 |
| | $36.48 - $201.04 | | $ | 99.12 |
| | 7.25 | | $ | 32,677 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Exercisable at December 31, 2012 | 432,196 |
| | $25.00 - $60.23 | | $ | 40.22 |
| | | | |
| Exercisable at December 31, 2013 | 146,161 |
| | $36.48 - $60.23 | | $ | 47.72 |
| | | | |
| Exercisable at December 31, 2014 | 188,656 |
| | $36.48 - $102.16
| | $ | 60.54 |
| | 6.09 | | $ | 23,221 |
|
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between (i) the closing price of the common stock at the end of the period and (ii) the exercise prices of the underlying awards, multiplied by the shares underlying options as of the end of the period that had an exercise price less than the closing price on that date. Options to purchase ¾274,842 (CONTINUED), 409,799 and 68,126 shares were exercised during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised, determined as of the date of option exercise, was $11.9 million, $39.0 million and $8.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.
14. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS ¾ (CONTINUED)
Stock Incentive Plans ¾ (Continued)
The weighted-average grant date fair value of each option granted during the years ended December 2009, 201031, 2012, 2013 and 20112014 using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model was $12.72, $16.54$20.99, $34.10 and $21.57$58.12 respectively.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS — (CONTINUED) |
Stock Options — (Continued)
The Company estimated the fair value of each option granted on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, using the assumptions noted in the following table:
| | | | Year Ended December 31, | | | | | | | |
| | | 2009 | | | 2010 | | | 2011 | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2012 | | 2013 | | 2014 |
Dividend yield | | | 0 | % | | | 0 | % | | | 0 | % | 0 | % | | 0 | % | | 0 | % |
Expected volatility | | | 43 | % | | | 40 | % | | | 40 | % | 40 | % | | 37 | % | | 30 | % |
Risk-free interest rate | | | 2.2 | % | | | 2.2 | % | | | 2.2 | % | 0.9 | % | | 0.9 | % | | 1.5 | % |
Expected life (in years) | | | 5 | | | | 5 | | | | 5 | | 5 |
| | 5 |
| | 5 |
|
The assumptions above and the estimation of expected forfeitures are based on multiple facts,factors, including historical employee behavior patterns of exercising options and post-employment termination behavior, expected future employee option exercise patterns, and the historical volatility of the Company’s stock price.
The following table summarizes information regarding options outstanding at December 31, 2011:2014:
| | | Options Outstanding | | Options Exercisable |
Range of Exercise Price | | Number of Shares | | Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years) | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | | Number of Shares | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price |
| $ | 17.34 - 23.08 | | 45,400 | | 0.79 | | $20.68 | | 45,400 | | $20.68 |
| $ | 25.00 - 25.00 | | 117,379 | | 7.17 | | $25.00 | | 74,810 | | $25.00 |
| $ | 28.15 - 30.06 | | 85,290 | | 1.71 | | $28.76 | | 85,290 | | $28.76 |
| $ | 36.48 - 39.00 | | 149,763 | | 4.76 | | $38.10 | | 113,470 | | $38.41 |
| $ | 39.53 - 42.10 | | 21,597 | | 3.39 | | $39.82 | | 17,221 | | $39.74 |
| $ | 42.29 - 42.29 | | 102,767 | | 8.19 | | $42.29 | | 31,698 | | $42.29 |
| $ | 42.71 - 44.86 | | 116,596 | | 5.35 | | $44.12 | | 104,667 | | $44.24 |
| $ | 45.18 - 55.07 | | 96,840 | | 5.63 | | $52.25 | | 86,293 | | $51.97 |
| $ | 57.16 - 57.16 | | 102,700 | | 9.17 | | $57.16 | | ¾ | | ¾ |
| $ | 58.06 - 60.23 | | 8,770 | | 9.18 | | $58.63 | | ¾ | | ¾ |
| $ | 17.34 - 60.23 | | 847,102 | | 5.72 | | $39.93 | | 558,849 | | $37.15 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Options Outstanding | | Options Exercisable |
Range of Exercise Price | | Number of Shares | | Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years) | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | | Number of Shares | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price |
| $36.48 - $42.50 | | 58,603 |
| | 5.05 | | $ | 41.20 |
| | 58,603 |
| | $ | 41.20 |
|
| $42.51 - $55.83 | | 19,666 |
| | 3.47 | | $ | 49.24 |
| | 19,666 |
| | $ | 49.24 |
|
| $55.84 - $57.61 | | 43,549 |
| | 6.17 | | $ | 57.16 |
| | 43,549 |
| | $ | 57.16 |
|
| $57.62 - $58.51 | | 473 |
| | 6.09 | | $ | 58.06 |
| | 100 |
| | $ | 58.06 |
|
| $58.52 - $59.59 | | 54,068 |
| | 7.14 | | $ | 58.95 |
| | 27,800 |
| | $ | 58.95 |
|
| $59.60 - $81.19 | | 2,320 |
| | 6.42 | | $ | 60.23 |
| | 1,740 |
| | $ | 60.23 |
|
| $81.20 - $151.60 | | 111,600 |
| | 8.19 | | $ | 102.16 |
| | 37,198 |
| | $ | 102.16 |
|
| $151.61 - $201.04 | | 79,900 |
| | 9.15 | | $ | 201.04 |
| | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| $36.48 - $201.04 | | 370,179 |
| | 7.25 | | $ | 99.12 |
| | 188,656 |
| | $ | 60.54 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS — (CONTINUED) |
Restricted Stock Awards
In February 2012, the Committee approved grants of restricted common stock to the executive officers that vest based on the achievement of certain performance conditions. These awards support the Committee’s goals of aligning executive incentives with long-term stockholder value and ensuring that executive officers have a continuing stake in the long-term success of the Company. In May and December of 2012, the Company granted additional shares of restricted common stock that vest based on the achievement of certain performance conditions to other employees. These shares of performance-based restricted common stock vest upon the Company’s achievement of $90.0 million of cumulative EBITDA over a period of four consecutive calendar quarters, and are subject to forfeiture in the event the foregoing performance condition is not met by March 31, 2017. The Company granted a total of 399,413 shares of performance-based restricted common stock during the year ended December 31, 2012. No shares of the 2012 performance-based restricted common stock were granted by the Company during the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014. All of the awards were made under the 2007 Plan and pursuant to the Company’s standard form of restricted stock grant agreement. The number of shares granted was based on the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. As of March 31, 2013, the Company initially determined that it was probable that the performance condition for these performance-based restricted common stock awards would be met by the March 31, 2017 forfeiture date. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had satisfied all performance and service conditions, and as a result, the restricted common stock granted under these awards vested. The Company recorded approximately $0, $21.8 million and $2.2 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the 2012 performance-based restricted common stock for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
In February 2014, the Committee approved grants of restricted common stock to the executive officers that vest based on the Company’s achievement of a three-year cumulative revenue goal established at the grant date, and are subject to forfeiture in the event the foregoing performance condition is not met by December 31, 2016. The number of shares that may be earned ranges between 0% (if the specified threshold performance level is not attained) and 200% (if performance meets or exceeds the maximum achievement level) of the target awards originally granted. If actual performance exceeds the pre-established threshold, the number of shares earned is calculated based on the relative performance between specified levels of achievement. These awards support the Committee’s goals of aligning executive incentives with long-term stockholder value and ensuring that executive officers have a continuing stake in the long-term success of the Company.
The 2014 performance-based restricted common stock awards are subject to continuing employment requirements and to a market condition. The actual number of shares that vest at the end of the respective three-year period is determined based on the Company’s achievement of the three-year performance goals described above, as well as its TSR relative to the Russell 1000 Index over the related three-year performance period. At the end of the three-year performance period, if the performance condition is achieved at or above the pre-established threshold, the number of shares earned is further adjusted by a TSR payout percentage, which ranges between 80.0% and 120.0%, based on the Company’s TSR performance relative to that of the Russell 1000 Index over the respective three-year period. The Company granted a total of 24,720 shares of 2014 performance-based restricted common stock during the year ended December 31, 2014.
The Company estimates the fair value of its performance-based restricted common stock awards with a market condition on the date of grant using a Monte-Carlo simulation valuation model. This pricing model uses multiple simulations to evaluate the probability of the Company achieving various stock price levels to determine the expected TSR performance ranking. Expense is only recorded for awards that are expected to vest, net of estimated forfeitures. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of performance-based restricted common stock awards with a market condition granted during the year ended December 31, 2014 were as follows:
|
| | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2014 |
| Dividend yield | 0 | % |
| Expected volatility | 30 | % |
| Risk-free interest rate | 0.6 | % |
| Expected life (in years) | 3 |
|
| Weighted-average grant date fair value | $ | 216.20 |
|
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
14. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾— (CONTINUED)
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS — (CONTINUED) |
Restricted Stock Incentive Plans Awards ¾— (Continued)
As of December 31, 2014, the Company reassessed the probability of achieving the performance and market conditions and determined that it was probable that the performance and market conditions for these awards would be met by December 31, 2016. As a result, the Company recorded a total of approximately $1.1 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock awards with a market condition for the year ended December 31, 2014. There was no stock-based compensation expense related to the grant of 2014 performance-based restricted common stock recorded for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013. The Company expects to record an estimated unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the performance-based restricted common stock awards of approximately $2.7 million over the periods 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The following table presents unvested restricted stock awards activity without a market condition and performance-based restricted common stock awards activity with a market condition for the year ended December 31, 2014:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Restricted Stock Awards — without Market Condition | | Restricted Stock Awards — with Market Condition |
| | Number of Shares | | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share | | Number of Shares | | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share |
| Unvested restricted stock awards at December 31, 2013 | 968,270 |
| | $ | 80.52 |
| | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Granted | 234,282 |
| | $ | 167.49 |
| | 24,720 |
| | $ | 216.20 |
|
| Vested | (586,842 | ) | | $ | 68.34 |
| | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Canceled | (58,917 | ) | | $ | 117.70 |
| | (2,160 | ) | | $ | 216.20 |
|
| Unvested restricted stock awards at December 31, 2014 | 556,793 |
| | $ | 126.01 |
| | 22,560 |
| | $ | 216.20 |
|
Restricted Stock Units
The following table presents unvested restricted stock awardsunits activity for the year ended December 31, 2011:
| | | Number of Shares | | | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share | |
| Unvested restricted stock at December 31, 2010 | | | 314,374 | | | $ | 39.09 | |
| Granted | | | 196,827 | | | $ | 60.91 | |
| Vested | | | (122,144 | ) | | $ | 39.16 | |
| Canceled | | | (22,466 | ) | | $ | 43.37 | |
| Unvested restricted stock at December 31, 2011 | | | 366,591 | | | $ | 50.52 | |
|
| | | | | | |
| | Number of Shares | | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share |
| Unvested restricted stock units at December 31, 2013 | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Granted | 887 |
| | $ | 169.16 |
|
| Vested | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Canceled | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Unvested restricted stock units at December 31, 2014 | 887 |
| | $ | 169.16 |
|
Employee 401(k) Plan
The Company maintains a 401(k) Plan (the “401(k)”) as a defined contribution retirement plan for all eligible employees. The 401(k) provides for tax-deferred contributions of employees’ salaries, limited to a maximum annual amount as established by the Internal Revenue Service.IRS. In 2009, 2010 and 2011,2012, the Company matched 50% of employee contributions up to a maximum of 6% of total compensation. In 2013 and 2014, the Company matched 100% of employee contributions up to a maximum of 4% of total compensation. Amounts contributed to the 401(k) by the Company to match employee contributions for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 were approximately $1.4$2.7 million $1.5, $5.1 million and $1.9$6.1 million, respectively. The Company did not havehad no administrative expenses in connection with the 401(k) plan for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (CONTINUED)
| |
| 15. | EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS — (CONTINUED) |
Employee Pension Plan
The Company maintains a company personal pension planGroup Personal Pension Plan (the “Plan”) for all eligible employees in the Company’s U.K. offices. The planPlan is a defined contribution plan. Employees are eligible to contribute a portion of their salaries, subject to a maximum annual amount as established by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. In 2012, the Inland Revenue. The Company contributesmatched 50% of employee contributions up to a match subject tomaximum of 6% of total compensation. In 2013 and 2014, the Company's matching contribution was based on the percentage contributed by the employee, up to a maximum of the employees’ contribution.6% of total compensation. Amounts contributed to the planPlan by the Company to match employee contributions for the years ended December 31, 2009, 20102012, 2013 and 20112014 were approximately $130,000, $160,000$180,000, $280,000 and $160,000,$390,000, respectively.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
As of August 1, 2006, the Company introduced an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), pursuant to which eligible employees participating in the plan authorize the Company to withhold specified amounts from the employees’ compensation and use the withheld amounts to purchase shares of the Company's common stock at 90% of the market price. Participating employees are able to purchase common stock under this plan during theeach offering period. TheAn offering period begins the second Saturday before each of the Company’s regular pay dates and ends on each of the Company’s regular pay dates. There were 64,10634,895 and 56,33921,774 shares available for purchase under the ESPP as of December 31, 20102013 and 2011,2014, respectively and approximately 8,10011,291 and 7,80013,121 shares of the Company’s common stock were purchased under the ESPP during 20102013 and 2011,2014, respectively.
15. LEASE RESTRUCTURING CHARGES
Effective September 24, 2010, the Company consolidated its three facilities located in the Boston, Massachusetts area, including the facilities used by CoStar, PPR, and Resolve Technology, into one facility. The consolidation of the facilities resulted in a lease restructuring charge of approximately $1.3 million recorded in general and administrative expense in the third quarter of 2010. The third quarter lease restructuring charge included amounts for the abandonment of certain lease space as well as the impairment of leasehold improvements totaling approximately $100,000.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
15. LEASE RESTRUCTURING CHARGES ¾ (CONTINUED)
Effective July 18, 2011, the Company consolidated its White Marsh, Maryland office with its Columbia, Maryland and Washington, DC offices. The consolidation of the facility resulted in a lease restructuring charge of approximately $1.5 million recorded in general and administrative expense in the third quarter of 2011. The third quarter lease restructuring charge included amounts for the abandonment of certain lease space as well as the impairment of leasehold improvements, furniture and other equipment totaling approximately $500,000.
The amount of the lease restructuring charges recorded were based upon management’s best estimate of amounts and timing of certain events that are expected to occur in the future. It is possible that the actual outcome of these events may differ from estimates. The Company reassesses the expected cost to complete the consolidation of the facilities at the end of each reporting period and adjusts the restructuring accrual as necessary to reflect any changes. As a result of reassessments, for the year ended December 31, 2011, an adjustment of approximately $195,000 was recorded due to changes in the Company’s assumed sublease income over the remaining lease term. The Company did not record an adjustment to the initial lease restructuring charges for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Any future changes will be made to the restructuring accrual when any such differences become determinable.
The following table summarizes the amount included in accrued expenses related to these restructuring charges from December 31, 2009 to December 31, 2011 (in thousands):
| | | Lease Restructuring Accrual | |
Accrual balance at December 31, 2009 | | $ | ¾ | |
Original charge for Boston offices | | | 1,160 | |
Rent payments made in 2010 | | | (229 | ) |
Accrual balance at December 31, 2010 | | | 931 | |
Original charge for White Marsh office | | | 959 | |
Rent payments made in 2011 | | | (1,319 | ) |
Adjustment for assumed sublease income and accretion in 2011 | | | 262 | |
Accrual balance at December 31, 2011 | | $ | 833 | |
16. PURCHASE OF BUILDING
In February 2010, the Company purchased a 169,429 square-foot office building located at 1331 L Street, NW in downtown Washington, DC together with the tenancy in the underlying ground lease for the property for a purchase price of $41.25 million in cash. This facility is being used primarily by the Company’s U.S. segment. The Company began relocating its Bethesda-based employees and infrastructure to the new building starting in July 2010 and completed its relocation by October 15, 2010.
In connection with the purchase of the building, the Company assumed the ground lease for the parcel of land under the building. The lease, which expires February 29, 2088, requires the payment of minimum annual rent of $778,000 through February 29, 2012, then approximately $918,000 annually through February 29, 2024. Thereafter, the minimum rate is adjusted to fair market value, as defined in the lease, once every 7 years.
The purchase of the building was accounted for as an asset acquisition. The total purchase price of $41.25 million, plus $1.7 million of direct transaction costs was allocated to the building. No other significant assets or liabilities were acquired in this transaction. See Note 17 for further details on the subsequent sale of the building in February 2011.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
On February 2, 2011, 1331 L Street Holdings, LLC (“Holdings”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and GLL L-Street 1331, LLC (“GLL”), an affiliate of Munich-based GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH, entered into a purchase and sale agreement pursuant to which (i) Holdings agreed to sell to GLL its interest in the 169,429 square-foot office building located at 1331 L Street, NW, in downtown Washington, DC, and (ii) CoStar Realty Information, Inc. (“CoStar Realty”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, agreed to enter into a lease expiring May 31, 2025 with GLL to lease back 149,514 square feet of the office space located in this building, which the Company continues to use as its corporate headquarters. The closing of the sale took place on February 18, 2011. The aggregate consideration paid by GLL to Holdings pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement was $101.0 million in cash, $15.0 million of which was designated to fund additional build-out and planned improvements at the building. Approximately $12.5 million of the $15.0 million additional build-out is recorded as a leasehold improvement in property and equipment. The carrying value of the building at the time of the sale was approximately $47.5 million. Pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement, Holdings entered into an assignment and assumption agreement with GLL regarding the existing ground lease.
The office lease will expire May 31, 2025. The initial base rent is $38.50 per square foot of occupied space, escalating 2.5% per year commencing June 1, 2011. Minimum lease payments will be approximately $6.0 million, $6.1 million, $6.3 million, $6.4 million and $6.6 million for fiscal years 2012 through 2016, respectively, and a total of $62.6 million from 2017 to the end of the lease term.
The transaction qualified for sale-leaseback accounting under an operating lease as all of the risks and rewards of ownership were transferred to the buyer upon closing of the transaction and the leaseback arrangement did not include any form of continuing involvement, other than a normal leaseback. The $36.0 million gain on sale has been deferred and is being recorded as a reduction in rent expense over the term of the lease in accordance with the accounting guidance for sale-leaseback transactions. The Company recorded approximately $2.2 million from the gain on sale for the year ended December 31, 2011. The closing costs incurred in connection with the sale-leaseback agreement were approximately $2.4 million, primarily due to legal costs, broker commissions and transfer costs which were recorded as a reduction to the gain in the first quarter of 2011.
18. EQUITY OFFERING
During June 2011, the Company completed an equity offering of 4,312,500 shares of common stock for $60.00 per share. Net proceeds from the equity offering were approximately $247.9 million, after deducting approximately $10.4 million of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses of approximately $500,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities to fund a portion of the cash consideration payable in connection with its acquisition of LoopNet and, to the extent that any proceeds remain thereafter, or the acquisition is not completed, for general corporate purposes. General corporate purposes may include additions to working capital, capital expenditures, investments in the Company’s subsidiaries, possible acquisitions and the repurchase, redemption or retirement of securities, including the Company’s common stock. The net proceeds may be temporarily invested or applied to repay short-term or revolving debt prior to use.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
19. PENDING ACQUISITION
On April 27, 2011, the Company signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet, Inc. Pursuant to the merger agreement, (a) each outstanding share of LoopNet common stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) $16.50 in cash, without interest and (ii) 0.03702 shares of CoStar common stock, and (b) each outstanding share of Series A Preferred Stock will be converted into a unit consisting of (i) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Cash Consideration and (ii) the product of 148.80952 multiplied by the Stock Consideration, representing a total equity value of approximately $860.0 million and an enterprise value of $762.0 million as of April 27, 2011. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, and the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LoopNet’s common stock and Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, approved the adoption of the merger agreement on July 11, 2011. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance. On April 27, 2011, CoStar received a commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank for a fully committed term loan of $415.0 million and a $50.0 million revolving credit facility, of which $37.5 million are committed, which will be available, subject to customary conditions, to fund the acquisition and the ongoing working capital needs of the Company and its subsidiaries following the transaction. As a result of the pending LoopNet acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $14.2 million in acquisition-related costs in general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2011. See Note 20 for additional information regarding the financing commitment from J.P. Morgan Bank and the credit facility entered into subsequent to December 31, 2011.
As previously disclosed in the proxy statement/prospectus dated June 6, 2011, both the Company and LoopNet filed notification and report forms with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”), on May 31, 2011. As a result, the waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the proposed merger between the Company and LoopNet was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011. As previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on June 30, 2011, CoStar and LoopNet each received a request for additional information (commonly referred to as a “second request”) from the FTC with respect to the proposed merger of Lonestar Acquisition Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CoStar, and LoopNet (the “merger”). At the FTC’s request, CoStar and LoopNet subsequently agreed to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act from 30 to 60 days after the date of substantial compliance with the second request unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. On November 4, 2011, each of the Company and LoopNet certified as to its substantial compliance with the second request. Completion of the merger remains subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and other customary closing conditions. See Note 20 for further details on the status of the pending acquisition and the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act subsequent to December 31, 2011.
The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. In certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, LoopNet may be obligated to pay the Company a termination fee of $25.8 million. Similarly, in certain circumstances set forth in the merger agreement, if the merger is not consummated or the agreement is terminated, the Company may be obligated to pay LoopNet a termination fee of $51.6 million. The Company is not in a position yet to estimate the financial impact the proposed merger will have on its operations.
20. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
As previously disclosed on January 3, 2012, the Company and LoopNet voluntarily agreed to further extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act on a 45-day rolling basis to allow them to engage in discussions with the FTC to determine whether there is a possible basis for, and to discuss the possible terms of, a mutually acceptable consent order that would allow the merger to close. On January 31, 2012, the Company and LoopNet mutually agreed to extend the date after which either party may individually elect to terminate the merger agreement from January 31, 2012 to April 30, 2012. As of December 31, 2011, the parties have not yet reached agreement with the FTC on the terms of such a consent order, and there can be no assurance that such agreement will be reached in a timely manner or at all. Completion of the merger remains subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and other customary closing conditions. As of December 31, 2011, discussions are ongoing with the FTC and neither the Company and LoopNet, on the one hand, nor the FTC Staff, on the other hand, has triggered commencement of the 45-day period.
COSTAR GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
20. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS ¾ (CONTINUED)
On February 16, 2012, the Company entered into a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) by and among CoStar, as borrower, CoStar Realty Information, Inc., as co-borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Bank, as administrative agent. The Credit Agreement provides for a $175.0 million term loan facility and a $50.0 million revolving credit facility, each with a term of five years. The obligation of the lenders to make the loans under the Credit Agreement is subject to the simultaneous closing of the merger with LoopNet and the satisfaction of certain other conditions precedent. The Company expects to use the proceeds of the term loan facility on the date on which such conditions are satisfied along with net proceeds from the equity offering in June 2011 to pay a portion of the merger consideration and transaction costs related to the merger. The proceeds of the revolving credit facility may be used, on the closing date, to pay for transaction costs related to the merger and, thereafter, for working capital and other general corporate purposes of CoStar and its subsidiaries.
The revolving credit facility includes a subfacility for swingline loans of up to $5.0 million and up to $10.0 million of the revolving credit facility is available for the issuance of letters of credit. The term loan facility will amortize in quarterly installments in amounts resulting in an annual amortization of 5% during the first year, 10% during the second year, 15% during the third year, 20% during the fourth year and 50% during the fifth year after the closing date. The loans under the Credit Agreement will bear interest, at the Company’s option, either (i) during any interest period selected by CoStar, at the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars with a maturity comparable to such interest period, adjusted for statutory reserves (“LIBOR”), plus a spread of 2.00% per annum, or (ii) at the greatest of (x) the prime rate from time to time announced by J.P. Morgan Bank, (y) the federal funds effective rate plus ½ of 1% and (z) LIBOR for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, plus a spread of 1.00% per annum. If an event of default occurs under the Credit Agreement, the interest rate on overdue amounts will increase by 2.00% per annum. The obligations under the Credit Agreement will be guaranteed by all material subsidiaries of the Company and secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its material subsidiaries, in each case subject to certain exceptions, pursuant to security and guarantee documents to be entered into on the closing date.
The original commitment letter from J.P. Morgan Bank received on April 27, 2011 remains outstanding and available, subject to customary conditions, to fund the LoopNet acquisition and the ongoing working capital needs of the Company and its subsidiaries following the LoopNet transaction until the earlier of funding of the term loan facility into escrow pursuant to the Credit Agreement, if applicable, and the business day after the beginning of the marketing period under the merger agreement. However, the Company does not currently anticipate utilizing that original commitment.
The Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.5 to 1.0 and a total leverage ratio not exceeding 3.25 to 1.00 during the first two fiscal quarters after the closing date, 3.00 to 1.00 during the third and fourth full fiscal quarters after the closing date, 2.75 to 1.00 during the period from the fifth to the eighth full fiscal quarter after the closing date and 2.50 to 1.00 thereafter. The Credit Agreement also includes other covenants, including covenants that, subject to certain exceptions, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries (i) to incur additional indebtedness, (ii) to create, incur, assume or permit to exist any liens, (iii) to enter into mergers, consolidations or similar transactions, (iv) to make investments and acquisitions, (v) to make certain dispositions of assets, (vi) to make dividends, distributions and prepayments of certain indebtedness, and (vii) to enter into certain transactions with affiliates.
In connection with obtaining the facility pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Company expects to incur approximately $10.6 million in debt issuance costs, which will be capitalized and amortized as interest expense over the term of the Credit Agreement using the effective interest method. The debt issuance costs will be comprised of approximately $9.1 million in underwriting fees and approximately $1.5 million primarily related to legal fees associated with the debt issuance. The Company has incurred approximately $900,000 in debt issuance costs as of December 31, 2011.
