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Note 10 – Acquisition of USU

On December 1, 2017 certain assets were acquired and certain liabilities assumed from Educacion Significativa, LLC (dba United States University) by United States University, Inc. United States University, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aspen Group Inc. (“AGI”) and was set up for purposes of finalizing the asset purchase transaction.  For purposes of purchase accounting, Aspen Group, Inc. is referred to as the acquirer. Aspen Group, Inc. acquired the assets and assumed the liabilities of Educacion Significativa, LLC (dba United States University) for a purchase price of approximately $14.8 million. The purchase consideration consisted of a cash payment of $2,500,000 less an adjustment for working capital of approximately $110,000 plus approximately $200,000 of additional costs paid to/on behalf of and for the benefit of the seller, a convertible note of $2,000,000 and 1,203,209 shares of AGI stock valued at the quoted closing price of $8.49 per share as of November 30, 2017. The stock consideration represents $10,215,244 of the purchase consideration.

The acquisition was accounted for by AGI in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting pursuant to ASC 805 “Business Combinations” and pushdown accounting was applied to record the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed on United States University, Inc. Under this method, the purchase price is allocated to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. The excess of the amount paid over the estimated fair values of the identifiable net assets was $5,011,432 which has been reflected in the balance sheet as goodwill.

The following is a summary of the estimated fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition:

We determined the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on assumptions that reasonable market participants would use while employing the concept of highest and best use of the respective items. We used the following assumptions, the majority of which include significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), and valuation methodologies to determine fair value:

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Intangibles - We used the multiple period excess earnings method to value the Accreditation and regulatory approvals. The Trade name and trademarks were valued using the relief-from-royalty method, which represents the benefit of owning these intangible assets rather than paying royalties for their use. The Student relationships were valued using the excess earnings method.  The curriculum was valued using the replacement cost approach.

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Other assets and liabilities - The carrying value of all other assets and liabilities approximated fair value at the time of acquisition.

The goodwill resulting from the acquisition may become deductible for tax purposes in the future.  The goodwill resulting from the acquisition is principally attributable to the future earnings potential associated with enrollment growth and other intangibles that do not qualify for separate recognition such as the assembled workforce.

We have selected an April 30^th annual goodwill impairment test date.

We assigned an indefinite useful life to the accreditation and regulatory approvals and the trade name and trademarks as we believe they have the ability to generate cash flows indefinitely. In addition, there are no legal, regulatory, contractual, economic or other factors to limit the intangibles’ useful life and we intend to renew the intangibles, as applicable, and renewal can be accomplished at little cost. We determined all other acquired intangibles are finite-lived and we are amortizing them on either a straight-line basis or using an accelerated method to reflect the pattern in which the economic benefits of the assets are expected to be consumed. Amortization for the period of inception through January 31, 2018 was $183,333.

The expected benefits from the business acquisition will allow USU, Inc. to achieve its vision of making college affordable again on a much broader scale along with providing various accreditations.

The Company is in the process of completing its accounting and valuations of USU, Inc. and accordingly, the estimated fair values and allocation of purchase price noted above is provisional pending the final valuation of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed which will not exceed one-year in accordance with ASC 805.

The total acquisition costs that AGI incurred was approximately $1,050,000, of which approximately $200,000 was incurred in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017 and $850,000 was incurred in the current year.  

The results of operations of USU are included in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations from the date of acquisition of December 1, 2017. The following supplemental unaudited pro forma combined information assumes that the acquisitions had occurred as of the beginning of each period present:

The pro forma financial information is not necessarily indicative of the results that would have occurred if these acquisitions had occurred on the dates indicated or that result in the future.