ASSURED GUARANTY LTD

11. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the net fair value of assets and liabilities at the date of acquisition. Finite-lived intangible assets are recorded at fair value on the date of acquisition and are amortized over their estimated useful lives.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes the carrying value for the Company’s goodwill and other intangible assets:

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

(1) The December 31, 2022 amount primarily included CLO contracts and investment management contracts of $42 million and $24 million, respectively, and had a weighted average amortization period ranging from 1.2 years to 6.8 years.

Goodwill and substantially all finite-lived intangible assets were related to AssuredIM. In 2023, in connection with the Sound Point Transaction and the AHP Transaction, the carrying value of all goodwill and the intangible assets associated with AssuredIM were reduced tozero. See Note 1, Business and Basis of Presentation, for additional information.

To date, there have beenno impairments of goodwill or finite-lived intangible assets. Amortization expense associated with the finite-lived intangible assets was $2 million, $11 million and $12 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and is reported in “other operating expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations.

The Company merged MAC with and into AGM, with AGM as the surviving company on April 1, 2021. Upon the merger, all direct insurance policies issued by MAC became direct insurance obligations of AGM. As a result, the Company wrote off the $16 million carrying value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset related to the MAC insurance licenses. This was reported in “other operating expenses” in the Insurance segment.