(3) Business combinations
Acquisitions of subsidiaries and businesses are accounted for using the acquisition method. The consideration transferred in a business combination is measured at fair value, which is calculated as the sum of the acquisition-date fair values of the assets transferred by the Group, liabilities assumed by the Group to the former owners of the acquiree and the equity interests issued by the Group in exchange for control of the acquiree. Acquisition-related costs are generally recognized in net income as incurred.
At the acquisition date, the acquiree’s identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities that meet the condition for recognition under IFRS 3 are recognized at their fair value, except that:
| • | deferred tax assets or liabilities and assets or liabilities related to employee benefit arrangements are recognized and measured in accordance with IAS 12 Income Taxes and IAS 19 Employee Benefits, respectively; |
| • | liabilities or equity instruments related to share-based payment arrangements of the acquiree or share-based payment arrangements of the Group entered into to replace share-based payment arrangements of the acquiree are measured in accordance with IFRS 2 Share-based Payment at the acquisition date; and |
| • | non-current assets (or disposal groups) that are classified as held for sale in accordance with IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations are measured at the lower of their previous carrying amounts and fair value less costs to sell. |
Any excess of the sum of the consideration transferred, the amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the fair value of the Group’s previously held equity interest (if any) in the acquiree over the net of identifiable assets and liabilities assumed of the acquiree at the acquisition date is recognized as goodwill which is included in intangible assets.
If, after reassessment, the Group’s interest in the fair value of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets exceeds the sum of the consideration transferred, the amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the fair value of the acquirer’s previously held equity interest in the acquiree (if any), the excess is recognized immediately in net income as a bargain purchase gain.
Non-controlling interests that are present ownership interests and entitle their holders to a proportionate share of the entity’s net assets in the event of liquidation may be initially measured either at fair value or at the non-controlling interests’ proportionate share of the recognized amounts of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets. The choice of measurement basis is made on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Other types of non-controlling interests are measured at fair value or, when applicable, on the basis specified in another IFRSs.
When the consideration transferred by the Group in a business combination includes assets or liabilities resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement, the contingent consideration is measured at its acquisition-date fair value and included as part of the consideration transferred in a business combination. Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration that qualify as measurement period adjustments are adjusted retrospectively, with corresponding adjustments against goodwill. Measurement period adjustments are adjustments that arise from additional information obtained during the ‘measurement period’ (which cannot exceed one year from the acquisition date) about facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date.
The subsequent accounting for changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration that do not qualify as measurement period adjustments depends on how the contingent consideration is classified. Contingent consideration that is classified as equity is not remeasured at subsequent reporting dates and its subsequent settlement is accounted for within equity. Contingent consideration that is classified as an asset or a liability is remeasured at subsequent reporting dates in accordance with IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, or IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, as appropriate, with the corresponding gain or loss being recognized in profit or loss.
When a business combination is achieved in stages, the Group’s previously held equity interest in the acquiree is remeasured at fair value at the acquisition date (i.e. the date when the Group obtains control) and the resulting gain or loss, if any, is recognized in net income. Amounts arising from changes in value of interests in the acquiree prior to the acquisition date that have previously been recognized in other comprehensive income are reclassified to net income where such treatment would be appropriate if that interest were disposed of.
In case where i) a common entity ultimately controls over all participating entities, or businesses, in business combination transaction, prior to and after the transaction continuously, and ii) the control is not temporary, the transaction meets the definition of “business combination under common control” and it is deemed that the transaction only results in the changes in legal substance, not economic substance, from the perspective of the ultimate controlling party. Thus, in such transactions, the acquirer recognizes the assets and liabilities of the acquiree on its financial statements at the book values as recognized in the ultimate controlling party’s consolidated financial statements, and the difference between the book value of consideration transferred to and the book value of net assets transferred in is recognized as equity.