what is an example of goodwill in an acquisition 
in 2017 amazon com inc amzn bought whole foods market inc for 13 7 billion at that time the current share price of whole foods was 35 amazon ended up paying 42 per share 6 in total amazon paid 9 billion more than the value of whole foods net assets that amount was recorded as the intangible asset goodwill on amazon s books the bottom linegoodwill is an intangible asset that can relate to the value of the purchased company s brand reputation customer service employee relationships and intellectual property it represents a value and potential competitive advantage that may be obtained by one company when it purchases another it is the amount of the purchase price over and above the amount of the fair market value of the target company s assets minus its liabilities while goodwill officially has an indefinite life impairment tests can be run to determine if its value has changed due to an adverse financial event if there is a change in value that amount decreases the goodwill account on the balance sheet and is recognized as a loss on the income statement 