what is a write up 
a write up is an increase made to the book value of an asset because its carrying value is less than fair market value a write up generally occurs if a company is being acquired and its assets and liabilities are restated to fair market value under the purchase method of m a accounting it may also occur if the initial value of the asset was not recorded properly or if an earlier write down in its value was too large an asset write up is the opposite of a write down and both are non cash items understanding write upsbecause a write up impacts the balance sheet the financial press does not report on more mundane instances of businesses initiating a write up of asset values in contrast sizable write downs do spark investor interest and make for better news cycles whereas a write down is generally considered a red flag a write up is not considered a positive harbinger of future business prospects since they re generally a one time event during an asset write up special treatment for intangible assets and tax effects are considered with an asset write up the deferred tax liability is generated from additional future depreciation expense example of a write upfor example assume company a is acquiring company b for 100 million at which point the book value of company b s net assets was 60 million before the acquisition can be completed company b s assets and liabilities have to be marked to market to determine their fair market value fmv if the fmv of company b s assets is determined to be 85 million the increase in their book value of 25 million represents a write up the difference of 15 million between the fmv of company b s assets and the purchase price of 100 million is booked as goodwill on company a s balance sheet 