AutoNation (AN)

Business Combinations

In December 2007, the FASB issued an accounting standard on business combinations. This accounting standard includes substantial changes to the acquisition method used to account for business combinations (formerly the “purchase accounting” method), including broadening the definition of a business, as well as revisions to accounting methods for contingent consideration and other contingencies related to the acquired business, accounting for transaction costs, and accounting for adjustments to provisional amounts recorded in connection with acquisitions. Under this standard, the acquisition method of accounting must be used for all business combinations and an acquirer must be identified for each business combination. This accounting standard is to be applied prospectively to business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. We adopted this standard effective January 1, 2009, and the adoption did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009.