but not limited to, the estimated cost of capital and/or discount rates. Additionally, as discussed above, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we are required to ensure that assumptions used to determine fair value in our analyses are consistent with the assumptions a hypothetical marketplace participant would use. As a result, the cost of capital and/or discount rates used in our analyses may increase or decrease based on market conditions and trends, regardless of whether our Company's actual cost of capital has changed. Therefore, our Company may recognize an impairment of an intangible asset or assets in spite of realizing actual cash flows that are approximately equal to or greater than our previously forecasted amounts. The Company has acquired significant intangible assets in the past several years through asset acquisitions and business combinations, including, among others, the acquisition of brands and licenses in Denmark and Finland from Carlsberg Group Beverages ("Carlsberg"); 18 German bottling and distribution operations; Energy Brands Inc., also known as glacéau; and CCBPI. Refer to Note 17 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more detailed information about recently acquired intangible assets. 

As of our most recent annual impairment review, the Company had no significant impairments of its intangible assets, individually or in the aggregate. In addition, as of December 31, 2009, we did not have any reporting units with a material amount of goodwill for which it is reasonably likely that they will fail step one of a goodwill impairment test in the near term. However, if macroeconomic conditions continue to worsen, it is possible that we may experience significant impairments of some of our intangible assets, which would require us to recognize impairment charges. Management will continue to monitor the fair value of our intangible assets in future periods. 

In 2009, the Company recognized a $23 million impairment charge due to a change in the expected useful life of an intangible asset, which was previously determined to have an indefinite life. Refer to the heading "Operations Review — Other Operating Charges," and Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

As previously mentioned, the Company is required to record its proportionate share of impairment charges recorded by our equity method investees. In 2008, we recorded our proportionate share of approximately $7.6 billion pretax ($4.9 billion after-tax) of charges recorded by CCE due to impairments of its North American franchise rights in the second quarter and fourth quarter of 2008. The Company's proportionate share of these charges was approximately $1.6 billion. The decline in the estimated fair value of CCE's North American franchise rights during the second quarter was the result of several factors including, but not limited to, (1) challenging macroeconomic conditions which contributed to lower than anticipated volume for higher-margin packages and certain higher-margin beverage categories; (2) increases in raw material costs including significant increases in aluminum, HFCS and resin; and