3. Business acquisitions A. Certain acquisitions (a) Strategic Sourcing Excellence Limited On January 8, 2016, the Company acquired 51% of the outstanding equity interest in Strategic Sourcing Excellence LLC (SSE), a Delaware limited liability company. The total consideration paid by the Company to the selling equity holders for the acquired interest in SSE was $14,541. This amount includes the fair value of earn-out consideration, cash consideration of $2,550, adjusted for working capital, transaction expenses, indebtedness and measurement period adjustments which did not have a significant impact on the Company consolidated statements of income, balance sheets or cash flows in the adjustment periods. The equity purchase agreement between the Company and the selling equity holders of SSE also provided for contingent earn-out consideration of up to $20,000, payable by the Company to the selling equity holders based on the future performance of the acquired business relative to the thresholds specified in the earn-out calculation. Up to $9,800 of the total potential earn-out consideration, representing the selling equity holders redeemable, non-controlling 49% interest in SSE, was payable only if either the put or call option, each as described below, was exercised. This acquisition enhanced the Companys sourcing and procurement consulting domain expertise. The equity purchase agreement granted the Company a call option to purchase the remaining 49% equity interest in SSE, which the Company had the right to exercise between January 1, 2018 and January 31, 2018. As the Company did not exercise its call option during such period, the selling equity holders exercised their put option on March 1, 2018 in accordance with the terms of the equity purchase agreement to require the Company to purchase their 49% interest in SSE for $2,950. The Company also paid $1,780 in earn-out consideration to the selling equity holders during the three months ended March 31, 2018. The amount paid in excess of carrying amount has be