Exhibit 99.2
After giving effect to our previously announced plan to spin-off our Nielsen Global Connect business (“Connect”), creating two independent, publicly traded companies (the “Connect separation and distribution”), our preliminary pro forma revenue would have been $3,412 million and preliminary Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA would have been $1,446 million for the last twelve months ended June 30, 2020. See “Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures” for a reconciliation of net income/(loss) to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss from the historical condensed consolidated statements of operations of Nielsen Holdings plc (“Parent” or “Nielsen”) before interest income and expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, restructuring charges, impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets, share-based compensation expense and other non-operating items from our consolidated statements of operations as well as certain other items considered outside the normal course of our operations specifically described below. We define preliminary Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss from our preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations of Parent before interest income and expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, restructuring charges, impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets, share-based compensation expense and other non-operating items from our preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations as well as certain other items considered outside the normal course of our operations specifically described below. The preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations of Parent have been derived from the historical consolidated financial statements of Parent after giving effect to the separation of the operations, assets, liabilities and equity of Connect in accordance with ASC 205, Discontinued Operations. The preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations of Parent described below reflect certain adjustments related to the Connect separation and distribution which are based on preliminary estimates, and such adjustments do not reflect the full impact of, nor the transactions contemplated by, the separation and distribution agreement and the other transaction agreements to be entered into by Parent and the newly formed company which will own and operate the Global Connect business (“SpinCo”) in connection with the Connect separation and distribution. See “Unaudited preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements of Parent” below for a description of certain of the adjustments which are not reflected in such preliminary pro forma financial information. In addition, the preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statement of operations of Parent set forth below with respect to the last twelve months ended June 30, 2020 does not include certain adjustments that would be required for such financial information to be prepared in accordance with regulation S-X of the Act.
Restructuring charges: We exclude restructuring expenses, which primarily include employee severance, office consolidation and contract termination charges, from our preliminary Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA to allow more accurate comparisons of the financial results to historical operations and forward-looking guidance. By excluding these expenses from our non-GAAP measures, we are better able to evaluate our ability to utilize our existing assets and estimate the long-term value these assets will generate for us. Furthermore, we believe that the adjustments of these items more closely correlate with the sustainability of our operating performance.
Impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets: We exclude the impact of charges related to the impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets. Given the significance of the impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets, we reported it separately in the consolidated statements of operations and preliminary pro forma condensed consolidated statements of operations. We believe that the exclusion of these impairments, which are non-cash, allows for meaningful comparisons of operating results to peer companies. We believe that this increases period-to-period comparability and is useful to evaluate the performance of the total company.
Share-based compensation expense: We exclude the impact of costs relating to share-based compensation. Due to the subjective assumptions and a variety of award types, we believe that the exclusion of share-based compensation expense, which is typically non-cash, allows for more meaningful comparisons of our operating results to peer companies. Share-based compensation expense can vary significantly based on the timing, size and nature of awards granted.