Long Term Borrowings

6 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Mar. 24, 2012

Sep. 24, 2011

7.	Long-Term Borrowings

Long-term borrowings consist of the following:


	As of
	March 24, 2012		September 24, 2011
7.375% senior notes, due March 15, 2020, net of unamortized discount of $1,723 and $1,831, respectively	$	248,277	$	248,169
Revolving credit facility, due January 5, 2017		100,000		100,000

	$	348,277	$	348,169

On March 23, 2010, the Partnership and its 100%-owned subsidiary, Suburban Energy Finance Corporation, issued $250,000 in aggregate principal amount of 7.375% senior notes due 2020 (the “2020 Senior Notes”). The 2020 Senior Notes were issued at 99.136% of the principal amount. The Partnership's obligations under the 2020 Senior Notes are unsecured and rank senior in right of payment to any future subordinated indebtedness and equally in right of payment with any future senior indebtedness. The 2020 Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to, which means they rank effectively behind, any debt and other liabilities of the Operating Partnership. The 2020 Senior Notes mature on March 15, 2020 and require semi-annual interest payments in March and September. The Partnership is permitted to redeem some or all of the 2020 Senior Notes any time at redemption prices specified in the indenture governing the 2020 Senior Notes. In addition, the 2020 Senior Notes have a change of control provision that would require the Partnership to offer to repurchase the notes at 101% of the principal amount repurchased, if a change of control as defined in the indenture occurs and is followed by a rating decline (a decrease in the rating of the notes by either Moody's Investors Service or Standard and Poor's Rating Group by one or more gradations) within 90 days of the consummation of the change of control.

The Operating Partnership has a credit agreement, as amended on January 5, 2012 (the “Amended Credit Agreement”) that provides for a five-year $250,000 revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) of which, $100,000 was outstanding as of March 24, 2012 and September 24, 2011. The Amended Credit Agreement amends the previous credit agreement to, among other things, extend the maturity date from June 25, 2013 to January 5, 2017, reduce the borrowing rate and commitment fees, and amend certain affirmative and negative covenants. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions. The Operating Partnership has the right to prepay any borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, in whole or in part, without penalty at any time prior to maturity.

At the time the amendment was entered into, the Operating Partnership had existing borrowings of $100,000 under the revolving credit facility of the previous credit agreement, which borrowings have been rolled into the Revolving Credit Facility of the Amended Credit Agreement. In addition, at the time the amendment was entered into, the Operating Partnership had letters of credit issued under the revolving credit facility of the previous credit agreement primarily in support of retention levels under its self-insurance programs, all of which have been rolled into the Revolving Credit Facility of the Amended Credit Agreement. As of March 24, 2012, the Partnership had standby letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility in the aggregate amount of $46,926 which expire periodically through April 15, 2013. Therefore, as of March 24, 2012 the Partnership had available borrowing capacity of $103,074 under the Revolving Credit Facility.

In connection with the previous revolving credit facility, the Operating Partnership entered into an interest rate swap agreement with a notional amount of $100,000 and an effective date of March 31, 2010 and termination date of June 25, 2013. Under the interest rate swap agreement, the Operating Partnership will pay a fixed interest rate of 3.12% to the issuing lender on the notional principal amount outstanding, effectively fixing the LIBOR portion of the interest rate at 3.12%. In return, the issuing lender will pay to the Operating Partnership a floating rate, namely LIBOR, on the same notional principal amount. The interest rate swap has been designated as a cash flow hedge.

In connection with the Amended Credit Agreement, the Operating Partnership entered into a forward starting interest rate swap agreement with a June 25, 2013 effective date, which is commensurate with the maturity of the existing interest rate swap agreement, and a termination date of January 5, 2017. Under this forward starting interest rate swap agreement, the Operating Partnership will pay a fixed interest rate of 1.63% to the issuing lender on the notional principal amount outstanding, effectively fixing the LIBOR portion of the interest rate at 1.63%. In return, the issuing lender will pay to the Operating Partnership a floating rate, namely LIBOR, on the same notional principal amount. The forward starting interest rate swap has been designated as a cash flow hedge.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at prevailing interest rates based upon, at the Operating Partnership's option, LIBOR plus the applicable margin or the base rate, defined as the higher of the Federal Funds Rate plus 1/2 of 1%, the agent bank's prime rate, or LIBOR plus 1%, plus in each case the applicable margin. The applicable margin is dependent upon the Partnership's ratio of total debt to EBITDA on a consolidated basis, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility. As of March 24, 2012, the interest rate for the Revolving Credit Facility was approximately 2.3%. The interest rate and the applicable margin will be reset at the end of each calendar quarter.

The Partnership acts as a guarantor with respect to the obligations of the Operating Partnership under the Amended Credit Agreement pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth therein. The obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement are secured by liens on substantially all of the personal property of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and their subsidiaries, as well as mortgages on certain real property.

The Amended Credit Agreement and the 2020 Senior Notes both contain various restrictive and affirmative covenants applicable to the Operating Partnership and the Partnership, respectively, including (i) restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, and (ii) restrictions on certain liens, investments, guarantees, loans, advances, payments, mergers, consolidations, distributions, sales of assets and other transactions. The Amended Credit Agreement contains certain financial covenants (a) requiring the Partnership's consolidated interest coverage ratio, as defined, to be not less than 2.5 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter; (b) prohibiting the total consolidated leverage ratio, as defined, of the Partnership from being greater than 4.75 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter; and (c) prohibiting the Operating Partnership's senior secured consolidated leverage ratio, as defined, from being greater than 3.0 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter. Under the indenture governing the 2020 Senior Notes, the Partnership is generally permitted to make cash distributions equal to available cash, as defined, as of the end of the immediately preceding quarter, if no event of default exists or would exist upon making such distributions, and the Partnership's consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio, as defined, is greater than 1.75 to 1. The Partnership and the Operating Partnership were in compliance with all covenants and terms of the 2020 Senior Notes and the Amended Credit Agreement as of March 24, 2012.

Debt origination costs representing the costs incurred in connection with the placement of, and the subsequent amendment to, long-term borrowings are capitalized within other assets and amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective debt agreements. In connection with the execution of the Amendment Credit Agreement, the Partnership recognized a non-cash charge of $507 to write-off a portion of unamortized debt origination costs associated with the previous credit agreement, and capitalized $2,420 for origination costs incurred with the amendment. Other assets at March 24, 2012 and September 24, 2011 include debt origination costs with a net carrying amount of $8,292 and $7,207, respectively.

The aggregate amounts of long-term debt maturities subsequent to March 24, 2012 are as follows: fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2016: $-0-; and thereafter: $350,000.

7.	Long-Term Borrowings

Long-term borrowings consist of the following:

	As of
	September 24,		September 25,
	2011		2010

7.375% senior notes, due March 15, 2020, net of unamortized discount of $1,831 and $2,047, respectively	$	248,169	$	247,953
Revolving Credit Agreement, due June 25, 2013		100,000		100,000
	$	348,169	$	347,953

On March 23, 2010, the Partnership and its 100%-owned subsidiary, Suburban Energy Finance Corporation, completed a public offering of $250,000 in aggregate principal amount of 7.375% senior notes due March 15, 2020 (the “2020 Senior Notes”). The 2020 Senior Notes were issued at 99.136% of the principal amount. The net proceeds from the issuance, along with cash on hand, were used to repurchase the 6.875% senior notes due in 2013 (the “2013 Senior Notes”) on March 23, 2010 through a redemption and tender offer. In connection with the repurchase of the 2013 Senior Notes, the Partnership recognized a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $9,473 in fiscal 2010, consisting of $7,231 for the repurchase premium and related fees, as well as the write-off of $2,242 in unamortized debt origination costs and unamortized discount.

The Partnership's obligations under the 2020 Senior Notes are unsecured and rank senior in right of payment to any future subordinated indebtedness and equally in right of payment with any future senior indebtedness. The 2020 Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to, which means they rank effectively behind, any debt and other liabilities of the Operating Partnership. The 2020 Senior Notes mature on March 15, 2020 and require semi-annual interest payments in March and September. The Partnership is permitted to redeem some or all of the 2020 Senior Notes any time at redemption prices specified in the indenture governing the 2020 Senior Notes. In addition, the 2020 Senior Notes have a change of control provision that would require the Partnership to offer to repurchase the notes at 101% of the principal amount repurchased, if a change of control as defined in the indenture occurs and is followed by a rating decline (a decrease in the rating of the notes by either Moody's Investors Service or Standard and Poor's Rating Group by one or more gradations) within 90 days of the consummation of the change of control.

On June 26, 2009, the Operating Partnership executed a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) to provide a four-year $250,000 revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). The Credit Agreement replaced the Operating Partnership's previous credit facility, which provided for a $108,000 term loan (the “Term Loan”) and a separate $175,000 working capital facility both of which, as amended, were scheduled to mature in March 2010. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions until maturity on June 25, 2013. The Operating Partnership has the right to prepay any borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, in whole or in part, without penalty at any time prior to maturity. At closing, the Operating Partnership borrowed $100,000 under the Revolving Credit Facility and, along with cash on hand, repaid the $108,000 then outstanding under the Term Loan and terminated the previous credit facility. In addition, the Partnership has standby letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility in the aggregate amount of $54,856 primarily in support of retention levels under its self-insurance programs, which expire periodically through April 15, 2012. Therefore, as of September 24, 2011 the Partnership had available borrowing capacity of $95,144 under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at prevailing interest rates based upon, at the Operating Partnership's option, LIBOR plus the applicable margin or the base rate, defined as the higher of the Federal Funds Rate plus ½ of 1%, the agent bank's prime rate, or LIBOR plus 1%, plus in each case the applicable margin. The applicable margin is dependent upon the Partnership's ratio of total debt to EBITDA on a consolidated basis, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility. As of September 24, 2011, the interest rate for the Revolving Credit Facility was approximately 3.25%. The interest rate and the applicable margin will be reset at the end of each calendar quarter.

The Partnership acts as a guarantor with respect to the obligations of the Operating Partnership under the Credit Agreement pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth therein. The obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured by liens on substantially all of the personal property of the Partnership, the Operating Partnership and their subsidiaries, as well as mortgages on certain real property.

On July 31, 2009, the Operating Partnership entered into an interest rate swap agreement with an effective date of March 31, 2010 and termination date of June 25, 2013. Under the interest rate swap agreement, the Operating Partnership will pay a fixed interest rate of 3.12% to the issuing lender on the notional principal amount outstanding, effectively fixing the LIBOR portion of the interest rate at 3.12%. In return, the issuing lender will pay to the Operating Partnership a floating rate, namely LIBOR, on the same notional principal amount. This interest rate swap agreement replaced the previous interest rate swap agreement which terminated on March 31, 2010. The interest rate swaps have been designated as a cash flow hedge.

The Revolving Credit Facility and the 2020 Senior Notes both contain various restrictive and affirmative covenants applicable to the Operating Partnership and the Partnership, respectively, including (i) restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, and (ii) restrictions on certain liens, investments, guarantees, loans, advances, payments, mergers, consolidations, distributions, sales of assets and other transactions. The Revolving Credit Facility contains certain financial covenants (a) requiring the Partnership's consolidated interest coverage ratio, as defined, to be not less than 2.5 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter; (b) prohibiting the total consolidated leverage ratio, as defined, of the Partnership from being greater than 4.5 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter; and (c) prohibiting the Operating Partnership's senior secured consolidated leverage ratio, as defined, from being greater than 3.0 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter. Under the indenture governing the 2020 Senior Notes, the Partnership is generally permitted to make cash distributions equal to available cash, as defined, as of the end of the immediately preceding quarter, if no event of default exists or would exist upon making such distributions, and the Partnership's consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio, as defined, is greater than 1.75 to 1. The Partnership and the Operating Partnership were in compliance with all covenants and terms of the 2020 Senior Notes and the Revolving Credit Facility as of September 24, 2011.

The aggregate amounts of long-term debt maturities subsequent to September 24, 2011 are as follows: 2012: $-0-; 2013: $100,000; 2014: $-0-; 2015: $-0-; and thereafter: $250,000.