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Long-Term Borrowings
12 Months Ended
Sep. 28, 2013
Long-Term Borrowings [Abstract]  
Long Term Borrowings
8.  
Long-Term Borrowings

Long-term borrowings consist of the following:
   
As of
 
   
September 28,
  
September 29,
 
   
2013
  
2012
 
7.5% senior notes, due October 1, 2018, including
      
     unamortized premium of $28,614 and $33,366, respectively
 $525,171  $529,923 
7.375% senior notes, due March 15, 2020, net of
        
     unamortized discount of $1,400 and $1,615, respectively
  248,600   248,385 
7.375% senior notes, due August 1, 2021, including
        
     unamortized premium of $25,286 and $40,327, respectively
  371,466   543,770 
Revolving Credit Facility, due January 5, 2017
  100,000   100,000 
   $1,245,237  $1,422,078 

Senior Notes.

2018 Senior Notes and 2021 Senior Notes

On August 1, 2012, the Partnership and its 100%-owned subsidiary, Suburban Energy Finance Corp., issued $496,557 in aggregate principal amount of unregistered 7.5% senior notes due October 1, 2018 (the “2018 Senior Notes”) and $503,443 in aggregate principal amount of unregistered 7.375% senior notes due August 1, 2021 (the “2021 Senior Notes”) in a private placement in connection with the Inergy Propane Acquisition described in Note 3.  Based on market rates for similar issues, the 2018 Senior Notes and 2021 Senior Notes were valued at 106.875% and 108.125%, respectively, of the principal amount, on the Acquisition Date as they were issued in exchange for Inergy’s outstanding notes, not for cash.  The 2018 Senior Notes require semi-annual interest payments in April and October, and the 2021 Senior Notes require semi-annual interest payments in February and August.

The 2018 Senior Notes are redeemable, at the Partnership’s option, in whole or in part, at any time after October 1, 2014, in each case at the redemption prices described in the table below, together with any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of the redemption.

Year
 
Percentage
 
2014
  103.750%
2015
  101.875%
2016 and thereafter
  100.000%


The 2021 Senior Notes are redeemable, at the Partnership’s option, in whole or in part, at any time after August 1, 2016, in each case at the redemption prices described in the table below, together with any accrued and unpaid interest to date of the redemption.

Year
 
Percentage
 
2016
  103.688%
2017
  102.459%
2018
  101.229%
2019 and thereafter
  100.000%


On December 19, 2012, the Partnership completed an offer to exchange its existing unregistered 7.5% senior notes due 2018 and 7.375% senior notes due 2021 (the “Old Notes”) for an equal principal amount of 7.5% senior notes due 2018 and 7.375% senior notes due 2021 (the “Exchange Notes”), respectively, that have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  The terms of the Exchange Notes are identical in all material respects (including principal, interest rate, maturity and redemption rights) to the Old Notes for which they were exchanged, except that the Exchange Notes generally will not be subject to transfer restrictions.

On August 2, 2013, the Partnership repurchased, pursuant to an optional redemption, $133,400 of its 2021 Senior Notes using net proceeds from the May 2013 public offering and net proceeds from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option to purchase additional Common Units.  In addition, on August 6, 2013, the Partnership repurchased $23,863 of 2021 Senior Notes in a private transaction using cash on hand.  In connection with these repurchases, which totaled $157,263 in aggregate principal amount, the Partnership recognized a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $2,144 consisting of $11,759 for the repurchase premium and related fees, as well as the write-off of $2,064 and ($11,678) in unamortized debt origination costs and unamortized premium, respectively.

2020 Senior Notes

On March 23, 2010, the Partnership and its 100%-owned subsidiary, Suburban Energy Finance Corp., 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 and require semi-annual interest payments in March and September.

The 2020 Senior Notes are redeemable, at the Partnership’s option, in whole or in part, at any time after March 15, 2015, in each case at the redemption prices described in the table below, together with any accrued and unpaid interest to the date of the redemption.

Year
 
Percentage
 
2015
  103.688%
2016
  102.459%
2017
  101.229%
2018 and thereafter
  100.000%
 
The Partnership’s obligations under the 2018 Senior Notes, 2020 Senior Notes and 2021 Senior Notes (collectively, the “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 Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to, which means they rank effectively behind, any debt and other liabilities of the Operating Partnership.  The 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.

Credit Agreement

The Operating Partnership has a credit agreement, as amended on January 5, 2012 and August 1, 2012 (the “Amended Credit Agreement”) that provides for a five-year $400,000 revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”), of which $100,000 was outstanding as of September 28, 2013 and September 29, 2012.   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.

The amendment to the credit agreement on January 5, 2012 amended 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.  As of January 5, 2012, the Operating Partnership had borrowings of $100,000 outstanding under the revolving credit facility of the previous credit agreement, and rolled those borrowings into the Revolving Credit Facility of the Amended Credit Agreement.  Also, at such time, 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.

On August 1, 2012, the Operating Partnership executed an amendment to the Amended Credit Agreement to, among other things, provide for (i) a $250,000 senior secured 364-Day Facility and (ii) an increase in our revolving credit facility under the Amended Credit Agreement from $250,000 to $400,000.  On the Acquisition Date, the Operating Partnership drew $225,000 on the 364-Day Facility, which was used to fund a portion of the Inergy Propane Acquisition, including costs and expenses related to the acquisition. The Partnership repaid the $225,000 of borrowings under the 364-Day Facility on August 14, 2012 with the net proceeds from the public issuance of Common Units on August 14, 2012.

The amendment to the Amended Credit Agreement on August 1, 2012 also amended certain restrictive and affirmative covenants applicable to the Operating Partnership and the Partnership, as well as certain financial covenants, including (a) requiring the Partnership’s consolidated interest coverage ratio, as defined in the amendment, to be not less than 2.0 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter; (b) prohibiting the total consolidated leverage ratio, as defined in the amendment, of the Partnership from being greater than 7.0 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter.  The minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio increases over time, and commencing with the third quarter of fiscal 2014, such minimum ratio will be 2.5 to 1.0.  The maximum consolidated leverage ratio decreases over time, as well as upon the occurrence of certain events (such as the issuance of Common Units where the net proceeds from the issuance exceed certain thresholds).  Commencing with the second quarter of fiscal 2013, such maximum ratio will be 4.75 to 1.0 (or 5.0 to 1.0 during an acquisition period as defined in the amendment) as a result of the issuance of Common Units in August 2012.  As of September 28, 2013 the minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio and maximum consolidated leverage ratio was 2.25 to 1.0 and 4.75 to 1.0, respectively.

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.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility of the Amended Credit Agreement 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 28, 2013, the interest rate for the Revolving Credit Facility was approximately 2.8%.  The interest rate and the applicable margin will be reset at the end of each calendar quarter.

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, an effective date of March 31, 2010 and termination date of June 25, 2013.  Under the interest rate swap agreement, the Operating Partnership paid 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 paid to the Operating Partnership a floating rate, namely LIBOR, on the same notional principal amount.  The interest rate swap was 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 notional amount of $100,000, an effective date of June 25, 2013 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, and the issuing lender will pay 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.

As of September 28, 2013, the Partnership had standby letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility in the aggregate amount of $46,742 which expire periodically through April 3, 2014.  Therefore, as of September 28, 2013 the Partnership had available borrowing capacity of $253,258 under the Revolving Credit Facility.

The Amended Credit Agreement and the 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.  Under the Amended Credit Agreement and the indentures governing the Senior Notes, the Operating Partnership and the Partnership are 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 with respect to the indentures governing the Senior Notes, 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 Senior Notes and the Amended Credit Agreement as of September 28, 2013.

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.  During fiscal 2013, the Partnership recognized charges of $2,064 to write-off unamortized debt origination costs associated with the repurchase of its 2021 Senior Notes.  During fiscal 2012, the Partnership capitalized $14,885 and $10,314 for costs incurred in connection with issuance of new senior notes and the amendments to the Amended Credit Agreement, respectively.  The Partnership recognized charges of $2,249 to write-off unamortized debt origination costs associated with the amendments to the Amended Credit Agreement on January 5, 2012 and the repayment of borrowings under the 364-Day Facility.  Other assets at September 28, 2013 and September 29, 2012 include debt origination costs with a net carrying amount of $21,254 and $28,076, respectively.

The aggregate amounts of long-term debt maturities subsequent to September 28, 2013 are as follows: fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2016: $-0-; fiscal 2017: $100,000; fiscal 2018: $496,557; and thereafter: $596,180.