Note 18 - Equity-method Investments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Notes to Financial Statements

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures Disclosure [Text Block]

(18)

        

Equity-Method Investments     

In

October

2014,

we acquired a

99.9%

membership interest in a limited liability company managed by U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation with an initial equity contribution of

$4.1

million. We made additional equity contributions to the entity of

$22.8

million in

2015

and

$22.8

million in

2016.

We were obligated to make

$49.8

million of total contributions to the entity over a

two

-year period ending

October

2016,

all of which had been made as of

December

31,

2016.

This investment generated new markets tax credits under the New Markets Tax Credit Program (“NMTC Program”). The NMTC Program was established by Congress in

2000

to spur new or increased investments into operating businesses and real estate projects located in low-income communities.

While U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation exercised management control over the limited liability company, due to the economic interest we held in the entity, we determined our ownership portion of the entity was appropriately accounted for using the equity method.

The following amounts related to this equity-method investment were recorded in our Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands):

December 31,	2016		2015
Carrying value, recorded as a component of other non-current assets	$	—	$	22,284
Present value of the obligation associated with future equity contributions, recorded as a component of accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities		—		22,511

The following amounts related to this equity-method investment were recorded in our Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,	2016		2015		2014
Asset impairments to write investment down to fair value	$	13,992	$	16,521	$	1,853
Our portion of the partnership’s operating losses		8,262		6,929		1,160
Non-cash interest expense related to the amortization of the discounted fair value of future equity contributions		185		674		152
Tax benefits and credits generated		28,530		30,832		6,506