Note 8 - Equity-method Investment

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

8.

Equity-Method Investment

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 total equity contribution of

$49.8

million. 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. We exited this equity-method investment in

December

2016.

We estimated the value of our equity-method investment, which was recorded at fair value on a non-recurring basis, based on a market valuation approach. We used prices and other relevant information generated primarily by recent market transactions involving similar or comparable assets. Because these valuations contained unobservable inputs, we classified the measurement of fair value of our equity-method investment as Level

3.

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

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2017		2016
Asset impairments to write investment down to fair value	$	—	$	3,498
Our portion of the partnership’s operating losses		—		2,066
Non-cash interest expense related to the amortization of the discounted fair value of future equity contributions		—		92
Tax benefits and credits generated		—		5,945