Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy to be applied when determining fair value of financial instruments are described below:

Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity has the ability to access;

Level 2 — Valuations based on quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; and

Level 3 — Valuations based on inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The following table shows the gross amount and fair value of the Company’s Term Loan and 7.75% Senior Notes (dollars in thousands):



	December 31, 2017	December 31, 2016
Term Loan:
Carrying value	1,722,209	$	1,810,266
Fair value — Level 2	1,481,100	1,226,455
7.75% Senior Notes:
Carrying value	610,000	$	610,000
Fair value — Level 2	105,988	249,673

As of December 31, 2017, the Company used the closing trading prices of the last trade transaction of 86.0% to calculate the fair value of the Term Loan and 17.4% to calculate the fair value of the 7.75% Senior Notes.

As of December 31, 2016, the Company used the closing trading prices of the last trade transaction of 67.8% to calculate the fair value of the Term Loan, and 40.9% to calculate the fair value of the 7.75% Senior Notes.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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