Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurement provisions establish a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. These provisions describe three levels of input that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1: Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets at the measurement date.

Level 2: Inputs, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, which are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the measurement date.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The Company uses observable inputs when available. Fair value is based upon quoted market prices when available. If market prices are not available, the Company may employ models that mostly use market-based inputs including yield curves, interest rates, volatilities, and credit curves, among others. The Company limits valuation adjustments to those deemed necessary to ensure that the financial instrument’s fair value adequately represents the price that would be received or paid in the marketplace. Valuation adjustments may include consideration of counterparty credit quality and liquidity as well as other criteria. The estimated fair value amounts are subjective in nature and may involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgment for certain financial instruments. Changes in the underlying assumptions used in estimating fair value could affect the results. The fair value measurement levels are not indicative of risk of investment.

The fair value of financial instruments is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time based on the type of financial instrument and relevant market information. Many of these estimates involve various assumptions and may vary significantly from amounts that could be realized in actual transactions.

The following table summarizes fair value measurements by level at December 31, 2017 and 2016, for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:



(Dollar amounts in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
December 31, 2017
Financial asset:
Interest rate swap	$	—	$	214	$	—	$	214
December 31, 2016
Financial liability:
Interest rate swap	$	—	$	1,964	$	—	$	1,964

Derivative Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s derivative instrument is determined using a standard valuation model. The significant inputs used in these models are readily available in public markets, or can be derived from observable market transactions, and therefore have been classified as Level 2. Inputs used in these standard valuation models for derivative instruments include the applicable forward rates and discount rates. The discount rates are based on the historical LIBOR Swap rates.

The following table presents the carrying value, as applicable, and estimated fair values for financial instruments at December 31, 2017 and 2016:



	December 31,
	2017				2016
(Dollar amounts in thousands)	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Financial assets:
Interest rate swap	$	214	$	214	$	—	$	—
Financial liabilities:
Interest rate swap	—		—		1,964		1,964
Senior Secured Term B Loan	376,395		370,540		378,074		383,491
2018 Term A Loan	26,690		26,027		28,721		29,268
2020 Term A Loan	200,653		196,584		212,661		213,872

The fair value of the senior secured term loans at December 31, 2017 and 2016 was obtained using the prices provided by third party service providers. Their pricing is based on various inputs such as: market quotes, recent trading activity in a non-active market or imputed prices. Also, the pricing may include the use of an algorithm that could take into account movement in the general high yield market, among other variants.

The senior secured term loans, which are not measured at fair value in the balance sheets, if measured, would be categorized as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

There were no transfers in or out of Level 3 during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

- 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.

+ References + Details