Fair Value of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

The FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, defines fair value and provides a hierarchal framework associated with the level of subjectivity used in measuring assets and liabilities at fair value. Our financial instruments consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, trade payables, phantom stock unit awards and long-term debt.

The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, and trade payables are considered to be representative of their respective fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the aggregate estimated fair value of our phantom stock unit awards was $5.1 million and $6.1 million, respectively, for which the vested portion recognized as a liability in our consolidated balance sheets at both period ends was $3.6 million. The phantom stock unit awards, and the measurement of fair value for these awards, are described in more detail in Note 9, Equity Transactions and Stock-Based Compensation Plans.

The fair value of our Senior Notes is estimated based on recent observable market prices for our debt instruments, which are defined by ASC Topic 820 as Level 2 inputs. The fair value of our Term Loan is based on estimated market pricing for our debt instrument, which is defined by ASC Topic 820 as using Level 3 inputs which are unobservable and therefore more likely to be affected by changes in assumptions. The following table presents supplemental fair value information and carrying value for our debt, net of discount and debt issuance costs (amounts in thousands):



		December 31, 2018				December 31, 2017
	Hierarchy Level	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Senior notes	2	$	296,988	$	186,750	$	296,181	$	243,948
Senior secured term loan	3	167,564		$	175,875	165,484		171,613
		$	464,552	$	362,625	$	461,665	$	415,561

- 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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