Long-Term Debt

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2020

Components of long-term debt for the fiscal years ended on December 27, 2020 and December 29, 2019 are as follows:


	2020			2019
	Carrying Cost		Fair Value	Carrying Cost	Fair Value
3.90% Notes Due 2029	$	900,000	1,011,150	900,000	893,430
3.55% Notes Due 2026	675,000		752,693	675,000	680,670
3.00% Notes Due 2024	500,000		540,600	500,000	502,150
6.35% Notes Due 2040	500,000		636,500	500,000	581,600
3.50% Notes Due 2027	500,000		544,500	500,000	500,550
2.60% Notes Due 2022	300,000		311,520	300,000	300,960
5.10% Notes Due 2044	300,000		338,130	300,000	301,980
3.15% Notes Due 2021	300,000		302,280	300,000	303,900
6.60% Debentures Due 2028	109,895		137,380	109,895	130,610
Variable % Notes Due December 30, 2022	300,000		300,000	—	—
Variable % Notes Due December 30, 2024	577,500		577,500	—	—
Production Financing Facilities	165,461		165,461	—	—
Total long-term debt	5,127,856		5,617,714	4,084,895	4,195,850
Less: Deferred debt expenses	35,286		—	38,438	—
Less: Current portion	432,555		—	—	—
Long-term debt	$	4,660,015	5,617,714	4,046,457	4,195,850

In November 2019, in conjunction with the Company's acquisition of eOne, the Company issued an aggregate of $2,375,000 of senior unsecured debt securities (the "Notes") consisting of the following tranches: $300,000 of notes due 2022 (the "2022 Notes") that bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.60%, $500,000 of notes due 2024 (the "2024 Notes") that bear interest at a fixed rate of 3.00%, $675,000 of notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes") that bear interest at a fixed rate of 3.55% and $900,000 of notes due 2029 (the "2029 Notes") that bear interest at a fixed rate of 3.90%. Net proceeds from the issuance of the Notes, after deduction of $20,043 of underwriting discount and fees, totaled $2,354,957. These costs are being amortized over the life of the Notes, which range from three to ten years. The Notes bear interest at the stated rates but may be subject to upward adjustment if the credit rating of the Company is reduced by Moody's or Standard & Poors. The adjustment can be from 0.25% to 2.00% based on the extent of the ratings decrease. The Company may redeem the Notes at its option at the greater of the principal amount of the Notes or the present value of the remaining scheduled payments discounted using the effective interest rate on applicable U.S. Treasury bills at the time of repurchase, plus (1) 15 basis points (in the case of the 2022 Notes); (2) 25 basis points (in the case of the 2024 Notes); (3) 30 basis points (in the case of the 2026 Notes); and (4) 35 basis points (in the case of the 2029 Notes). In addition, on and after October 19, 2024 for the 2024 Notes, September 19, 2026 for the 2026 Notes and August 19, 2029 for the 2029 Notes, such series of Notes will be redeemable, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the Company's option at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed plus any accrued and unpaid interest.

In September 2019, the Company entered into a $1,000,000 Term Loan Agreement (the "Term Loan Agreement”) with Bank of America N.A. (“Bank of America”), as administrative agent, and certain financial institutions as lenders, pursuant to which such lenders committed to provide, contingent upon the completion of the eOne Acquisition and certain other customary conditions to funding, (1) a three-year senior unsecured term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $400,000 (the “Three-Year Tranche”) and (2) a five-year senior unsecured term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $600,000 (the “Five-Year Tranche” and together with the Three-Year Tranche, the “Term Loan Facilities”). Loans under the Term Loan Facilities bear interest at the Company’s option, at either the Eurocurrency Rate or the Base Rate, in each case plus a per annum applicable rate that fluctuates (1) in the case of the Three-Year Tranche, between 87.5 basis points and 175.0 basis points, in the case of loans priced at the Eurocurrency Rate, and between 0.0 basis points and 75.0 basis points, in the case of

loans priced at the Base Rate, and (2) in the case of the Five-Year Tranche, between 100.0 basis points and 187.5 basis points, in the case of loans priced at the Eurocurrency Rate, and between 0.0 basis points and 87.5 basis points, in the case of loans priced at the Base Rate, in each case, based upon the non-credit enhanced, senior unsecured long-term debt ratings of the Company by Fitch Ratings Inc., Moody’s Investor Service, Inc. and S&P Global Rankings, subject to certain provisions taking into account potential differences in ratings issued to the relevant rating agencies or a lack of ratings issued by such rating agencies. Loans under the Five-Year Tranche require principal amortization payments that are payable in equal quarterly installments of 5.0% per annum of the original principal amount thereof for each of the first two years after funding, increasing to 10.0% per annum of the original principal amount thereof for each subsequent year. The Term Loan Agreement contains affirmative and negative covenants typical of this type of facility, including: (i) restrictions on the Company’s and its domestic subsidiaries’ ability to allow liens on their assets, (ii) restrictions on the incurrence of indebtedness, (iii) restrictions on the Company’s and certain of its subsidiaries’ ability to engage in certain mergers, (iv) the requirement that the Company maintain a Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio of no less than 3.00:1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter and (v) the requirement that the Company maintain a Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio of no more than, depending on the gross proceeds of equity securities issued after the effective date of the acquisition of eOne, 5.65:1.00 or 5.40:1.00 for each of the first, second and third fiscal quarters ended after the funding of the Term Loan Facilities, with periodic step downs to 3.50:1.00 for the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023 and thereafter. The term loan notes were drawn down on December 30, 2019, the closing date of the eOne Acquisition. During 2020, the Company made $122,500 in payments towards the $1,000,000 term loan notes consisting of $100,000 on the principal balance of the Three-Year Tranche loans in addition to the required quarterly principal amortization payments totaling $22,500 on the Five-Year Tranche loans. As of December 27, 2020, the Company was in compliance with the financial covenants contained in the Term Loan Agreement.

The Company may redeem its 3.15% notes due in 2021 (the "2021 Notes") and 5.10% notes due in 2044 (the "2044 Notes") at its option at the greater of the principal amount of the notes or the present value of the remaining scheduled payments discounted using the effective interest rate on applicable U.S. Treasury bills at the time of repurchase. Prior to the issuance of these Notes, the Company held forward-starting interest rate swap contracts to hedge the variability in the anticipated underlying U.S. Treasury interest rate associated with the expected issuance of the 2021 Notes and 2044 Notes. At the date of issuance, these contracts were terminated and the Company paid $33,306, the fair value of the contracts on that date, to settle. Of this amount, $6,373 related to the 2021 Notes and $26,933 related to the 2044 Notes has been deferred in AOCE and is being amortized to interest expense over the life of the respective Notes using the effective interest rate method. The deferred costs associated with the 2021 Notes will be fully amortized during the second quarter of 2021.

Current portion long-term debt at December 27, 2020 of $432,555, as shown on the consolidated balance sheet, represents the $300,000 of 3.15% Notes maturing in May of 2021, as well as the current portion of required quarterly principal amortization payments for the 5-Year Tranche of the Term Loan Facilities and other production financing facilities. All of the Company’s other long-term borrowings have contractual maturities that occur subsequent to 2021 with the exception of certain of the Company’s production financing facilities and annual principal payments related to the Term Loan Facilities.

The Company's long-term borrowings have the following future contractual maturities:


Future long-term borrowings contractual maturities
2021	$	432,555
2022	391,613
2023	360,000
2024	583,793
2025	375,000
2026 and thereafter	$	2,984,895

The fair values of the Company’s long-term debt are considered Level 3 fair values (see note 13 for further discussion of the fair value hierarchy) and are measured using the discounted future cash flows method. In addition to the debt terms, the valuation methodology includes an assumption of a discount rate that approximates the current yield on a similar debt security. This assumption is considered an unobservable input in that it reflects the

Company’s own assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The Company believes that this is the best information available for use in the fair value measurement.

Production Financing

In addition to the Company's financial instruments, the Company uses production financing to fund certain of its television and film productions which are arranged on an individual production basis by special purpose production subsidiaries.

Production financing facilities are secured by the assets and future revenue of the individual production subsidiaries and are non-recourse to the Company's assets.

Production financing facilities typically have maturities of less than two years, while the titles are in production, and are repaid once delivered and all credits, broadcaster pre-sales and international sales have been received.


	2020
Production financing held by production subsidiaries	$	165,461
Other loans	5,416



Total	$	170,877

Production financing shown in the consolidated balance sheet as:
Non-current	$	62,906
Current	102,555
Total	$	165,461

Other loans of $5,416, consist of production related demand loans, and are recorded within Short-term Borrowings in the Company's consolidated balance sheets.

Interest is charged at bank prime rate plus a margin based on the risk of the respective production. The weighted average interest rate on all production financing as of December 27, 2020 was 3.8%.

The Company has Canadian and U.S. production credit facilities with various banks. The carrying amounts are as follows:


	Canadian Facilities		U.S. Facilities	Total
As of December 27, 2020	$	71,127	99,750	170,877

The following table represents the movements in production financing and other related loans acquired as a result of the eOne Acquisition during 2020:


	Production Financing		Other Loans	Total
December 30, 2019	$	202,870	9,102	211,972
Drawdowns	115,555		28,768	144,323
Repayments	(153,014)		(32,504)	(185,518)
Foreign exchange differences	50		50	100
Balance at December 27, 2020	$	165,461	5,416	170,877