LONG-TERM DEBT:

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

LONG-TERM DEBT:

LONG-TERM DEBT:

7.             LONG-TERM DEBT:

Long-term debt consists of the following (dollars in thousands):

	December 31,2011		March 31, 2011
Term loan credit agreement	$	225,500	$	355,000
Capital leases and installment payment obligations on land, buildings and equipment payable in monthly payments of principal plus interest at rates ranging from approximately 3% to 8%; remaining terms up to twelve years	37,868		43,195
Software license liabilities payable over terms up to three years; effective interest rates ranging from approximately 4% to 7%	4,068		4,686
Other debt and long-term liabilities	17,391		19,357
Total long-term debt and capital leases	284,827		422,238
Less current installments	27,852		27,978
Long-term debt, excluding current installments	$	256,975	$	394,260

The Company’s amended and restated credit agreement provides for (1) term loans up to an aggregate principal amount of $600 million and (2) revolving credit facility borrowings consisting of revolving loans, letter of credit participations and swing-line loans up to an aggregate amount of $120 million.

The term loan is payable in quarterly installments of approximately $1.5 million each, through December 31, 2014, with a final payment of approximately $207.5 million due March 15, 2015.  The revolving loan commitment expires March 15, 2014.

Revolving credit facility borrowings currently bear interest at LIBOR plus a credit spread, or at an alternative base rate or at the Federal Funds rate plus a credit spread, depending on the type of borrowing.  The LIBOR credit spread is 2.75%.  There were no revolving credit borrowings outstanding at December 31, 2011 or March 31, 2011.  Term loan borrowings bear interest at LIBOR plus a credit spread of 3.00%.  The weighted-average interest rate on term loan borrowings at December 31, 2011 was 3.8%.  Outstanding letters of credit at December 31, 2011 were $0.4 million.

The term loan allows prepayments before maturity.  The credit agreement is secured by the accounts receivable of Acxiom and its domestic subsidiaries, as well as by the outstanding stock of certain Acxiom subsidiaries.

Under the terms of the term loan, the Company is required to maintain certain debt-to-cash flow and debt service coverage ratios, among other restrictions.  At December 31, 2011, the Company was in compliance with these covenants and restrictions.  In addition, if certain financial ratios and other conditions are not satisfied, the revolving credit facility limits the Company’s ability to pay dividends in excess of $30 million in any fiscal year (plus additional amounts in certain circumstances).

In fiscal 2009, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement.  The agreement provided for the Company to pay interest through July 25, 2011 at a fixed rate of 3.25% plus the applicable credit spread on $95.0 million notional amount while receiving interest for the same period at the LIBOR rate on the same notional amount.  The fair market value of the derivative was zero at inception and at maturity.  The Company recognized no gains or losses associated with this derivative.

On July 25, 2011, the Company entered into a new interest rate swap agreement.  The agreement provides for the Company to pay interest through January 27, 2014 at a fixed rate of 0.94% plus the applicable credit spread on $150.0 million notional amount, while receiving interest for the same period at the LIBOR rate on the same notional amount.  The LIBOR rate as of December 31, 2011 was 0.42%.  The swap was entered into as a cash flow hedge against LIBOR interest rate movements on the term loan.  The Company assesses the effectiveness of the hedge based on the hypothetical derivative method.  There was no ineffectiveness for the period ended December 31, 2011.  Under the hypothetical derivative method, the cumulative change in fair value of the actual swap is compared to the cumulative change in fair value of the hypothetical swap, which has terms that identically match the critical terms of the hedged transaction.  Thus, the hypothetical swap is presumed to perfectly offset the hedged cash flows.  The change in the fair value of the hypothetical swap will then be regarded as a proxy for the present value of the cumulative change in the expected future cash flows from the hedged transactions.  All of the fair values are derived from an interest-rate futures model.  As of December 31, 2011, the hedge relationship qualified as an effective hedge under applicable accounting standards.  Consequently, all changes in fair value of the derivative will be deferred and recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) until the related forecasted transaction is recognized in the consolidated statement of operations.  The fair market value of the derivative was zero at inception and an unrealized loss of $0.7 million since inception is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) with the offset recorded to other noncurrent liabilities.  The fair value of the interest rate swap agreement recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) may be recognized in the statement of operations if certain terms of the floating-rate debt change, if the floating-rate debt is extinguished or if the interest rate swap agreement is terminated prior to maturity.  The Company has assessed the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the swap and concludes that no substantial risk of default exists as of December 31, 2011.