Note 5 - Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2015

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt Disclosure [Text Block]

5. Debt

The carrying amounts of debt at March 28, 2015 and December 27, 2014 are as follows (in thousands):

	March 28, 2015		December 27, 2014
Term loan	$	92,500	$	93,750
Revolving credit facility		79,500		83,500
Entrusted loan		17,969		17,908
Total debt		189,969		195,158
Less: Current maturities		87,000		88,500
Total long-term debt	$	102,969	$	106,658

The company currently has a credit agreement with J.P Morgan Securities LLC for up to $375.0 million which consists of an unsecured revolving credit facility of $275.0 million and an unsecured term loan of $100.0 million. The credit agreement, effective May 31, 2013, is for a five year period. The company incurred debt issuance costs of $0.1 million which will be amortized over the life of the existing credit agreement. As of March 28, 2015, the company had available $194.9 million of borrowing capacity under the revolving credit agreement at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 1.0% (1.18% as of March 28, 2015). At March 28, 2015, the company was in compliance with all covenants under the revolving credit facility.

Entrusted Loan

During the fourth quarter of 2014, the company entered into an entrusted loan arrangement (“Entrusted Loan”) of RMB 110.0 million (approximately $17.9 million) between two of its China legal entities, Littelfuse Semiconductor (Wuxi) Company (the “Lender”) and Suzhou Littelfuse OVS Ltd. (the “Borrower”), utilizing Bank of America, N.A., Shanghai Branch as agent. Direct borrowing and lending between two commonly owned commercial entities is strictly forbidden under China’s regulations requiring the use of a third party agent to enable loans between Chinese legal entities. As a result, the Entrusted Loan is reflected as both a long-term asset and long-term debt on the company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and is reflected in the investing and financing activities in its Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Interest expense and interest income will be recorded between the lender and borrower with no net impact on the company’s Consolidated Statements of Income since the amounts will be offsetting. The loan interest rate per annum is 5.25%. The Entrusted Loan is used to finance the operation and working capital needs of the borrower and matures in November 2019.