Long-term debt

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-term debt

9. Long-term debt

Long-term debt was comprised of the following:

	September 30,			December 31,
	2016			2015
Senior secured credit facilities:
Term Loan A	$	881,250		$	925,000
Term Loan B		3,421,250			3,447,500
Senior notes		4,500,000			4,500,000
Acquisition obligations and other notes payable		111,407			70,645
Capital lease obligations		294,746			283,185
Total debt principal outstanding		9,208,653			9,226,330
Discount and deferred financing costs		(83,887	)		(95,985	)
		9,124,766			9,130,345
Less current portion		(152,764	)		(129,037	)
	$	8,972,002		$	9,001,308

Scheduled maturities of long-term debt at September 30, 2016 were as follows:

2016 (remainder of the year)	40,607
2017	154,000
2018	167,798
2019	743,687
2020	68,156
2021	3,299,551
Thereafter	4,734,854

During the first nine months of 2016, the Company made mandatory principal payments under its senior secured credit facilities totaling $43,750 on the Term Loan A and $26,250 on the Term Loan B.

On September 30, 2016, the Company’s interest rate swap agreements expired. The Company had entered into several interest rate swap agreements as a means of hedging its exposure to and volatility from variable-based interest rate changes as part of its overall interest rate risk management strategy. These agreements were not held for trading or speculative purposes and had the economic effect of converting the LIBOR variable component of the Company’s interest rate to a fixed rate. These swap agreements were designated as cash flow hedges, and as a result, hedge-effective gains or losses resulting from changes in the fair values of these swaps were reported in other comprehensive income until such time as the hedged forecasted cash flows occurred, at which time the amounts were reclassified into net income. Net amounts paid or received for each specific swap tranche that have settled have been reflected as adjustments to debt expense. In addition, the Company has entered into several active and forward interest rate cap agreements that have the economic effect of capping the Company’s maximum exposure to LIBOR variable interest rate changes on specific portions of the Company’s floating rate debt, as described below. The cap agreements are also designated as cash flow hedges and, as a result, changes in the fair values of these cap agreements are reported in other comprehensive income. The amortization of the original cap premium is recognized as a component of debt expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the cap agreements. The swap and cap agreements do not contain credit-risk contingent features.

The interest rate swap agreements that were in effect during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 had the economic effect of modifying the LIBOR variable component of the Company’s interest rate on an equivalent amount of the Company’s Term Loan A to fixed rates ranging from 0.49% to 0.52%. The Term Loan A debt bears interest at LIBOR plus an interest rate margin of 1.75%. The swap agreements required monthly interest payments. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recognized debt expense of $299 from these swaps. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded a loss of $815 in other comprehensive income due to a decrease in the unrealized fair value of these swap agreements.

As of September 30, 2016, the Company maintains several interest rate cap agreements that were entered into in November 2014 with notional amounts totaling $3,500,000. These previously forward cap agreements became effective September 30, 2016 and have the economic effect of capping the LIBOR variable component of the Company’s interest rate at a maximum of 3.50% on an equivalent amount of the Company’s debt. The cap agreements expire on June 30, 2018. As of September 30, 2016, the total fair value of these cap agreements was an asset of approximately $22. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded a loss of $1,289in other comprehensive income due to a decrease in the unrealized fair value of these cap agreements.

As of September 30, 2016, the Company also maintains several forward interest rate cap agreements that were entered into in October 2015 with notional amounts totaling $3,500,000. These forward cap agreements will become effective June 29, 2018 and will have the economic effect of capping the LIBOR variable component of the Company’s interest rate at a maximum of 3.50% on an equivalent amount of its debt. These cap agreements expire on June 30, 2020. As of September 30, 2016, the total fair value of these cap agreements was an asset of approximately $2,431. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded a loss of $11,385in other comprehensive income due to a decrease in the unrealized fair value of these forward cap agreements.

On September 30, 2016, the Company’s interest rate cap agreements with notional amounts totaling $2,735,000 on Term Loan B debt expired. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, these agreements had the economic effect of capping the LIBOR variable component of the Company’s interest rate at a maximum of 2.50% on an equivalent amount of the Company’s Term Loan B. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recognized debt expense of $1,829 from these caps.

The following table summarizes the Company’s derivative instruments as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015:

	September 30, 2016			December 31, 2015
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments	Balance sheet location	Fair value		Balance sheet location	Fair value
Interest rate swap agreements	Other short-term liabilities	$	—	Other short-term assets	$	516
Interest rate cap agreements	Other long-term assets	$	2,453	Other long-term assets	$	15,127

The following table summarizes the effects of the Company’s interest rate swap and cap agreements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015:

	Amount of gains (losses)													Amount of losses
	recognized in OCI on interest													reclassified from
	rate swap and cap agreements												Location of	accumulated OCI into income
	Three months ended						Nine months ended						losses reclassified	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	September 30,						September 30,						from accumulated	September 30,						September 30,
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges	2016			2015			2016			2015			OCI into income	2016			2015			2016			2015
Interest rate swap agreements	$	45		$	(1,128	)	$	(815	)	$	(4,798	)	Debt expense	$	(25	)	$	(655	)	$	(299	)	$	(2,061	)
Interest rate cap agreements		(300	)		(1,909	)		(12,674	)		(11,715	)	Debt expense		(609	)		(609	)		(1,829	)		(1,829	)
Tax benefit		102			1,186			5,251			6,449				246			493			827			1,518
Total	$	(153	)	$	(1,851	)	$	(8,238	)	$	(10,064	)		$	(388	)	$	(771	)	$	(1,301	)	$	(2,372	)

As of September 30, 2016, the interest rate on the Company’s Term Loan B debt is effectively fixed subject to an embedded LIBOR floor which is higher than actual LIBOR as of such date. The Term Loan B is also subject to interest rate caps if LIBOR should rise above 3.50%. See above for further details. The Term Loan A bears interest at LIBOR plus an interest rate margin of 1.75%. The capped portion of the Term Loan A is $78,750. In addition, the uncapped portion of the Term Loan A, which is subject to the variability of LIBOR, is $802,500. Interest rates on the Company’s senior notes are fixed by their terms.

As a result of an embedded LIBOR floor on the Term Loan B debt agreement and the cap agreements, the Company’s overall weighted average effective interest rate on the senior secured credit facilities was 3.61%, based on the current margins in effect of 1.75% for the Term Loan A and 2.75% for the Term Loan B, as of September 30, 2016.

The Company’s overall weighted average effective interest rate during the quarter ended September 30, 2016 was 4.42% and as of September 30, 2016 was 4.49%.

As of September 30, 2016, the Company’s interest rates are fixed on approximately 52.8% of its total debt.

As of September 30, 2016, the Company had undrawn revolving credit facilities totaling $1,000,000, of which approximately $91,644 was committed for outstanding letters of credit. In addition, the Company has approximately $1,286 of committed letters of credit outstanding related to DMG, which is backed by a certificate of deposit.