Note 8 - Borrowing Arrangements	6 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Notes to Financial Statements
Debt Disclosure [Text Block]	8. Borrowing Arrangements Bank of the West On December 6, 2013, we entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with Bank of the West, or BOTW, for a revolving line of credit of $50.0 million. All amounts owed under the credit agreement are due and payable on November 30, 2015. Borrowings may be repaid and re-borrowed at any time during the term of the credit agreement. The obligations are guaranteed by two of our subsidiaries. At September 30, 2015, the outstanding principal under the credit agreement was $45.0 million. The credit agreement provides different interest rate alternatives under which we may borrow funds. We may elect to borrow based on LIBOR plus a margin, an alternative base rate plus a margin or a floating rate plus a margin. The margin can range from 0.75% to 2.5%, depending on interest rate alternatives and on our leverage of liabilities to effective tangible net worth. The effective interest rate as of September 30, 2015 was 2.01%. An unused commitment fee is also payable. It ranges from 0.25% to 0.625%, depending on leverage. The credit agreement is subject to a set of financial covenants, including minimum effective tangible net worth, the ratio of cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable to current liabilities, profitability, a leverage ratio and a minimum amount of U.S. domestic cash on hand. At September 30, 2015, we complied with all of these financial covenants . The credit agreement also includes a $3.0 million letter of credit subfacility. See Note 15, “Commitments and Contingencies” for further information regarding the terms of the subfacility. IKB Deutsche Industriebank On June 10, 2005, IXYS Semiconductor GmbH, our German subsidiary, borrowed €10.0 million, or about $12.2 million at the time, from IKB Deutsche Industriebank, or IKB. At March 31, 2015, the outstanding principal balance was €3.5 million, or about $3.8 million . In April 2015, we replaced the loan with a new loan from IKB. Under the new agreement, we borrowed €6.5 million, or about $7.0 million at the time. The loan has a term ending March 31, 2022 and bears a fixed annual interest rate of 1.75%. Each fiscal quarter a principal payment of €232,000, or about $261,000, and a payment of accrued interest are required. Financial covenants for a ratio of indebtedness to cash flow, a ratio of equity to total assets and a minimum stockholders’ equity for the German subsidiary must be satisfied for the loan to remain in good standing. The loan may be prepaid in whole or in part with a modest penalty. The loan is collateralized by a security interest in the facility in Lampertheim, Germany. At September 30, 2015, the outstanding principal balance was €6.0 million, or about $6.8 million , and we complied with all of these financial covenants. Loans Assumed from Business Acquisitions We assumed loans of approximately $2.4 million related to the acquisition of RadioPulse. These loans are primarily short-term facilities from financial institutions and carry a weighted average interest rate of 4.9%. The loans are repayable on or before April 1, 2016. The facilities have been partially secured by bank deposits , which are classified as restricted cash on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. The outstanding principal on these loans was $1.7 million as of September 30, 2015. We assumed loans of approximately $723,000 related to an acquisition completed during the quarter ended June 30, 2014. The assumed borrowings were non-interest bearing loans from government agencies to support the research and development activities with maturity dates varying from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2021, other than a loan of $99,000 that we paid off during the quarter ended September 30, 2014.

Borrowing Arrangements

Bank of the West

On December 6, 2013, we entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with Bank of the West, or BOTW, for a revolving line of credit of $50.0 million. All amounts owed under the credit agreement are due and payable on November 30, 2015. Borrowings may be repaid and re-borrowed at any time during the term of the credit agreement. The obligations are guaranteed by two of our subsidiaries. At September 30, 2015, the outstanding principal under the credit agreement was $45.0 million.

The credit agreement provides different interest rate alternatives under which we may borrow funds. We may elect to borrow based on LIBOR plus a margin, an alternative base rate plus a margin or a floating rate plus a margin. The margin can range from 0.75% to 2.5%, depending on interest rate alternatives and on our leverage of liabilities to effective tangible net worth. The effective interest rate as of September 30, 2015 was 2.01%. An unused commitment fee is also payable. It ranges from 0.25% to 0.625%, depending on leverage.

The credit agreement is subject to a set of financial covenants, including minimum effective tangible net worth, the ratio of cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable to current liabilities, profitability, a leverage ratio and a minimum amount of U.S. domestic cash on hand. At September 30, 2015, we complied with all of these financial covenants

The credit agreement also includes a $3.0 million letter of credit subfacility. See Note 15, “Commitments and Contingencies” for further information regarding the terms of the subfacility.

IKB Deutsche Industriebank

On June 10, 2005, IXYS Semiconductor GmbH, our German subsidiary, borrowed €10.0 million, or about $12.2 million at the time, from IKB Deutsche Industriebank, or IKB. At March 31, 2015, the outstanding principal balance was €3.5 million, or about $3.8 million

In April 2015, we replaced the loan with a new loan from IKB. Under the new agreement, we borrowed €6.5 million, or about $7.0 million at the time. The loan has a term ending March 31, 2022 and bears a fixed annual interest rate of 1.75%. Each fiscal quarter a principal payment of €232,000, or about $261,000, and a payment of accrued interest are required. Financial covenants for a ratio of indebtedness to cash flow, a ratio of equity to total assets and a minimum stockholders’ equity for the German subsidiary must be satisfied for the loan to remain in good standing. The loan may be prepaid in whole or in part with a modest penalty. The loan is collateralized by a security interest in the facility in Lampertheim, Germany. At September 30, 2015, the outstanding principal balance was €6.0 million, or about $6.8 million

, and we complied with all of these financial covenants.

Loans Assumed from Business Acquisitions

We assumed loans of approximately $2.4 million related to the acquisition of RadioPulse. These loans are primarily short-term facilities from financial institutions and carry a weighted average interest rate of 4.9%. The loans are repayable on or before April 1, 2016. The facilities have been partially secured by bank deposits

, which are classified as restricted cash on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. The outstanding principal on these loans was $1.7 million as of September 30, 2015.

We assumed loans of approximately $723,000 related to an acquisition completed during the quarter ended June 30, 2014. The assumed borrowings were non-interest bearing loans from government agencies to support the research and development activities with maturity dates varying from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2021, other than a loan of $99,000 that we paid off during the quarter ended September 30, 2014.