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Debt and Other Financing Arrangements
3 Months Ended
Mar. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt and Other Financing Arrangements [Text Block]
Note 8.
Debt and Other Financing Arrangements
 
 
Effective Interest Rate at March 30,

 
March 30,

 
December 31,

(Dollars in millions)
 
2019

 
2019

 
2018

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commercial Paper
 

 
$

 
$
693

Floating Rate 2-Year Senior Notes, Due 7/24/2019 (euro-denominated)
 
0.10
%
 
561

 
574

6.00% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 3/1/2020
 
2.97
%
 
750

 
750

4.70% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 5/1/2020
 
4.23
%
 
300

 
300

Floating Rate 2-Year Senior Notes, Due 8/7/2020 (euro-denominated)
 
0.17
%
 
673

 
688

1.50% 5-Year Senior Notes, Due 12/1/2020 (euro-denominated)
 
1.62
%
 
477

 
487

5.00% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 1/15/2021
 
3.24
%
 
400

 
400

4.50% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 3/1/2021
 
6.78
%
 
1,000

 
1,000

3.60% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 8/15/2021
 
6.42
%
 
1,100

 
1,100

3.30% 7-Year Senior Notes, Due 2/15/2022
 
3.42
%
 
800

 
800

2.15% 7-Year Senior Notes, Due 7/21/2022 (euro-denominated)
 
2.28
%
 
561

 
574

3.15% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 1/15/2023
 
3.30
%
 
800

 
800

3.00% 7-Year Senior Notes, Due 4/15/2023
 
6.63
%
 
1,000

 
1,000

4.15% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 2/1/2024
 
4.16
%
 
1,000

 
1,000

0.75% 8-Year Senior Notes, Due 9/12/2024 (euro-denominated)
 
0.94
%
 
1,122

 
1,147

2.00% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 4/15/2025 (euro-denominated)
 
2.09
%
 
718

 
734

3.65% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 12/15/2025
 
3.77
%
 
350

 
350

1.40% 8.5-Year Senior Notes, Due 1/23/2026 (euro-denominated)
 
1.53
%
 
785

 
802

2.95% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 9/19/2026
 
3.19
%
 
1,200

 
1,200

1.45% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 3/16/2027 (euro-denominated)
 
1.65
%
 
561

 
574

3.20% 10-Year Senior Notes, Due 8/15/2027
 
3.39
%
 
750

 
750

1.375% 12-Year Senior Notes, Due 9/12/2028 (euro-denominated)
 
1.46
%
 
673

 
688

1.95% 12-Year Senior Notes, Due 7/24/2029 (euro-denominated)
 
2.08
%
 
785

 
802

2.875% 20-Year Senior Notes, Due 7/24/2037 (euro-denominated)
 
2.94
%
 
785

 
802

5.30% 30-Year Senior Notes, Due 2/1/2044
 
5.37
%
 
400

 
400

4.10% 30-Year Senior Notes, Due 8/15/2047
 
4.23
%
 
750

 
750

Other
 
 
 
19

 
21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Borrowings at Par Value
 
 
 
18,320

 
19,186

Fair Value Hedge Accounting Adjustments
 
 
 
(68
)
 
(93
)
Unamortized Discount, Net
 
 
 
(26
)
 
(21
)
Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs
 
 
 
(78
)
 
(82
)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Borrowings at Carrying Value
 
 
 
18,148

 
18,990

Less: Short-term Obligations and Current Maturities
 
 
 
1,336

 
1,271

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Long-term Obligations
 
 
 
$
16,812

 
$
17,719


The effective interest rates for the fixed-rate debt include the stated interest on the notes, the accretion of any discount or amortization of any premium, the amortization of any debt issuance costs and, if applicable, adjustments related to hedging.
See Note 12 for fair value information pertaining to the company’s long-term obligations.
Credit Facilities
The company has a revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides for up to $2.50 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit. The facility expires in July 2021. The agreement calls for interest at either a LIBOR-based rate, a EURIBOR-based rate (for funds drawn in Euro) or a rate based on the prime lending rate of the agent bank, at the company’s option. The agreement contains affirmative, negative and financial covenants, and events of default customary for facilities of this type. The covenants in our revolving credit facility (the Facility) include a Consolidated Leverage Ratio (total debt-to-Consolidated EBITDA) and a Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (Consolidated EBITDA to Consolidated Interest Expense), as such terms are defined in the Facility. Specifically, the company has agreed that, so long as any lender has any commitment under the Facility, any letter of credit is outstanding under the Facility, or any loan or other obligation is outstanding under the Facility, it will maintain a maximum Consolidated Leverage Ratio of 3.5:1.0. The company has also agreed that so long as any lender has any commitment under the Facility or any letter of credit is outstanding under the Facility, or any loan or other obligation is outstanding under the Facility, it will maintain a minimum Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.0:1.0 as of the last day of any fiscal quarter. As of March 30, 2019, no borrowings were outstanding under the Facility, although available capacity was reduced by approximately $87 million as a result of outstanding letters of credit.
Commercial Paper Programs
The company has commercial paper programs pursuant to which it may issue and sell unsecured, short-term promissory notes (CP Notes). Under the U.S. program, a) maturities may not exceed 397 days from the date of issue and b) the CP Notes are issued on a private placement basis under customary terms in the commercial paper market and are not redeemable prior to maturity nor subject to voluntary prepayment. Under the euro program, maturities may not exceed 183 days and may be denominated in euro, U.S. dollars, Japanese yen, British pounds sterling, Swiss franc, Canadian dollars or other currencies. Under both programs, the CP Notes are issued at a discount from par (or premium to par, in the case of negative interest rates), or, alternatively, are sold at par and bear varying interest rates on a fixed or floating basis. As of March 30, 2019, there were no outstanding borrowings under these programs.
Senior Notes
Interest on the floating rate senior notes is payable quarterly. Interest is payable annually on the other euro-denominated senior notes and semi-annually on all other senior notes. Each of the notes may be redeemed at a redemption price of 100% of the principal amount plus a specified make-whole premium and accrued interest. The company is subject to certain affirmative and negative covenants under the indentures governing the senior notes, the most restrictive of which limits the ability of the company to pledge principal properties as security under borrowing arrangements.
In 2018, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., a wholly-owned finance subsidiary of the company, issued the Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2020 included in the table above. This subsidiary has no independent function other than financing activities. The Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2020 are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the company and no other subsidiaries of the company have guaranteed the obligations.
Interest Rate Swap Arrangements and related Cross-currency Interest Rate Swap Arrangements
The company has entered into LIBOR-based interest rate swap arrangements with various banks on several of its outstanding senior notes. The aggregate amounts of the swaps are equal to the principal amounts of the notes and the payment dates of the swaps coincide with the interest payment dates of the notes. The swap contracts provide for the company to pay a variable interest rate and receive a fixed rate. The variable interest rates reset monthly. The swaps have been accounted for as fair value hedges of the notes. See Note 12 for additional information on the interest rate swap arrangements and related cross-currency interest rate swap arrangements. The following table summarizes the outstanding interest rate swap arrangements on the company's senior notes at March 30, 2019:
 
 
Aggregate Notional Amount

 
 
 
Pay Rate as of

 
 
(Dollars in millions)
 
 
Pay Rate
 
March 30,
2019

 
Receive Rate

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.50% Senior Notes due 2021 (a)
 
1,000

 
1-month LIBOR + 3.4420%
 
5.9313
%
 
4.50
%
3.60% Senior Notes due 2021
 
1,100

 
1-month LIBOR + 2.5150%
 
4.9988
%
 
3.60
%
3.00% Senior Notes due 2023 (a)
 
1,000

 
1-month LIBOR + 1.7640%
 
4.2478
%
 
3.00
%

(a)
The payments on $1.8 billion notional value of these interest rate swaps are offset in part by cross-currency interest rate swaps which effectively reduced the pay rate as of March 30, 2019 from a weighted average of 4.93% to a weighted average of 1.86%.
The company has entered into $1.8 billion notional value of cross-currency interest rate swaps, which effectively convert a portion of the semi-annual payments related to the variable rate, U.S. dollar denominated, LIBOR-based interest rate swaps to payments on variable rate, euro denominated, EURIBOR-based cross-currency interest rate swaps.