(11)  Debt

Debt is summarized as follows:

 

 

Exchangeable Senior Debentures

 

Each $1,000 debenture of Liberty Interactive LLC’s (“Liberty LLC”) 4% Exchangeable Senior Debentures is exchangeable at the holder's option for the value of 3.2265 shares of Sprint Corporation (“Sprint”) common stock and 0.7860 shares of CenturyLink, Inc. ("CenturyLink") common stock.  Liberty LLC may, at its election, pay the exchange value in cash, Sprint and CenturyLink common stock or a combination thereof.  Liberty LLC, at its option, may redeem the debentures, in whole or in part, for cash generally equal to the face amount of the debentures plus accrued interest.

 

Each $1,000 debenture of Liberty LLC's 3.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures is exchangeable at the holder's option for the value of 2.3578 shares of Sprint common stock and 0.5746 shares of CenturyLink common stock.  Liberty LLC may, at its election, pay the exchange value in cash, Sprint and CenturyLink common stock or a combination thereof.  Liberty, at its option, may redeem the debentures, in whole or in part, for cash equal to the face amount of the debentures plus accrued interest.

 

Each $1,000 debenture of Liberty LLC's 3.5% Exchangeable Senior Debentures (the "Motorola Exchangeables") was exchangeable at the holder's option for the value of 5.2598 shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. and 4.6024 shares of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc., as a result of Motorola Inc.'s separation of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. ("MMI") in a 1 for 8 stock distribution, and the subsequent 1 for 7 reverse stock split of Motorola, Inc. (which has been renamed Motorola Solutions, Inc. ("MSI")), effective January 4, 2011.  MMI was acquired on May 22, 2012 for $40 per share in cash. Pursuant to the indenture, the cash paid to shareholders in the MMI acquisition was to be paid to the holders of the Motorola Exchangeables as an extraordinary distribution.  Liberty LLC made a cash payment of $184.096 per debenture in the second quarter of 2012 for a total payment of $111 million.  The remaining exchange value is payable, at Liberty's option, in cash or MSI stock or a combination thereof.  Liberty LLC, at its option, may redeem the debentures, in whole or in part, for cash generally equal to the adjusted principal amount of the debentures plus accrued interest.  As a result of a cash distribution made by Liberty LLC in 2007, the cash disbursement discussed above and various principal payments made to holders of the Motorola Exchangeables, the adjusted principal amount of each $1,000 debenture is $547 as of December 31, 2017.

 

Each $1,000 original principal amount of the 0.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures due 2043 is exchangeable for a basket of 3.1648 shares of common stock of Charter, 5.1635 shares of common stock of Time Warner and 0.6454 shares of Time, Inc., which may change over time to include other publicly traded common equity securities that may be distributed on or in respect of those shares of Charter and Time Warner (or into which any of those securities may be converted or exchanged).  This basket of shares for which each Debenture in the original principal amount of $1,000 may be exchanged is referred to as the Reference Shares attributable to such Debenture, and to each issuer of Reference Shares as a reference company. Each Debenture is exchangeable at the option of the holder at any time, upon which they will be entitled to receive the Reference Shares attributable to such Debenture or, at the election of Liberty LLC, cash or a combination of Reference Shares and cash having a value equal to such Reference Shares. Upon exchange, holders will not be entitled to any cash payment representing accrued interest or outstanding additional distributions. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, an extraordinary additional distribution was made to the holders of the 0.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures due 2043 in the amount of $11.9399 per $1,000 original principal of the debentures, which is attributable to the cash consideration of $18.50 per share paid to former holders of common stock of Time Inc. on January 31, 2018, in connection with the acquisition of Time Inc. by Meredith Corporation. The Company expects to pay the extraordinary additional distribution on March 1, 2018, to holders of record of the 0.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures due 2043 on February 14, 2018, the special record date for the extraordinary additional distribution.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2016, holders exchanged, under the terms of the debentures, approximately $523 million principal of the 0.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures due 2043 and Liberty made cash payments of approximately $1,181 million to settle the obligations. In addition, in conjunction with the Liberty Broadband transaction (see note 9), an extraordinary distribution of approximately $325 million was paid to holders of the 0.75% Exchangeable Senior Debentures due 2043.

 

In August 2016, Liberty issued $750 million principal amount of new senior exchangeable debentures due September 2046 which bear interest at an annual rate of 1.75%. Each $1,000 debenture is exchangeable at the holder’s option for the value of 2.9317 shares of Charter Class A common stock. Liberty may, at its election, pay the exchange value in cash, Charter Class A common stock or a combination thereof. The number of shares of Charter Class A common stock attributable to a debenture represents an initial exchange price of approximately $341.10 per share. On October 5, 2023, Liberty, at its option, may redeem the debentures, in whole or in part, for cash generally equal to the face amount of the debentures plus accrued interest.

 

Liberty has elected to account for all of its Exchangeables using the fair value option. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of these instruments are recognized as unrealized gains (losses) in the statements of operations.  Liberty will review the triggering events on a quarterly basis to determine whether a triggering event has occurred to require current classification of certain Exchangeables, see additional discussion below. 

 

Liberty has sold, split-off or otherwise disposed of all of its shares of MSI, Sprint and CenturyLink common stock which underlie the respective Exchangeable Senior Debentures. Because such exchangeable debentures are exchangeable at the option of the holder at any time and Liberty can no longer use owned shares to redeem the debentures, Liberty has classified for financial reporting purposes the portion due 2043 of the debentures that could be redeemed for cash as a current liability. Exchangeable Senior Debentures classified as current totaled $978 million at December 31, 2017.  Although such amount has been classified as a current liability for financial reporting purposes, the Company believes the probability that the holders of such instruments will exchange a significant principal amount of the debentures prior to maturity is unlikely.

 

Interest on the Company's exchangeable debentures is payable semi-annually based on the date of issuance.  At maturity, all of the Company's exchangeable debentures are payable in cash.

 

Senior Debentures

 

Interest on the 8.5% Senior Debentures due 2029 and the 8.25% Senior Debentures due 2030 (the “Senior Debentures”) is payable semi-annually based on the date of issuance. The Senior Debentures are stated net of an aggregate unamortized discount of $4 million at December 31, 2017 and $5 million at December 31, 2016.  Such discount is being amortized to interest expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

 

QVC Senior Secured Notes

 

On March 18, 2014, QVC issued $400 million principal amount of 3.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 at an issue price of 99.828% and $600 million principal amount of 4.85% Senior Secured Notes due 2024 at an issue price of 99.927% (collectively, the “March Notes”). The March Notes are secured by the capital stock of QVC and certain of QVC’s subsidiaries and have equal priority to QVC’s senior secured credit facility. The net proceeds from the March Notes offerings were used to repay indebtedness under QVC’s senior secured credit facility and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

 

On August 21, 2014, QVC issued $600 million principal amount of 4.45% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 at an issue price of 99.860% and $400 million principal amount 5.45% Senior Secured Notes due 2034 at an issue price of 99.784% (collectively, the “August Notes”). The August Notes are secured by the capital stock of QVC and certain of QVC’s subsidiaries and have equal priority to QVC’s senior secured credit facility.

 

During prior years, QVC issued $500 million principal amount of 7.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2020 at par, $500 million principal amount of 5.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 at par, $750 million principal amount of 4.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2023 at par and $300 million principal amount of 5.95% Senior Secured Notes due 2043 at par.

 

On April 15, 2015, QVC completed the redemption of $500 million principal amount of its 7.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2020, whereby holders received consideration of $1,036.88 for each $1,000 of principal tendered. As a result of the redemption, a $21 million extinguishment loss is included in other, net in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

 

QVC Bank Credit Facilities

 

On March 9, 2015, QVC amended and restated its senior secured credit facility, which is a multi-currency facility that provided for a $2.25 billion revolving credit facility with a $250 million sub-limit for standby letters of credit and $1.5 billion of uncommitted incremental revolving loan commitments or incremental term loans.

On June 23, 2016, QVC amended and restated its senior secured credit facility (the “Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”) with zulily as co-borrower (the “Borrowers”). The Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement is a multi-currency facility that provides for a $2.65 billion revolving credit facility, with a $300 million total sub-limit for standby letters of credit and $1.5 billion of uncommitted incremental revolving loan commitments or incremental term loans. The Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement includes a $400 million tranche that may be borrowed by QVC or zulily, with an additional $50 million sub-limit for standing letters of credit. The remaining $2.25 billion and any incremental loans may be borrowed only by QVC. The borrowers may elect that the loans extended under the senior secured credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the ABR or LIBOR, as each is defined in the senior secured credit facility agreement, plus a margin of 0.25% to 1.75% depending on various factors. Each loan may be prepaid in whole or in part without penalty other than customary breakage costs. No mandatory prepayments are required other than when borrowings and letter of credit usage exceed availability; provided that, if zulily ceases to be controlled by Liberty, all of its loans must be repaid and its letters of credit cash collateralized. Any amounts prepaid on the revolving facility may be reborrowed. The facility matures on June 23, 2021, except that $140 million of the $2.25 billion commitment available to QVC matures on March 9, 2020. Borrowings under the facility may be accelerated following certain customary events of default. The purpose of the amendment was to, among other things, extend the maturity of QVC’s senior secured credit facility, provide zulily the opportunity to borrow on the senior secured credit facility and lower the interest rate on borrowings.

The payment and performance of the borrowers’ obligations (including zulily’s obligations) under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement are guaranteed by each of QVC’s Material Domestic Subsidiaries (as defined in the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement). Further, the borrowings under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement are secured, pari passu with QVC’s existing notes, by a pledge of all of QVC’s equity interests. In addition, the payment and performance of the borrowers’ obligations with respect to the $400 million tranche available to both QVC and zulily are also guaranteed by zulily and secured by a pledge of all of zulily’s equity interests.

The Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement contains certain affirmative and negative covenants, including certain restrictions on QVC and zulily and each of their restricted subsidiaries (subject to certain exceptions) with respect to, among other things: incurring additional indebtedness; creating liens on property or assets; making certain loans or investments; selling or disposing of assets; paying certain dividends and other restricted payments; dissolving, consolidating or merging; entering into certain transactions with affiliates; entering into sale or leaseback transactions; restricting subsidiary distributions; limiting QVC’s consolidated leverage ratio, which is defined in QVC’s senior secured credit facility as QVC’s consolidated total debt to Adjusted OIBDA ratio for the most recent four fiscal quarter period; and limiting the borrowers’ combined consolidated leverage ratio, which is defined in QVC’s senior secured credit facility as QVC and zulily’s combined debt to Adjusted OIBDA ratio for the most recent four fiscal quarter period. Liberty defines Adjusted OIBDA as revenue less cost of sales, operating expenses, and selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation).

The interest rate on borrowings outstanding under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement was 3.0% at December 31, 2017. Availability under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement at December 31, 2017 was $877 million, net of $10 million of standby letters of credit.

QVC Interest Rate Swap Arrangement

 

During the year ended December 31, 2016, QVC entered into a three-year interest rate swap arrangement with a notional amount of $125 million to mitigate the interest rate risk associated with interest payments related to its variable rate debt. The swap arrangement does not qualify as a cash flow hedge under GAAP. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of the swap are reflected in Realized and unrealized gains or losses on financial instruments, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

 

HSNi Bank Credit Facility

 

On January 27, 2015, HSNi entered into a $1.25 billion five-year syndicated credit agreement ("Credit Agreement") which is secured by 100% of the voting equity securities of HSNi's U.S. subsidiaries and 65% of HSNi's first-tier foreign subsidiaries. Certain HSNi subsidiaries have unconditionally guaranteed HSNi's obligations under the Credit Agreement.  The Credit Agreement, which included a $750 million revolving credit facility and a $500 million term loan, could be increased up to $1.75 billion subject to certain conditions and was set to expire on January 27, 2020. On December 29, 2017, the Credit Agreement was amended, the outstanding balance on the term loan was repaid, and the revolving credit facility was increased to $1 billion.  The maturity of the revolving credit facility was extended to December 29, 2022.  Loans under the amended Credit Agreement bear interest at a per annum rate equal to LIBOR plus a predetermined margin that ranges from 1.25% to 1.75% or the Base Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement) plus a predetermined margin that ranges from 0.25% to 0.75%. HSNi pays a commitment fee ranging from 0.20% to 0.30% (based on the leverage ratio) on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility. 

 

The Credit Agreement includes various covenants, limitations and events of default customary for similar facilities including a maximum leverage ratio of 3.50x (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The interest rate on the $460 million outstanding long-term debt balance as of December 31, 2017 was 3.07%.  The amount available to HSNi under the revolving credit facility portion of the Credit Agreement is reduced by the amount of outstanding letters of credit issued under the revolving credit facility, which totaled $7 million as of December 31, 2017. The ability to draw funds under the revolving credit facility is dependent upon meeting the aforementioned financial covenants. As of December 31, 2017, the amount that could be borrowed under the revolving credit facility, after consideration of the financial covenants and the outstanding letters of credit, was approximately $533 million.

 

HSNi Interest Rate Swap Arrangement

HSNi has an outstanding interest rate swap that effectively converts $250 million of its variable rate bank credit facility to a fixed rate of 1.05% with a maturity date in January 2020 (the swapped fixed rate is exclusive of the credit spread under the Credit Agreement). Based on HSNi's leverage ratio as of December 31, 2017, the all-in fixed rate was 2.3525%.  The interest rate swaps were previously designated and qualified as cash flow hedges; therefore, the effective portions of the changes in fair value were recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).  Going forward the Company will account for the interest rate swaps at fair value with changes recorded through unrealized gain (loss).

 

Other Subsidiary Debt

Other subsidiary debt at December 31, 2017 is comprised of capitalized satellite transponder lease obligations.

Debt Covenants

Liberty, QVC and other subsidiaries were in compliance with all debt covenants at December 31, 2017.

Five Year Maturities

 

The annual principal maturities of Liberty's debt, based on stated maturity dates, for each of the next five years is as follows (amounts in millions):

 

 

 

Fair Value of Debt

Liberty estimates the fair value of its debt based on the quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on the current rate offered to Liberty for debt of the same remaining maturities. The fair value, based on quoted prices of instruments not considered to be active markets (Level 2), of Liberty's publicly traded debt securities that are not reported at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets is as follows (amounts in millions):

 

Due to the variable rate nature, Liberty believes that the carrying amount of its subsidiary debt not discussed above approximated fair value at December 31, 2017.