Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

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Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value  
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

(4) Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

For assets and liabilities required to be reported at fair value, GAAP provides a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. Level 1 inputs are quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date. Level 2 inputs, other than quoted market prices included within Level 1, are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or

indirectly. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.  The Company does not have any recurring assets or liabilities measured at fair value that would be considered Level 3.

The Company's assets and liabilities measured at fair value are as follows:

December 31, 2021

December 31, 2020

 

Quoted prices

Quoted prices

 

in active 

Significant

in active

Significant

 

markets

other

markets

other

 

for identical

observable

for identical

observable

 

assets

inputs

assets

inputs

 

Description

Total

(Level 1)

(Level 2)

Total

(Level 1)

(Level 2)

 

 amounts in millions

 

Cash equivalents

    

$

149

    

149

    

    

290

    

290

    

Indemnification asset

$

324

324

345

345

Financial instrument asset

$

23

23

Debt

$

1,315

 

 

1,315

 

1,750

 

 

1,750

The majority of the Company's Level 2 financial assets and liabilities are debt instruments with quoted market prices that are not considered to be traded on "active markets," as defined in GAAP. Accordingly, the debt instruments are reported in the foregoing table as Level 2 fair value.

Pursuant to an indemnification agreement initially entered into by GCI Liberty and assumed by Liberty Broadband in connection with a merger between the two companies, Liberty Broadband has agreed to indemnify Liberty Interactive LLC (“LI LLC”) for certain payments made to holders of LI LLC’s 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures due 2046 (the “1.75% Exchangeable Debentures”). An indemnity asset in the amount of $281 million was recorded upon completion of the GCI Liberty Split-Off. In June 2018, Qurate Retail repurchased 417,759 of the 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures for approximately $457 million, including accrued interest, and GCI Liberty made a payment under the indemnification agreement to Qurate Retail in the amount of $133 million. The remaining indemnification to LI LLC for certain payments made to holders of the 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures pertains to the holders’ ability to exercise their exchange right according to the terms of the debentures on or before October 5, 2023.  Such amount will equal the difference between the exchange value and par value of the 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures at the time the exchange occurs.  The indemnification asset recorded in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 represents the fair value of the estimated exchange feature included in the 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures primarily based on observable market data as significant inputs (Level 2).  As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, a holder of the 1.75% Exchangeable Debentures did have the ability to exchange and, accordingly, such indemnification asset is included as a current asset in our consolidated balance sheets as of those dates.

Realized and Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Financial Instruments

Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments are comprised of changes in the fair value of the following:

Years ended December 31,

 

    

2021

    

2020

    

2019

 

amounts in millions

 

Equity securities

$

77

 

(1)

 

(22)

Exchangeable senior debentures

 

(130)

 

(277)

 

(337)

Indemnification asset

(21)

143

123

Other financial instruments

 

173

 

25

 

(15)

$

99

 

(110)

 

(251)

The Company has elected to account for its exchangeable debt using the fair value option. Changes in the fair value of the exchangeable senior debentures recognized in the consolidated statement of operations are primarily due to market factors primarily driven by changes in the fair value of the underlying shares into which the debt is exchangeable. The Company isolates the portion of the unrealized gain (loss) attributable to the change in the instrument specific credit risk and recognizes such amount in other comprehensive earnings (loss).  The change in the fair value of the exchangeable senior debentures attributable to changes in the instrument specific credit risk were losses of $44 million, gains of $21 million and gains of $1 million, net of the recognition of previously unrecognized gains and losses, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.  The cumulative change was a gain of $148 million as of December 31, 2021, net of the recognition of previously unrecognized gains and losses.