LONG-TERM DEBT AND LINES OF CREDIT

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, long-term debt consisted of the following:



	2017		2016

	(in thousands)
Credit Facility:
Term loans (face amounts of $3,932,677 and $3,728,857 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, less unamortized debt issuance costs of $37,961 and $46,282 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	$	3,894,716	$	3,682,575
Revolving Credit Facility	765,000		756,000
Capital lease obligations	—		37
Total long-term debt	4,659,716		4,438,612
Less current portion of Credit Facility (face amounts of $108,979 and $187,274 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, less unamortized debt issuance costs of $8,671 and $9,526 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively) and current portion of capital lease obligations of $37 at December 31, 2016	100,308		177,785
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	$	4,559,408	$	4,260,827

Maturity requirements on long-term debt as of December 31, 2017 by year are as follows (in thousands):



Years ending December 31,
2018	$	108,979
2019	141,912
2020	161,144
2021	180,376
2022	3,021,391
2023 and thereafter	1,083,875
Total	$	4,697,677

We are party to a credit facility agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and a syndicate of financial institutions as lenders and other agents (as amended from time to time, the "Credit Facility"). On May 2, 2017, we entered into the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Facility (the "Fourth Amendment"), which increased the total financing capacity available under the Credit Facility to $5.2 billion; however, the aggregate outstanding debt under the Credit Facility did not change as we repaid certain outstanding amounts under the Term A Loan, the Term A-2 Loan and the Revolving Credit Facility (each as defined below) in connection with the Fourth Amendment. As of December 31, 2017, the Credit Facility provided for secured financing comprised of (i) a $1.25 billion revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility"); (ii) a $1.5 billion term loan (the "Term A Loan"), (iii) a $1.3 billion term loan (the "Term A-2 Loan"); and (iv) a $1.2 billion term loan facility, which replaced the Term B Loan (the "Term B-2 Loan"). Substantially all of the assets of our domestic subsidiaries are pledged as collateral under the Credit Facility.

The Credit Facility provides for an interest rate, at our election, of either London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") or a base rate, in each case plus a leverage-based margin. As of December 31, 2017, the interest rates on the Term A Loan, the Term A-2 Loan and the Term B Loan were 3.32%, 3.24% and 3.57%, respectively.

The Term A Loan and the Term A-2 Loan mature, and the Revolving Credit Facility expires, on May 2, 2022. The Term B-2 Loan matures on April 22, 2023. The Term A Loan principal must be repaid in quarterly installments in the amount of 1.25% of principal through June 2019, increasing to 1.875% of principal through June 2021, and increasing to 2.50% of principal through March 2022, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in May 2022. The Term A-2 Loan principal must be repaid in quarterly installments of $1.7 million through June 2018, increasing to quarterly installments of $8.6 million through March 2022, with the remaining balance due upon maturity in May 2022. The Term B-2 Loan principal must be repaid in quarterly installments in the amount of 0.25% of principal through March 2023, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in April 2023.

The Credit Facility allows us to issue standby letters of credit of up to $100 million in the aggregate under the Revolving Credit Facility. Outstanding letters of credit under the Revolving Credit Facility reduce the amount of borrowings available to us. Borrowings available to us under the Revolving Credit Facility are further limited by the covenants described below under "Compliance with Covenants." The total available commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility at December 31, 2017 were $473.3 million. As of December 31, 2017, the interest rate on the Revolving Credit Facility was 3.24%. In addition, we are required to pay a quarterly commitment fee on the unused portion of the Revolving Credit Facility at an applicable rate per annum ranging from 0.20% to 0.30% depending on our leverage ratio.

The portion of deferred debt issuance costs related to the Revolving Credit Facility is included in other noncurrent assets, and the portion of deferred debt issuance costs related to the term loans is reported as a reduction to the carrying amount of the term loans. Debt issuance costs are amortized as an adjustment to interest expense over the terms of the respective facilities.

Settlement Lines of Credit

In various markets where we do business, we have specialized lines of credit, which are restricted for use in funding settlement. The settlement lines of credit generally have variable interest rates, are subject to annual review and are denominated in local currency but may, in some cases, facilitate borrowings in multiple currencies. For certain of our settlement lines of credit, the available credit is increased by the amount of cash we have on deposit in specific accounts with the lender. Accordingly, the amount of the outstanding line of credit may exceed the stated credit limit. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, a total of $59.3 million and $51.0 million, respectively, of cash on deposit was used to determine the available credit.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, we had $635.2 million and $392.1 million outstanding under these lines of credit with additional capacity of $689.4 million as of December 31, 2017 to fund settlement. The weighted-average interest rate on these borrowings was 1.97% and 1.90% at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the maximum and average outstanding balances under these lines of credit were $863.6 million and $334.0 million, respectively.

Compliance with Covenants

The Credit Facility contains customary affirmative and restrictive covenants, including, among others, financial covenants based on our leverage and fixed charge coverage ratios, as defined in the agreement. As of December 31, 2017, financial covenants under the Credit Facility required a leverage ratio no greater than: (i) 4.50 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending during the period from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018; (ii) 4.25 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending during the period from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019; and (iii) 4.00 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending thereafter. The fixed charge coverage ratio is required to be no less than 2.25 to 1.00.

The Credit Facility and settlement lines of credit also include various other covenants that are customary in such borrowings. The Credit Facility includes covenants, subject in each case to exceptions and qualifications that may restrict certain payments, including, in certain circumstances, the payment of cash dividends in excess of our current rate of $0.01 per share per quarter.

The Credit Facility also includes customary events of default, the occurrence of which, following any applicable cure period, would permit the lenders to, among other things, declare the principal, accrued interest and other obligations to be immediately due and payable. We were in compliance with all applicable covenants as of and for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

We have interest rate swap agreements with financial institutions to hedge changes in cash flows attributable to interest rate risk on a portion of our variable-rate debt instruments. Net amounts to be received or paid under the swap agreements are reflected as adjustments to interest expense. Since we have designated the interest rate swap agreements as portfolio cash flow hedges, unrealized gains or losses resulting from adjusting the swaps to fair value are recorded as components of other comprehensive income, except for any ineffective portion of the change in fair value, which would be immediately recorded in interest expense. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the 2016 fiscal transition period and the years ended May 31, 2016 and 2015, there was no ineffectiveness. The fair values of the interest rate swaps were determined based on the present value of the estimated future net cash flows using implied rates in the applicable yield curve as of the valuation date. These derivative instruments were classified within Level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

The table below presents the fair values of our derivative financial instruments designated as cash flow hedges included in the consolidated balance sheets:



		Weighted-Average Fixed Rate of Interest at	Range of Maturity Dates at	December 31,
Derivative Financial Instruments	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2017	December 31, 2017	2017		2016
				(in thousands)
Interest rate swaps (Notional of $1,300 and $250 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	Other noncurrent assets	1.59%	February 28, 2019 - March 31, 2021	$	9,202	$	2,147
Interest rate swaps (Notional of $0 million and $750 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	NA	NA	$	—	$	3,175

NA = Not applicable.

As of December 31, 2017, the interest rate swap agreements effectively convert $1.3 billion of our variable-rate debt to the weighted-average fixed rates shown in the table above plus a leverage-based margin.

The table below presents the effects of our interest rate swaps on the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for the periods presented:



	Year Ended December 31,		Seven Months Ended December 31,		Year Ended May 31,
	2017		2016		2016			2015
	(in thousands)
Amount of net unrealized gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income	$	4,549	$	5,532	$	(12,859	)	$	(10,116	)
Amount of net losses reclassified out of other comprehensive income to interest expense	$	5,673	$	4,222	$	8,240		$	3,958

At December 31, 2017, the amount of gain in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to our interest rate swaps that is expected to be reclassified into interest expense during the next 12 months was approximately $2.4 million.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $174.3 million, $108.6 million, $67.9 million and $39.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, the 2016 fiscal transition period and the years ended May 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.