LONG-TERM DEBT AND LINES OF CREDIT

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, long-term debt consisted of the following:



	2018		2017

	(in thousands)
Credit Facility:
Term loans (face amounts of $4,463,643 and $3,932,677 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, less unamortized debt issuance costs of $37,400 and $37,961 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively)	$	4,426,243	$	3,894,716
Revolving Credit Facility	704,000		765,000
Total long-term debt	5,130,243		4,659,716
Less current portion of Credit Facility (face amounts of $124,176 and $108,979 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, less unamortized debt issuance costs of $9,101 and $8,671 at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively)	115,075		100,308
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	$	5,015,168	$	4,559,408

Maturity requirements on long-term debt as of December 31, 2018 by year are as follows (in thousands):



Years ending December 31,
2019	$	124,176
2020	159,979
2021	195,848
2022	267,587
2023	3,945,053
2024 and thereafter	475,000
Total	$	5,167,643

Credit Facility

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"). As of December 31, 2018, the Credit Facility provided for secured financing comprised of (i) a $1.5 billion revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility"); (ii) a $1.5 billion term loan (the "Term A Loan"), (iii) a $1.37 billion term loan (the "Term A-2 Loan"), (iv) a $1.14 billion term loan facility (the "Term B-2 Loan") and (v) a $500 million term loan (the "Term B-4 Loan"). Substantially all of the assets of our domestic subsidiaries are pledged as collateral under the Credit Facility.

The borrowings outstanding under our Credit Facility as of December 31, 2018 reflect amounts borrowed for acquisitions and other activities we completed in 2018, including a reduction to the interest rate margins applicable to our Term A Loan, Term A-2 Loan, Term B-2 Loan and the Revolving Credit Facility, an extension of the maturity dates of the Term A Loan, Term A-2 Loan and the Revolving Credit Facility, and an increase in the total financing capacity under the Credit Facility to approximately $5.5 billion in June 2018.

In October 2018, we entered into an additional term loan under the Credit Facility in the amount of $500 million (the "Term B-4 Loan"). We used the proceeds from the Term B-4 Loan to pay down a portion of the balance outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility.

The Credit Facility provides for an interest rate, at our election, of either LIBOR or a base rate, in each case plus a margin. As of December 31, 2018, the interest rates on the Term A Loan, the Term A-2 Loan, the Term B-2 Loan and the Term B-4 Loan were 4.02%, 4.01%, 4.27% and 4.27%, respectively, and the interest rate on the Revolving Credit Facility was 3.92%. In addition, we are required to pay a quarterly commitment fee with respect to 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 Term A Loan and the Term A-2 Loan mature, and the Revolving Credit Facility expires, on January 20, 2023. The Term B-2 Loan matures on April 22, 2023. The Term B-4 Loan matures on October 18, 2025. The Term A Loan and Term A-2 Loan principal amounts must each be repaid in quarterly installments in the amount of 0.625% of principal through June 2019, increasing to 1.25% of principal through June 2021, increasing to 1.875% of principal through June 2022 and increasing to 2.50% of principal through December 2022, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in January 2023. 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 Term B-4 Loan principal must be repaid in quarterly installments in the amount of 0.25% of principal through September 2025, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in October 2025.

We may 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, 2018 were $783.6 million.

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 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, 2018 and 2017, a total of $70.6 million and $59.3 million, respectively, of cash on deposit was used to determine the available credit.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, we had $700.5 million and $635.2 million outstanding under these lines of credit with additional capacity of $710.3 million as of December 31, 2018 to fund settlement. The weighted-average interest rate on these borrowings was 2.97% and 1.97% at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the maximum and average outstanding balances under these lines of credit were $828.2 million and $398.3 million, respectively.

Compliance with Covenants

The Credit Facility Agreement contains customary affirmative and restrictive covenants, including, among others, financial covenants based on our leverage and interest coverage ratios, as defined in the agreement. As of December 31, 2018, financial covenants under the Credit Facility Agreement required a leverage ratio no greater than: (i) 5.00 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending during the period from April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019; (ii) 4.75 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending during the period from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020; and (iii) 4.50 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter ending thereafter. The interest coverage ratio is required to be no less than 3.25 to 1.00.

The Credit Facility Agreement includes covenants, subject in each case to exceptions and qualifications that may restrict certain payments, including, in certain circumstances, the repurchasing of our common stock and paying cash dividends in excess of our current rate of $0.01 per share per quarter. We were in compliance with all applicable covenants as of December 31, 2018.

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. 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	Fair Values at December 31,
Derivative Financial Instruments	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2018	December 31, 2018	2018		2017
				(in thousands)
Interest rate swaps (Notional of $750 million at December 31, 2018)	Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1.54%	February 28, 2019 - December 31, 2019	$	3,200	$	—
Interest rate swaps (Notional of $550 million and $1,300 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively)	Other noncurrent assets	1.65%	July 31, 2020 - March 31, 2021	$	8,256	$	9,202
Interest rate swaps (Notional of $950 million at December 31, 2018)	Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	2.82%	December 31, 2022	$	14,601	$	—

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,
	2018			2017		2016		2016
	(in thousands)
Amount of unrealized gains (losses) recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)	$	(7,553	)	$	4,549	$	5,532	$	(12,859	)
Amount of unrealized (gains) losses reclassified out of other comprehensive income (loss) to interest expense	$	(4,792	)	$	5,673	$	4,222	$	8,240

At December 31, 2018, 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 $5.5 million.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $195.5 million, $174.3 million, $108.6 million and $67.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the 2016 fiscal transition period and the year ended May 31, 2016.