Borrowings and Credit Arrangements

The Company’s borrowings consisted of the following:



	September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013
Current debt obligations, net of debt discount:
Term Loan A	$	99.6	$	49.7
Term Loan B	14.9		114.0
Convertible Notes	—		400.1
Total current debt obligations	114.5		563.8
Long-term debt obligations, net of debt discount:
Term Loan A	796.7		894.8
Term Loan B	1,120.9		1,159.3
Senior Notes	1,000.0		1,000.0
Convertible Notes	1,235.6		1,188.0
Total long-term debt obligations	4,153.2		4,242.1
Total debt obligations	$	4,267.7	$	4,805.9

The debt maturity schedule for the Company’s obligations as of September 27, 2014 is as follows:



	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019		2020 and Thereafter		Total
Term Loan A	$	100.0	$	200.0	$	600.0	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	900.0
Term Loan B	15.0		15.0		15.0		15.0		1,085.0		—		1,145.0
Senior Notes	—		—		—		—		—		1,000.0		1,000.0
Convertible Notes (1)	—		—		450.0		894.5		—		—		1,344.5
	$	115.0	$	215.0	$	1,065.0	$	909.5	$	1,085.0	$	1,000.0	$	4,389.5


(1)	Classified based on the earliest date of redemption for each respective issuance and the balance in fiscal 2018 reflects accretion on the 2013 Notes through September 27, 2014 as described below.

Credit Agreement

On August 1, 2012, the Company and certain domestic subsidiaries (the “Guarantors”) entered into a credit and guaranty agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with Goldman Sachs Bank USA, in its capacity as administrative and collateral agent, and the lenders party thereto (collectively, the “Lenders”).

The credit facilities under the Credit Agreement initially consisted of:


•	$1.0 billion senior secured tranche A term loan (“Term Loan A”) with a final maturity date of August 1, 2017;


•	$1.5 billion secured tranche B term loan (“Term Loan B”) with a final maturity date of August 1, 2019; and


•	$300.0 million secured revolving credit facility (“Revolving Facility”) with a final maturity date of August 1, 2017.

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Credit Agreement, the Lenders committed to provide senior secured financing in an aggregate amount of up to $2.8 billion. As of the closing of the Gen-Probe acquisition, the Company borrowed $2.5 billion aggregate principal under the term loans of the Credit Agreement. Net proceeds to the Company were $2.41 billion, after issuing the term loans at a discount and deducting associated fees and expenses, all of which will be amortized to interest expense over the respective maturity dates of the debt. The proceeds were used to fund a portion of the purchase price for the Gen-Probe acquisition.

On March 20, 2013, the Company, the Guarantors, Goldman Sachs, and the Lenders entered into Refinancing Amendment No. 1 (the “Credit Agreement Amendment”) to the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement Amendment (i) refinanced the Company’s original Term Loan A with a new senior secured tranche A term loan facility with the same principal amount, maturity date and amortization schedule but with an applicable margin 1.00% less than the original Term Loan A (at each margin level), (ii) refinanced the Company’s original Revolving Facility with a new senior secured revolving credit facility with the same principal amount and maturity date, but with an applicable margin 1.00% less than the original Revolving Facility (at each margin level), and (iii) amended certain covenants and terms of the Credit Agreement.

Effective as of the date of the Credit Agreement Amendment and as of September 27, 2014, amounts outstanding under the new Term Loan A and the new Revolving Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option: (i) at the Base Rate plus 1.00% per annum, or (ii) at the Adjusted Eurodollar Rate (i.e., the Libor rate) plus 2.00% per annum. The applicable margin with respect to the new Term Loan A and the new Revolving Facility are subject to specified changes depending on the Company’s total net leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement.

Pursuant to ASC 470, Debt (ASC 470), the accounting for this refinancing was evaluated on a creditor by creditor basis to determine whether each transaction should be accounted for as a modification or extinguishment. Certain creditors under the Credit Agreement did not participate in this refinancing transaction and ceased being creditors of the Company. As a result, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $3.2 million to write-off the pro-rata amount of unamortized debt discount and deferred issuance costs related to these creditors for the initial borrowings under the Term Loan A facility. For the remainder of the creditors, this transaction has been accounted for as a modification because the present value of the cash flows on a creditor by creditor basis between the two debt instruments was less than 10%. Pursuant to ASC 470, subtopic 50-40, third-party costs incurred directly related to the exchange were expensed as incurred. As such, the Company recorded issuance costs related to the refinancing of $2.4 million to interest expense in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

On August 2, 2013, the Company, the Guarantors, Goldman Sachs, and the Lenders entered into Refinancing Amendment No. 2 (the “Credit Agreement Amendment 2”) to the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement Amendment 2 (i) refinanced the Company’s original Term Loan B with a new senior secured tranche B term loan facility with the same principal amount (subject to the prepayment referenced below), maturity date and amortization schedule but with an applicable margin 0.75% less than the original Term Loan B, and (ii) amended certain covenants and terms of the Credit Agreement. Effective as of the date of the Credit Agreement Amendment 2, amounts outstanding under the new Term Loan B bore interest, at the Company’s option: (A) at the Base Rate with a floor of 2.00%, plus 1.75% per annum, or (B) at the Adjusted Eurodollar Rate (i.e., the Libor rate) with a floor of 1.00%, plus 2.75% per annum. In connection with this refinancing, the Company voluntarily prepaid $200.0 million of principal of the Term Loan B facility.

Pursuant to ASC 470, the accounting for this refinancing was consistent with that described above for the Credit Agreement Amendment. As a result, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $6.0 million to write-off the pro-rata amount of unamortized debt discount and deferred issuance costs related to the voluntary prepayment of the Term Loan B facility. The Company expensed direct third-party costs of $1.1 million to interest expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.

On October 31, 2013, the Company voluntarily pre-paid $100.0 million of its Term Loan B facility, which was reflected in current debt obligations as of September 28, 2013. As a result, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $2.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 to write-off the pro-rata amount of unamortized debt discount and deferred issuance costs related to this voluntary prepayment.

On February 26, 2014, the Company, the Guarantors, Goldman Sachs, and the Lenders entered into Refinancing Amendment No. 3 to the Credit Agreement. The Refinancing Amendment No. 3 refinanced the new Term Loan B facility with a new senior secured tranche B term loan facility (the “Amended Term Loan B”) with an issue price of 99.875% of the principal amount of the new Term Loan B (subject also to the prepayment referenced below). This amendment resulted in a 50 basis point reduction in the interest rate on the Amended Term Loan B. Amounts outstanding under the Amended Term Loan B bear interest, at the Company’s option: (a) at the Base Rate, with a floor of 1.75%, plus 1.50% per annum, or (b) at the Adjusted Eurodollar Rate (i.e., the Libor rate), with a floor of 0.75%, plus 2.50% per annum. In addition, the Company voluntarily prepaid $25.0 million of the Amended Term Loan B.

Pursuant to ASC 470, the accounting for this refinancing is consistent with that described above for the Credit Agreement Amendment. As a result, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $4.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to write-off the pro-rata amount of unamortized debt discount and deferred issuance costs related to those creditors who did not participate in the refinancing. For the remainder of the creditors, this transaction has been accounted for as a modification because the present value of the cash flows on a creditor-by-creditor basis between the two debt instruments was less than 10%. The Company expensed direct third-party costs of $1.0 million to interest expense.

The Guarantors have guaranteed the Company’s obligations under the credit facilities, and the credit facilities are secured by first-priority liens on, and a first-priority security interest in, substantially all of the assets of the Company and the Guarantors, including all of the capital stock of substantially all of the U.S. subsidiaries owned by the Company and the Guarantors, 65% of the capital stock of certain of the Company’s first-tier foreign subsidiaries and all intercompany debt. The security interests are evidenced by a pledge and security agreement by and among Goldman Sachs Bank USA, as collateral agent, the Company and the Guarantors and other related agreements, including certain intellectual property security agreements and mortgages.

The Company is required to make scheduled principal payments under Term Loan A in increasing amounts ranging from $12.5 million per three month period beginning October 31, 2012 to $50.0 million per three month period commencing October 31, 2015, and under Term Loan B in equal installments of $3.75 million per three month period beginning on October 31, 2012 and for 27 three month periods thereafter. The remaining balance for each term loan is due at maturity. Any amounts outstanding under the Revolving Facility are due at maturity. Subject to certain limitations, the Company may voluntarily prepay any of the credit facilities without premium or penalty. The Company is required to make principal repayments first, pro rata among the term loan facilities, and second to the Revolving Facility from specified excess cash flows from operations and from the net proceeds of specified types of asset sales, debt issuances, insurance recoveries and equity offerings.

Interest accruing at the Base Rate generally is payable by the Company on a quarterly basis. Interest accruing at the Eurodollar Rate generally is payable on the last day of selected interest periods (which can be one, two, three and six months and in certain circumstances nine or twelve months) unless the interest period exceeds three months, in which case, interest is due at the end of every three month period. The Company is required to pay a quarterly commitment fee at an annual rate of 0.50% on the undrawn committed amount available under the Revolving Facility (which rate is subject to reduction depending on the total net leverage ratio as defined in the Credit Agreement).

Borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement in fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012 had weighted-average interest rates of 2.89%, 3.70% and 4.0%, respectively. The interest rates on the outstanding Term Loan A and Term Loan B borrowings at September 27, 2014 were 2.15% and 3.25%, respectively. Interest expense under the Credit Agreement totaled $75.3 million, $107.6 million and $18.4 million for fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which includes non-cash interest expense of $12.7 million, $14.5 million and $2.4 million, respectively, related to the amortization of the deferred financing costs and accretion of the debt discount.

The Credit Agreement contains affirmative and negative covenants customarily applicable to senior secured credit facilities, including covenants restricting the ability of the Company and the guarantors, subject to negotiated exceptions, to: incur additional indebtedness and additional liens on their assets; engage in mergers or acquisitions or dispose of assets; enter into sale-leaseback transactions; pay dividends or make other distributions; voluntarily prepay other indebtedness; enter into transactions with affiliated persons; make investments; and change the nature of their businesses.

The Credit Agreement contains total net leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio financial covenants measured as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. The maximum net leverage ratio as of September 27, 2014 is 6.00:1.00, which decreases over time to 4.00:1.00 for the quarter ending September 30, 2017 and each fiscal quarter thereafter. The minimum interest coverage ratio as of September 27, 2014 is 3.25:1.00, which increases over time to 3.75:1.00 for the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2017 and each quarter thereafter. The total net leverage ratio is defined as the ratio of the Company's consolidated net debt as of the quarter end to its consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the four-fiscal quarter period ending on the measurement date. The interest coverage ratio is defined as the ratio of the Company's consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the prior four-fiscal quarter period ending on the measurement date to adjusted consolidated cash interest expense for the same measurement period. These terms, and the calculation thereof, are defined in further detail in the Credit Agreement. The Company was in compliance with these financial covenants as of September 27, 2014.

The Company has evaluated the Credit Agreement for derivatives pursuant to ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and identified embedded derivatives that require bifurcation as the features are not clearly and closely related to the host instrument. The embedded derivatives are a default provision, which could require additional interest payments, and provision requiring contingent payments to compensate the lenders for changes in tax deductions. The Company has determined that the fair value of these embedded derivatives was nominal as of September 27, 2014 and September 28, 2013.

Senior Notes

On August 1, 2012, the Company completed a private placement of $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of its 6.25% senior notes due 2020 (“Senior Notes”) at an offering price of 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes. Net proceeds to the Company were $987.4 million after deducting underwriting fees and offering expenses, which are being amortized to interest expense over the term of the Senior Notes. The Senior Notes were registered under the Securities Act of 1933 in fiscal 2013. The Senior Notes are general senior unsecured obligations of the Company and are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Guarantors. The proceeds were used to fund a portion of the Gen-Probe acquisition.

The Senior Notes mature on August 1, 2020 and bear interest at the rate of 6.25% per year, payable semi-annually on February 1 and August 1 of each year, commencing on February 1, 2013. The Company recorded interest expense of $64.0 million, $63.9 million and $10.7 million in fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which includes non-cash interest expense of $1.7 million, $1.6 million and $0.3 million in fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, related to the amortization of the deferred financing costs.

The indenture contains customarily applicable affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants restricting the ability of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries’, subject to negotiated exceptions and qualifications, to: incur additional indebtedness; pay dividends or repurchase or redeem capital stock; make certain investments; incur liens; enter into certain types of transactions with the Company’s affiliates; and sell assets or consolidate or merge with or into other companies. The Company is not required to maintain any financial covenants with respect to the Senior Notes.

The Company may redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes with the net cash proceeds of certain equity offerings at any time and from time to time before August 1, 2015, at a redemption price equal to 106.250% of the aggregate principal amount so redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date. The Company also has the option to redeem the Senior Notes on or after: August 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016 at 103.125% of par; August 1, 2016 through July 31, 2017 at 102.083% of par; August 1, 2017 through July 31, 2018 at 101.042% of par; and August 1, 2018 and thereafter at 100% of par. In addition, if the Company undergoes a change of control, as provided in the indenture, the Company will be required to make an offer to purchase each holder’s Senior Notes at a price equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the repurchase date.

The Company has evaluated the Senior Notes for derivatives pursuant to ASC 815 and did not identify any embedded derivatives that require bifurcation. All features were deemed to be clearly and closely related to the host instrument.

Convertible Notes

On December 10, 2007, the Company issued and sold $1.725 billion, at par, of 2.00% Convertible Senior Notes due December 15, 2037 (“2007 Notes”). Net proceeds from the offering were $1.69 billion, after deducting offering expenses. On November 18, 2010, the Company entered into separate, privately-negotiated exchange agreements under which it retired $450.0 million in aggregate principal of its 2007 Notes for $450.0 million in aggregate principal of new 2.00% Convertible Exchange Senior Notes due December 15, 2037 (“2010 Notes”). In connection with this exchange transaction, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $29.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. On February 29, 2012, the Company entered into separate, privately-negotiated exchange agreements under which it retired $500.0 million in aggregate principal of the 2007 Notes for $500.0 million in aggregate principal of new 2.00% Convertible Senior Notes due March 1, 2042 (“2012 Notes”). In connection with this exchange transaction, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $42.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2012. On February 14, 2013, the Company entered into separate, privately-negotiated exchange agreements under which it retired $370.0 million in aggregate principal of the 2007 Notes for $370.0 million in aggregate principal of new 2.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2043 (“2013 Notes”). This exchange transaction was accounted for as a modification and no debt extinguishment loss or gain was recorded.

On November 14, 2013, the Company announced that it had issued a notice of redemption to the holders of its 2007 Notes to redeem any 2007 Notes outstanding on December 18, 2013 at a redemption price payable in cash equal to 100.00% of the principal amount of the 2007 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, December 18, 2013. Holders of the 2007 Notes also had the option of putting the 2007 Notes to the Company as of December 13, 2013. The 2007 Notes were redeemed at their par value aggregating $405.0 million. Under ASC 470, the derecognition of the 2007 Notes did not result in a gain or loss as the fair value of the liability component of the 2007 Notes was determined to be equal to the consideration paid to redeem the 2007 Notes, and as a result, no value was allocated to the reacquisition of the conversion option.

The 2010 Notes, the 2012 Notes and the 2013 Notes are collectively referred to herein as the “Convertible Notes.”

Holders may require the Company to repurchase the Convertible Notes prior to maturity on the dates set forth below:


•	the 2010 Notes on each of December 15, 2016, 2020 and 2025, December 13, 2030 and December 14, 2035;


•	the 2012 Notes on each of March 1, 2018, 2022, 2027 and 2032 and March 2, 2037; and


•	the 2013 Notes on each of December 15, 2017, 2022, 2027, 2032 and 2037.

Holders may also require the Company to repurchase the Convertible Notes upon a fundamental change, as defined in each of the applicable indentures. The Company may redeem all or a portion of the 2010 Notes at any time on or after December 19, 2016, all or a portion of the 2012 Notes at any time on or after March 6, 2018 and all or a portion of the 2013 Notes at any time on or after December 15, 2017. If, prior to maturity, a holder requires the Company to repurchase the Convertible Notes or the Company elects to redeem the Convertible Notes, the repurchase or redemption price of each Convertible Note will equal 100% of its principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption or repurchase date, as applicable.

The 2010 Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.00% per year on the principal amount, payable semi-annually in arrears in cash on June 15 and December 15 of each year ending on December 15, 2016 and will accrete principal from December 15, 2016 at a rate that provides holders with an aggregate annual yield to maturity of 2.00% per year. Beginning with the six month interest period commencing December 15, 2016, the Company will pay contingent interest during any six month interest period to the holders of 2010 Notes if the “trading price”, as defined, of the 2010 Notes for each of the five trading days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the first day of the applicable six month interest period equals or exceeds 120% of the accreted principal amount of the 2010 Notes. The holders of the 2010 Notes may convert the 2010 Notes into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of approximately $23.03 per share, subject to adjustment, prior to the close of business on September 15, 2037 under any of the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for at least 20 trading days in the 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period in which the trading price per note for each day of such period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such day; (3) if the 2010 Notes have been called for redemption; or (4) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. None of these triggering events had occurred as of September 27, 2014.

The 2012 Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.00% per year on the principal amount, payable semi-annually in arrears in cash on March 1 and September 1 of each year, beginning September 1, 2012 and ending on March 1, 2018 and will accrete principal from March 1, 2018 at a rate that provides holders with an aggregate annual yield to maturity of 2.00% per year. Beginning with the six month interest period commencing March 1, 2018, the Company will pay contingent interest during any six month interest period to the holders of 2012 Notes if the “trading price”, as defined, of the 2012 Notes for each of the five trading days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the first day of the applicable six month interest period equals or exceeds 120% of the accreted principal amount of the 2012 Notes. The holders of the 2012 Notes may convert the 2012 Notes into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $31.175 per share, subject to adjustment, prior to the close of business on March 1, 2042, subject to prior redemption or repurchase of the 2012 Notes, under any of the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for at least 20 trading days in the 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period in which the trading price per note for each day of such period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such day; (3) if the 2012 Notes have been called for redemption; or (4) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. None of these triggering events had occurred as of September 27, 2014.

The 2013 Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.00% per year on the original principal amount, payable semi-annually in arrears in cash on June 15 and December 15 of each year, ending on December 15, 2013. The 2013 Notes accrete principal from their date of issuance at a rate of 4.00% per year until and including December 15, 2017, and 2.00% per year thereafter. Beginning with the six month interest period commencing December 15, 2017, the Company will pay contingent interest to the holders of 2013 Notes during any six month interest period if the “trading price,” as defined, of the 2013 Notes for each of the five trading days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the first day of the applicable six month interest period equals or exceeds 120% of the accreted principal amount of the 2013 Notes. The holders of the 2013 Notes may convert the notes into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of approximately $38.59 per share, subject to adjustment, prior to the close of business on September 15, 2043 under any of the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for at least 20 trading days in the 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period in which the trading price per note for each day of such period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such day; (3) if the notes have been called for redemption; or (4) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. At the option of the holder, regardless of the foregoing circumstances, holders may convert their respective 2013 Notes at any time on or after September 15, 2043 through the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. The conversion rate will not be adjusted for accrued interest or accreted principal in excess of the original $1,000 principal amount, as accrued interest and accreted principal will not be convertible into common stock. None of these triggering events had occurred as of September 27, 2014.

In lieu of delivery of shares of the Company’s common stock in satisfaction of the Company’s obligation upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, the Company may elect to deliver cash or a combination of cash and shares of its common stock. If the Company elects to satisfy its conversion obligation in a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, the Company is required to deliver up to a specified dollar amount of cash per $1,000 original principal amount of Convertible Notes, and will settle the remainder of its conversion obligation in shares of its common stock, in each case based on the daily conversion value calculated as provided in the respective indentures for the Convertible Notes. This net share settlement election is in the Company’s sole discretion and does not require the consent of holders of the Convertible Notes. It is the Company’s current intent and policy to settle any conversion of the Convertible Notes as if the Company had elected to make the net share settlement election.

The Convertible Notes are the Company’s senior unsecured obligations and rank equally with all of its existing and future senior unsecured debt and prior to all future subordinated debt. The Convertible Notes are effectively subordinated to any future secured indebtedness to the extent of the collateral securing such indebtedness, and structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities (including trade payables) of the Company’s subsidiaries.

Accounting for the Convertible Notes

The Convertible Notes have been recorded pursuant to FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) APB 14-1, Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement) (FSP APB 14-1) (codified within ASC 470) since they can be settled in cash or partially in cash upon conversion. FSP APB 14-1 requires the liability and equity components of the convertible debt instrument to be separately accounted for in a manner that reflects the entity’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate when interest expense is subsequently recognized. The excess of the debt’s principal amount over the amount allocated to the liability component is recognized as the value of the embedded conversion feature (“equity component”) within additional-paid-in capital in stockholders’ equity and amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method. The liability component is initially recorded at its fair value, which is calculated using a discounted cash flow technique. Key inputs used to estimate the fair value of the liability component included the Company’s estimated nonconvertible debt borrowing rate as of the measurement date (i.e., the date the Convertible Notes are issued), the amount and timing of cash flows, and the expected life of the Convertible Notes. In addition, third-party transaction costs are required to be allocated to the liability and equity components based on their relative values.

On September 27, 2009 (the first day of fiscal 2010), as required, the Company adopted this accounting standard, which was applicable to the original issuance of its Convertible Notes at which time there was one issue, the 2007 Notes. The Company estimated the fair value of the 2007 Notes without the conversion feature as of the date of issuance (“liability component”). The estimated fair value of the liability component of $1.256 billion was determined using a discounted cash flow technique. The estimated effective interest rate of 7.62% was estimated by comparing other companies’ debt issuances that had features similar to the Company’s debt excluding the conversion feature and who had similar credit ratings during the same annual period as the Company.

The excess of the gross proceeds received over the estimated fair value of the liability component totaling $468.9 million was allocated to the conversion feature (“equity component”) as an increase to additional paid-in-capital with a corresponding offset recognized as a discount to reduce the net carrying value of the 2007 Notes. The discount, after adjustment for the exchange of Convertible Notes as discussed below, was being amortized to interest expense over a six-year period ended December 18, 2013 (the expected life of the liability component) using the effective interest method. In addition, a portion of the deferred financing costs were allocated to the equity component and recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in-capital.

The Company accounted for the 2007 Notes retirement in fiscal 2012, discussed above, under the derecognition provisions of subtopic ASC 470-20-40, which requires the allocation of the fair value of the consideration transferred (i.e., the 2012 Notes) between the liability and equity components of the original instrument to determine the gain or loss on the transaction. In connection with the 2012 Notes transaction, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment loss of $42.3 million in fiscal 2012. This debt extinguishment loss was comprised of the loss on the debt itself of $39.7 million and the write-off of the pro-rata amount of debt issuance costs of $2.6 million allocated to the notes retired. The loss on the debt itself was calculated as the difference between the fair value of the liability component of the 2007 Notes amount retired immediately before the respective exchanges and its related carrying value immediately before the exchanges. The fair value of the liability component was calculated similar to the description above for initially recording the 2007 Notes under FSP APB 14-1, and the Company used an effective interest rate of 2.89% for the 2012 Notes representing the estimated nonconvertible debt borrowing rate with a maturity as of the measurement date consistent with the 2007 Notes first put date of December 2013. In addition, under this accounting standard, a portion of the fair value of the consideration transferred is allocated to the reacquisition of the equity component, which is the difference between the fair value of the consideration transferred and the fair value of the liability component immediately before the exchange. As a result, on a gross basis in the 2012 Notes transaction, $41.6 million was allocated to the reacquisition of the equity component of the original instrument, which was recorded net of deferred taxes within capital in excess of par value.

Since the 2012 Notes have the same characteristics as the 2007 Notes and can be settled in cash or a combination of cash and shares of common stock (i.e., partial settlement), the Company is required to account for the liability and equity components of its 2012 Notes separately to reflect its nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. The Company estimated the fair value of the liability component of the 2012 Notes to be $454.2 million using a discounted cash flow technique with an estimated effective interest rate of 3.72%. The rate represents the estimated nonconvertible debt borrowing rate with a maturity as of the measurement date consistent with the 2012 Notes first put dates of March 2018.

The excess of the fair value of the consideration transferred, which was estimated using a binomial lattice model, over the estimated fair value of the liability component of $79.7 million for the 2012 Notes was allocated to the embedded conversion feature as an increase to additional paid-in-capital with a corresponding offset recognized as a discount to reduce the net carrying value of the 2012 Notes. The net debt discount of the 2012 Notes is being amortized to interest expense over a six-year period ending March 1, 2018 (the expected life of the liability component) using the effective interest method.

The 2013 Notes exchange transaction was accounted for as a modification pursuant to ASC 470-50 and not an extinguishment because the terms of the two debt instruments were not substantially different. This determination was based on the fact that the present value of the cash flows on a creditor by creditor basis between the two debt instruments was less than 10% and the change in the fair value of the conversion option before and after the exchange transaction was less than 10%. As a result, there is no gain or loss from this exchange. As required, the Company recorded the increase in the fair value of the conversion option of $32.5 million from this exchange to additional paid-in-capital, net of deferred taxes. The Company determined the fair value of the conversion option for each debt instrument on the date of modification by calculating the fair value of each debt instrument using the binomial model and subtracting the fair value of the respective debt instrument’s liability component. The fair value of the liability component for each debt instrument was determined by using a discounted cash flow technique with an effective interest rate of 3.25% and 5.42% for the 2007 Notes and 2013 Notes, respectively. These rates represent the estimated nonconvertible borrowing rate with a maturity as of the measurement date consistent with the first put dates of each debt instrument. The difference between the debt’s fair value and the fair value of its liability component represents the value allocated to the debt’s conversion option. In addition, direct costs incurred for this exchange of $4.1 million were expensed as incurred within interest expense.

As of September 27, 2014 and September 28, 2013, the Convertible Notes and related equity components (recorded in additional paid-in-capital, net of deferred taxes) consisted of the following:



	2014			2013
2007 Notes principal amount	$	—		$	405.0
Unamortized discount	—			(4.9		)
Net carrying amount	$	—		$	400.1
Equity component, net of taxes	$	—		$	121.5
2010 Notes principal amount	$	450.0		$	450.0
Unamortized discount	(41.5		)	(58.3		)
Net carrying amount	$	408.5		$	391.7
Equity component, net of taxes	$	60.1		$	60.1
2012 Notes principal amount	$	500.0		$	500.0
Unamortized discount	(27.3		)	(34.6		)
Net carrying amount	$	472.7		$	465.4
Equity component, net of taxes	$	49.2		$	49.2
2013 Notes principal amount	$	370.0		$	370.0
Principal accretion	24.5			9.2
Unamortized discount	(40.1		)	(48.3		)
Net carrying amount	$	354.4		$	330.9
Equity component, net of taxes	$	131.5		$	131.5

Interest expense under the Convertible Notes is as follows:



	Years Ended
	September 27, 2014		September 28, 2013		September 29, 2012
Amortization of debt discount	$	37.1	$	52.7	$	68.5
Amortization of deferred financing costs	1.9		3.0		3.8
Principal accretion	15.3		9.2		—
Non-cash interest expense	54.3		64.9		72.3
2.00% accrued interest (cash)	22.3		34.4		34.9
	$	76.6	$	99.3	$	107.2

If the Company fails to comply with the reporting obligations contained in the agreements for the Convertible Notes, the sole remedy of the holders of the Convertible Notes for the first 90 days following such event of default consists exclusively of the right to receive an extension fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the accreted principal amount of the Convertible Notes. Based on its evaluation of the Convertible Notes in accordance with ASC 815, the Company determined that the Convertible Notes contain a single embedded derivative, comprising both the contingent interest feature and the filing failure penalty payment, requiring bifurcation as the features are not clearly and closely related to the host instrument. The Company has determined that the value of this embedded derivative was nominal as of September 27, 2014 and September 28, 2013.

As of September 27, 2014, upon conversion, including the potential premium that could be payable on a fundamental change (as defined), the Company would issue a maximum of approximately 62.5 million shares of common stock to the holders of the Convertible Notes.