Note 8. Debt and Financing Arrangements

At December 31, 2017, our primary financing arrangement was the $400 million credit facility which provides us with the capital necessary to meet our seasonal working capital needs as well as the flexibility to continue with our strategic initiatives, including acquisitions and share repurchases. A previous financing arrangement, the 4.875% 2010 Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes (the “2010 Notes”), matured on October 1, 2015 and were settled with funds available under the credit facility.

Bank Debt

We have a $400 million unsecured credit facility with Bank of America as agent for a group of eight participating banks that matures in July 2019. The balance outstanding under the credit facility was $178.5 million and $191.4 million at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Rates for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows (includes bank debt and interest rate swaps):

	2017	2016
Weighted average rates	2.72%	2.43%
Range of effective rates	2.19% - 4.75%	1.82% - 3.75%

Availability

We have approximately $175 million of available funds under the credit facility at December 31, 2017, based on the terms of the commitment. Available funds under the credit facility are based on a multiple of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as defined in the credit facility, and are reduced by letters of credit, performance guarantees, other indebtedness and outstanding borrowings under the credit facility. Under the credit facility, loans are charged an interest rate consisting of a base rate or Eurodollar rate plus an applicable margin, letters of credit are charged based on the same applicable margin, and a commitment fee is charged on the unused portion of the credit facility.

Debt Covenant Compliance

The credit facility is subject to certain financial covenants that may limit our ability to borrow up to the total commitment amount. Covenants require us to meet certain requirements with respect to (i) a total leverage ratio and (ii) minimum fixed charge coverage ratio. We are in compliance with all covenants.

The credit facility also places restrictions on our ability to create liens or other encumbrances, to make certain payments, investments, loans and guarantees and to sell or otherwise dispose of a substantial portion of assets, or to merge or consolidate with an unaffiliated entity. According to the terms of the credit facility, we are not permitted to declare or make any dividend payments, other than dividend payments made by one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries to us. The credit facility contains a provision that, in the event of a defined change in control, the credit facility may be terminated.

Interest Expense

For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we recognized interest expense as follows (in thousands):

	2017		2016		2015
Credit facility (1)	$	6,675	$	6,585	$	4,320
2010 Notes (2)		—		—		4,559
2006 Notes (3)		—		8		23
Balance at December 31	$	6,675	$	6,593	$	8,902

(1)	Components of interest expense related to the credit facility include amortization of deferred financing costs, commitment fees and line of credit fees.

(2)

The 2010 Notes matured on October 1, 2015 and were settled with funds available under the credit facility. We settled $48.4 million of the outstanding principal amount plus a premium conversion value over par value, based on a cash averaging period, for a total of $71.8 million. Prior to the October 1, 2015 maturity date, we early retired $49.3 million of the 2010 Notes, in two privately negotiated transactions during the second quarter of 2015, with shares of our common stock and cash consideration.

(3)	We redeemed the remaining 3.125% Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes (the “2006 Notes”) during the second quarter of 2016 under an optional early redemption provision.