LONG-TERM DEBT

The following table presents the Company's long-term debt as of the dates indicated:



	September 30, 2018					December 31, 2017
($ in thousands)	Par Value		Unamortized Debt Issuance Cost and Discount			Par Value		Unamortized Debt Issuance Cost and Discount
5.25% senior notes due April 15, 2025	$	175,000	$	(1,904	)	$	175,000	$	(2,059	)
Total	$	175,000	$	(1,904	)	$	175,000	$	(2,059	)

Senior Notes

On April 6, 2015, the Company completed the issuance and sale of $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.25 percent senior notes due April 15, 2025 (the Senior Notes). Net proceeds after discount were approximately $172.8 million.

The Senior Notes are the Company’s senior unsecured debt obligations and rank equally with all of the Company’s other present and future unsecured unsubordinated obligations. The Company makes interest payments on the Senior Notes semi-annually in arrears.

The Company may, at its option, on or after January 15, 2025 (i.e., 90 days prior to the maturity date), redeem the Senior Notes in whole at any time or in part from time to time, in each case on not less than 30 nor more than 60 days’ prior notice. The Senior Notes will be redeemable at a redemption price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount of the Senior Notes to be redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.

The Senior Notes were issued under the Senior Debt Securities Indenture, dated as of April 23, 2012 (the Base Indenture), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture dated as of April 6, 2015 (the Supplemental Indenture and together with the Base Indenture, the Indenture). The Indenture contains several covenants which, among other things, restrict the Company’s and the Company’s subsidiaries' ability to dispose of or incur liens on the voting stock of certain subsidiaries and also contains customary events of default.

Tangible Equity Units – Junior Subordinated Amortizing Notes

On May 21, 2014, the Company issued and sold $69.0 million of 8.00 percent tangible equity units (TEUs) in an underwritten public offering. A total of 1,380,000 TEUs were issued, including 180,000 TEUs issued to the underwriter upon exercise of its overallotment option, with each TEU having a stated amount of $50.00. Each TEU was comprised of (i) a prepaid stock purchase contract (each a Purchase Contract) settled by delivery of a specified number of shares of Company Common Stock and (ii) a junior subordinated amortizing note due May 15, 2017 (each an Amortizing Note) that had an initial principal amount of $10.604556 per Amortizing Note, bore interest at a rate of 7.50 percent per annum and had a final installment payment date of May 15, 2017.

The Purchase Contracts and Amortizing Notes were accounted for separately. The Purchase Contract component of the TEUs was recorded in Additional Paid in Capital in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. The Amortizing Note component was recorded in Long-Term Debt in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. The relative fair values of the Amortizing Notes and Purchase Contracts were estimated to be approximately $14.6 million and $54.4 million, respectively, at the date of issuance. Total issuance costs associated with the TEUs were $4.0 million (including the underwriter discount of $3.3 million), of which $857 thousand was allocated to the debt component and $3.2 million was allocated to the equity component of the TEUs. The portion of the issuance costs allocated to the debt component of the TEUs was amortized over the term of the Amortizing Notes.

On each August 15, November 15, February 15 and May 15, commencing on August 15, 2014, the Company paid holders of Amortizing Notes equal quarterly cash installments of $1.00 per Amortizing Note (or, in the case of the installment payment due on August 15, 2014, $0.933333 per Amortizing Note) (such installments, the installment payments), which installment payments in the aggregate were equivalent to a 8.00 percent cash distribution per year with respect to each $50.00 stated amount of TEUs. Each installment payment constituted a payment of interest (at a rate of 7.50 percent per annum) and a partial repayment of principal on each Amortizing Note.

On May 15, 2017, the Company made the final installment payment on the Amortizing Notes and all Purchase Contracts that had not previously been settled were settled. See Note 15 for additional information.