Fair Values of Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

12. Fair Values of Financial Instruments

The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short-term maturity of these items. These fair value estimates are considered Level 1 fair value estimates in the fair value hierarchy of fair value accounting.

The estimated fair value of the Company’s outstanding debt balances (including current portion) as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 is set forth below (in thousands):


	September 30, 2013				December 31, 2012
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
Borrowings under credit agreement:
Term loan facility	$	95,000	$	95,000	$	98,750	$	98,750
4.97% Series A Senior Notes		300,000		305,591		300,000		329,281
4.27% Series B Senior Notes		300,000		286,483		300,000		310,591

Total debt	$	695,000	$	687,074	$	698,750	$	738,622

The carrying values of the balances outstanding under the term loan approximate their fair values as this instrument has a floating interest rate. The fair value of the 4.97% Series A Senior Notes and the 4.27% Series B Senior Notes at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 are based on discounted cash flows associated with the respective notes using current market rates of interest at those respective dates. For the 4.97% Series A Senior Notes, the current market rates used in measuring this fair value were 4.26% at September 30, 2013 and 3.36% at December 31, 2012. For the 4.27% Series B Senior Notes, the current market rates used in measuring this fair value was 4.61% at September 30, 2013 and 3.70% at December 31, 2012. These fair value estimates are based on observable market inputs and are considered Level 2 fair value estimates in the fair value hierarchy of fair value accounting.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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