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Long-Term Debt
3 Months Ended
Dec. 24, 2011
Long-Term Debt [Abstract]  
Long-Term Debt

F. LONG-TERM DEBT

In May 2009, the Company issued $575.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due in 2017 (the "Notes") in a private placement. The Notes bear an interest rate of 8.875% per annum and were issued at a discount to yield 9.5% per annum.

The Company may redeem all or a portion of the Notes at any time on or after May 15, 2013 at the following redemption prices (expressed as percentages of the principal amount), if redeemed during the 12-month period beginning May 15 of the years indicated below:

 

Year

 

2013

     104.438

2014

     102.219

2015 and thereafter

     100.000

In connection with the offering of the Notes, the Company entered into a $175.0 million line of credit arrangement. At December 24, 2011, the Company had $175.0 million of total line of credit commitments, with $44.2 million outstanding.

The line of credit provides the Company with various interest rate options generally at rates less than prime. The line allows the Company to issue up to $30.0 million in unused letters of credit, of which $9.6 million of unused letters of credit were issued at December 24, 2011. The Company is not required to maintain compensating balances in connection with the line of credit.

On December 29, 2010, the Company completed the funding of $99.7 million of Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (the "Bonds") for: (A) acquisition, construction and equipping of an approximately 830,000 square foot new warehouse and distribution center and a new grocery store to be located in Buncombe County, North Carolina (the "Project"), and (B) the payment of certain expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the Bonds. The final maturity date of the Bonds is January 1, 2036.

Bond proceeds were invested in a trust account with the Bond trustee. The Company receives disbursements from the account as it submits requisitions to the trustee for incurred Project costs. The account with the Bond trustee is listed in the line item "Restricted investments" on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and consists of money market deposits and United States Treasury securities which mature no later than September 2012. These investments are classified as available-for-sale and are stated at market value.

The Bonds were issued by the Buncombe County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority and were purchased by certain financial institutions. Under a Continuing Covenant and Collateral Agency Agreement (the "Covenant Agreement") between the financial institutions and the Company, the financial institutions will hold the Bonds until January 1, 2017, subject to certain events. Mandatory redemption of the Bonds by the Company in the annual amount of $4,530,000 begins on January 1, 2014. The Company may redeem the Bonds without penalty or premium at any time prior to January 1, 2017.

Interest earned by bondholders on the Bonds is exempt from Federal and North Carolina income taxation. Initially, the interest rate on the Bonds is equal to one month LIBOR (adjusted monthly) plus a credit spread, adjusted to reflect the income tax exemption.

The Company's obligation to repay the Bonds is collateralized by the Project. Additional collateral may be required in order to meet certain loan to value criteria in the Covenant Agreement. The Covenant Agreement incorporates substantially all financial covenants included in the line of credit.

Also on December 29, 2010, the Company executed an amendment to extend the maturity of the line of credit from May 12, 2012 to December 29, 2015. All other terms of the line of credit remain in place.

The Notes, the Bonds and the line of credit contain provisions that under certain circumstances would permit lending institutions to terminate or withdraw their respective extensions of credit to the Company. Included among the triggering factors permitting the termination or withdrawal of the line of credit to the Company are certain events of default, including both monetary and non-monetary defaults, the initiation of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, and the failure of the Company to meet certain financial covenants designated in its respective loan documents. The Company was in compliance with all financial covenants at December 24, 2011.

The Company's long-term debt agreements generally have cross-default provisions which could result in the acceleration of payments due under the Company's line of credit, Bonds, and Notes indenture in the event of default under any one instrument.