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BORROWINGS
3 Months Ended
May 04, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
BORROWINGS
BORROWINGS
Total borrowings were as follows:
millions
May 4,
2013
 
April 28,
2012
 
February 2,
2013
Short-term borrowings:
 
 
 
 
 
Unsecured commercial paper
$
377

 
$
302

 
$
345

Secured borrowings
1,377

 
801

 
749

Long-term debt, including current portion:
 
 
 
 
 
Notes and debentures outstanding
1,582

 
1,669

 
1,593

Capitalized lease obligations
419

 
457

 
433

Total borrowings
$
3,755

 
$
3,229

 
$
3,120


The fair value of long-term debt, excluding capitalized lease obligations, was $1.5 billion at May 4, 2013 and $1.4 billion at both April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013. The fair value of our debt was estimated based on quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on current rates offered to us for debt of the same remaining maturities. Our long-term debt instruments are valued using Level 2 measurements as defined in Note 3 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Unsecured Commercial Paper
We borrow through the commercial paper markets. At May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, we had outstanding commercial paper borrowings of $377 million, $302 million and $345 million, respectively. ESL held $305 million, $225 million and $285 million, respectively, of our commercial paper at May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, including $178 million, $123 million and $169 million, respectively, held by Edward S. Lampert. See Note 13 for further discussion of these borrowings.
Domestic Credit Agreement
During the first quarter of 2011, we entered into a $3.275 billion credit agreement (the “Domestic Credit Agreement”) which expires in April 2016. We view this credit facility as our most cost efficient funding mechanism and therefore use it as a primary source of funding.
Advances under the Domestic Credit Agreement bear interest at a rate equal to, at the election of the Borrowers, either the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or a base rate, in either case plus an applicable margin. The Domestic Credit Agreement’s interest rates for LIBOR-based borrowings vary based on leverage in the range of LIBOR plus 2.0% to 2.5%. Interest rates for base rate-based borrowings vary based on leverage in the range of the applicable base rate plus 1.0% to 1.5%. Commitment fees are in a range of 0.375% to 0.625% based on usage.
The Domestic Credit Agreement includes a $1.5 billion letter of credit sub-limit and an uncommitted accordion feature that provides us the flexibility, subject to certain terms and conditions, to use the existing collateral under the credit facility to obtain an aggregate amount of up to $1.0 billion in additional borrowing capacity if we so choose. The Domestic Credit Agreement permits aggregate second lien indebtedness of up to $2.0 billion, of which $1.2 billion second lien notes were outstanding at May 4, 2013, providing the Company the capacity to issue up to an additional $760 million in second lien indebtedness. The Domestic Credit Agreement is in place as a funding source for general corporate purposes and is an asset based revolving credit facility under which Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp. (“SRAC”) and Kmart Corporation are the borrowers. The Domestic Credit Agreement is secured by a first lien on most of our domestic inventory and credit card and pharmacy receivables, and is subject to a borrowing base formula to determine availability.
The Domestic Credit Agreement limits our ability to make restricted payments, including dividends and share repurchases, under certain circumstances, including if availability under the credit facility, as defined, is less than 15%. It also imposes various other requirements, which take effect if availability falls below designated thresholds, including a cash dominion requirement and a requirement that the fixed charge ratio at the last day of any quarter be not less than 1.0 to 1.0.    
At May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, we had $1.4 billion, $801 million and $749 million, respectively, of borrowings and $747 million, $694 million and $754 million, respectively, of letters of credit outstanding under the Domestic Credit Agreement. As a result, our availability under the agreement was $1.2 billion at May 4, 2013, and $1.8 billion at both April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013. The majority of the letters of credit outstanding are used to provide collateral for our insurance programs.
Senior Secured Notes
In October 2010, we sold $1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes (the “Notes”), which bear interest at 6 5/8% per annum and mature on October 15, 2018. Concurrent with the closing of the sale of the Notes, the Company sold $250 million aggregate principal amount of Notes to the Company’s domestic pension plan in a private placement. The Notes are guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of the Company and are secured by a security interest in certain assets consisting primarily of domestic inventory and credit card receivables (the “Collateral”). The lien that secures the Notes is junior in priority to the lien on such assets that secures obligations under the Domestic Credit Agreement, as well as certain other first priority lien obligations. The Company used the net proceeds of this offering to repay borrowings outstanding under a previous domestic credit agreement on the settlement date and to fund the working capital requirements of our retail businesses, capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes. The indenture under which the Notes were issued contains restrictive covenants that, among other things, (1) limit the ability of the Company and certain of its domestic subsidiaries to create liens and enter into sale and leaseback transactions and (2) limit the ability of the Company to consolidate with or merge into, or sell other than for cash or lease all or substantially all of its assets to, another person. The indenture also provides for certain events of default, which, if any were to occur, would permit or require the principal and accrued and unpaid interest on all the then outstanding notes to be due and payable immediately. Generally, the Company is required to offer to repurchase all outstanding Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount if the borrowing base (as calculated pursuant to the indenture) falls below the principal value of the notes plus any other indebtedness for borrowed money that is secured by liens on the Collateral for two consecutive quarters or upon the occurrence of certain change of control triggering events. The Company may call the Notes at a premium based on the “Treasury Rate” as defined in the indenture, plus 50 basis points. On September 6, 2011, we completed our offer to exchange the Notes held by nonaffiliates for a new issue of substantially identical notes registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Sears Canada Credit Agreement
In September 2010, Sears Canada entered into a five-year, $800 million Canadian senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Sears Canada Facility”). The Sears Canada Facility is available for Sears Canada’s general corporate purposes and is secured by a first lien on inventory and credit card receivables. Availability under the Sears Canada Facility is determined pursuant to a borrowing base formula based on inventory and account and credit card receivables, subject to certain limitations. At May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, we had no borrowings outstanding under the Sears Canada Facility. Availability under this agreement was approximately $602 million ($607 million Canadian), $592 million ($581 million Canadian) and $503 million ($502 million Canadian), respectively, at May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013. The current availability may be reduced by reserves currently estimated by the Company to be $440 million which may be applied by the lenders at their discretion pursuant to the Credit Facility agreement. As a result of judicial developments relating to the priorities of pension liability relative to certain secured obligations, Sears Canada has executed an amendment to the Sears Canada Credit Facility which would provide additional security to lenders, with respect to the Company's unfunded pension liability by pledging certain real estate assets as collateral thereby partially reducing the potential reserve amounts by up to $150 million the lenders could apply. The potential additional reserve amount may increase or decrease in the future based on estimated net pension liabilities.
Wholly owned Insurance Subsidiary and Intercompany Securities
We have numerous types of insurable risks, including workers’ compensation, product and general liability, automobile, warranty, asbestos and environmental claims and the extended service contracts we sell to our customers. In addition, we provide credit insurance to third party creditors of the Company to mitigate their credit risk with the Company. The associated risks are managed through Holdings’ wholly owned insurance subsidiary, Sears Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“Sears Re”), a Bermuda Class 3 insurer.
In accordance with applicable insurance regulations, Sears Re holds marketable securities to support the insurance coverage it provides. Sears utilizes two securitization structures to issue specific securities in which Sears Re invests its capital to fund its insurance obligations. In November 2003, Sears formed a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit, or REMIC. The real estate associated with 125 full-line stores was contributed to indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Sears, and then leased back to Sears. The contributed stores were mortgaged and the REMIC issued securities that are secured by the mortgages and collateral assignments of the store leases. Sears Re and two other indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Holdings own $1.3 billion (par value) of these mortgage-backed securities. Payments to Sears Re on these securities are funded by the lease payments. In May 2006, a subsidiary of Holdings contributed the rights to use the Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard trademarks in the U.S. and its possessions and territories to KCD IP, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings. KCD IP, LLC has licensed the use of the trademarks to subsidiaries of Holdings, including Sears and Kmart. Asset-backed securities with a par value of $1.8 billion were issued by KCD IP, LLC and subsequently purchased by Sears Re, the collateral for which includes the trademark rights and royalty income. Payments to Sears Re on these asset-backed securities are funded by the royalty payments. The issuers of these mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities and the owners of these real estate and trademark assets are bankruptcy remote, special purpose entities that are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Holdings. Cash flows received from rental streams and licensing fee streams paid by Sears, Kmart, other affiliates and third parties, are used for the payment of fees and interest on these securities. Since the inception of the REMIC and KCD IP, LLC, these mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities have been entirely held by our wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries in support of our insurance activities. At May 4, 2013, April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, the net book value of the securitized trademark rights was approximately $1.0 billion. The net book value of the securitized real estate assets was approximately $0.7 billion at May 4, 2013, and approximately $0.8 billion at both April 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013.
Trade Creditor Matters
We have ongoing discussions concerning our liquidity and financial position with the vendor community and third parties that offer various credit protection services to our vendors. The topics discussed have included such areas as pricing, payment terms and ongoing business arrangements. As of the date of this report, we have not experienced any significant disruption in our access to merchandise or our operations.