Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined under GAAP as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A fair value hierarchy has been established for valuation inputs to prioritize the inputs into three levels based on the extent to which inputs used in measuring fair value are observable in the market. Each fair value measurement is reported in one of the three levels which is determined by the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. These levels are:

Level 1 – observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments traded in active markets.

Level 2 – inputs are based on quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-based valuation techniques for which all significant assumptions are observable in the market or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 – inputs are generally unobservable and typically reflect management’s estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The fair values are therefore determined using model-based techniques that include option pricing models, discounted cash flow models and similar techniques.

Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value as of December 31, 2011 were as follows:

(in millions)
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Interest rate cap agreements	$	—	$	0.7	$	—	$	0.7

The fair value of the Company’s interest rate caps, as described in Note 8, is classified as Level 2 in the hierarchy. The valuation of the interest rate cap agreements is derived by using a discounted cash flow analysis on the expected cash receipts that would occur if variable interest rates rise above the strike rate of the caps. This analysis reflects the contractual terms of the cap agreements, including the period to maturity, and uses observable market-based inputs, including LIBOR curves and implied volatilities. The Company also incorporates credit valuation adjustments to appropriately reflect the respective counterparty’s nonperformance risk in the fair value measurements. The counterparty credit spreads are based on publicly available credit information obtained from a third party credit data provider.