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Debt of the Operating Partnership
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt of the Operating Partnership
Debt of the Company

In this Note 7, the "Company" refers only to Americold Realty Trust and not to any of its subsidiaries.

The Company itself does not have any indebtedness. All debt is held directly or indirectly by the operating partnership.

The Company guarantees the operating partnership's obligations with respect to its outstanding debt as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, as detailed in Note 8, with the exception of the 2013 Mortgage Loans which have limited guarantees for fraud and environmental carve-outs by Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P.
Debt of the Operating Partnership
A summary of outstanding indebtedness of the operating partnership as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
 
 
June 30, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Indebtedness
Stated Maturity Date
Contractual Interest Rate
Effective Interest Rate as of June 30, 2019
Carrying Amount
Estimated Fair Value
 
Carrying Amount
Estimated Fair Value
2013 Mortgage Loans
 
 
 
 
 
 
Senior note
5/2023
3.81%
4.14%
$
184,722

$
187,492

 
$
187,957

$
184,667

Mezzanine A
5/2023
7.38%
7.55%
70,000

70,350

 
70,000

67,900

Mezzanine B
5/2023
11.50%
11.75%
32,000

32,320

 
32,000

31,120

Total 2013 Mortgage Loans
 
 
 
286,722

290,162

 
289,957

283,687

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Senior Unsecured Notes
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Series A 4.68% notes due 2026
1/2026
4.68%
4.77%
200,000

215,000

 
200,000

202,500

Series B 4.86% notes due 2029
1/2029
4.86%
4.92%
400,000

433,000

 
400,000

407,000

Series C 4.10% notes due 2030
1/2030
4.10%
4.16%
350,000

361,375

 


Total Senior Unsecured Notes
 
 
 
950,000

1,009,375

 
600,000

609,500

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018 Senior Unsecured Term Loan A Facility(1)
1/2023
L+1.45%
4.30%
475,000

476,188

 
475,000

472,625

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Installment Notes Payable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
New Market Tax Credit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Enterprise SUB-CDE XII, LLC
4/2045
1.00%
4.65%
4,100

4,100

 


Enterprise SUB-CDE XIX, LLC
4/2045
1.73%
4.63%
3,400

3,400

 


CIF III, LLC
4/2045
1.53%
4.66%
4,000

4,000

 


CNMC SUB-CDE 61, LLC
4/2045
1.00%
4.88%
1,800

1,800

 


Installment notes payable
 
 
 
13,300

13,300

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total principal amount of indebtedness
$
1,725,022

$
1,789,025

 
$
1,364,957

$
1,365,812

Less: deferred financing costs
 
 
 
(14,499
)
n/a

 
(13,943
)
n/a

Total indebtedness, net of unamortized deferred financing costs
$
1,710,523

$
1,789,025

 
$
1,351,014

$
1,365,812

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility(1)
1/2021
L+1.45%
0.36%
$

$

 
$

$

(1) L = one-month LIBOR.
2018 Recast Credit Facility
On December 4, 2018, we entered into a recast credit agreement ("2018 Senior Unsecured Credit Facility") to, among other things, (i) increase the revolver borrowing capacity from $450 million to $800 million, (ii) convert the credit facility (term loan and revolver) from a secured credit facility to an unsecured credit facility, and (iii) decrease the applicable interest rate margins from 2.35% to 1.45% and decrease the fee on unused borrowing capacity by 5 basis points. The terms of the revolver allow for the ability to draw proceeds in multiple currencies, up to $400 million. In connection with entering into the original agreement and subsequent amendments for the Term Loan A Credit Facility, we capitalized approximately $8.9 million of debt issuance costs, which we amortize as interest expense under the effective interest method. The unamortized balance of Term Loan A debt issuance costs are included in "Mortgage notes, senior unsecured notes, term loan and notes payable" on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
As of June 30, 2019, $4.2 million of unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving credit facility is included in "Other assets" in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Our 2018 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility is structured to include a borrowing base, which allows us to borrow against the lesser of our Senior Unsecured Term Loan A Facility balance outstanding and $800 million in revolving credit commitments, and the value of certain owned real estate assets and ground leased assets. At June 30, 2019, the gross value of our assets included in the calculations under our 2018 Recast Credit Facility, was in excess of $4.2 billion, and had an effective borrowing base collateral value (after concentration limits and advance rates as calculated under the terms of our 2018 Recast Credit Agreement) in excess of $2.5 billion.
Our 2018 Recast Credit Facility contains representations, covenants and other terms customary for a publicly traded REIT. In addition, our 2018 Recast Credit Facility contains certain financial covenants, as defined in the credit agreement, including:
a maximum leverage ratio of less than or equal to 60% of our total asset value;
a minimum borrowing base coverage ratio of greater than or equal to 1.00 to 1.00;
a minimum pro forma fixed charge coverage ratio of greater than or equal to 1.40 to 1.00, which increased to 1.50 to 1.00 in the first quarter of 2018;
a minimum borrowing base debt service coverage ratio of greater than or equal to 2.00 to 1.00;
a minimum tangible net worth requirement of greater than or equal to $900 million plus 70% of any future net equity proceeds following the completion of the IPO transactions; and
a maximum recourse secured debt ratio of less than or equal to 20% of our total asset value.
Our 2018 Recast Credit Facility is fully recourse to our operating partnership. As of June 30, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all debt covenants.
There were $29.2 million and $29.6 million letters of credit issued on the Company’s 2018 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.
Series A, B and C Senior Unsecured Notes
On April 26, 2019, we priced a debt private placement transaction consisting of $350 million senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 4.10% due January 8, 2030 ("Series C"). The transaction closed on May 7, 2019. Interest will be paid on January 8 and July 8 of each year until maturity, with the first payment occurring January 8, 2020. The initial January 8, 2020 payment will include interest accrued since May 7, 2019. The notes are general unsecured obligations of the Company and are guaranteed by the Company and the subsidiaries of the Company. The Company applied the proceeds of the private placement transaction to repay the indebtedness outstanding under our senior unsecured revolving credit facility incurred in connection with the funding of the Cloverleaf and Lanier acquisitions.
On November 6, 2018, we priced a debt private placement transaction consisting of (i) $200 million senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 4.68% due January 8, 2026 (“Series A”) and (ii) $400 million senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 4.86% due January 8, 2029 (“Series B”), (collectively referred to as the “Senior Unsecured Notes”). The transaction closed on December 4, 2018. Interest will be paid on January 8 and July 8 of each year until maturity, with the first payment occurring July 8, 2019. The initial July 8, 2019 payment will include interest accrued since December 4, 2018. The notes are general unsecured senior obligations of the Company and are guaranteed by the Company and the subsidiaries of the Company. The Company used a portion of the proceeds of the private placement transaction to repay the outstanding balances of the $600 million Americold 2010 LLC Trust, Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2010, ART (2010 Mortgage Loans). The Company also used the remaining proceeds to extinguish the Australian term loan and the New Zealand term loan (ANZ Loans). See below for further detail regarding the early extinguishment of debt under 2010 Mortgage Loans and ANZ Loans.
The Series A, Series B, and Series C senior notes and guarantee agreement includes a prepayment option executable at any time during the term of the loans. The prepayment can be either a partial payment or payment in full, as long as the partial payment is at least 5% of the outstanding principal. Any prepayment in full must include a make-whole amount, which is the discounted remaining scheduled payments due to the lender. The discount rate to be used is equal to 0.50% plus the yield to maturity reported for the most recently actively traded U.S. Treasury Securities with a maturity equal to the remaining average life of the prepaid principal. The Company must give each lender at least 10 day’s written notice whenever it intends to prepay any portion of the debt.
If a change in control occurs for the Company, the Company must issue an offer to prepay the remaining portion of the debt to the lenders. The prepayment amount will be 100% of the principal amount, as well as accrued and unpaid interest.
The Senior Unsecured Notes require compliance with leverage ratios, secured and unsecured indebtedness ratios, and unsecured indebtedness to qualified assets ratios. In addition, the Company is required to maintain at all times an investment grade debt rating for each series of notes from a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In addition, the Senior Unsecured Notes contain certain financial covenants required on a quarterly or occurrence basis, as defined in the credit agreement, including:
a maximum leverage ratio of less than or equal to 60% of our total asset value;
a maximum unsecured indebtedness to qualified assets ratio of less than 0.60 to 1.00;
a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of greater than or equal to 1.50 to 1.00;
a minimum unsecured debt service ratio of greater than or equal to 2.00 to 1.00; and
a maximum total secured indebtedness ratio of less than 0.40 to 1.00.
As of June 30, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all debt covenants.

2013 Mortgage Loans
On May 1, 2013, we entered into a mortgage financing in an aggregate principal amount of $322.0 million, which we refer to as the 2013 Mortgage Loans. The debt consists of a senior debt note and two mezzanine notes. The components are cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted. The senior debt note requires monthly principal payments. The mezzanine notes require no principal payments until the stated maturity date in May 2023. The interest rates on the notes are fixed and range from 3.81% to 11.50% per annum. The senior debt note and the two mezzanine notes remain subject to yield maintenance provisions. We used the net proceeds of these loans to refinance certain of the 2006 Mortgage Loans, acquire two warehouses, and fund general corporate purposes.

The 2013 Mortgage Loans are collateralized by 15 warehouses. The terms governing the 2013 Mortgage Loans require us to maintain certain cash amounts in accounts that are restricted as to their use for the respective warehouses. As of June 30, 2019, the amount of restricted cash associated with the 2013 Mortgage Loans was $3.4 million. Additionally, if we do not maintain certain financial thresholds, including a debt service coverage ratio of 1.10x, the cash generated will further be temporarily restricted and limited to the use for scheduled debt service and operating costs. The debt service coverage ratio was 1.72x as of June 30, 2019. The 2013 Mortgage Loans are non-recourse to the Company, subject to customary non-recourse provisions as stipulated in the agreements.

The mortgage loan also requires compliance with other financial covenants, including a debt coverage ratio and cash flow calculation, as defined. As of June 30, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all debt covenants.
New Market Tax Credit

On May 1, 2019, the Company acquired notes receivable and assumed notes payable in connection with the Cloverleaf Acquisition, with preliminary fair values of $11.0 million and $13.3 million, respectively. The fair value of both the notes receivable and notes payable are less than their principal values of $14.9 million and $20.6 million, respectively, due to their below market interest rates.

These financing arrangements were originated by Cloverleaf in 2015 to monetize state and federal tax credits related to the construction of a cold storage warehouse in Monmouth, Illinois. The New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) program was provided for in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 (the Act) and is intended to induce capital investment in qualified lower income communities.

The structure of the financing arrangement is such that Cloverleaf lent money to investment funds into which tax credit investors also made capital contributions. The tax credit investors receive the benefit of the resulting tax credits in exchange for their capital contributions to the investment funds. Tax credits were generated through contribution of the investment fund’s proceeds into special purpose entities having authority from the U.S. Department of Treasury to receive tax credits in exchange for qualifying investments. These entities, known as a Community Development Entities (CDE), made qualifying investments in the Monmouth, Illinois cold storage facility in the form of loans payable by Cloverleaf.
The note receivables are due from Enterprise IL NMTC Fund I, LLC (Enterprise NMTC) and Chase NMTC Cloverleaf ASP Investment Fund, LLC (Chase NMTC). The Enterprise NMTC and Chase NMTC notes receivable have fixed interest rates of 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively, and implied interest rates are 3.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Interest income associated with the notes receivable is required to be paid to Americold quarterly. Annual receipts through 2022 are $0.2 million, with subsequent receipts, inclusive of principal repayment, increasing to $0.8 million until maturity in 2045. The notes receivable due from Enterprise NMTC and Chase NMTC are recorded in "Other assets" in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The installment notes payable with Enterprise Sub-CDE XII, LLC, Enterprise Sub-CDE XIX, LLC, CIF II, LLC and CNMC Sub-CDE 61, LLC have fixed interest rates ranging between 1.0% and 1.7% and implied interest rates ranging between 4.6% and 4.9%. Interest expense associated with the notes payable is required to be paid quarterly. Annual payments through 2022 are $0.3 million, with subsequent payments, inclusive of principal repayment, increasing to $1.0 million until maturity of the notes. The lenders have the option to accelerate certain of the notes in April 2022. The installment notes payable related to NMTC are recorded in "Mortgage notes, senior unsecured notes, term loan and notes payable" in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. As of June 30, 2019, the amount of restricted cash associated with the New Market Tax Credit notes was $0.5 million.
Debt Covenants
The Company’s Senior Unsecured Credit Facilities, the Senior Unsecured Notes, the New Market Tax Credit, and 2013 Mortgage Loans require financial statements reporting, periodic requirements to report compliance with established thresholds and performance measurements, and affirmative and negative covenants that govern allowable business practices of the Company. The affirmative and negative covenants include continuation of insurance, maintenance of collateral, the maintenance of REIT status, and the Company’s ability to enter into certain types of transactions or exposures in the normal course of business. As of June 30, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all debt covenants.

The aggregate maturities of the Company’s total indebtedness as of June 30, 2019, including amortization of principal amounts due under the term loan, senior unsecured notes, mortgage notes and installment notes for each of the next five years and thereafter, are as follows:
As of June 30, 2019:
(In thousands)
June 30, 2020
$
6,620

June 30, 2021
6,900

June 30, 2022
7,102

June 30, 2023
741,029

June 30, 2024

Thereafter
963,371

Aggregate principal amount of debt
1,725,022

Less unamortized deferred financing costs
(14,499
)
Total debt net of unamortized deferred financing costs
$
1,710,523