Borrowings (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Short-term borrowings

Borrowings consist of the following (all amounts are presented in millions of U.S. dollars and debt issuances are denominated in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)

	August 31, 2017		August 31, 2016
Short-term borrowings1
Unsecured pound sterling variable rate term loan due 2019	$	—	$	63
Other 2	251		260
Total short-term borrowings	$	251	$	323

Long-term debt

Long-term debt 1
Unsecured pound sterling variable rate term loan due 2019	$	—	$	1,833
$6 billion note issuance3,4
1.750% unsecured notes due 2018	—		1,246
2.600% unsecured notes due 2021	—		1,493
3.100% unsecured notes due 2023	—		744
3.450% unsecured notes due 2026	1,887		1,885
4.650% unsecured notes due 2046	590		590
$8 billion note issuance3,4
1.750% unsecured notes due 2017	—		746
2.700% unsecured notes due 2019	1,246		1,244
3.300% unsecured notes due 2021	1,244		1,242
3.800% unsecured notes due 2024	1,988		1,987
4.500% unsecured notes due 2034	495		494
4.800% unsecured notes due 2044	1,492		1,492
£700 million note issuance3,4
2.875% unsecured pound sterling notes due 2020	513		521
3.600% unsecured pound sterling notes due 2025	384		391
€750 million note issuance3,4
2.125% unsecured Euro notes due 2026	884		830
$4 billion note issuance4,7
3.100% unsecured notes due 2022	1,195		1,194
4.400% unsecured notes due 2042	492		492
$1 billion note issuance4,7
5.250% unsecured notes due 2019 5	250		249
Other 6	24		32
Total long-term debt, less current portion	$	12,684	$	18,705

¹  Carry values are presented net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs, where applicable, and foreign currency denominated borrowings have been translated using the spot rates at August 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

²  Other short-term borrowings represent a mix of fixed and variable rate borrowings with various maturities and working capital facilities denominated in various currencies.

³  Notes are unsubordinated debt obligations of Walgreens Boots Alliance and rank equally in right of payment with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Walgreens Boots Alliance from time to time outstanding.

⁴  The fair value of the $6 billion, $8 billion, £0.7 billion, €0.75 billion, $4 billion and $1 billion note issuances as of August 31, 2017 was $2.5 billion, $6.8 billion, $1.0 billion, $0.9 billion, $1.7 billion and $0.3 billion, respectively. The fair values of the notes outstanding are level 1 fair value measures and determined based on quoted market price and translated at the August 31, 2017 spot rate, as applicable.

⁵  Includes interest rate swap fair market value adjustments. See note 10, fair value measurements for additional fair value disclosures.

⁶  Other long-term debt represents a mix of fixed and variable rate borrowings in various currencies with various maturities.

⁷  Notes are senior debt obligations of Walgreens and rank equally with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Walgreens. On December 31, 2014, Walgreens Boots Alliance fully and unconditionally guaranteed the outstanding notes on an unsecured and unsubordinated basis. The guarantee, for so long as it is in place, is an unsecured, unsubordinated debt obligation of Walgreens Boots Alliance and will rank equally in right of payment with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Future maturities of long-term debt

At August 31, 2017, the future maturities of short-term borrowing and long-term debt, excluding debt discounts and issuance costs and financing and capital lease obligations (see note 4, leases, for the future lease obligation maturities), consisted of the following ($ in millions):

Year ended August 31,	Amount
2018	$	254
2019	283
2020	1,250
2021	515
2022	1,250
Later	9,475
Total estimated future maturities	$	13,027