Long-Term Debt and Short-Term Borrowings

6 Months Ended

Jun. 25, 2020

Long-Term Debt and Short-Term Borrowings

Long-Term Debt and Short-Term Borrowings

5. Long-Term Debt and Short-Term Borrowings

Long-term debt is summarized as follows:

	June 25, 2020		December 26, 2019
	(in thousands, except payment data)
Mortgage notes	$	24,482	$	24,571
Senior notes		100,000		109,000
Unsecured term note due February 2025, with monthly principal and interest payments of $39,110, bearing interest at 5.75%		1,917		2,093
Payroll Protection Program loans		3,213		—
Revolving credit agreement		130,400		81,000
Debt issuance costs		(291)		(322)
		259,721		216,342
Less current maturities, net of issuance costs		2,312		9,910
	$	257,409	$	206,432

First Amendment to Credit Agreement and Short-Term Borrowings

During the 13 weeks ended March 26, 2020, the Company replaced its then-existing Credit Agreement (the Credit Agreement) with a new five-year $225,000,000 credit facility that expires in January 2025. On April 29, 2020, the Company entered into the First Amendment to Credit Agreement (the Amendment) among the Company and several banks, amending its existing Credit Agreement dated January 9, 2020. The Amendment provides a new $90,800,000 364-day Senior Term Loan A (the Term Loan A). The Company used the proceeds from the Term Loan A to pay down borrowings under the Credit Agreement, to pay costs and expenses related to the Amendment and for general corporate purposes. The $90,800,000 Senior Term Loan A, net of debt issuance costs of $582,000, is included in short-term borrowings on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of June 25, 2020 and bears interest at 3.5% as of June 25, 2020.

Borrowings under the Credit Agreement bear interest at a variable rate equal to: (i) LIBOR, subject to a 1% floor, plus a specified margin; or (ii) the base rate (which is the highest of (a) the prime rate, (b) the greater of the federal funds rate and the overnight bank funding rate plus 0.50% or (c) the sum of l% plus one-month LIBOR plus a specified margin based upon the Company's consolidated debt to capitalization ratio as of the most recent determination date). Pursuant to the Amendment, as of April 29, 2020: (A) in respect of revolving loans, (1) the Company is charged a facility fee equal to 0.40% of the total revolving credit facility commitment and (2) the specified margin is 2.1% for LIBOR borrowings and 1.1% for ABR borrowings, which specified margin will remain in effect until the end of the first fiscal quarter ending after the end of any period in which any portion of the term loan facility remains outstanding or the testing of any financial covenant in the Credit Agreement is suspended (the “Specified Period”); and (B) in respect of term loans, the specified margin is 2.5% for LIBOR borrowings and 1.5% for ABR borrowings, in each case, at all times.

The Amendment also amends the Credit Agreement to modify various restrictions and covenants applicable to the Company. Among other modifications, the Amendment amends the Credit Agreement to include restrictions on the ability of the Company to incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends and other distributions, and make voluntary prepayments on or defeasance of the Company's 4.02% Senior Notes due August 2025 and 4.32% Senior Notes due February 2027. Further, the Amendment amends the Credit Agreement to: (i) suspend testing of the minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of 3.0 to 1.0 until the earlier to occur of (a) September 2021 and (b) the last day of the Company's fiscal quarter in which the Company provides notice to the administrative agent that the Company is reinstating the testing of such ratio; (ii) add a covenant requiring the Company's consolidated EBITDA to be greater than (a) negative $57 million as of June 25, 2020 for the fiscal quarter then ending, (b) negative $90 million as of September 24, 2020 for the two consecutive fiscal quarters then ending, (c) negative $65 million as of December 31, 2020 for the three consecutive fiscal quarters then ending, (d) negative $40 million as of April 1, 2021 for the four consecutive fiscal quarters then ending, and  $42 million as of July 1, 2021 for the four consecutive fiscal quarters then ending; (iii) add a covenant requiring the Company's consolidated liquidity to be greater than (a) $102 million as of June 25, 2020, (b) $67 million as of September 24, 2020, (c) $78.5 million as of December 31, 2020, (d) $83 million as of April 1, 2021, and (e) $103.5 million as of July 1, 2021, which minimum liquidity amounts will be reduced by $50 million for each such testing date if the term loans are paid in full as of such date; and (iv) add a covenant prohibiting the Company from incurring or making capital expenditures  during the period from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, in excess of $22.5 million plus certain adjustments, or (b) during the Company's 2021 fiscal year, in excess of $50 million plus certain adjustments.

Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company is required to apply net cash proceeds received from certain events, including certain asset dispositions, casualty losses, condemnations, equity issuances, capital contributions, and the incurrence of certain debt, to prepay outstanding term loans. In addition, if, at any time during the Specified Period the Company's aggregate unrestricted cash on hand exceeds $125 million, the Amendment requires the Company to prepay revolving loans under the Credit Agreement by the amount of such excess, without a corresponding reduction in the revolving commitments under the Credit Agreement.

In connection with the Amendment: (i) the Company pledged, subject to certain exceptions, security interests and liens in and on (a) substantially all of their respective personal property assets and (b) certain of their respective real property assets, in each case, to secure the Credit Agreement and related obligations; and (ii) certain subsidiaries of the Company have guaranteed the Company's obligations under the Credit Agreement. The foregoing security interests, liens and guaranties will remain in effect until the Collateral Release Date (as defined in the Amendment).

The Credit Agreement contains customary events of default. If an event of default under the Credit Agreement occurs and is continuing, then, among other things, the lenders may declare any outstanding obligations under the Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable and exercise rights and remedies against the pledged collateral.

Except as amended by the Amendment, the remaining terms of the Credit Agreement remain in full force and effect.

First Amendment to Note Purchase Agreements

The $100,000,000 of senior notes consist of two Purchase Agreements maturing in 2021 through 2027, require annual principal payments in varying installments and bear interest payable semi-annually at fixed rates ranging from 4.02% to 4.32%.

On April 29, 2020, the Company and certain purchasers entered into amendments (the “Note Amendments”) to the Note Purchase Agreement, dated June 27, 2013, and the Note Purchase Agreement, dated December 21, 2016 (collectively, the “Note Purchase Agreements”). The Note Amendments amend certain covenants and other terms of the Note Purchase Agreements and are identical to the amended covenants that are referenced in the Amendment section above.

Additionally, from April 29, 2020 until the last day of the first fiscal quarter ending after the Collateral Release Date (as defined in the Note Amendments), the Company is required to pay a fee to each Note holder in an amount equal to 0.725% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes held by such holder. Such fee is payable quarterly (0.18125% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes per quarter) commencing with the fiscal quarter ending June 25, 2020.

In connection with the Note Amendments: (i) the Company has pledged, subject to certain exceptions, security interests and liens in and on (a) substantially all of their respective personal property assets and (b) certain of their respective real property assets, in each case, to secure the Notes and related obligations; and (ii) certain subsidiaries of the Company have guaranteed the Company's obligations under the Note Purchase Agreements and the Notes. The foregoing security interests, liens and guaranties will remain in effect until the Collateral Release Date.

The Note Purchase Agreements contain customary events of default. If an event of default under the Note Purchase Agreements occurs and is continuing, then, among other things, all Notes then outstanding become immediately due and payable and the Note holders may exercise their rights and remedies against the pledged collateral.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans

During the 13 weeks ended June 25, 2020, 11 of the Company’s subsidiaries received proceeds totaling $13,459,000 under the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP loans bear interest at a fixed interest rate of 1.0%, require principal and interest payments beginning in November 2020, and mature in fiscal 2022. The PPP loans allow for a substantial amount of the principal to be forgiven. Under Section 1106 of the CARES Act, borrowers are eligible for forgiveness of principal and accrued interest on the loans to the extent that the proceeds are used to cover eligible payroll costs, mortgage interest costs, rent and utility costs (qualified expenses). As of June 25, 2020, the Company’s subsidiaries used a cumulative total of approximately $10,246,000 of the PPP loan proceeds to pay for qualified expenses. Of the cumulative proceeds used, approximately $9,371,000 of the expenditures paid were used to cover eligible employee payroll costs which offset the payroll costs of employees rehired due to the CARES Act. The remaining approximately $875,000 of expenditures paid were used to offset rent expense, utility costs and mortgage interest expense. The Company believes the portion of the PPP loan proceeds used for qualified expenses will be forgiven under the terms of the CARES Act program and has reduced its cumulative subsidiary loan balances by this amount. The remaining loan balances that have not been used for qualified expenses and are expected to be repaid total $3,213,000 as of June 25, 2020, of which $1,399,000 is included in current maturities of long-term debt, and $1,814,000 is included in long-term debt on the consolidated balance sheet. As of June 25, 2020, the amount of unused PPP loan proceeds is included in Restricted Cash on the consolidated balance sheet.

Derivatives

The Company utilizes derivatives principally to manage market risks and reduce its exposure resulting from fluctuations in interest rates. The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk-management objectives and strategies for undertaking various hedge transactions.

The Company entered into two interest rate swap agreements on March 1, 2018 covering $50,000,000 of floating rate debt. The first agreement has a notional amount of $25,000,000, expires March 1, 2021, and requires the Company to pay interest at a defined rate of 2.559% while receiving interest at a defined variable rate of one-month LIBOR (1.875% at June 25, 2020). The second agreement has a notional amount of $25,000,000, expires March 1, 2023, and requires the Company to pay interest at a defined rate of 2.687% while receiving interest at a defined variable rate of one-month LIBOR (1.875% at June 25, 2020). The Company recognizes derivatives as either assets or liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value (i.e., gains or losses) of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship and on the type of hedging relationship. Derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting must be adjusted to fair value through earnings. For derivatives that are designated and qualify as a cash flow hedge, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The Company’s interest rate swap agreements are considered effective and qualify as cash flow hedges. The Company assesses, both at the inception of each hedge and on an on-going basis, whether the derivatives that are used in its hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in cash flows of the hedged items. As of June 25, 2020, the interest rate swaps were considered highly effective. The fair value of the interest rate swaps on June 25, 2020 was a liability of $2,157,000, of which, $453,000 is included in other accrued liabilities and $1,704,000 is included in deferred compensation and other in the consolidated balance sheet. The fair value of the interest rate swap on December 26, 2019, was a liability of $1,194,000 and was included in deferred compensation and other in the consolidated balance sheet. The Company does not expect the interest rate swaps to have a material effect on earnings within the next 12 months.