DEBT

Long-term Debt consisted of the following:



		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2017			2016
4.650% Senior Notes due 2024:
	Principal of the notes	$	500,000		$	500,000
	Issuance costs, net of amortization	(4,698		)	(5,385		)
	Fair value of interest rate swaps on $200 million of principal	(2,990		)	(1,557		)
Term Loan Facility		300,000			300,000
Revolving Credit Facility		—			—
Long-term Debt		$	792,312		$	793,058

In October 2014, we entered into a credit agreement (as amended, the "Credit Agreement") with a group of banks. In February 2018, we entered into Agreement and Amendment No. 4 to Credit Agreement ("Amendment No. 4") to the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides for a $500 million five-year revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility"). The Credit Agreement previously provided for a $300 million three-year term loan, which we repaid in full in February 2018, using net proceeds from our February 2018 offering of our 6.000% Senior Notes due 2028 described further below. Subject to certain conditions, the aggregate commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility may be increased by up to $300 million at any time upon agreement between us and existing or additional lenders. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes. Amendment No. 4 amended the Credit Agreement to, among other things, extend the maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility to January 25, 2023 with the extending Lenders, which represent 90% of the existing commitments of the Lenders, such that (a) the total commitments for the Revolving Credit Facility will be $500 million until October 25, 2021, and thereafter $450 million until January 25, 2023.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at an Adjusted Base Rate or the Eurodollar Rate (both as defined in the Credit Agreement), at our option, plus an applicable margin based on our Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) and, at our election, based on the ratings of our senior unsecured debt by designated ratings services, thereafter to be based on such debt ratings. The applicable margin varies: (1) in the case of advances bearing interest at the Adjusted Base Rate, from 0.125% to 0.750%; and (2) in the case of advances bearing interest at the Eurodollar Rate, from 1.125% to 1.750%. The Adjusted Base Rate is the highest of (1) the per annum rate established by the administrative agent as its prime rate, (2) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and (3) the daily one-month LIBOR plus 1%. We pay a commitment fee ranging from 0.125% to 0.300% on the unused portion of the Revolving Credit Facility, depending on our Leverage Ratio. The commitment fees are included as interest expense in our consolidated financial statements.

The Credit Agreement contains various covenants that we believe are customary for agreements of this nature, including, but not limited to, restrictions on our ability and the ability of each of our subsidiaries to incur debt, grant liens, make certain investments, make distributions, merge or consolidate, sell assets and enter into certain restrictive agreements. We are also subject to a maximum adjusted total Capitalization Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) of 55%. The Credit Agreement includes customary events of default and associated remedies. As of December 31, 2017, we were in compliance with all the covenants set forth in the Credit Agreement.

In November 2014, we completed the public offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.650% Senior Notes due 2024 (the "2024 Senior Notes"). We pay interest on the 2024 Senior Notes on May 15 and November 15 of each year. The 2024 Senior Notes are scheduled to mature on November 15, 2024. We may redeem some or all of the 2024 Senior Notes prior to maturity at specified redemption prices. We used the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including funding the C&C acquisition, other capital expenditures and repurchases of shares of our common stock.

We incurred $6.9 million of issuance costs related to the 2024 Senior Notes and $2.6 million of new loan costs, including costs of the amendments prior to Amendment No. 4, related to the Credit Agreement. We are amortizing those costs, which are included on our balance sheet, as a reduction of debt for the 2024 Senior Notes and as an other non-current asset for the Credit Agreement, to interest expense to November 2024 for the 2024 Senior Notes and to January 2023 for the Credit Agreement.

We have two interest rate swaps in place on a total of $200 million of the 2024 Senior Notes for the period to November 2024. See Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for a description of these interest rate swaps.

In February 2018, we completed the public offering of $300 million aggregate principal amount of 6.000% Senior Notes due 2028 (the "2028 Senior Notes"). We will pay interest on the 2028 Senior Notes on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning on August 1, 2018. The 2028 Senior Notes are scheduled to mature on February 1, 2028. We may redeem some or all of the 2028 Senior Notes at specified redemption prices. We used the net proceeds from the offering to repay our term loan indebtedness referred to above.

We made cash interest payments of $32.4 million, $29.2 million and $27.2 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.