Debt

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt

(8) Debt

Information concerning short-term borrowings is as follows:

December 31		2023		2022
Short-term borrowings	$	9.0		$	21.5
Weighted-average interest rates		17.4	%		6.1	%

We maintain separate bank credit lines with financial institutions to meet working capital needs of our subsidiary operations. As of December 31, 2023, such uncommitted credit lines totaled $308.6, of which $294.2 was unused. Under our revolving credit agreement, total subsidiary borrowings cannot exceed $300.0 in the first, second and fourth quarters, and $600.0 in the third quarter of each year. Due to these limitations, additional borrowings of $285.6 could have been made under these lines as of December 31, 2023.

A summary of long-term debt is as follows:

December 31		2023	2022
Euro-denominated notes:
€500.0 due June 2026	$	550.0	$	532.7
€400.0 due June 2027		438.2		423.9
Other		5.4		8.4
		993.6		965.0
Less current maturities		3.1		5.1
Long-term debt	$	990.5	$	959.9

Euro Notes

On June 30, 2022, we offered and sold €400.0 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 3.50% notes due June 30, 2027 (the “€400.0 notes”). The proceeds from the €400.0 notes were used in July 2022 to repay our €400.0 1.875% notes due September 11, 2022. The €400.0 notes were issued at a price of 99.465% to yield an effective interest rate of 3.514%, net of a favorable impact of a forward starting interest rate swap. Interest on the Notes is payable in arrears on June 30 of each year. The Notes are unsecured senior obligations and rank equally with all of the Company’s existing and future senior unsecured debt and other liabilities.

On June 22, 2018, we offered and sold €500.0 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 1.750% notes due June 2026 (the “€500.0 notes”). The net proceeds from the €500.0 notes of €495.7 were used to repay our €350.0 notes due June 22, 2018, with the remaining balance used for general corporate purposes, which included share repurchases. The €500.0 notes were issued at a price of 99.564% to yield an effective interest rate of 1.809%. Interest on the €500.0 notes is payable in arrears on June 22 of each year. The €500.0 notes are unsecured senior obligations and rank equally with all of the Company’s existing and future senior unsecured debt and other liabilities.

Both the €500.0 notes and €400.0 notes contain certain customary non-financial restrictive covenants and events of default and are unsecured senior obligations and rank equally with all of our existing and future senior unsecured debt and other liabilities. These notes have been designated as a hedge of our net investment in subsidiaries with a Euro-functional currency as of December 31, 2023. Since our net investment in these subsidiaries exceeds the respective amount of the designated borrowings, the related translation gains or losses are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. (See Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information.)

Revolving Credit Agreement

On May 27, 2022, we entered into a new Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with a syndicate of commercial banks with a termination date of May 27, 2027 to replace our previous $600.0 revolving credit facility. The Credit Agreement includes terms generally consistent with our previous 5-year credit facility, except the Credit Agreement uses Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the base rate index instead of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The Credit Agreement allows for borrowing of $600.0 in various currencies, and up to $150.0 may be used for the issuance of stand-by letters of credit. We had no borrowings under this facility as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. Outstanding letters of credit issued totaled $0.4, hence additional borrowings of $599.6 were available to us under the facility as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Under the Credit Agreement, a credit ratings-based pricing grid determines the facility fee and the credit spread that we add to the applicable interbank borrowing rate on all borrowings. At our current credit rating, the annual facility fee is 10 basis points paid on the entire facility and the credit spread is 102.5 basis points on any borrowings.

The Credit Agreement contains customary restrictive covenants pertaining to our management and operations, including limitations on the amount of subsidiary debt that we may incur and limitations on our ability to pledge assets, as well as financial covenants requiring, among other things, that we comply with a leverage ratio (Net Debt-to-Net Earnings before interest and other expenses, provision for income taxes, intangible asset amortization expense, depreciation and amortization expense ("EBITDA")) of not greater than 3.5 to 1 and a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.5 to 1. The Credit Agreement also contains customary events of default, including, among others, payment defaults, material inaccuracy of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, bankruptcy or involuntary proceedings, certain monetary and non-monetary judgments, change of control and customary ERISA defaults.

Debt Maturities

The maturities of long-term debt payable within each of the four years subsequent to December 31, 2024 are as follows: 2025 - $0.0, 2026 - $552.4, 2027 - $438.1, 2028 -$0.0.