Fair Values of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Fair values of financial instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are determined based on the principal or most advantageous market for the item being measured, assume that buyers and sellers are independent, willing and able to transact, and knowledgeable, with access to all information customarily available in such a transaction, and are based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the item, not assumptions specific to the reporting entity.

The Company measures the fair value of certain assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interests subject to put provisions (temporary equity) based upon certain valuation techniques that include observable or unobservable inputs and assumptions that market participants would use in pricing these assets, liabilities, temporary equity and commitments. The Company has also classified certain assets, liabilities and temporary equity that are measured at fair value into the appropriate fair value hierarchy levels as defined by the FASB.

The following table summarizes the Company’s assets, liabilities and temporary equity measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2018 and 2017:



December 31, 2018	Total		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Investments in equity securities	$	36,124	$	36,124	$	—	$	—
Interest rate cap agreements	$	851	$	—	$	851	$	—
Liabilities
Contingent earn-out obligations	$	2,608	$	—	$	—	$	2,608
Temporary equity
Noncontrolling interests subject to put provisions	$	1,124,641	$	—	$	—	$	1,124,641
December 31, 2017
Assets
Investments in equity securities	$	38,895	$	38,895	$	—	$	—
Interest rate cap agreements	$	1,032	$	—	$	1,032	$	—
Liabilities
Contingent earn-out obligations	$	6,388	$	—	$	—	$	6,388
Temporary equity
Noncontrolling interests subject to put provisions	$	1,011,360	$	—	$	—	$	1,011,360

Investments in equity securities represent investments in various open-ended registered investment companies (mutual funds) and common stock and are recorded at fair value estimated based on reported market prices or redemption prices, as applicable. See Note 5 to these consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Interest rate cap agreements are recorded at fair value estimated from valuation models utilizing the income approach and commonly accepted valuation techniques that use inputs from closing prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets as well as other relevant observable market inputs at quoted intervals such as current interest rates, forward yield curves, implied volatility and credit default swap pricing. The Company does not believe the ultimate amount that could be realized upon settlement of these interest rate cap agreements would be materially different from the fair value estimates currently reported. See Note 14 to these consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

The estimated fair value measurements of contingent earn-out obligations are primarily based on unobservable inputs, including projected EBITDA. The estimated fair value of these contingent earn-out obligations is remeasured as of each reporting date and could fluctuate based upon any significant changes in key assumptions, such as changes in the Company credit risk adjusted rate that is used to discount obligations to present value. See Note 21 to these consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

See Note 18 to these consolidated financial statements for a discussion of the Company’s methodology for estimating the fair values of noncontrolling interests subject to put obligations.

Other financial instruments consist primarily of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, other accrued liabilities and debt. The balances of non-debt financial instruments are presented in the consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2018 and 2017 at their approximate fair values due to the short-term nature of their settlements. The carrying amount of the Company’s senior secured credit facilities totaled $5,168,815, including a discount of $6,104 and deferred financing costs of $12,580, as of December 31, 2018, and the fair value was approximately $5,194,163 based upon quoted market prices. The carrying amount of the Company’s Senior Notes was approximately $4,466,685, including deferred financing costs of $33,316, at December 31, 2018 and the fair value was approximately $4,241,250 at December 31, 2018 based upon quoted market prices. The fair value of all other debt approximates its carrying value.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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