Debt and Interest Costs

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Debt

Debt and Interest Costs

15. Debt and Interest Costs

Long-term debt and interest rates in effect consisted of the following:

	December 31,		December 31,
($ in millions)	2019		2018
Senior Notes
5.25% due July 2025	$	1,000	$	1,000
4.375% due December 2020		1,000		1,000
4.00% due November 2023		1,000		1,000
4.375%, euro denominated, due December 2023		785		803
5.00% due March 2022		750		750
4.875% due March 2026		750		750
3.50%, euro denominated, due December 2020		449		459
1.50%, euro denominated, due March 2027		617		—
0.875%, euro denominated, due March 2024		841		—
Senior Credit Facility (at variable rates)
Term A loan, due June 2024 (2019 - 3.94%)		653		—
Term A loan, due June 2021 (2018 - 4.02%)		—		797
Other (including debt issuance costs)		(54)		(41)
		7,791		6,518
Less: Current portion of long-term debt		(1,454)		(8)
	$	6,337	$	6,510

In November 2019, Ball issued €750 million of 0.875% senior notes due in March 2024 and €550 million of 1.5% senior notes due in March 2027. On March 25, 2019, the company refinanced its existing credit facilities with a U.S. dollar term loan facility, a U.S. dollar revolving facility and a multicurrency revolving facility that mature in March 2024. The revolving facilities provide the company with up to the U.S. dollar equivalent of $1.75 billion. At December 31, 2019, taking into account outstanding letters of credit, substantially the entire balance was available under these revolving credit facilities. In addition, the company had $1 billion of short-term uncommitted credit facilities available at December 31, 2019, of which $26 million was outstanding and due on demand. At December 31, 2018, the company had $211 million outstanding under short-term uncommitted credit facilities. The weighted average interest rate of the outstanding short-term facilities was 5.99 percent at December 31, 2019, and 3.55 percent at December 31, 2018.

In January 2020, Ball redeemed the outstanding euro-denominated 3.50% senior notes due in 2020 in the amount of €400 million and the outstanding 4.375% senior notes due in 2020 in the amount of $1 billion.

The fair value of Ball’s long-term debt was estimated to be $8.3 billion at December 31, 2019, compared to its carrying value of $7.8 billion. The fair value was estimated to be $6.6 billion at December 31, 2018, which approximated its carrying value of $6.5 billion. The fair value reflects the market rates at each period end for debt with credit ratings similar to the company’s ratings and is classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy. Rates currently available to the company for loans with similar terms and maturities are used to estimate the fair value of long-term debt, based on discounted cash flows.

Long-term debt obligations outstanding at December 31, 2019, have maturities (excluding unamortized debt issuance costs of $65 million) of $1.4 billion, $1 million, $751 million, $1.8 billion and $1.4 billion in the years ending 2020 through 2024, respectively, and $2.4 billion thereafter.

Letters of credit outstanding at December 31, 2019 and 2018, were $37 million and $28 million, respectively.

Interest payments were $331 million, $304 million and $287 million in 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The company’s senior notes and senior credit facilities are guaranteed on a full, unconditional and joint and several basis by certain of its material subsidiaries. Each of the guarantor subsidiaries is 100 percent owned by Ball Corporation. These guarantees are required in support of these notes and credit facilities, are coterminous with the terms of the respective note indentures and would require performance upon certain events of default referenced in the respective guarantees. Notes 24 and 25 provide further details about the company’s debt guarantees, and Note 25 includes the required condensed consolidating financial information for the company, segregating the guarantor and non-guarantor subsidiaries as defined in the debt agreements.

The U.S. note agreements and bank credit agreement contain certain restrictions relating to dividend payments, share repurchases, investments, financial ratios, guarantees and the incurrence of additional indebtedness. The most restrictive of the company’s debt covenants requires the company to maintain a leverage ratio (as defined) of no greater than 4.5 times at December 31, 2019. The company was in compliance with all loan agreements and debt covenants at December 31, 2019 and 2018, and has met all debt payment obligations.