Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Debt

v3.20.1
Debt
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Debt  
Debt

(5) Debt

Outstanding debt at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 is summarized as follows:

March 31,

December 31,

 

2020

2019

 

amounts in millions

 

TripCo margin loan

$

355

TripCo variable prepaid forward

40

TripAdvisor Credit Facilities

700

Deferred financing costs

(2)

Total consolidated TripCo debt

740

 

353

Debt classified as current

 

 

Total long-term debt

$

740

 

353

TripCo Margin Loan and Variable Prepaid Forward  

On March 10, 2020, a wholly owned subsidiary of TripCo amended the margin loan agreement, dated as of June 10, 2019, which, among other things, modified the margin call thresholds which would require mandatory prepayment of the margin loan.

On March 12, 2020, the closing share price of Tripadvisor common stock price fell below the minimum value and triggered the mandatory prepayment of all amounts outstanding under the margin loan.  In connection with the VPF entered into on March 9, 2020, as described in note 4, TripCo received a prepayment of $34 million on March 17, 2020 The term of the VPF is three years. At maturity, the accreted loan amount due will be approximately $42 million.  As of March 31, 2020, 2.4 million shares of Tripadvisor common stock, with a value of approximately $42 million, were pledged as collateral pursuant to the VPF contract.

On March 26, 2020, the proceeds from the VPF, proceeds from the Series A Preferred Stock (described and defined in note 6) issuance, and cash on hand were used to pay all amounts outstanding under the margin loan, which aggregated $363 million, including accrued interest.

Tripadvisor Credit Facilities

Tripadvisor is party to a credit agreement, with a group of lenders, which, among other things, as of March 31, 2020, provided for a $1.2 billion unsecured revolving credit facility (the “2015 Credit Facility”) with a maturity date of May 12, 2022. Borrowings under the 2015 Credit Facility generally bear interest, at Tripadvisor’s option, at a rate per annum equal to either (i) the Eurocurrency Borrowing rate, or the adjusted LIBOR for the interest period in effect for such borrowing; plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.25% to 2.00%, based on Tripadvisor’s leverage ratio; or (ii) the Alternate Base Rate Borrowing, which is the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the New York Fed Bank Rate in effect on such day plus 1/2 of 1.00% per annum and (c) the Adjusted LIBOR (or LIBOR multiplied by the Statutory Reserve Rate) for an interest period of one month plus 1.00%; in addition to an applicable margin ranging from 0.25% to 1.00%, based on Tripadvisor’s leverage ratio. Tripadvisor may borrow from the 2015 Credit Facility in U.S. dollars, Euros and British pounds. In addition, Tripadvisor’s 2015 Credit Facility includes $15 million of borrowing capacity available for letters of credit and $40 million for Swing Line borrowings on same-day notice. As of March 31, 2020, Tripadvisor had issued $3 million of outstanding letters of credit under the 2015 Credit Facility. Tripadvisor is also required to pay a quarterly commitment fee, at an applicable rate ranging from 0.15% to 0.30%, on the daily unused portion of the revolving credit facility for each fiscal quarter and additional fees in connection with the issuance of letters of credit. As of March 31,

2020, Tripadvisor’s unused revolver capacity was subject to a commitment fee of 0.15%, given Tripadvisor’s leverage ratio.

As of March 31, 2020 Tripadvisor had $700 million in outstanding borrowings under the 2015 Credit Facility, and as of December 31, 2019 Tripadvisor had no outstanding borrowings under the 2015 Credit Facility.  These funds were drawn down as a precautionary measure and Tripadvisor intends that this borrowing will primarily be used to reinforce Tripadvisor’s liquidity position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainty in the global markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 31, 2020, based on Tripadvisor’s leverage ratio, Tripadvisor was borrowing at an interest rate of 2.1% per annum, using a one-month interest period Eurocurrency Spread, which will reset periodically. For both the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, Tripadvisor recorded total interest expense and commitment fees on its 2015 Credit Facility of $1 million to interest expense on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. All unpaid interest and commitment fee amounts as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 were not material.

There is no specific repayment date prior to the maturity date for any borrowings under this credit agreement. Tripadvisor may voluntarily repay any outstanding borrowing under the 2015 Credit Facility at any time without premium or penalty, other than customary breakage costs with respect to Eurocurrency loans. Additionally, Tripadvisor believes that the likelihood of the lender exercising any subjective acceleration rights, which would permit the lenders to accelerate repayment of any outstanding borrowings, is remote. As such, Tripadvisor classifies any borrowings under this facility as long-term debt. The 2015 Credit Facility contains a number of covenants that, among other things, restrict Tripadvisor’s ability to: incur additional indebtedness, create liens, enter into sale and leaseback transactions, engage in mergers or consolidations, sell or transfer assets, pay dividends and distributions, make investments, loans or advances, prepay certain subordinated indebtedness, make certain acquisitions, engage in certain transactions with affiliates, amend material agreements governing certain subordinated indebtedness, and change its fiscal year. The 2015 Credit Facility also requires Tripadvisor to maintain a maximum leverage ratio and contains certain customary affirmative covenants and events of default, including a change of control. If an event of default occurs, the lenders under the 2015 Credit Facility will be entitled to take various actions, including the acceleration of all amounts due under the 2015 Credit Facility.

On May 5, 2020,  Tripadvisor amended its 2015 Credit Facility (“Second Amendment”) to, among other things, suspend the leverage ratio covenant required to borrow on this facility beginning in the second quarter of 2020 and ending prior to September 30, 2021 (or such earlier date as elected by Tripadvisor), and replacing it with a minimum liquidity covenant which requires Tripadvisor to maintain unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, short-term marketable securities and unborrowed revolver capacity of $150 million, as well as downsizing its capacity to $1.0 billion from $1.2 billion. The Second Amendment also prohibits Tripadvisor from repurchasing shares of its common stock, and paying dividends, among other restrictions, during the time period that the leverage ratio covenant has been suspended. In connection with the Second Amendment and as collateral to secure the obligations, Tripadvisor and certain subsidiaries have pledged, and granted security interests and liens in and on, substantially all of their assets. No change was made to the existing maturity date of the 2015 Credit Facility of May 12, 2022.

Tripadvisor’s Chinese subsidiary is party to a $30 million, one-year revolving credit facility with Bank of America that is currently subject to review on a periodic basis with no specific expiration period. This credit facility generally bears interest at a rate based on the People’s Bank of China benchmark, including certain adjustments, which may be made in accordance with market conditions at the time of borrowing. As of both March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, there were no outstanding borrowings under this credit facility.

Debt Covenants

As of March 31, 2020, Tripadvisor was in compliance with their debt covenants.