Worldpay, Inc. - 10-Q filing on 2015-04-30

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

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. The Company uses the hierarchy prescribed in ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, based upon the available inputs to the valuation and the degree to which they are observable or not observable in the market. The three levels in the hierarchy are as follows:


•	Level 1 Inputs—Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that are accessible as of the measurement date.


•	Level 2 Inputs—Inputs other than quoted prices within Level 1 that are observable either directly or indirectly, including but not limited to quoted prices in markets that are not active, quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and observable inputs other than quoted prices such as interest rates or yield curves.


•	Level 3 Inputs—Unobservable inputs reflecting the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk.

The following table summarizes assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 (in thousands):



	March 31, 2015						December 31, 2014
	Fair Value Measurements Using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Interest rate swaps	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	104	$	—
Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	$	—	$	17,777	$	—	$	—	$	7,488	$	—
Mercury TRA	—		—		159,429		—		—		152,420

The following table summarizes carrying amounts and estimated fair values for financial assets and liabilities, excluding assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis, as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 (in thousands):



	March 31, 2015				December 31, 2014
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Liabilities:
Note payable	$	3,165,793	$	3,149,238	$	3,393,738	$	3,310,181

We consider that the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximates fair value (Level 1) given the short-term nature of these items. The fair value of the Company’s note payable was estimated based on rates currently available to the Company for bank loans with similar terms and maturities and is classified in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Interest Rate Swaps

The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risk. The fair value of interest rate swaps are determined using the market standard methodology of netting the discounted future fixed cash receipts (or payments) and the discounted expected variable cash payments (or receipts). The variable cash payments (or receipts) are based on the expectation of future interest rates (forward curves) derived from observed market interest rate curves. In addition, to comply with the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, credit valuation adjustments, which consider the impact of any credit enhancements to the contracts, are incorporated in the fair values to account for potential nonperformance risk. In adjusting the fair value of its interest rate swaps for the effect of nonperformance risk, the Company has considered any applicable credit enhancements such as collateral postings, thresholds, mutual puts, and guarantees.

Although the Company determined that the majority of the inputs used to value its interest rate swaps fell within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the credit valuation adjustments associated with its interest rate swaps utilized Level 3 inputs, such as estimates of current credit spreads to evaluate the likelihood of default by itself and its counterparties. However, as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company assessed the significance of the impact of the credit valuation adjustments on the overall valuation of its interest rate swaps and determined that the credit valuation adjustment was not significant to the overall valuation of its interest rate swaps. As a result, the Company classified its interest rate swap valuations in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. See Note 5 - Derivatives and Hedging Activities for further discussion of the Company’s interest rate swaps.

Mercury TRA

The Mercury TRA is considered contingent consideration as it is part of the consideration payable to the former owners of Mercury. Such contingent consideration is measured at fair value and is based on significant inputs not observable in the market, which is classified in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The Mercury TRA is recorded at fair value based on estimates of discounted future cash flows associated with the estimated payments to the Mercury TRA Holders. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Mercury TRA are the discount rate, projections of Mercury taxable income and effective tax rates for Mercury. Significant increases (decreases) in any of those inputs in isolation would result in a significantly lower (higher) fair value measurement. The liability recorded is re-measured at fair value at each reporting period with the change in fair value recognized in earnings as a non-operating expense. The Company recorded non-operating expenses of $7.0 million related to the change in fair value during the three months ended March 31, 2015. See Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for further discussion of the Mercury TRA.