Financial Information
14. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
We believe that the fair values of our current assets and current liabilities approximate their reported carrying amounts. We show the carrying values and the fair values of noncurrent financial assets and liabilities that qualify as financial instruments, determined under current guidance for disclosures on the fair value of financial instruments, in the following table:
We estimate the fair value of our senior, mezzanine, and other loans, including the current portion, by discounting cash flows using risk-adjusted rates, both of which are Level 3 inputs.
We carry our marketable securities at fair value. Our marketable securities include debt securities of the U.S. Government, its sponsored agencies and other U.S. corporations invested for our self-insurance programs, as well as shares of a publicly traded company, which we value using directly observable Level 1 inputs. The carrying value of these marketable securities at year-end 2014 was $44 million.
In the 2013 second quarter, we received $22 million in net cash proceeds for the sale of a portion of our shares of a publicly traded company (with a cost basis of $14 million at the date of sale) and recognized an $8 million gain in the “Gains and other income” caption of our Income Statements. This gain included recognition of unrealized gains that we previously recorded in other comprehensive income. See Footnote No. 15, “Comprehensive Income and Shareholders’ (Deficit) Equity” for additional information on our reclassification of these unrealized gains from accumulated other comprehensive income.
In the 2013 second quarter, we acquired a $65 million mandatorily redeemable preferred equity ownership interest in an entity that owns three hotels that we manage. We account for this investment as a debt security (with a cost of $77 million at year-end 2014, including accrued interest income), and have classified it as a current asset as of year-end 2014. Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, we concluded that the entity in which we invested is a variable interest entity because it is capitalized primarily with debt. We did not consolidate the entity because we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance. Inclusive of our contingent future funding commitment, our maximum exposure to loss at year-end 2014 is $87 million. This security matures in 2015. We do not intend to sell this security and it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell the investment before recovery of the amortized cost basis, which may be at maturity.
We estimate the fair value of our other long-term debt, including the current portion and excluding leases, using expected future payments discounted at risk-adjusted rates, both of which are Level 3 inputs. We determine the fair value of our senior notes using quoted market prices, which are directly observable Level 1 inputs. As we note in Footnote No. 10, “Long-Term Debt,” even though our commercial paper borrowings generally have short-term maturities of 30 days or less, we classify outstanding commercial paper borrowings as noncurrent based on our ability and intent to refinance them on a long-term basis. As we are a frequent issuer of commercial paper, we use pricing from recent transactions as Level 2 inputs in estimating fair value. At year-end 2014 and year-end 2013, we determined that the carrying value of our commercial paper approximated its fair value due to the short maturity. Our other noncurrent liabilities largely consist of guarantees. As we note in the “Guarantees” caption of Footnote No. 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” we measure our liability for guarantees at fair value on a nonrecurring basis that is when we issue or modify a guarantee, using Level 3 internally developed inputs. At year-end 2014 and year-end 2013, we determined that the carrying values of our guarantee liabilities approximated their fair values based on Level 3 inputs.
See the “Fair Value Measurements” caption of Footnote No. 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for more information on the input levels we use in determining fair value.