Ballys Corp

11. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company utilizes derivative instruments in order to mitigate interest rate and currency exchange rate risk in accordance with its financial risk and liability management policy.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company entered into a series of interest rate contracts and cross currency swap derivative transactions with multiple bank counterparties in order to synthetically convert a notional aggregate amount of $500.0 million of the Company’s USD denominated variable rate Term Loan Facility, as disclosed in Note 16 “Long-Term Debt,” into fixed rate debt over five years and $200 million of the Term Loan Facility, to an equivalent GBP denominated floating rate instrument over three years. These contracts mature in October, 2028 and 2026, respectively.

Derivative Instruments Designated as Hedging Instruments

Net Investment Hedges

Cross Currency Swaps - The Company is exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on investments it holds in its European foreign entities. The Company uses fixed and fixed-cross-currency swaps to hedge its exposure to changes in the foreign exchange rate on its foreign investment in Europe and their exposure to changes in the EUR-GBP exchange rate. Currency forward agreements involve fixing the USD-EUR exchange rate for delivery of a specified amount of foreign currency on a specified date. The currency forward agreements are typically cash settled in USD for their fair value at or close to their settlement date. Cross-currency swaps involve the receipt of functional-currency-fixed-rate amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making foreign-currency-fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreement. These derivative arrangements qualify as net investment hedges under ASC 815, with the gain or loss resulting from changes in the spot value of the derivative reported in other comprehensive income (loss). Amounts are reclassified out of other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings when the hedged net investment is either sold or substantially liquidated. Additionally, the accrual of foreign currency and USD denominated coupons will be recognized in “Interest expense, net” in the consolidated statements of operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized $1.35 million of related expense. Refer to Note 12 “Fair Value Measurements” and Note 19 “Stockholders’ Equity” for further information.

The following tables summarize the Company’s net investment hedges as of December 31, 2023 (in thousands):

Cash Flow Hedges

Interest Rate Contracts - The Company’s objectives in using interest rate derivatives are to hedge its exposure to variability in cash flows on a portion of its floating-rate debt, to add stability to interest expense and to manage its exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish these objectives, the Company primarily uses interest rate swaps and collars as part of its financial risk and liability management policy. The Company’s interest rate swaps and collars are designated as cash flow hedges under ASC 815. The changes in the fair value of these instruments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into “Interest expense, net” in the consolidated statements of operations in the same period in which the hedged interest payments associated with the Company’s borrowings are recorded. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized $1.95 million of related expense. Refer to Note 12 “Fair Value Measurements” and Note 19 “Stockholders’ Equity” for further information.

The following tables summarize the Company’s cash flow hedges as of December 31, 2023 (in thousands):

(1) Weighted average rate.

Economic Hedges

The Company utilizes short term operational hedges or forward currency exchange rate contracts to mitigate foreign currency exchange rate risk. These instruments are not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815. The fair value of these instruments are recorded as derivative assets or liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets with changes in fair value recognized in earnings within “Other non-operating income, net” on the consolidated statements of operations.