Ascent Industries Co. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. To measure fair value, we use a three-tier valuation hierarchy based upon observable and non-observable inputs:

Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices that are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

Level 2 - Significant other observable inputs available at the measurement date, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, either directly or indirectly, including:


•	Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets;


•	Quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in non-active markets


•	Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; and


•	Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by other observable market data.

Level 3 - Significant unobservable inputs that cannot be corroborated by observable market data and reflect the use of significant management judgment. These values are generally determined using model-based techniques, including option pricing models, discounted cash flow models, probability weighted models, and Monte Carlo simulations..

The Company's financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, derivative instruments, accounts payable, earn-out liabilities, a revolving line of credit, a term loan, and equity investments.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The fair value hierarchy requires the use of observable market data when available. In instances where the inputs used to measure fair value fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the fair value measurement has been determined on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Our assessment of the significance of a particular item to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, including the consideration of inputs specific to the asset or liability.

Level 1: Equity securities

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company sold no shares of its equity securities investments.

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company also recorded a net unrealized loss of $0.9 million on the investments in equity securities held, which is included in "Other expense (income)" on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The fair value of equity securities held by the Company as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 was $3.4 million and $4.3 million, respectively, and is included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Level 2: Derivative Instruments

The Company has one interest rate swap contract, which is classified as a Level 2 financial instrument as it is not actively traded and is valued using pricing models that use observable market inputs. The fair value of the contract was a liability of $0.1 million at March 31, 2020 and an asset of $6,088 at December 31, 2019, respectively. The interest rate swap was priced using discounted cash flow techniques. Changes in its fair value were recorded to other expense (income) with corresponding offsetting entries to "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" or "Accrued Expenses", as appropriate. Significant inputs to the discounted cash flow model include projected future cash flows based on projected one-month LIBOR and the average margin for companies with similar credit ratings and similar maturities.

Level 3: Contingent consideration (earn-out) liabilities

The fair value of contingent consideration ("earn-out") liabilities resulting from the 2017 MUSA-Stainless acquisition, 2018 MUSA-Galvanized acquisition, and 2019 American Stainless acquisition are classified as Level 3. Each quarter-end, the Company re-evaluates its assumptions for all earn-out liabilities and adjusts to reflect the updated fair values. Changes in the estimated fair value of the earn-out liabilities are reflected in operating income in the periods in which they are identified. Changes in the fair value of the earn-out liabilities may materially impact and cause volatility in the Company's operating results. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company's contingent consideration (earn-out) liabilities are the discount rate, timing of the estimated payouts, and future revenue projections. Significant increases (decreases) in any of those inputs would not have resulted in a material difference in the fair value measurement of the earn-out liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

The following table presents a summary of changes in fair value of the Company's Level 3 earn-out liabilities measured on a recurring basis for the three months ended March 31, 2020:



(in thousands)	MUSA-Stainless			MUSA-Galvanized			American Stainless			Total
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	2,403		$	1,782		$	4,969		$	9,154
Earn-out payments during the period	(476		)	(167		)	(512		)	(1,155		)
Changes in fair value during the period	27			70			(93		)	4
Balance at March 31, 2020	$	1,954		$	1,685		$	4,364		$	8,003

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company had no unrealized gains or losses included in other comprehensive income for recurring Level 3 fair value instruments.

Quantitative Information about Significant Unobservable Inputs Used in Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

The following table summarizes the significant unobservable inputs in the fair value measurement of our contingent consideration (earn-out) liabilities as of March 31, 2020:



Instrument	Fair Value March 31, 2020	Principal Valuation Technique	Significant Unobservable Inputs	Range	Weighted Average
Contingent consideration (earn-out) liabilities	$8,003	Probability Weighted Expected Return	Discount rate	-	5%
			Timing of estimated payouts	2020 - 2022	-
			Future revenue projection	$1.6M - 18.1M	$9.0M

The weighted average discount rate was calculated by applying an equal weighting to each contingent consideration's (earn-out liabilities) discount rate. The weighted average future revenue projection was calculated by applying an equal weighting of probabilities to each forecasted scenario within the valuation models to determine the probability weighted sales applicable to the contingent consideration (earn-out liabilities).

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Non-Recurring Basis

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company had no significant measurements of assets or liabilities at fair value on a non-recurring basis subsequent to their initial recognition.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

For short-term instruments, other than those required to be reported at fair value on a recurring and non-recurring basis and for which additional disclosures are included above, management concluded the historical carrying value is a reasonable estimate of fair value because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization. Therefore, as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the carrying amounts for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, the Company's revolving line of credit, which is based on a variable interest rate, and term loan approximate their fair value.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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