2020 to November 2023. The amended Credit Facility contains provisions that allow for incremental commitments of up to $500 million, an option to temporarily increase the financial ratio covenant following a qualified acquisition, and borrowings in designated currencies. TEGSA had no borrowings under the Credit Facility at June 28, 2019 or September 28, 2018.
The Credit Facility contains a financial ratio covenant providing that if, as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, our ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Facility) for the then most recently concluded period of four consecutive fiscal quarters exceeds 3.75 to 1.0, an Event of Default (as defined in the Credit Facility) is triggered. The Credit Facility and our other debt agreements contain other customary covenants. None of our covenants are presently considered restrictive to our operations. As of June 28, 2019, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants and believe that we will continue to be in compliance with our existing covenants for the foreseeable future.
In addition to the Credit Facility, TEGSA is the borrower under our senior notes and commercial paper. TEGSA’s payment obligations under its senior notes, commercial paper, and Credit Facility are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by its parent, TE Connectivity Ltd.
Payments of common share dividends to shareholders were $454 million and $435 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively.
In March 2019, our shareholders approved a dividend payment to shareholders of $1.84 per share, payable in four equal quarterly installments of $0.46 per share beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and ending in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
During the first nine months of fiscal 2019, our board of directors authorized an increase of $1.5 billion in our share repurchase program. We repurchased approximately 10 million of our common shares for $836 million and approximately 6 million of our common shares for $612 million under the share repurchase program during the first nine months of fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively. At June 28, 2019, we had $1.7 billion of availability remaining under our share repurchase authorization.
Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Proceedings
In the normal course of business, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, including patent infringement claims, product liability matters, employment disputes, disputes on agreements, other commercial disputes, environmental matters, antitrust claims, and tax matters, including non-income tax matters such as value added tax, sales and use tax, real estate tax, and transfer tax. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these proceedings, based upon our experience, current information, and applicable law, we do not expect that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
Guarantees
In certain instances, we have guaranteed the performance of third parties and provided financial guarantees for uncompleted work and financial commitments. The terms of these guarantees vary with end dates ranging from fiscal 2019 through the completion of such transactions. The guarantees would be triggered in the event of nonperformance, and the potential exposure for nonperformance under the guarantees would not have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
In disposing of assets or businesses, we often provide representations, warranties, and/or indemnities to cover various risks including unknown damage to assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability for investigation and remediation of environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. We do not expect that these uncertainties will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
At June 28, 2019, we had outstanding letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and surety bonds of $316 million.