UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
CVR PARTNERS, LP
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 56-2677689 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
2277 Plaza Drive, Suite 500
Sugar Land, Texas 77479
(281) 207-3200
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrants principal executive offices)
John R. Walter
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
10 E. Cambridge Circle, Suite 250
Kansas City, Kansas 66103
(913) 982-0500
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
E. Ramey Layne
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
1001 Fannin Street, Suite 2500
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 758-2222
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement as determined by market conditions and other factors
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ¨
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box: x
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ¨ | Accelerated filer | x | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company | ¨ |
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Title of Securities to be Registered | Amount to be Registered |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price |
Amount of Registration Fee | ||||
Primary Offering(1)(2): |
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Common Units representing limited partner interests |
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Other classes of units representing limited partner interests(3) |
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Total Primary |
(1) | (2) | $250,000,000(4) | $25,175.00(5) | ||||
Secondary Offering: |
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Common Units representing limited partner interests |
63,107,630(6) | $7.57(6) | $477,724,759.10 | $48,106.88(7) | ||||
Total (Primary and Secondary) |
| | $727,724,759.10 | $73,281.88(8) | ||||
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(1) | There are being registered hereunder such presently indeterminate number of common units representing limited partner interests of CVR Partners, LP and other classes of units which represent limited partner interests of CVR Partners, LP, which may be offered and sold, on a primary basis, in such amount as shall result in an aggregate offering price not to exceed $250,000,000. This Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate amount of securities as may be issued in exchange for, or upon conversion or exercise of, as the case may be, the securities registered hereunder. |
(2) | With respect to the primary offering, the proposed maximum aggregate offering price for each class of securities to be registered is not specified pursuant to General Instruction II.D. of Form S-3. |
(3) | Other classes of units representing limited partner interests can include, but is not limited to, preferred units and partnership securities. |
(4) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). With respect to the primary offering, in no event will the aggregate initial offering price of all securities offered from time to time pursuant to this Registration Statement exceed $250,000,000. |
(5) | Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act. |
(6) | Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act, the number of common units being registered on behalf of the selling unitholders shall be adjusted to include any additional common units that may become issuable as a result of any unit distribution, split, combination or similar transaction. |
(7) | Pursuant to Rule 457(c) of the Securities Act, the registration fee is calculated on the basis of the average of the high and low sale prices of our common units on April 25, 2016, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. |
(8) | In reliance on Rule 457(p) under the Securities Act, the Registrant is offsetting $73,281.88 of the total amount of the registration fee, which represents a part of the unsold portion of the securities that were previously registered by CVR Partners, LP pursuant to Registration Statement No. 333-183390, initially filed on August 17, 2012 that have not been sold. Pursuant to Rule 457(p) under the Securities Act, such unutilized filing fee may be applied to the filing fee payable pursuant to this Registration Statement. As a result, no additional filing fee is being paid with the initial filing of this Registration Statement. |
The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrants shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a) of the Securities Act, may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. Securities may not be sold pursuant to this prospectus until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PROSPECTUS
Subject to completion, dated April 29, 2016
CVR PARTNERS, LP
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
Other Classes of Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
We may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell (i) common units representing limited partner interests in CVR Partners, LP (common units) and (ii) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in CVR Partners, LP (other units). We refer to the common units and the other units collectively as the securities. The aggregate initial offering price of all securities sold by us under this prospectus will not exceed $250,000,000.
The selling unitholders named in this prospectus may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to 63,107,630 common units. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of these common units by the selling unitholders. For a more detailed discussion of the selling unitholders, please read Selling Unitholders.
We or the selling unitholders may offer and sell these securities to or through one or more underwriters, dealers or agents, or directly to investors, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of the offering. This prospectus describes only the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities. The specific terms of any securities we or the selling unitholders offer will, if not included in this prospectus or information incorporated by reference herein, be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may describe the specific manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities and also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Certain selling unitholders, as affiliates of ours, may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act) and, as a result, may be deemed to be offering securities, indirectly, on our behalf.
You should read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein carefully before you invest in any of our securities. You should also read the documents we have referred you to in the Where You Can Find More Information and Information We Incorporate by Reference sections of this prospectus for information about us, including our financial statements. This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE), under the symbol UAN. We will provide information in the related prospectus supplement for the trading market, if any, for any other securities that may be offered.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks relating to investing in our securities and each of the other risk factors described under Risk Factors on page 1 of this prospectus before you make an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
THE DATE OF THIS PROSPECTUS IS , 2016
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Ratio of Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preference Dividends |
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Our Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions |
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In making your investment decision, you should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone else to give you different information. We are not offering these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents. We will disclose any material changes in our affairs in an amendment to this prospectus, a prospectus supplement or a future filing with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using a shelf registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may over time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to $250,000,000 in total aggregate offering price of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus. In addition, the selling unitholders may over time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to 63,107,630 of our common units.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of CVR Partners, LP and the securities that are registered hereunder that may be offered by us or the selling unitholders. Each time we sell any securities offered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering and the securities being offered. Because certain of the selling unitholders may be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act, each time such selling unitholders sell any common units offered by this prospectus, such selling unitholder is required to provide you with this prospectus and any related prospectus supplement containing specific information about such selling unitholders and the terms of the common units being offered in the manner required by the Securities Act. Any prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information contained in this prospectus. To the extent information in this prospectus is inconsistent with the information contained in a prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
The information in this prospectus is accurate as of its date. Additional information, including our financial statements and the notes thereto, is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our reports filed with the SEC and is accurate as of the date stated in such report. Before you invest in our securities, you should carefully read this prospectus, including the Risk Factors, any prospectus supplement, the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement (including the documents described under the heading Where You Can Find More Information in both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement) and any additional information you may need to make your investment decision.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and other reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any materials we file at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-732-0330 for further information on their Public Reference Room. Our SEC filings are also available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You can also obtain information about us at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange, 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005, or on our website at www.cvrpartners.com. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus unless specifically so designated and filed with the SEC.
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INFORMATION WE INCORPORATE BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we have filed with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you without actually including the specific information in this prospectus by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. Information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and may replace information in this prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.
The documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act) (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K), including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date on which the registration statement that includes this prospectus was initially filed with the SEC and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus until the termination of all offerings under this registration statement:
| our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed on February 18, 2016; |
| our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, filed on April 29, 2016; |
| the description of our common units contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed on April 4, 2011; and |
| our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 7, 2016, February 2, 2016, February 9, 2016 and April 7, 2016, and Current Report on Form 8-K/A Amendment No. 1 filed on April 29, 2016. |
You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus, at no cost, by writing or calling us at the following address:
CVR Partners, LP
2277 Plaza Drive, Suite 500
Sugar Land, Texas 77479
(281)207-3200
You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference in, this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with any information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than its respective date.
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This prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding the expected benefits of the mergers to CVR Partners, the expected financial position, business strategy, revenues, earnings, costs, capital expenditures and debt levels of the company, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, words such as we may, can, expect, intend, plan, estimate, anticipate, project, believe, will or should or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. It is uncertain whether the events anticipated will transpire or, if they do occur, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of CVR Partners. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. In particular, statements, express or implied, concerning future actions, conditions or events, future operating results, the ability to generate sales, income or cash flow, to realize cost savings or other benefits associated with the mergers, to service debt or to make distributions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future actions, conditions or events and future results of operations may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Many of the factors that will determine actual results are beyond the ability of CVR Partners to control or predict. Specific factors which could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include:
| our ability to make cash distributions on the common units; |
| the volatile nature of our business and the variable nature of our distributions; |
| the ability of our general partner to modify or revoke our distribution policy at any time; |
| the cyclical nature of our business; |
| the seasonal nature of our business; |
| the dependence of our operations on a few third-party suppliers, including providers of transportation services and equipment; |
| our reliance on pet coke that we purchase from CVR Refining; |
| our reliance on the natural gas and electricity that we purchase from third parties; |
| the supply and price levels of essential raw materials; |
| the risk of a material decline in production at our nitrogen fertilizer plants; |
| potential operating hazards from accidents, fire, severe weather, floods or other natural disasters; |
| competition in the nitrogen fertilizer businesses; |
| capital expenditures and potential liabilities arising from environmental laws and regulations; |
| existing and proposed environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to climate change, alternative energy or fuel sources, and the end-use and application of fertilizers; |
| new regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous chemicals, risks of terrorism and the security of chemical manufacturing facilities; |
| the risk of security breaches; |
| our lack of asset diversification; |
| our dependence on significant customers; |
| the potential loss of our transportation cost advantage over our competitors; |
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| our partial dependence on customer and distributor transportation of purchased goods; |
| our potential inability to successfully implement our business strategies, including the completion of significant capital programs; |
| our reliance on CVR Energys senior management team and conflicts of interest they face operating each of CVR Partners, CVR Refining and CVR Energy; |
| the risk of labor disputes and adverse employee relations; |
| risks relating to our relationships with CVR Energy and CVR Refining; |
| control of our general partner by CVR Energy; |
| our ability to continue to license the technology used in our operations; |
| restrictions in our debt agreements; |
| changes in our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income or state tax purposes; |
| instability and volatility in the capital and credit markets; |
| risks, contingencies and uncertainties associated with the announced mergers; |
| our ability to complete the successful integration of the announced mergers into our business and to realize the synergies from such mergers; |
| CVR Energy and its affiliates may compete with us following consummation of the announced mergers; and |
| other risks described under the caption Risk Factors in CVR Partners and East Dubuque Nitrogen Partners, L.P.s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2015 and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. |
If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or expected. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in this prospectus or incorporated by reference herein, including those described in the Risk Factors section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and, to the extent applicable, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any prospectus supplement. The risk factors and other factors included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference herein and therein are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus or, in the case of forward-looking statements contained in any document incorporated by reference, the date of such document, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update these statements after the date they are made to reflect any change in our expectations or beliefs, any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based or otherwise.
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References in this prospectus to CVR Partners, the Partnership, we, our, us or like terms refer to CVR Partners, LP and its subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated. References in this prospectus to CVR Energy refer to CVR Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries other than CVR Partners unless the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, and references to CVR GP or our general partner refer to CVR GP, LLC which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CVR Energy.
We are a Delaware limited partnership formed by CVR Energy to own, operate and grow our nitrogen fertilizer business.
Our principal executive offices are located at 2277 Plaza Drive, Suite 500, Sugar Land, Texas 77479, and our telephone number is (281) 207-3200. Our website is www.cvrpartners.com. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus.
For additional information as to our business, properties and financial condition, please refer to the documents cited in Information We Incorporate by Reference.
An investment in our securities involves a significant degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors and all of the other information included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, including those in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as updated by our quarterly and other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, in evaluating an investment in the securities. If any of these risks were actually to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. When we offer and sell any securities pursuant to a prospectus supplement, we may include additional risk factors relevant to such securities in the prospectus supplement.
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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERENCE DIVIDENDS
The table below sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preference dividends for the periods presented. During the periods presented, we had no preference equity securities outstanding. Therefore, for each period, the ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preference dividends is the same.
Three Months Ended March 31, |
Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges |
11.5 | 9.6 | 11.6 | 17.4 | 16.0 | 24.4 |
For purposes of calculating the ratio of consolidated earnings to fixed charges:
| earnings is the aggregate of the following items: pre-tax income from continuing operations before adjustment for income or loss from equity investees; plus fixed charges; plus amortization of capitalized interest; and less capitalized interest; and |
| fixed charges means the sum of the following: interest expensed and capitalized; amortized premiums, discounts and capitalized expenses related to indebtedness; and an estimate of the interest within rental expense. Fixed charges are not reduced by any allowance for funds used during construction. |
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Except as otherwise provided in an applicable prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds we receive from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general partnership purposes, including repayment of debt, acquisitions, capital expenditures and additions to working capital.
The actual application of proceeds we receive from any particular primary offering of securities using this prospectus will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to such offering.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE UNITS AND THE PREFERRED UNITS
The Units
The common units offered hereby (units) represent limited partner interests in us. The holders of units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units and subordinated units in and to partnership distributions, please read this section and How We Make Cash Distributions. For a description of other rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read Description of Our Partnership Agreement.
Transfer of Common Units
By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:
| represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement; |
| automatically agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of, and is deemed to have executed, our partnership agreement; and |
| gives the consents and approvals contained in our partnership agreement. |
A transferee will become a substituted limited partner of our partnership for the transferred common units automatically upon the recording of the transfer on our books and records. Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records from time to time as necessary to accurately reflect the transfers.
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holders rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
Common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Duties. American Stock Transfer & Trust Company serves as registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units, except the following, which must be paid by unitholders:
| surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates, taxes and other governmental charges; |
| special charges for services requested by a holder of a common unit; and |
| other similar fees or charges. |
There is no charge to unitholders for disbursements of our quarterly cash distributions. We will indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
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Resignation or Removal. The transfer agent may resign, by notice to us, or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If a successor has not been appointed or has not accepted its appointment within 30 days after notice of the resignation or removal, our general partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.
Listing
Our common units are traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAN.
The Preferred Units
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional limited partner interests and other equity securities for the consideration and with the designations, preferences, rights, powers and duties established by our general partner without the approval of any of our limited partners. In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may issue additional partnership interests that have special voting rights to which our common units or subordinated units are not entitled. As of the date of this prospectus, we have no preferred units outstanding.
Should we offer preferred units under this prospectus, a prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of preferred units offered will include the specific terms of those preferred units, including, among other things, the following:
| the designation, stated value and liquidation preference of the preferred units and the number of preferred units offered; |
| the price at which the preferred units will be issued; |
| the conversion or exchange provisions of the preferred units; |
| any redemption or sinking fund provisions of the preferred units; |
| the distribution rights of the preferred units, if any; |
| a discussion of any additional material federal income tax considerations regarding the preferred units; and |
| any additional rights, preferences, privileges, limitations and restrictions of the preferred units. |
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DESCRIPTION OF PARTNERSHIP SECURITIES
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional limited partner interests and other equity securities for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our general partner without the approval of any limited partners.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we also may issue additional partnership interests that, if approved by our general partner, have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled.
The following is a description of the general terms and provisions of our partnership securities. The particular terms of any series of partnership securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement and the amendment to our partnership agreement, if necessary, relating to that series of partnership securities, which will be filed as an exhibit to or incorporated by reference in this prospectus at or before the time of issuance of any such series of partnership securities. If so indicated in a prospectus supplement, the terms of any such series may differ from the terms set forth below.
Our general partner is authorized to approve the issuance of one or more series of partnership securities without further authorization of the limited partners and to fix the number of securities, the designations, rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions of any such series.
The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the number of securities, particular designation, relative rights and preferences and the limitations of any series of partnership securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered. The particular terms of any such series may include the following:
| the maximum number, if any, of securities to constitute the series and the designation and ranking thereof; |
| the distribution rate, if any, on securities of the series, whether such rate is fixed or variable or both, the dates from which distributions will begin to accrue or accumulate, whether distributions will be cumulative and whether such distributions will be paid in cash, securities or otherwise; |
| whether the securities of the series will be redeemable and, if so, the price and the terms and conditions on which the securities of the series may be redeemed, including the time during which securities of the series may be redeemed and any accumulated distributions thereof that the holders of the securities of the series will be entitled to receive upon the redemption thereof; |
| the liquidation preference, if any, applicable to securities of the series; |
| the terms and conditions, if any, on which the securities of the series will be convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities of any other class or classes of partnership securities, including the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same; and |
| the voting rights, if any, of the securities of the series. |
Partnership securities will be fully paid and non-assessable when issued upon full payment of the purchase price therefor. The prospectus supplement will contain, if applicable, a description of the material United States federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase and ownership of the series of partnership securities offered by the prospectus supplement. The transfer agent, registrar and distributions disbursement agent for the partnership securities will be designated in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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HOW WE MAKE CASH DISTRIBUTIONS
Set forth below is a summary of the significant provisions of our partnership agreement that relate to cash distributions.
General
We expect to make distributions generally within 60 days after the end of each quarter as determined by the board of directors of our general partner, to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.
Common Units Eligible for Distribution
As of the date of this prospectus, we have 113,282,973 common units outstanding. Each common unit is allocated a portion of our income, gain, loss, deduction and credit on a pro-rata basis, and each common unit will be entitled to receive distributions (including upon liquidation) in the same manner as each other common unit.
Method of Distributions
We will pay distributions pursuant to our general partners determination of the amount of available cash for the applicable quarter, which we then distribute to our unitholders as of a fixed record date on a pro rata basis. However, our partnership agreement allows us to issue an unlimited number of additional equity interests of equal or senior rank. Our partnership agreement permits us to borrow to make distributions, but we are not required and do not intend to borrow to pay quarterly distributions. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that we will pay any distribution on the units in any quarter. We do not have a legal obligation to pay distributions, and the amount of distributions paid under our cash distribution policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by the board of directors of our general partner. In addition, the indenture governing our second lien notes includes provisions that may restrict our ability to make distributions. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital ResourcesMerger-Related Financing Arrangements incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 for a discussion of provisions included in our indenture that may restrict our ability to make distributions.
General Partner Interest
Our general partner owns a non-economic general partner interest and is not entitled to receive cash distributions. However, it may acquire common units and other equity interests in the future and will be entitled to receive pro rata distributions therefrom.
Adjustments to Capital Accounts Upon Issuance of Additional Common Units
We will make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional common units. In doing so, we will generally allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes, unrecognized gain or loss resulting from the adjustments to our unitholders prior to such issuance on a pro rata basis, so that after such issuance, the capital account balances attributable to all common units are equal.
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AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS
You should read the following discussion of our cash distribution policy and restrictions on distributions in conjunction with the specific assumptions upon which our cash distribution policy is based. For additional information regarding our historical operating results, you should refer to Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation and our audited historical consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, you should read Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements for information regarding statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and certain risks inherent in our business.
Our Cash Distribution Policy
Our general partners current policy is to distribute all of the available cash we generate each quarter. Available cash for each quarter is determined by the board of directors of our general partner following the end of such quarter. Available cash for each quarter generally has been calculated as Adjusted EBITDA reduced for cash needed for (i) net cash interest expense (excluding capitalized interest) and debt service and other contractual obligations; (ii) maintenance capital expenditures; and (iii) to the extent applicable, major scheduled turnaround expenses, reserves for future operating or capital needs that the board of directors of the general partner deems necessary or appropriate, and expenses associated with the Rentech Nitrogen mergers, if any. Available cash for distribution may be increased by the release of previously established cash reserves, if any, at the discretion of the board of directors of our general partner. We do not maintain excess distribution coverage for the purpose of maintaining stability or growth in our quarterly distribution or otherwise to reserve cash for distributions, nor do we intend to incur debt to pay quarterly distributions. We expect to finance substantially all of our growth externally, either by debt issuances or additional issuances of equity.
Because our policy is to distribute all available cash we generate each quarter, without reserving cash for future distributions or borrowing to pay distributions during periods of low cash flow from operations, our unitholders have direct exposure to fluctuations in the amount of cash generated by our business. We expect that the amount of our quarterly distributions, if any, will vary based on our earnings during each quarter. Our quarterly cash distributions, if any, will not be stable and will vary from quarter to quarter as a direct result of variations in our operating performance and earnings caused by fluctuations in the price of nitrogen fertilizers, among other factors. Such variations may be significant. The board of directors of our general partner may change the foregoing distribution policy at any time and from time to time. Our partnership agreement does not require us to pay cash distributions on a quarterly or other basis.
Limitations on Cash Distributions; Our Ability to Change Our Cash Distribution Policy
There is no guarantee that unitholders will receive quarterly cash distributions from us. Our distribution policy may be changed at any time and is subject to certain restrictions, including:
| Our unitholders have no contractual or other legal right to receive cash distributions from us on a quarterly or other basis. Our general partners current policy is to distribute to our unitholders each quarter all of the available cash we generate each quarter, as determined quarterly by the board of directors, but it may change this policy at any time. |
| Our business performance is expected to be more seasonal and volatile, and our cash flows are expected to be less stable, than the business performance and cash flows of most publicly traded partnerships. As a result, our quarterly cash distributions will be volatile and are expected to vary quarterly and annually. Unlike most publicly traded partnerships, we do not have a minimum quarterly distribution or employ structures intended to consistently maintain or increase quarterly distributions over time. Furthermore, none of our limited partnership interests, including those held by Coffeyville Resources are subordinate in right of distribution payment to the common units. |
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| The amount of distributions we pay under our cash distribution policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by the board of directors of our general partner. Our partnership agreement does not provide for any minimum quarterly distributions. |
| Under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act, we may not make a distribution to our limited partners if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets. |
| Our distribution policy may be subject to restrictions on distributions under our indenture. The indenture may restrict our ability to make distributions unless we are in compliance with our fixed charge coverage ratio and there is no default or event of default under the indenture. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital ResourcesMerger-Related Financing Arrangements incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. Should we be unable to satisfy these restrictions under our indenture, we may be prohibited from making cash distributions to you. |
We may lack sufficient cash to make distributions to our unitholders due to a number of factors that would adversely affect us, including but not limited to decreases in net sales or increases in operating expenses, principal and interest payments on debt, working capital requirements, capital expenditures or anticipated cash needs. See Risk Factors for information regarding these factors.
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DESCRIPTION OF OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The following is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. A copy of our partnership agreement is available through the SECs website at www.sec.gov. We will provide prospective investors with a copy of our partnership agreement upon request at no charge. See Where You Can Find More Information.
We summarize the following provisions of our partnership agreement elsewhere in this prospectus:
| with regard to distributions of available cash, please read How We Make Cash Distributions; |
| with regard to the duties of, and standard of care applicable to, our general partner, please read Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties; |
| with regard to the transfer of common units, please read Description of the Units and the Preferred UnitsTransfer of Common Units; and |
| with regard to allocations of taxable income and taxable loss, please read Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences. |
Organization and Duration
We were organized on June 12, 2007 and will have a perpetual existence unless terminated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement.
Purpose
Our purpose under our partnership agreement is limited to engaging in any business activity that is approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law.
Although our general partner has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than those related to the nitrogen fertilizer business and activities now or hereafter customarily conducted in conjunction with this business, our general partner may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or our limited partners. In general, our general partner is authorized to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.
Capital Contributions
Common unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under Limited Liability. For a discussion of our general partners right to contribute capital to maintain its and its affiliates percentage interest if we issue partnership interests, see Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests.
Voting Rights
The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for the matters specified below. Matters requiring the approval of a unit majority require the approval of a majority of the common units. As of the date of the prospectus, CVR Energy indirectly controls approximately 34% of our common units.
In voting their common units, our general partner and its affiliates will have no fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. The holders of a majority of the common units (including common units deemed owned by our
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general partner) represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of such common unitholders, unless any such action requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of such units in which case the quorum shall be such greater percentage.
The following is a summary of the vote requirements specified for certain matters under our partnership agreement:
Issuance of additional partnership interests |
No approval right. See Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests. |
Amendment of our partnership agreement |
Certain amendments may be made by our general partner without the approval of the common unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a unit majority. See Amendment of Our Partnership Agreement. |
Merger of our partnership or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets |
Unit majority in certain circumstances. See Merger, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets. |
Dissolution of our partnership |
Unit majority. See Termination and Dissolution. |
Continuation of our partnership upon dissolution |
Unit majority. See Termination and Dissolution. |
Withdrawal of our general partner |
Under most circumstances, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required for the withdrawal of our general partner prior to March 31, 2021. See Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner. |
Removal of our general partner |
Not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding common units, including common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. See Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner. |
Transfer of the general partner interest |
Our general partner may transfer all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in us without a vote of our unitholders to an affiliate or another person in connection with its merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, such person. The approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required in other circumstances for a transfer of the general partner interest to a third party prior to March 31, 2021. See Transfer of General Partner Interests. |
Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner |
No approval required at any time. See Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner. |
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If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of such units. This loss of voting rights does not apply to any person or group that acquires the units from our general partner or its affiliates and any transferees of that person or group approved by our general partner or to any person or group who acquires the units with the specific approval of our general partner.
Management
Our general partner, CVR GP, LLC, manages our operations and activities subject to the terms and conditions specified in our partnership agreement. Our general partner is owned by Coffeyville Resources, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CVR Energy. The operations of our general partner in its capacity as general partner are managed by its board of directors. Actions by our general partner that are made in its individual capacity are made by Coffeyville Resources as the sole member of our general partner and not by the board of directors of our general partner. Our general partner is not elected by our unitholders and is not be subject to re-election on a regular basis in the future. The officers of our general partner manage the day-to-day affairs of our business.
Limited partners are not entitled to elect the directors of our general partner or directly or indirectly participate in our management or operation. Our general partner is liable, as a general partner, for all of our debts (to the extent not paid from our assets), except for indebtedness or other obligations that are made expressly non-recourse to it. Our general partner therefore may cause us to incur indebtedness or other obligations that are non-recourse to it. Our credit facility is non-recourse to our general partner.
Whenever our general partner makes a determination or takes or declines to take an action in its individual, rather than representative, capacity, it is entitled to make such determination or to take or decline to take such other action free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us, any limited partner or assignee, and it is not required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by our partnership agreement or under Delaware law or any other law. Examples include the exercise of its call right or its registration rights, its voting rights with respect to the units it owns and its determination whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership. Actions by our general partner that are made in its individual capacity are made by Coffeyville Resources, the sole member of our general partner, not by its board of directors.
Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction
Our partnership agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:
| arising out of or relating in any way to the partnership agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of the partnership agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us); |
| brought in a derivative manner on our behalf; |
| asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our general partner, or owed by our general partner, to us or the limited partners; |
| asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Act; or |
| asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. |
shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims. By purchasing a common unit, a
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limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings.
Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act and that it otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of our partnership agreement, its liability under the Delaware Act will be limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital it is obligated to contribute to us for its common units plus its share of any undistributed profits and assets. If it were determined, however, that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:
| to remove or replace our general partner, |
| to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement, or |
| to take other action under our partnership agreement, |
constituted participation in the control of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware to the same extent as our general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us who reasonably believe that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our partnership agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our general partner. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no precedent for such a claim in Delaware case law.
Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware Act provides that a limited partner who receives a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years. Under the Delaware Act, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of his assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except that such person is not obligated for liabilities unknown to him at the time he became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from the partnership agreement.
Our subsidiaries conduct business in multiple states. We and our current subsidiaries or any future subsidiaries may conduct business in other states in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as a member of our operating company may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which our operating company conducts business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there. We have attempted to limit our liability for the obligations of our operating subsidiary by structuring it as a limited liability company.
If, by virtue of our membership interest in our operating subsidiary or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or liability company statute, or that the right, or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group, to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement, or to take other action under our partnership agreement constituted participation in the control of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of
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that jurisdiction to the same extent as our general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.
Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders.
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing holders of common units in our quarterly cash distributions. In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled or are senior in right of distribution to the common units. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiary of equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.
Our general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units, whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain its and its affiliates percentage interest, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The holders of common units will not have preemptive rights under our partnership agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests.
Amendment of Our Partnership Agreement
General
Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or any partner, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. In order to adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below under No Unitholder Approval, our general partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of common units required to approve the amendment or call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a unit majority.
Prohibited Amendments
No amendment may be made that would:
(1) | enlarge the obligations of any limited partner or general partner without its consent, unless approved by at least a majority of the type or class of partner interests so affected; |
(2) | enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to our general partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of our general partner, which consent may be given or withheld in its sole discretion; |
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(3) | change certain of the terms under which we can be dissolved; or |
(4) | change the term of the Partnership. |
The provision of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in any of the clauses above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding common units, voting together as a single class (including common units owned by our general partner and its affiliates).
No Unitholder Approval
Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any other partner to reflect:
| a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office; |
| the admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement; |
| a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for us to qualify or to continue our qualification as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that neither we nor our subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed); |
| an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our general partner or its directors, officers, agents, or trustees from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or plan asset regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed; |
| an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the creation, authorization, or issuance of additional partnership interests or rights to acquire partnership interests, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement; |
| any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone; |
| an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our partnership agreement; |
| any amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement; |
| a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes; |
| mergers with or conveyances to another limited liability entity that is newly formed and has no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of the merger or conveyance other than those it receives by way of the merger or conveyance; or |
| any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described above. |
In addition, our general partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any partner if our general partner determines that those amendments:
| do not adversely affect in any material respect the partners considered as a whole or any particular class of partners; |
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| are necessary or appropriate to satisfy any requirements, conditions, or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling, or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute; |
| are necessary or appropriate to facilitate the trading of limited partner interests or to comply with any rule, regulation, guideline, or requirement of any securities exchange on which the limited partner interests are or will be listed for trading; |
| are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by our general partner relating to splits or combinations of common units under the provisions of our partnership agreement; or |
| are required to effect the intent expressed in this prospectus or the intent of the provisions of our partnership agreement or are otherwise contemplated by our partnership agreement. |
Opinion of Counsel and Unitholder Approval
For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will not result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners or result in our being treated as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments. No other amendments to our partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the outstanding common units voting as a single class unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under Delaware law of any of our limited partners.
Any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding common units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of common units so affected. Any amendment that would reduce the percentage of units required to take any action, other than to remove the general partner or call a meeting of unitholders must be approved by the affirmative vote of partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the percentage sought to be reduced.
Merger, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets
A merger or consolidation or conversion of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to consent to any merger or consolidation and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or other partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interest of us or the other partners.
In addition, our partnership agreement generally prohibits our general partner, without the prior approval of the holders of a unit majority, from causing us to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, including by way of merger, consolidation or other combination. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without that approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without that approval.
Finally, our general partner may consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in a material amendment to the partnership agreement (other than an amendment that the general partner could adopt without the consent of other partners), each of our common units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the partnership securities to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests immediately prior to the transaction.
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If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may convert us or our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity, if the sole purpose of that conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, we have received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our partnership agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.
Termination and Dissolution
We will continue as a limited partnership until terminated under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:
(1) | the election of our general partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of common units representing a unit majority; |
(2) | there being no limited partners, unless we are continued without dissolution in accordance with applicable Delaware law; |
(3) | the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our partnership; or |
(4) | the withdrawal or removal of our general partner or any other event that results in its ceasing to be our general partner other than by reason of a transfer of its general partner interest in accordance with our partnership agreement or withdrawal or removal following approval and admission of a successor. |
Upon a dissolution under clause (4), the holders of a unit majority may also elect, within specific time limitations, to continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our partnership agreement by appointing as a successor general partner an entity approved by the holders of common units representing a unit majority, subject to our receipt of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:
| the action would not result in the loss of limited liability under Delaware law of any limited partner; and |
| neither our partnership nor our subsidiaries would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of that right to continue (to the extent not already so treated or taxed). |
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as set forth in our partnership agreement. The liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time or distribute assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to our partners.
Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner
Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to March 31, 2021 without obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates (including CVR Energy), and by giving 90 days written notice and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after March 31, 2021, our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without
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unitholder approval upon 90 days notice to the unitholders if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and its affiliates other than our general partner and its affiliates. In addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner in some instances to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest without the approval of the unitholders. See Transfer of General Partner Interest.
Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by our general partner of all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders of a majority of the outstanding classes of common units voting as a single class may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period of time after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. See Termination and Dissolution.
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding common units, voting together as a single class, including common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units. The ownership of more than 33 1/3% of the outstanding common units by our general partner and its affiliates (including Coffeyville Resources) gives them the ability to prevent our general partners removal. Affiliates of our general partner currently own approximately 34% of the outstanding common units.
In the event of removal of our general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of our general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of the general partner interest. Under all other circumstances where our general partner withdraws or is removed, the departing general partner will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner for its fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. Or, if the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of them will determine the fair market value.
If the option described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partners general partner interest will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due to the general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred for the termination of any employees employed by the departing general partner or its affiliates for our benefit.
Transfer of General Partner Interest
Except for the transfer by our general partner of all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in our partnership to:
| an affiliate of our general partner (other than an individual), or |
| another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of our general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by our general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to another entity, |
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our general partner may not transfer all or any part of its general partner interest to another person prior to March 31, 2021 without the approval of both the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. On or after March 31, 2021, the general partner interest will be freely transferable. As a condition of any transfer, the transferee must, among other things, assume the rights and duties of our general partner, agree to be bound by the provisions of our partnership agreement and furnish an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters.
Our general partner and its affiliates may at any time transfer common units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner
At any time, the owners of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part of their ownership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or a third party without the approval of our unitholders.
Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove CVR GP, LLC as our general partner or otherwise change management. See Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner for a discussion of certain consequences of the removal of our general partner. If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of common units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its common units. This loss of voting rights does not apply in certain circumstances. See Voting Rights.
Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests of the class held by public unitholders, as of a record date to be selected by our general partner, on at least 10 but not more than 60 days notice. The only class of limited partner interest outstanding is the common units, and affiliates of our general partner currently own approximately 34% of the total outstanding common units.
The purchase price in the event of such an acquisition will be the greater of:
(1) | the highest price paid by our general partner or any of its affiliates for any limited partner interests of the class purchased within the 90 days preceding the date on which our general partner first mails notice of its election to purchase those limited partner interests; and |
(2) | the average of the daily closing prices of the limited partner interests over the 20 trading days preceding the date three days before notice of exercise of the call right is first mailed. |
As a result of our general partners right to purchase outstanding common units, a holder of common units may have its common units purchased at an undesirable time or at a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. The U.S. federal income tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his common units in the market. See Material U.S. Federal Income Tax ConsequencesDisposition of Common Units.
Non-Citizen Assignees; Redemption
If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are subject to U.S. federal, state or local laws or regulations that create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property that we have an
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interest in because of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of any limited partner, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
| obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of our limited partner (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and |
| permit us to redeem the common units held by any person whose nationality, citizenship or other related status creates substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by the board to obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status. The redemption price in the case of such redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption. |
Non-Taxpaying Assignees; Redemption
To avoid any adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by our subsidiary, or in order to reverse an adverse determination that has occurred regarding such maximum rate, our partnership agreement provides our general partner the power to amend the agreement. If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines that our not being treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, coupled with the tax status (or lack of proof thereof) of one or more of our partners, has, or is reasonably likely to have, a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by our current or future subsidiaries, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
| obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status of our partner (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and |
| permit us to redeem the common units held by any person whose tax status has or is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by the general partner to obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status. The redemption price in the case of such redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption. |
Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, unitholders who are record holders of common units on the record date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our unitholders and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited. Our general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of unitholders will be called in the foreseeable future. Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. See Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests. However, if at any time any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, a direct or subsequently approved transferee of our general partner or their affiliates, or, upon the approval by the general partner, any other unitholder, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of
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unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum, or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise.
Any notice, demand, request, report, or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record holders of common units under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Status as Limited Partner or Assignee
Except as described above under Limited Liability, the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions. By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units will be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records.
Indemnification
Under our partnership agreement we will indemnify the following persons in most circumstances, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements or other amounts arising from any and all threatened, pending or completed claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings:
(1) | our general partner; |
(2) | any departing general partner; |
(3) | any person who is or was a director, officer, fiduciary, trustee, manager or managing member of us or our subsidiary, our general partner or any departing general partner; |
(4) | any person who is or was serving as a director, officer, fiduciary, trustee, manager or managing member of another person owing a fiduciary duty to us or our subsidiary at the request of a general partner or any departing general partner; |
(5) | any person who controls our general partner; or |
(6) | any person designated by our general partner. |
Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless they otherwise agree, our general partner will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or loan funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under our partnership agreement.
Reimbursement of Expenses
Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner for (1) all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf (including salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to any person, including affiliates of our general partner, to perform services for us or for the general partner in the discharge of its duties to us) and (2) all other expenses reasonably allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our general partner in connection with operating our business (including expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates). Our general partner is entitled to determine the expenses that are allocable to us.
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Books and Reports
Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. The books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.
We will furnish or make available to record holders of our common units, within 105 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited financial statements and a report on those financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available a report containing our unaudited financial statements within 50 days after the close of each quarter. We will be deemed to have made any such report available if we file such report with the SEC on EDGAR or make the report available on a publicly available website which we maintain.
We will furnish each record holder of a unit with tax information reasonably required for federal and state income tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to unitholders will depend on the cooperation of unitholders in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his federal and state tax liability and filing his federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with information.
In addition, CVR Energy will have full and complete access to any records relating to our business, and our general partner will cause its officers and independent accountants to be available to discuss our business and affairs with CVR Energys officers, agents and employees.
Right to Inspect Our Books and Records
Our partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his/her interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:
(1) | a current list of the name and last known address of each record holder; |
(2) | information as to the amount of cash, and a description and statement of the agreed value of any other capital contribution, contributed or to be contributed by each partner and the date on which each became a partner; |
(3) | copies of our partnership agreement, our certificate of limited partnership, related amendments and powers of attorney under which they have been executed; |
(4) | information regarding the status of our business and financial condition (provided that obligation shall be satisfied to the extent the limited partner is furnished our most recent annual report and any subsequent quarterly or periodic reports required to be filed (or which would be required to be filed) with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act); and |
(5) | any other information regarding our affairs that our general partner determines is just and reasonable. |
Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
Registration Rights
Under our partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any units sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates if an exemption from
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the registration requirements is not otherwise available. We will not be required to effect more than two registrations pursuant to this provision in any twelve-month period, and our general partner can defer filing a registration statement for up to six months if it determines that this would be in our best interests due to a pending transaction, investigation or other event. We have also agreed that, if we at any time propose to file a registration statement for an offering of partnership interests for cash, we will use all commercially reasonable efforts to include such number of partnership interests in such registration statement as any of our general partner or any of its affiliates shall request. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to these registrations, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The registration rights in our partnership agreement are applicable with respect to our general partner and its affiliates after it ceases to be a general partner for up to two years following the effective date of such cessation. In addition, we entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement with Coffeyville Resources effective as of the closing of our Initial Public Offering, pursuant to which we may be required to register the sale of the common units it holds. Coffeyville Resources has exercised its registration rights under this amended and restated registration rights agreement in connection with this prospectus.
In addition, in connection with our acquisition of Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. and Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC (the mergers), we entered into a registration rights agreement with Rentech Nitrogen Holdings, Inc. (Rentech Nitrogen Holdings) and DSHC, LLC (DSHC). Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, we are required to file a registration statement to register the public resale of common units issued to Rentech Nitrogen Holdings and DSHC as part of the merger consideration. In addition, the registration rights agreement gives Rentech Nitrogen Holdings and DSHC piggyback registration rights under certain circumstances. The registration rights agreement also includes provisions dealing with holdback agreements, indemnification and contribution and allocation of expenses. These registration rights are transferable to affiliates of Rentech Nitrogen Holdings and DSHC and, in certain circumstances, to third parties.
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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our general partner and its affiliates (including Coffeyville Resources and CVR Energy), on the one hand, and us and our public unitholders, on the other hand. Conflicts may arise as a result of (1) the overlap of directors and officers between our general partner and CVR Energy, which may result in conflicting obligations by these officers and directors, and (2) duties of our general partner to act for the benefit of CVR Energy and its stockholders, which may conflict with our interests and the interests of our public unitholders. The directors and officers of our general partner have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to Coffeyville Resources, its owner, and the stockholders of CVR Energy, its indirect parent. At the same time, our general partner has a contractual duty under our partnership agreement to manage us in a manner that is in our best interests.
Whenever a conflict arises between our general partner, on the one hand, and us or any other public unitholder, on the other, our general partner will resolve that conflict. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that replace default fiduciary duties with contractual corporate governance standards as set forth therein. Our partnership agreement also restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken that, without such replacement, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under our partnership agreement or its duties to us or our unitholders if the resolution of a conflict is:
| approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; |
| approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any units owned by the general partner or any of its affiliates, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; |
| on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or |
| fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us. |
Our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of its board of directors or from the common unitholders. If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee and its board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the third and fourth bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for in our partnership agreement, our general partner or the conflicts committee may consider any factors it determines in good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. When our partnership agreement requires someone to act in good faith, it requires that person to reasonably believe that he is acting in the best interests of the partnership, unless the context otherwise requires. Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.
We rely primarily on the executive officers of our general partner, many of which also serve as the senior management team of CVR Energy and its affiliates, to manage many aspects of our business and affairs.
Although we have entered into a services agreement with CVR Energy under which we compensate CVR Energy for the services of its management, CVR Energys management is not required to devote any specific amount of time to our business and may devote a substantial majority of their time to the business of CVR Energy rather than to our business. Moreover, either CVR Energy or our general partner can terminate the
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services agreement at any time, subject to a 180-day notice period. Our executive chairman is the chief executive officer of CVR Energy. In addition, the executive officers of CVR Energy, including its chief financial officer and general counsel, will face conflicts of interest if decisions arise in which we and CVR Energy have conflicting points of view or interests.
Our general partners affiliates may compete with us.
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will be restricted from engaging in any business activities other than acting as our general partner, guaranteeing debt of its affiliates and those activities incidental to its ownership of interests in us. However, except as provided in our partnership agreement, affiliates of our general partner (which includes CVR Energy) are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.
The owners of our general partner are not required to share business opportunities with us.
Our partnership agreement provides that the owners of our general partner are permitted to engage in separate businesses which directly compete with us and are not required to share or communicate or offer any potential business opportunities to us even if the opportunity is one that we might reasonably have pursued. The partnership agreement provides that the owners of our general partner will not be liable to us or any unitholder for breach of any duty or obligation by reason of the fact that such person pursued or acquired for itself any business opportunity.
Neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement requires CVR Energy or its affiliates to pursue a business strategy that favors us or utilizes our assets or dictates what markets to pursue or grow. CVR Energys directors and officers have a fiduciary duty to make these decisions in the best interests of the stockholders of CVR Energy, which may be contrary to our interests.
The officers and certain directors of our general partner who are also officers or directors of CVR Energy have fiduciary duties to CVR Energy that may cause them to pursue business strategies that disproportionately benefit CVR Energy or which otherwise are not in our best interests.
Our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us (such as CVR Energy) in exercising certain rights under our partnership agreement.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce the standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Examples include the exercise of its call right, its voting rights with respect to the units it owns, its registration rights and the determination of whether to consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership or amendment of the partnership agreement.
Our general partner has limited its liability in the partnership agreement and replaced default fiduciary duties with contractual corporate governance standards set forth therein, thereby restricting the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that, without such replacement, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
In addition to the provisions described above, our partnership agreement contains provisions that restrict the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. For example, our partnership agreement:
| permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to its capacity as general partner, thereby entitling our general partner to consider only the interests and factors |
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that it desires, and imposes no duty or obligation on our general partner to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner; |
| provides that our general partner shall not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it believed that the decision was in the best interests of our partnership; |
| generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be fair and reasonable to us, as determined by our general partner in good faith, and that, in determining whether a transaction or resolution is fair and reasonable, our general partner may consider the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to us; |
| provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that the general partner or its officers or directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the conduct was criminal; and |
| provides that in resolving conflicts of interest, it will be presumed that in making its decision, the general partner or its conflicts committee acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. |
By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder will agree to become bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. See Fiduciary Duties.
Actions taken by our general partner may affect the amount of cash distributions to unitholders.
The amount of cash that is available for distribution to unitholders is affected by decisions of the board of directors of our general partner regarding such matters as:
| the expenses associated with being a public company and other general and administrative expenses; |
| interest expense and other financing costs related to current and future indebtedness; |
| amount and timing of asset purchases and sales; |
| cash expenditures; |
| borrowings; and |
| issuance of additional units. |
Our partnership agreement permits us to borrow funds to make a distribution on all outstanding units, and further provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates.
Our general partner and its affiliates are not required to own any of our common units. If our general partners affiliates were to sell all or substantially all of their common units, this would heighten the risk that our general partner would act in ways that are more beneficial to itself than our common unitholders.
Affiliates of our general partner own 34% of our outstanding units, but there is no requirement that they continue to do so. The general partner and its affiliates are permitted to sell all of their common units, subject to certain limitations contained in our partnership agreement. In addition, the current owners of our general partner may sell the general partner interest to an unrelated third party. If neither the general partner nor its affiliates
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owned any of our common units, this would heighten the risk that our general partner would act in ways that are more beneficial to itself than our common unitholders.
We reimburse our general partner and its affiliates, including CVR Energy, for expenses.
We reimburse our general partner and its affiliates, including CVR Energy, for costs incurred in managing and operating us, including overhead costs incurred by CVR Energy in rendering corporate staff and support services to us. Our partnership agreement provides that the board of directors of our general partner will determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us and that reimbursement of overhead to CVR Energy as described above is fair and reasonable to us. The services agreement does not contain any cap on the amount we may be required to pay pursuant to this agreement.
Common units are subject to our general partners call right.
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by public unitholders at a price not less than their then-current market price, as calculated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement. As a result, you may be required to sell your common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on your investment. You may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of your common units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the call right. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement that prevents our manager from issuing additional common units and exercising its call right. Our general partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right. See Description of Our Partnership AgreementCall Right.
Contracts between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not be the result of arms-length negotiations.
Our partnership agreement allows our general partner to determine, in good faith, any amounts to pay itself or its affiliates for any services rendered to us. Our general partner may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any of its affiliates on our behalf. Neither our partnership agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts and arrangements between us and our general partner and its affiliates is or will be the result of arms-length negotiations.
Our partnership agreement generally provides that if any affiliated transaction, such as an agreement, contract or arrangement between us and our general partner and its affiliates, is:
| approved by a majority of the members of our conflicts committee; |
| approved by a majority of outstanding common units (excluding those owned by our general partner and its affiliates); |
| on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or |
| fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us) |
it will be deemed approved by all of our partners, and deemed to not constitute a breach of our partnership agreement or any duty thereunder or existing at law.
The prosecution of any disputes or disagreements that could arise in the future under a contract or other agreement between us and our general partner would give rise to an automatic conflict of interest, as a common group of executive officers is likely to be on both sides of the transaction.
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Our general partner and its affiliates will have no obligation to permit us to use any of its facilities or assets, except as may be provided in contracts entered into specifically dealing with that use. There is no obligation of our general partner and its affiliates to enter into any contracts of this kind.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability under future contractual arrangements (and has done so under our credit facility) so that the other party has recourse only to our assets and not against our general partner or its assets. Our partnership agreement provides that any action taken by our general partner to limit its liability or our liability is not a breach of our general partners fiduciary duties, even if we could have obtained terms that are more favorable without the limitation on liability.
Common unitholders will have no right to enforce obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.
Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our favor.
Except in limited circumstances, our general partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without limited partner approval.
Under our partnership agreement, our general partner has full power and authority to do all things, other than those items that require unitholder approval or on such terms as it determines to be necessary or appropriate to conduct our business including, but not limited to, the following:
| the making of any expenditures, the lending or borrowing of money, the assumption or guarantee of, or other contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness, including indebtedness that is convertible into securities of the partnership, and the incurring of any other obligations; |
| the making of tax, regulatory and other filings, or rendering of periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over our business or assets; |
| the acquisition, disposition, mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or exchange of any or all of our assets or the merger or other combination of us with or into another person; |
| the negotiation, execution and performance of any contracts, conveyances or other instruments; |
| the distribution of partnership cash; |
| the selection and dismissal of employees and agents, outside attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors and the determination of their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring; |
| the maintenance of insurance for our benefit and the benefit of our partners; |
| the formation of, or acquisition of an interest in, and the contribution of property and the making of loans to, any further limited or general partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, limited liability companies or other entities; |
| the control of any matters affecting our rights and obligations, including the bringing and defending of actions at law or in equity and otherwise engaging in the conduct of litigation, arbitration or mediation and the incurring of legal expense and the settlement of claims and litigation; |
| the indemnification of any person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law; |
| the purchase, sale or other acquisition or disposition of our securities, or the issuance of additional options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to our securities; and |
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| the entering into of agreements with any of its affiliates to render services to us or to itself in the discharge of its duties as our general partner. |
See Description of Our Partnership Agreement for information regarding the voting rights of common unitholders.
Fiduciary Duties
The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, restrict, expand or eliminate the fiduciary duties owed by general partners to other partners and the partnership. Our partnership agreement has eliminated these default fiduciary standards; instead, our general partner is accountable to us and our unitholders pursuant to the detailed contractual standards set forth in our partnership agreement. The duties owed to unitholders by our general partner are thus prescribed by our partnership agreement and not by default fiduciary duties.
We have adopted these standards to allow our general partner or its affiliates to engage in transactions with us that would otherwise be prohibited by state law fiduciary standards and to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. Without such deviation from the default standards, such transactions could result in violations of our general partners state law fiduciary duties. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because the board of directors of our general partner has duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to Coffeyville Resources, its owner, and the stockholders of CVR Energy, its indirect parent, and duties to manage us in a manner that is in our best interests. Without these modifications, our general partners ability to make decisions involving conflicts of interest would be restricted. These modifications also enable our general partner to take into consideration all parties involved in the proposed action, so long as the resolution is in our best interests. Further, these modifications enable our general partner to attract and retain experienced and capable directors. However, these modifications disadvantage the common unitholders because they restrict the rights and remedies that would otherwise be available to unitholders for actions that, without such modifications, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below, and permit our general partner to take into account the interests of third parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest.
The following is a summary of (1) the default fiduciary duties under the Delaware Act, (2) the standards contained in our partnership agreement that replace the default fiduciary duties and (3) certain rights and remedies of limited partners contained in the Delaware Act.
State law fiduciary duty standards |
Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general partner to act for the partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require that any action taken or transaction engaged in be entirely fair to the Partnership. |
Partnership agreement modified standards |
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our general partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues as to compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in good |
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faith and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our general partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These contractual standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. |
Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not involving a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner must be |
| on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or |
| fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us). |
All conflicts of interest disclosed in this prospectus (including our agreements and other arrangements with CVR Energy) have been approved by all of our partners under the terms of our partnership agreement. |
If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee of its board of directors or the common unitholders, and its board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors, which may include board members affected by the conflict of interest, acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. |
Rights and remedies of limited partners |
The Delaware Act generally provides that a limited partner may institute legal action on behalf of the partnership to recover damages from a third party where a general partner has refused to institute the action or where an effort to cause a general partner to do so is not likely to succeed. These actions include actions against a general partner for breach of its fiduciary duties or of our partnership agreement. In addition, the statutory or case law of some jurisdictions may permit a limited partner to institute legal action on behalf of it and all other similarly situated limited partners to recover damages from a general partner for violations of its fiduciary duties to the limited partners. |
Partnership agreement modified standards |
In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the obligations of our general partner, our partnership agreement further provides that |
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our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that the general partner or its officers and directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that such persons conduct was criminal. |
In order to become one of our limited partners, a common unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. See Description of Our Common UnitsTransfer of Common Units. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner or assignee to sign a partnership agreement does not render our partnership agreement unenforceable against that person.
Under our partnership agreement, we must indemnify our general partner and its officers, directors and managers, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our general partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct. We also must provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings unless our general partner or these other persons acted with knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. Thus, our general partner could be indemnified for its negligent or grossly negligent acts if it meets the requirements set forth above. To the extent that these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act, in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is contrary to public policy and therefore unenforceable.
Related Party Transactions
We have adopted policies for the review, approval and ratification of transactions with related persons. At the discretion of our general partners board of directors, a proposed related party transaction may generally be approved by the board in its entirety, or by a conflicts committee meeting the definitional requirements for such a committee under the Partnership Agreement.
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
This section summarizes the material federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective unitholders and is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), existing and proposed Treasury regulations thereunder (the Treasury Regulations), and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Changes in these authorities may cause the federal income tax consequences to a prospective unitholder to vary substantially from those described below, possibly on a retroactive basis. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to we or us are references to CVR Partners, LP and our operating subsidiaries.
Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. insofar as they relate to matters of U.S. federal income tax law, and are based on the accuracy of representations made by us to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all federal income tax matters that affect us or our unitholders and does not describe the application of the alternative minimum tax that may be applicable to certain unitholders. Furthermore, this section focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the U.S. (for federal income tax purposes), who have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, who use the calendar year as their taxable year, and who hold units as capital assets (generally, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations, partnerships (including entities treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes), estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt institutions, non-U.S. persons, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds. Accordingly, we encourage each unitholder to consult the unitholders own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.
We are relying on opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsels best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for units and the prices at which our units trade. In addition, our costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our unitholders because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution. Furthermore, the tax consequences of an investment in us may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions, which may be retroactively applied.
For the reasons described below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following federal income tax issues: (i) the treatment of a unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) (please read Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipTreatment of Securities Loans); (ii) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read Disposition of UnitsAllocations Between Transferors and Transferees); and (iii) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 754 Election and Uniformity of Units).
Taxation of the Partnership
Partnership Status
We are treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, generally are not liable for entity-level federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder.
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Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnerships gross income for every taxable year it is publicly traded consists of qualifying income, the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes (the Qualifying Income Exception). Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the production, marketing and transportation of fertilizer, and the production, transportation, storage and processing of crude oil, natural gas and products thereof. Other types of qualifying income include interest (other than from a financial business), dividends, gains from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less than 6% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and each of our operating subsidiaries will be treated as a partnership or will be disregarded as an entity separate from us for federal income tax purposes. In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied in rendering its opinion include, without limitation:
(a) Neither we nor any of our partnership or limited liability company subsidiaries has elected to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes;
(b) Income treated as qualifying income on the basis of a private letter ruling is earned pursuant to processes, activities and arrangements consistent with the facts and circumstances described in the private letter ruling request and in the private letter ruling issued by the IRS; and
(c) For each taxable year since and including the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of a character that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined is qualifying income within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code, including income earned pursuant to the processes described in our private letter rulings; and
(d) Neither we nor our operating subsidiaries are or have been a party to any interest rate swap, lock or cap agreement or any other arrangement to hedge indebtedness, except interest rate hedging agreements entered into in the normal course of our business primarily to manage the risk of interest rate changes or fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made by us to carry on our existing business.
We believe that these representations are true and will be true in the future.
If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income by our unitholders or us so long as our liabilities do not exceed the tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.
The present federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our units may be modified by administrative or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the U.S. Congress and the President propose and consider substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships, including the elimination of the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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In addition, the IRS has issued proposed regulations regarding qualifying income under Section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Code (the Proposed Regulations). The Proposed Regulations do not address and, instead, have reserved, the provisions relating to fertilizer processing or refining. However, there are no assurances that future proposed regulations will not include changes that interpret Section 7704(d)(1)(E) in a manner that is contrary to our current interpretation of Section 7704(d)(1)(E) and our rulings, which could modify the amount of our gross income that we are able to treat as qualifying income for the purposes of the Qualifying Income Exception. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted. Any modification to U.S. federal income tax laws may be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible for us to satisfy the Qualifying Income Exception to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. It is possible that a change in law could affect us and could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.
If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our liability for federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our unitholders. Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce our cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholders tax basis in its units, and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain.
The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Limited Partner Status
Unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership, as well as unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of units, will be treated as partners of the partnership for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipTreatment of Securities Loans. Unitholders who are not treated as partners in us as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under their particular circumstances.
Flow-Through of Taxable Income
Subject to the discussion below under Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our unitholders, we will not pay any federal income tax. Rather, each unitholder will be required to report on its federal income tax return each year its share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within its taxable year. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.
Basis of Units
A unitholders tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid for those units increased by the unitholders initial allocable share of our liabilities. That basis generally will be (i) increased by the unitholders share of our income and by any increases in such unitholders share of our liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions to the unitholder, the unitholders share of our losses, and any decreases in the unitholders share of our liabilities. The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests.
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Treatment of Distributions
Distributions made by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder, unless such distributions exceed the unitholders tax basis in its units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under Disposition of Units.
Any reduction in a unitholders share of our liabilities will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. A decrease in a unitholders percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional units may decrease the unitholders share of our liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholders share of our nonrecourse liabilities (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) generally will be based upon that unitholders share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess liabilities allocated based on the unitholders share of our profits. Please read Disposition of Units.
A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of the reallocation of our liabilities described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income, if the distribution reduces the unitholders share of our unrealized receivables, including depreciation recapture and substantially appreciated inventory items, both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (Section 751 Assets). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive its proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange generally will result in the unitholders recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (i) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (ii) the unitholders tax basis (generally zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses
A unitholder may not be entitled to deduct the full amount of loss we allocate to it because its share of our losses will be limited to the lesser of (i) the unitholders tax basis in its units, and (ii) in the case of a unitholder that is an individual, estate, trust or certain types of closely-held corporations, the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be at risk with respect to our activities. In general, a unitholder will be at risk to the extent of its tax basis in its units, reduced by (1) any portion of that basis attributable to the unitholders share of our liabilities, (2) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or similar arrangement and (3) any amount of money the unitholder borrows to acquire or hold its units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to another unitholder or can look only to the units for repayment. A unitholder subject to the at risk limitation must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions (including distributions deemed to result from a reduction in a unitholders share of nonrecourse liabilities) cause the unitholders at risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year.
Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of the basis or at risk limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction in a later year to the extent that the unitholders tax basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is subsequently increased. Upon a taxable disposition of units, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but not losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at risk limitation in excess of that gain can no longer be used, and will not be available to offset a unitholders salary or active business income.
In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, a passive activity loss limitation generally limits the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations from passive activities (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us. Passive losses that exceed a unitholders share of passive income we generate may be deducted
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in full when the unitholder disposes of all of its units in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive activity loss rules generally are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at risk and basis limitations.
Limitations on Interest Deductions
The deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayers investment interest expense generally is limited to the amount of that taxpayers net investment income. Investment interest expense includes:
| interest on indebtedness allocable to property held for investment; |
| interest expense allocated against portfolio income; and |
| the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent allocated against portfolio income. |
The computation of a unitholders investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income generally includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses, other than interest, directly connected with the production of investment income. Net investment income does not include qualified dividend income (if applicable) or gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment. A unitholders share of a publicly traded partnerships portfolio income and, according to the IRS, net passive income will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest expense limitation.
Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes
If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all unitholders or we cannot determine the specific unitholder on whose behalf the tax is payable, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of a unitholder, in which event the unitholder may be entitled to claim a refund of the overpayment amount. Unitholders are urged to consult their tax advisors to determine the consequences to them of any tax payment we make on their behalf.
Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction
In general, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. Although we do not expect that our operations will result in the creation of negative capital accounts, if negative capital accounts nevertheless result, items of income and gain will be allocated in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate the negative balance as quickly as possible.
Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction generally will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code) to account for any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a Book-Tax Disparity). As a result, the federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering generally will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders.
An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will generally be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining
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a partners share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has substantial economic effect. In any other case, a partners share of an item will be determined on the basis of the partners interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) the partners relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interest of all the partners in cash flow and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in Section 754 Election and Disposition of UnitsAllocations Between Transferors and Transferees, allocations of income, gain, loss or deduction under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes.
Treatment of Securities Loans
A unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (for example, a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) may be treated as having disposed of those units. If so, such unitholder would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition. As a result, during this period (i) any of our income, gain, loss or deduction allocated to those units would not be reportable by the lending unitholder, and (ii) any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units may be treated as ordinary taxable income.
Due to a lack of controlling authority, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder that enters into a securities loan with respect to its units. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of income recognition from a loan of their units are urged to consult their own tax advisors and to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and lending their units. The IRS has announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please read Disposition of UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss.
Tax Rates
Under current law, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 39.6% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
In addition, a 3.8% net investment income tax applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholders allocable share of our income and gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholders net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the unitholders modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if married filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.
Section 754 Election
We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax bases in our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to each unitholder who purchases units from another unitholder based upon the values and bases of our assets at the time of the relevant purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us.
Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury
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Regulations governing a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read Uniformity of Units.
The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of units due to lack of controlling authority. Because a unitholders tax basis for its units is reduced by its share of our items of deduction or loss, any position we take that understates deductions will overstate a unitholders basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read Disposition of UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss. If a challenge to such treatment were sustained, the gain from the sale of units may be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and are made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or nondepreciable assets. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.
Tax Treatment of Operations
Accounting Method and Taxable Year
We will use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in its tax return its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for each taxable year ending within or with its taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of its units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of its taxable year must include its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for its taxable year, with the result that it will be required to include in income for its taxable year its share of more than one year of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read Disposition of UnitsAllocations Between Transferors and Transferees.
Deduction for U.S. Production Activities
Subject to the limitations on the deductibility of losses discussed above and the limitations discussed below, common unitholders will be entitled to a deduction, herein referred to as the Section 199 deduction, equal to 9% of the lesser of (1) our qualified production activities income that is allocated to such unitholder or (2) the common unitholders taxable income, but not to exceed 50% of such common unitholders IRS Form W-2 wages for the taxable year allocable to domestic production gross receipts.
Qualified production activities income is generally equal to gross receipts from domestic production activities reduced by cost of goods sold allocable to those receipts, other expenses directly associated with those receipts, and a share of other deductions, expenses and losses that are not directly allocable to those receipts or another class of income. The products produced must be manufactured, produced, grown or extracted in whole or in significant part by the taxpayer in the United States.
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For a partnership, the Section 199 deduction is determined at the partner level. To determine its Section 199 deduction, each common unitholder will aggregate its share of the qualified production activities income allocated to such holder from us with the common unitholders qualified production activities income from other sources. Each common unitholder must take into account its distributive share of the expenses allocated to such holder from our qualified production activities regardless of whether we otherwise have taxable income. However, our expenses that otherwise would be taken into account for purposes of computing the Section 199 deduction are taken into account only if and to the extent the common unitholders share of losses and deductions from all of our activities is not disallowed by the tax basis rules, the at-risk rules or the passive activity loss rules. Please read Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership Limitations on Deductibility of Losses.
The amount of a unitholders Section 199 deduction for each year is limited to 50% of the IRS Form W-2 wages actually or deemed paid by the common unitholder during the calendar year that are deducted in arriving at qualified production activities income. Each common unitholder is treated as having been allocated IRS Form W-2 wages from us equal to the common unitholders allocable share of our wages that are deducted in arriving at qualified production activities income for that taxable year.
This discussion of the Section 199 deduction does not purport to be a complete analysis of the complex legislation and Treasury authority relating to the calculation of domestic production gross receipts, qualified production activities income, or IRS Form W-2 wages, or how such items are allocated by us to common unitholders. Further, because the Section 199 deduction is required to be computed separately by each unitholder, no assurance can be given, and Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. is unable to express any opinion as to the availability or extent of the Section 199 deduction to our unitholders. Each prospective common unitholder is encouraged to consult its tax advisor to determine whether the Section 199 deduction would be available to such holder.
Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization
The tax bases of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of those assets. If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain, determined by reference to the amount of depreciation and deductions previously taken, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a unitholder who has taken cost recovery or depreciation deductions with respect to property we own will likely be required to recapture some or all of those deductions as ordinary income upon a sale of its interest in us. Please read Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipAllocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.
The costs we incur in offering and selling our units (called syndication expenses) must be capitalized and cannot be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. While there are uncertainties regarding the classification of costs as organization expenses, which may be amortized by us, and as syndication expenses, which may not be amortized by us, the underwriting discount we incur will be treated as syndication expenses. Please read Disposition of UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss.
Valuation and Tax Basis of Our Properties
The federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the tax bases of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or a court. If the estimates of fair market value or basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by unitholders could change, and unitholders could be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.
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Disposition of Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss
A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale of units equal to the difference between the unitholders amount realized and tax basis in the units sold. A unitholders amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash or the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our liabilities with respect to the units sold. Because the amount realized includes a unitholders share of our liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale.
Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder on the sale or exchange of a unit held for more than one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or loss. However, gain or loss recognized on the disposition of units will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Code to the extent attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our inventory items, regardless of whether such inventory item is substantially appreciated in value. Ordinary income attributable to Section 751 Assets may exceed net taxable gain realized on the sale of a unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale of a unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital gain or loss upon a sale of units. Net capital loss may offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.
For purposes of calculating gain or loss on the sale of units, the unitholders adjusted tax basis will be adjusted by its allocable share of our income or loss in respect of its units for the year of the sale. Furthermore, as described above, the IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an equitable apportionment method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partners tax basis in its entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partners entire interest in the partnership.
Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed in the paragraph above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis units to sell as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, it may designate specific units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of the units transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult its tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.
Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an appreciated financial position, including a partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:
| a short sale; |
| an offsetting notional principal contract; or |
| a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property. |
Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue Treasury Regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position.
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Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees
In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis and will be subsequently apportioned among the unitholders in proportion to the number of units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month (the Allocation Date). However, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets or, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss or deduction will be allocated among the unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which such income, gain, loss or deduction is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.
Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be specifically authorized or permitted under existing Treasury Regulations. Recently, however, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued Treasury Regulations pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may use a similar monthly simplifying convention to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee unitholders for taxable years beginning on or after August 3, 2015. However, such regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted for the 2015 taxable year and may not specifically authorize all aspects of our proration method thereafter. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine on the validity of our method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If the IRS were to successfully challenge our proration method, our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among our unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under the new Treasury Regulations.
A unitholder who disposes of units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.
Notification Requirements
A unitholder who sells or purchases any of its units is required to notify us in writing of that transaction within 30 days after the transaction (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the transaction in the case of a seller). Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a transfer of units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the U.S. and who effects the sale through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.
Constructive Termination
We will be considered to have constructively terminated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes upon the sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For such purposes, multiple sales of the same unit are counted only once. A constructive termination results in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than the calendar year, the closing of our taxable year may result in more than twelve months of our taxable income or loss being includable in such unitholders taxable income for the year of termination.
A constructive termination occurring on a date other than December 31, except as described below, would require that we file two tax returns for one fiscal year, thereby increasing our administration and tax preparation costs. However, pursuant to an IRS relief procedure the IRS may allow a constructively terminated partnership to provide a single Schedule K-1 for the calendar year in which a termination occurs. Following a constructive termination, we would be required to make new tax elections, including a new election under Section 754 of the Code, and the termination would result in a deferral of our deductions for depreciation. A termination could also
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result in penalties if we were unable to determine that the termination had occurred. Moreover, a termination may either accelerate the application of, or subject us to, any tax legislation enacted before the termination that would not otherwise have been applied to us as a continuing as opposed to a terminating partnership.
Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units and for other reasons, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the units to a purchaser of these units. In the absence of uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of federal income tax requirements. Any non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of the units. Please read Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 754 Election.
Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to take positions in filing our tax returns that preserve the uniformity of our units. These positions may include reducing the depreciation, amortization or loss deductions to which a unitholder would otherwise be entitled or reporting a slower amortization of Section 743(b) adjustments for some unitholders than that to which they would otherwise be entitled. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions.
A unitholders basis in units is reduced by its share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholders basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read Disposition of UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss above and Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 754 Election above. The IRS may challenge one or more of any positions we take to preserve the uniformity of units. If such a challenge were sustained, the uniformity of units might be affected, and, under some circumstances, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans and other tax-exempt organizations, as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons (collectively, Non-U.S. Unitholders) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or Non-U.S. Unitholders should consult their tax advisors before investing in our units.
Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.
Non-U.S. Unitholders are taxed by the U.S. on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (effectively connected income) and on certain types of U.S.-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty, and will be treated as engaged in business in the U.S. because of their ownership of our common units. Furthermore, it is probable that they will be deemed to conduct such activities through permanent establishment in the U.S. within the meaning of any applicable tax treaty. Consequently, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to Non-U.S. Unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each Non-U.S. Unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.
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In addition, because a Non-U.S. Unitholder classified as a corporation will be treated as engaged in a U.S. trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular federal income tax, on its share of our income and gain as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporations U.S. net equity to the extent reflected in the corporations earnings and profits. That tax may be reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty between the U.S. and the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a qualified resident. In addition, this type of unitholder is subject to special information reporting requirements under Section 6038C of the Code.
A Non-U.S. Unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Non-U.S. Unitholder. Under a ruling published by the IRS interpreting the scope of effectively connected income, gain recognized by a Non-U.S. Unitholder from the sale of its interest in a partnership that is engaged in a trade or business in the U.S. will be considered to be effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Thus, part or all of a Non-U.S. Unitholders gain from the sale or other disposition of units may be treated as effectively connected with a unitholders indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by its investment in us. Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a Non-U.S. Unitholder will be subject to federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a unit if (i) it owned (directly or indirectly constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our common units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of our real property interests and other assets used or held for use in a trade or business consisted of U.S. real property interests (which include U.S. real estate, including land, improvements, and associated personal property, and interests in certain entities holding U.S. real estate) at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the units or the 5-year period ending on the date of disposition. More than 50% of our assets may consist of U.S. real property interests. Therefore, Non-U.S. Unitholders may be subject to federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.
Administrative Matters
Information Returns and Audit Procedures
We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholders share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.
The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of the units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior years tax liability, and may result in an audit of the unitholders own return. Any audit of a unitholders return could result in adjustments unrelated to our returns.
Publicly traded partnerships generally are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings of the partners.
The Code currently requires that one partner be designated as the Tax Matters Partner for these purposes, and our partnership agreement designates our general partner. The Tax Matters Partner can extend the statute of limitations for assessment of tax deficiencies against unitholders for items in our returns. The Tax Matters
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Partner may bind a unitholder with less than a 1% profits interest in us to a settlement with the IRS unless that unitholder elects, by filing a statement with the IRS, not to give that authority to the Tax Matters Partner. The Tax Matters Partner may seek judicial review, by which all the unitholders are bound, of a final partnership administrative adjustment and, if the Tax Matters Partner fails to seek judicial review, judicial review may be sought by any unitholder having at least a 1% interest in profits or by any group of unitholders having in the aggregate at least a 5% interest in profits. However, only one action for judicial review may go forward, and each unitholder with an interest in the outcome may participate in that action.
Under recently enacted legislation, the existing rules governing partnership administrative proceedings will no longer apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, instead, we are required to designate an eligible person to act as the Partnership Representative with exclusive authority to act on our behalf in connection with federal income tax audits, requests by us for administrative adjustments, and any judicial proceedings arising in connection with those matters. Actions taken by the Partnership Representative will be binding on us and all of our unitholders. We anticipate that our general partner or its designee will act as the Partnership Representative.
A unitholder must file a statement with the IRS identifying the treatment of any item on its federal income tax return that is not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return. Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency requirement may subject a unitholder to substantial penalties.
Nominee Reporting
Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
(1) the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee;
(2) a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is:
(a) a non-U.S. person;
(b) a non-U.S. government, an international organization or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or
(c) a tax-exempt entity;
(3) the amount and description of units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and
(4) specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from sales.
Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty of $250 per failure, up to a maximum of $3 million per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.
Accuracy-Related Penalties
Certain penalties may be imposed as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income tax and substantial valuation misstatements. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion. We do not anticipate that any accuracy-related penalties will be assessed against us.
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State, Local and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to federal income taxes, unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future, even if you do not live in those jurisdictions. We currently own assets and conduct business in several states. Some or all of those states may impose a personal income tax on individuals and an income tax on corporations and other entities. We may also own property or do business in other states in the future that impose income or similar taxes on nonresident individuals. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective unitholder should consider their potential impact on its investment in us.
Although you may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because your income from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment requirement, you will be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in many of these jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. It is your responsibility to file all U.S. federal, foreign, state and local tax returns. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the foreign, state or local tax consequences of an investment in our common units.
It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions, of the unitholders investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend upon, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all state, local and non-U.S., as well as U.S. federal tax returns that may be required of it. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, alternative minimum tax or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in us.
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INVESTMENT ON CVR PARTNERS, LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
An investment in our common units by an employee benefit plan is subject to additional considerations because the investments of these plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the prohibited transaction restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Code and may be subject to provisions under certain federal, state, local, non-U.S., or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Code or ERISA (collectively, Similar Laws). For these purposes the term, employee benefit plan includes, but is not limited to, qualified pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, certain Keogh plans, certain simplified employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities, IRAs, and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include plan assets of such plans, accounts or arrangements.
This summary is based on the provisions of ERISA and the Code (and related regulations and administrative and judicial interpretations) as of the date of this prospectus. This summary does not purport to be complete, and no assurance can be given that future legislation, court decisions, regulations, rulings or pronouncements will not significantly modify the requirements summarized below. Any of these changes may be retroactive and may thereby apply to transactions entered into prior to the date of their enactment or release.
General Fiduciary Matters
ERISA and the Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries of an employee benefit plan that is subject to Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code (an ERISA Plan) and prohibit certain transactions involving the assets of an ERISA Plan and its fiduciaries or other interested parties. Under ERISA and the Code, any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over the administration of an ERISA Plan or the management or disposition of the assets of an ERISA Plan, or who renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation to an ERISA Plan, is generally considered to be a fiduciary of the ERISA Plan. In considering an investment in our common units, among other things, consideration should be given to:
| whether the investment is prudent under Section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws; |
| whether, in making the investment, the employee benefit plan will satisfy the diversification requirements of Section 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws; |
| whether the investment is permitted under the terms of the applicable documents governing the employee benefit plan; |
| whether making the investment will comply with the delegation of control and prohibited transaction provisions under Section 406 of ERISA, Section 4975 of the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws (see the discussion under Prohibited Transaction Issues below); |
| whether in making the investment, the employee benefit plan will be considered to hold, as plan assets, (1) only the investment in our common units or (2) an undivided interest in our underlying assets (see the discussion under Plan Asset Issues below); and |
| whether the investment will result in recognition of unrelated business taxable income by the employee benefit plan and, if so, the potential after-tax investment return. Please read Material U.S. Federal Income Tax ConsequencesTax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors. |
Governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA) and certain church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA) and non-U.S. plans (as described in Section 4(b)(4) of ERISA), while generally not subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA or the provisions of Section 4975 of the Code, may nevertheless be subject to Similar Laws.
The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in our common units is authorized by the appropriate governing instruments and is a proper investment for the employee benefit plan.
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Prohibited Transaction Issues
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code prohibit ERISA Plans and certain IRAs that are not considered part of an ERISA Plan from engaging in specified transactions involving plan assets with persons or entities who are parties in interest under ERISA or disqualified persons under Section 4975 of the Code with respect to the ERISA Plan or IRA, unless an exemption is applicable. A party in interest or disqualified person who engages in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. In addition, the fiduciary of an ERISA Plan or IRA that engages in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes, penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code.
Plan Asset Issues
In addition to considering whether the purchase of our common units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the plan will, by investing in our common units, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our general partner also would be a fiduciary of the employee benefit plan and our operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations provide guidance with respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed plan assets under certain circumstances. Under these regulations, an entitys underlying assets generally would not be considered to be plan assets if, among other things:
(1) the equity interests acquired by employee benefit plans are publicly offered securitiesi.e., the equity interests are part of a class of securities that are widely held by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and each other, freely transferable (as defined in the applicable DOL regulations) and either part of a class of securities registered pursuant to certain provisions of the federal securities laws or sold to the plan as part of a public offering under certain conditions;
(2) the entity is an operating companyi.e., it is primarily engaged in the production or sale of a product or service other than the investment of capital either directly or through a majority-owned subsidiary or subsidiaries; or
(3) there is no significant investment by benefit plan investors (as defined in Section 3(42) of ERISA), which is defined to mean that, immediately after the most recent acquisition of an equity interest in any entity by such a benefit plan investor, less than 25% of the total value of each class of equity interest, disregarding certain interests held by our general partner, its affiliates and certain other persons, is held by the employee benefit plans and IRAs referred to above.
With respect to an investment in our common units, although no assurances can be given, we believe that our assets should not be considered plan assets under these regulations because it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in (1) and (2) above and may also satisfy the requirements in (3) above (although we do not monitor the level of investment by benefit plan investors as required for compliance with (3)).
The foregoing discussion of issues arising for investments by employee benefit plans under ERISA, the Code and applicable Similar Laws is general in nature and is not intended to be all inclusive and is based on laws in effect on the date of this prospectus. This discussion should not be construed as legal advice. Due to the complexity of these rules and the excise taxes, penalties and liabilities that may be imposed upon persons involved in non-exempt prohibited transactions, it is particularly important that plan fiduciaries or other persons contemplating a purchase of our common units on behalf of, or with the assets of, any employee benefit plan should consult with their own counsel regarding the potential applicability of ERISA, Section 4975 of the Code and any Similar Laws to such investment and whether an exemption would be applicable to the purchase of our
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common units. Purchasers of our common units have the exclusive responsibility for ensuring that their purchase of our common units complies with the fiduciary responsibility rules of ERISA and does not violate the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA, the Code or applicable Similar Laws. The sale of our common units to an employee benefit plan is in no respect a representation by us or any of our affiliates or representatives that such an investment meets all relevant legal requirements.
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The securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement may be sold in any of the following ways:
| directly to one or more purchasers; |
| through agents; |
| through underwriters, brokers or dealers; or |
| through a combination of any of these methods of sale. |
In addition, we or the selling unitholders may from time to time sell securities in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to other available exemptions from the registration requirements under the Securities Act, rather than pursuant to this prospectus. In such event, we and the selling unitholders, if applicable, may be required by the securities laws of certain states to offer and sell the common units only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
We will fix a price or prices of our securities at:
| market prices prevailing at the time of any sale under this registration statement; |
| prices related to market prices; or |
| negotiated prices. |
We may change the price of the securities offered from time to time.
The selling unitholders may act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each of its sales. The selling unitholders may make sales of the common units on the NYSE or otherwise at prices and under terms prevailing at the time of the sale, or at prices related to the then-current market price, at fixed prices, or in privately negotiated transactions.
Offers to purchase securities may be solicited directly by us and the sale thereof may be made by us directly to institutional investors or others. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell offered securities directly.
We, or agents designated by us, may directly solicit, from time to time, offers to purchase the securities. Any such agent may be deemed to be an underwriter as that term is defined in the Securities Act. We will name any agents involved in the offer or sale of the securities and describe any commissions payable by us to these agents in the prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, these agents will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of their appointment. The agents may be entitled under agreements which may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against specific civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The agents may also be our customers or may engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
If we or the selling unitholders utilize any underwriters in the sale of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we and, if applicable, the selling unitholders, will enter into an underwriting agreement with those underwriters at the time of sale to them. We will set forth the names of these underwriters and the terms of the transaction in the prospectus supplement, which will be used by the underwriters to make resales of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered to the public. We or the selling unitholders may indemnify the underwriters under the relevant underwriting agreement against specific liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The underwriters or their affiliates may be customers of, may engage in transactions with and may perform services for us or our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
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If we or the selling unitholders utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we or the selling unitholders, as applicable, will sell those securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale. We or the selling unitholders may indemnify the dealers against specific liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The dealers or their affiliates may also be our customers or may engage in transactions with, or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
We or the selling unitholders may offer the common units covered by this prospectus into an existing trading market on the terms described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. Underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in any at-the-market offerings will be described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto.
A prospectus and accompanying prospectus supplement in electronic form may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriters. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of securities for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Such allocations of securities for internet distributions will be made on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, securities may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell securities to online brokerage account holders.
The aggregate maximum compensation the underwriters will receive in connection with the sale of any securities under this prospectus and the registration statement of which it forms a part will not exceed 10% of the gross proceeds from the sale.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules.
To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. The place and time of delivery for the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
In connection with offerings of securities under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and in compliance with applicable law, underwriters, brokers or dealers may engage in transactions that stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market. Specifically, underwriters, brokers or dealers may over-allot in connection with offerings, creating a short position in the securities for their own accounts. For the purpose of covering a syndicate short position or stabilizing the price of the securities, the underwriters, brokers or dealers may place bids for the securities or effect purchases of the securities in the open market. Finally, the underwriters may impose a penalty whereby selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other brokers or dealers for distribution of the securities in offerings may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the syndicate repurchases previously distributed securities in transactions to cover short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. These activities may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the securities, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market, and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
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This prospectus covers the offering for resale from time to time, in one or more offerings, of up to 63,107,630 common units owned by the selling unitholders listed in the table below. The 38,920,000 common units held by Coffeyville Resources, LLC were issued to Coffeyville Resources, LLC in connection with our initial public offering on April 7, 2011. The 7,187,630 common units held by Rentech, Inc. (Rentech) directly or through its wholly owned subsidiaries were issued to Rentech and the 17,000,000 common units held by GSO Capital Partners LP and its affiliates (GSO Capital) were issued to GSO Capital in connection with the closing of the mergers on April 1, 2016.
The following table sets forth information relating to the selling unitholders as of April 29, 2016 based on information supplied to us by the selling unitholders on or prior to that date. We have not sought to verify such information. Information concerning the selling unitholders may change over time, and if necessary, we will supplement this prospectus accordingly. The selling unitholders are offering all of the common units it currently owns through this prospectus. The selling unitholders may hold or acquire at any time common units in addition to those offered by this prospectus and may have acquired additional common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us. In addition, the selling unitholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of its common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us and may in the future sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of some or all of its common units in private placement transactions exempt from or not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Beneficial Owner |
Units Beneficially Owned Prior to the Offering |
Number of Units Offered |
Units Beneficially Owned After the Offering |
|||||||||||||||||
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |||||||||||||||||
Coffeyville Resources, LLC(1) |
38,920,000 | 34.4 | % | 38,920,000 | 0 | | ||||||||||||||
GSO Capital Partners LP(2) |
17,000,000 | 15.0 | % | 17,000,000 | 0 | | ||||||||||||||
Rentech, Inc.(3) |
7,187,630 | 6.3 | % | 7,187,630 | 0 | |
(1) | Coffeyville Resources, LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CVR Energy, a publicly traded Delaware corporation. CVR Energy may be deemed to have direct beneficial ownership of the common units held by Coffeyville Resources by virtue of its control of Coffeyville Resources, LLC. The directors of CVR Energy are Carl C. Icahn, Bob G. Alexander, SungHwan Cho, Jonathan Frates, Andrew Langham, John J. Lipinski, Stephen Mongillo and James M. Strock. |
(2) | GSO Cactus Credit Opportunities Fund LP, Steamboat Nitro Blocker LLC, GSO Coastline Credit Partners LP, GSO ADGM II Nitro Blocker LLC, GSO Palmetto Opportunistic Investment Partners LP, GSO Credit-A Partners LP, GSO Special Situations Fund LP and GSO SSOMF Nitro Blocker LLC (collectively, the GSO Funds) hold an aggregate of 17,000,000 of the common units. Steamboat Nitro Blocker LLC is wholly owned by Steamboat Credit Opportunities Intermediate Fund LP. GSO ADGM II Nitro Blocker LLC is wholly owned by GSO Aiguille des Grands Montets Fund II LP. GSO SSOMF Nitro Blocker LLC is wholly owned by GSO Special Situations Overseas Master Fund Ltd. GSO Palmetto Opportunistic Associates LLC is the general partner of GSO Palmetto Opportunistic Investment Partners LP. GSO Credit-A Associates LLC is the general partner of GSO Credit-A Partners LP. GSO Holdings I L.L.C. is the managing member of each of GSO Palmetto Opportunistic Associates LLC and GSO Credit-A Associates LLC. Blackstone Holdings II L.P. is a managing member of GSO Holdings I L.L.C. with respect to securities beneficially owned by GSO Palmetto Opportunistic Associates LLC and GSO Credit-A Associates LLC. GSO Capital Partners LP serves as the investment manager or advisor of each of GSO Cactus Credit Opportunities Fund LP, Steamboat Credit Opportunities Intermediate Fund LP, GSO Coastline Credit Partners LP, GSO Aiguille des Grands Montets Fund II LP, GSO Special Situations Fund LP and GSO Special Situations Overseas Master Fund Ltd. GSO Advisor Holdings L.L.C. is the special limited partner of GSO Capital Partners LP with investment and voting power over the securities beneficially owned by GSO Capital Partners LP. Blackstone Holdings I L.P. is the sole member of GSO Advisor Holdings L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc. is the general partner of each of Blackstone |
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Holdings I L.P. and Blackstone Holdings II L.P. The Blackstone Group L.P. is the controlling shareholder of Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc. Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. is the general partner of The Blackstone Group L.P. Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. is wholly owned by Blackstones senior managing directors and controlled by its founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman. Each of Bennett J. Goodman and J. Albert Smith III serves as an executive of GSO Holdings I L.L.C. and GSO Capital Partners LP and may be deemed to have shared voting power and/or investment power with respect to the securities held by the GSO Funds. Each of the foregoing entities and individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of the common units held directly by the GSO Funds (other than the GSO Funds to the extent of their direct holdings). |
(3) | Rentech Nitrogen Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (RNHI) holds all 7,187,630 common units. RNHI is wholly owned by Rentech Development Corporation, a Colorado corporation (RDC), and RDC is wholly owned by Rentech, a publicly traded Colorado corporation. The directors of Rentech are Keith B. Forman, Michael S. Burke, General Wesley K. Clark, Kevin Rendino, Ronald M. Sega, Edward M. Stern, Halbert S. Washburn and John A. Williams. |
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Certain legal matters in connection with the securities will be passed upon for us by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas.
The audited financial statements of CVR Partners, LP and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2015, incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The audited historical financial statements of Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. included as Exhibit 99.1 of CVR Partners, LPs Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated April 29, 2016 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
Item 14. | Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution |
The expenses set forth below relate solely to the preparation and filing of this Registration Statement, and the Partnership will incur additional expenses in connection with any offering of the securities registered hereunder (all such expenses will be borne by the Partnership). With the exception of the SEC registration fee, all the amounts shown are estimates.
Registration fee |
$ | 73,281.88 | ||
Printing expenses |
* | |||
Fees and expenses of legal counsel |
* | |||
Accounting fees and expenses |
* | |||
Listing fees |
* | |||
Miscellaneous |
* | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
$ | 73,281.88 | ||
|
|
* | These fees are calculated based on the number of issuances and amount of securities to be offered and, accordingly, cannot be estimated at this time. |
Item 15. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
CVR Partners, LP
The section of the prospectus entitled Description of Our Partnership AgreementIndemnification is incorporated herein by reference. Subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions set forth in our partnership agreement, Section 17-108 of the Delaware Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever.
Subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions set forth in the applicable limited liability company agreement, Section 18-108 of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act provides that a Delaware limited liability company may indemnify and hold harmless any member or manager or other person from and against any and all claims and demands whatsoever. The general partner may enter into indemnity agreements with each of its current directors and officers to give such persons additional contractual assurances regarding the scope of the indemnification set forth in general partners limited liability company agreement and to provide additional procedural protections.
Any underwriting agreement entered into in connection with the sale of the securities offered pursuant to this registration statement will provide for indemnification of officers and directors of the general partner, including for liabilities incurred under the Securities Act.
Item 16. | Exhibits. |
See the Exhibit Index on the page immediately preceding the exhibits for a list of exhibits filed as part of this registration statement on Form S-3, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.
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Item 17. | Undertakings. |
(1) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the Calculation of Registration Fee table in the effective registration statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
(b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(d) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:
(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which the prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
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(e) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(2) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrants annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(4) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(a) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(b) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Sugar Land, State of Texas, on April 29, 2016.
CVR PARTNERS, LP | ||
By: | CVR GP, LLC | |
its general partner |
By: | /s/ Mark A. Pytosh | |
Mark A. Pytosh | ||
Chief Executive Officer and President |
Each person whose signature appears below appoints Susan M. Ball and John R. Walter, and each of them, either of whom may act without the joinder of the other, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement and any Registration Statement (including any amendment thereto) for this offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his substitute and substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated above.
Signature |
Title | |
/s/ John J. Lipinski John J. Lipinski |
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Executive Chairman (Principal Executive Officer) | |
/s/ Mark A. Pytosh Mark A. Pytosh |
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |
/s/ Susan M. Ball Susan M. Ball |
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Accounting and Financial Officer) | |
/s/ Sung Hwan Cho Sung Hwan Cho |
Director | |
/s/ Donna R. Ecton Donna R. Ecton |
Director | |
/s/ Patrick Fleury Patrick Fleury |
Director |
/s/ Keith B. Forman Keith B. Forman |
Director | |
/s/ Jonathan Frates Jonathan Frates |
Director | |
/s/ Andrew Langham Andrew Langham |
Director | |
/s/ Frank M. Muller, Jr. Frank M. Muller, Jr. |
Director | |
/s/ Louis J. Pastor Louis J. Pastor |
Director | |
/s/ Peter K. Shea Peter K. Shea |
Director |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit |
Description | |
*1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement. | |
2.1 | Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 9, 2015, by and among CVR Partners, LP, Lux Merger Sub 1 LLC, Lux Merger Sub 2 LLC, Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. and Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of the Form 8-K filed by CVR Partners, LP on August 13, 2015 (Commission File No. 001-35120)). | |
3.1 | Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of CVR Partners, LP, dated April 13, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Form 10-Q filed by CVR Partners, LP on May 11, 2011 (Commission File No. 001-35120)). | |
3.2 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Limited Partnership of CVR Partners, LP, dated April 8, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Form 8-K filed by CVR Partners, LP on April 13, 2011 (Commission File No. 001-35120)). | |
3.3 | Certificate of Formation of CVR GP, LLC, dated June 12, 2007 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 of the Form S-1 filed by CVR Partners, LP on February 28, 2008 (Commission File No. 333-149423)). | |
3.4 | Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of CVR GP, LLC, dated April 13, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 of the Form 10-K filed by CVR Partners, LP on February 24, 2012 (Commission File No. 001-35120)). | |
4.1 | Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of April 13, 2011, by and between CVR Partners, LP and Coffeyville Resources, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the Form 8-K/A filed by CVR Energy, Inc. on May 23, 2011 (Commission File No. 001-33492)). | |
4.2 | Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 9, 2015, by and among CVR Partners, LP, Coffeyville Resources, LLC, Rentech Nitrogen Holdings, Inc. and DSHC, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Form 8-K filed by CVR Partners, LP on August 13, 2015 (Commission File No. 001-35120)). | |
5.1 | Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as to the legality of the securities being registered. | |
8.1 | Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. relating to tax matters. | |
12.1 | Statement of Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preference Dividends. | |
23.1 | Consent of Grant Thornton LLP. | |
23.2 | Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. | |
23.3 | Consent of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. (contained in Exhibits 5.1 and 8.1). | |
24.1 | Power of Attorney (contained on signature pages). |
* | To be filed, if necessary, by amendment or as an exhibit to a current report on Form 8-K of the registrant. |