FORM 10-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20172019

OR

For the transition period from                            to                            

Commission File No. 001-35711

CROSSAMERICA PARTNERSCROSSAMERICA PARTNERS LP

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common units representing limited partner interests, $0.01 par value per share listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐  Accelerated filer ☒  Non-accelerated filer ☐  Smaller reporting company☐  Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-votingour common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $479.4 millionunits based on the last salesclosing price quoted as of June 30, 2017 on the New York Stock Exchange on June 28, 2019, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.quarter, held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $309.0 million.

As of February 21, 2018,2020, the registrant had outstanding 34,111,46137,023,114 common units.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

COMMONLY USED DEFINED TERMS

The following is a list of certain acronyms and terms generally used in the industry and throughout this document:

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Form 10-Kreport includes forward-looking statements, including in the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, credit ratings, distribution growth, potential growth opportunities, potential operating performance improvements, potential improvements in return on capital employed, the effects of competition and the effects of future legislation or regulations. You can identify our forward-looking statements by the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “expect,” “objective,” “projection,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “effort,” “target” and similar expressions. Such statements are based on management’sour current viewsplans and assumptions,expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could potentially affect expectedactual results. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding:

In general, we based the forward-looking statements included in this quarterly report on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our company and the industry in which we operate. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve assumptions that, while made in good faith, may prove to be incorrect, and involve risks and uncertainties we cannot predict. We anticipate that subsequent events and market developments will cause our estimates to change. In addition, we based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what we have expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. Any differences could result from a variety of factors, including the following:

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You should consider the areas of risk described above, as well as those set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included in this Form 10-K, in connection with considering any forward-looking statements that may be made by us and our businesses generally. We cannot assure you that projectedanticipated results or events reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made as of the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events after the date of this report.

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ITEMSITEM 1., 1A. and 2. BUSINESS, RISK FACTORS AND PROPERTIES

Overview

We arewere formed as a Delaware limited partnership in 2011 primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of motor fuel and the ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuel. WeThrough September 2019, we also generategenerated revenues from the operation of company operated retail sites.

On June 28, 2017, a wholly owned subsidiaryNovember 19, 2019, subsidiaries of DMP purchased from subsidiaries of Circle K, merged with and into CST, with CST surviving the Merger as an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K. Circle K is a wholly owned subsidiary of Couche-Tard.

As a result of the Merger, Circle K indirectly owns allK: 1) 100% of the membership interests in the sole member of ourthe General Partner, as well as a 21.1% limited partner interest in the Partnership and allPartner; 2) 100% of the outstanding IDRs issued by the Partnership; and 3) an aggregate of 7,486,131 common units of the Partnership. Circle K, throughJoseph V. Topper, Jr. is the founder and, since November 19, 2019, chairman of the Board.

Through its indirect ownership interest incontrol of DMP, the Topper Group controls the sole member of our General Partner and has the ability to appoint all of the members of the Board and to control and manage the operations and activities of the Partnership. As of February 21, 2020, the Topper Group also has beneficial ownership of a 47.7% limited partner interest in the Partnership. 

Our principal executive officesoffice address is 515600 Hamilton Street, Suite 200,500, Allentown, PA 18101, and our telephone number is (610) 625-8000. Our common units trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “CAPL.”

The financial statements reflect the consolidated results of the Partnership and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Our primary operations are conducted by the following consolidated wholly owned subsidiaries:

We conduct our business through two operating segments, Wholesale and Retail. As of December 31, 2017,2019, we distributed motor fuel to over 1,200approximately 1,300 sites located in 31 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin).

In 2015, we issued our common units as consideration in the purchase of equity interests in CST Fuel Supply and the real property associated with certain of CST’s NTI retail sites. In addition, we also issued, and may continue to issue, common units as payment to Circle K for charges and expenses incurred by us under the Amended Omnibus Agreement. There is no obligation for Circle K to accept common units representing limited partner interests in lieu of cash for amounts due under the Amended Omnibus Agreement. CST also acquired our common units through open market purchases from September 2015 through December 2015. At December 31, 2017, Circle K indirectly owned 21.1% of our limited partner interests.states.

Available Information

Our internet website is www.crossamericapartners.com. Information on this website is not part of this Form 10-K. Annual reports on our Form 10-K, quarterly reports on our Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K filed with (or furnished to) the SEC are available on this website under the “Investor Relations” tab and are free of charge, soon after such material is filed or furnished. In this same location, we also post our corporate governance guidelines, code of ethics and business conduct and the charters of the committees of our Board. These documents are available in print to any unitholder that makes a written request to CrossAmerica Partners L.P. Attn: Corporate Secretary, 515600 Hamilton Street, Suite 200,500, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101.

Couche-Tard’s internet website is corpo.couche-tard.com/en. Information on this website is not part of this Form 10-K. Annual and quarterly reports are available on this website free of charge. In this same location, Couche-Tard also posts its corporate governance guidelines, code of ethics and conduct and a description of the committees of the Couche-Tard Board. These documents are available in print to any stockholder that makes a written request to Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc. Attn: Corporate Secretary, 4204 Industrial Boulevard, Laval, Quebec, Canada H7L 0E3.

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Operations

Wholesale Segment

Our primary operation is the wholesale distribution of motor fuel. Our Wholesale segment generated 20172019 revenues of $1.9$2.0 billion. The wholesale segment includes the wholesale distribution of motor fuel to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, DMS, Circle K and, through September 2019, company operated retail sites. We have exclusive motor fuel distribution contracts with lessee dealers who lease the property from us. We also have exclusive distribution contracts with independent dealers to distribute motor fuel but do not collect rent from the independent dealers. Similar to lessee dealers, we have motor fuel distribution agreements with DMS and Circle K and collect rent from both.

We are one of the ten largest independent distributors by motor fuel volume in the United States for ExxonMobil, BP and Shell, and we also distribute Chevron, Sunoco, Valero, Gulf, Citgo, Marathon and Phillips 66-branded motor fuels (approximately 86%82% of the motor fuel we distributed during 20172019 was branded). We receive a fixed mark-up per gallon of motor fuel on approximately 85%82% of gallons sold to our customers. The remaining gallons are primarily DTW priced contracts with our customers. These contracts provide for variable, market basedmarket-based pricing. An increase in DTW gross profit results from the acquisition cost of wholesale motor fuel declining at a faster rate as compared to the rate that retail motor fuel prices decline. Conversely, our DTW motor fuel gross profit declines when the cost of wholesale motor fuel increases at a faster rate as compared to the rate that retail motor fuel prices increase.

Regarding our supplier relationships, a majority of our total gallons of motor fuel purchased are subject to discountsTerms Discounts for prompt payment and other rebates and incentives, which are recorded within cost of sales. Prompt payment discounts are based on a percentage of the purchase price of motor fuel. As such, the dollar value of these discounts increaseincreases and decreasedecreases corresponding with motor fuel prices. Therefore, in periods of lower wholesale motor fuel prices, our gross profit is negatively affected, and, in periods of higher wholesale motor fuel prices, our gross profit is positively affected (as it relates to these discounts). Based on our current volumes, we estimate a $10 per barrel change in the price of crude oil would impact our overall annual wholesale motor fuel gross profit by approximately $2 million related to these payment discounts.

The following table highlights the aggregate volume of motor fuel distributed by our Wholesale segment to each of our principal customer groups by gallons sold for the periods (in millions):

Independent Dealer Sites

Lessee Dealer Sites

In addition, the actual amount of cash we will have available for distribution will depend on other factors such as:

ThereIncurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage and issuing additional limited partner interests may result in significant unitholder dilution and would increase the aggregate amount of cash required to maintain the cash distribution rate which could materially decrease our ability to pay distributions. Consequently, there is no guarantee that we will distribute quarterly cash distributions to our unitholders in any quarter.

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The amount of cash we have available for distribution to unitholders depends primarily on our cash flow rather than on our profitability, which may prevent us from making cash distributions, even during periods when we record net income.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution depends primarily on our cash flow, and not solely on profitability, which will be affected by non-cash items. As a result, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record losses for financial accounting purposes and may not make cash distributions during periods when we record net income for financial accounting purposes.

If we are unable to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth and ability to increase distributions to unitholders will be limited.

Our strategy to grow our business and increase distributions to unitholders is dependent on our ability to make acquisitions that result in an increase in cash flow. Our growth strategy is based, in large part, on our expectation of ongoing divestitures of retail and wholesale fuel distribution assets by industry participants. We may be unable to make accretive acquisitions for any of the following reasons:

If we are unable to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth and ability to increase distributions to unitholders will be limited. In addition, if we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly. We may also consummate acquisitions, which at the time of consummation we believe will be accretive, but ultimately may not be accretive.accretive and may in fact result in a decrease in distributable cash flow per unit as a result of incorrect assumptions in our evaluation of such acquisitions, unforeseen consequences, or other external events beyond our control. If any of these events occurred, our future growth could be adversely affected.

Any acquisitions are subject to substantial risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and reduce our ability to make distributions to unitholders.

Any acquisitions involve potential risks, including, among other things:

Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our operating results are not sufficient to service our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions, such as reducing distributions, reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments and/or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our indebtedness, or seeking additional equity capital or bankruptcy protection. We may not be able to effectaffect any of these actions on satisfactory terms, or at all.

Our credit facility contains operating and financial restrictions that may limit our business, financing activities and ability to make distributions to unitholders.

The operating and financial restrictions and covenants in our credit facility and any future financing agreements could adversely affect our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage, expand or pursue our business activities. For example, our credit facility may restrict our ability to:

Our credit facility will limit our ability to pay distributions upon the occurrence of the following events, among others:

Our ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit facility may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. If market or other economic conditions deteriorate, our ability to comply with these covenants may be impaired. If we violate any of the restrictions, covenants, ratios or tests in our credit facility, the debt issued under the credit facility may become immediately due and payable, and our lenders’ commitment to make further loans to us may terminate. We might not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to make these accelerated payments. In addition, our obligations under our credit facility will be secured by substantially all of our assets, and if we are unable to repay our indebtedness under our credit facility, the lenders could seek to foreclose on such assets.

We do not expect to own all of the land on which our retail sites and certain facilities will be located, which could result in increased costs and disruptions to our operations.

We do not expect to own all of the land on which our retail sites and certain facilities will be located, and we expect to lease a portion of such sites from third parties under long-term arrangements with various expiration dates. As such, we are subject to the possibility that we are unable to renew such leases or are only able to do so with increased costs or more onerous terms, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

We may not be able to lease sites we own or sub-lease sites we lease on favorable terms and any such failure could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and reduce our ability to make distributions to unitholders.

We may lease and/or sub-lease certain sites to lessee dealers, commission agents, Circle K or to DMS where the rent expense is more than the lease payments. If we are unable to obtain tenants on favorable terms for sites we own or lease, the lease payments we receive may not be adequate to cover our rent expense for leased sites and may not be adequate to ensure that we meet our debt service requirements. We cannot provide any assurance that the margins on our wholesale distribution of motor fuels to these sites will be adequate to off-setoffset unfavorable lease terms. The occurrence of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

The operations at sites we own or lease are subject to inherent risk, operational hazards and unforeseen interruptions and insurance may not adequately cover any such exposure. The occurrence of a significant event or release that is not fully insured could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and reduce our ability to make distributions to unitholders.

The presence of flammable and combustible products at our sites provides the potential for fires and explosions that could destroy both property and human life. Furthermore, our operations are subject to unforeseen interruptions such as natural disasters, adverse weather and other events beyond our control. Motor fuels also have the potential to cause environmental damage if improperly handled or released. If any of these events were to occur, we could incur substantial losses and/or curtailment of related operations because of personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment, and pollution or other environmental damage.

We are not fully insured against all risks incident to our business. We may be unable to maintain or obtain insurance of the type and amount we desire at reasonable rates. As a result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain of our insurance policies have increased and could escalate further. In some instances, certain insurance could become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. If we were to incur a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

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We are relying on DMI to indemnify us for any costs or expenses that we incur for environmental liabilities and third-party claims, regardless of when a claim is made, that are based on environmental conditions in existence prior to the closing of the IPO at our Predecessor’sPredecessor Entity’s sites. To the extent escrow accounts, insurance and/or payments from DMI are not sufficient to cover any such costs or expenses, our business, financial condition and results of operations and ability to make distributions to unitholders could be adversely affected.

The AmendedCircle K Omnibus Agreement provides that DMI must indemnify us for any costs or expenses that we incur for environmental liabilities and third-party claims, regardless of when a claim is made, that are based on environmental conditions in existence prior to the closing of the IPO at our Predecessor’sPredecessor Entity’s sites. Such indemnification survives the termination of the Circle K Omnibus Agreement. DMI is the beneficiary of escrow accounts created to cover the cost to remediate certain environmental liabilities. In addition, DMI maintains insurance policies to cover environmental liabilities and/or, where available, participates in state programs that may also assist in funding the costs of environmental liabilities. There are certain sites that were acquired by us in connection with the IPO with existing environmental liabilities that are not covered by escrow accounts, state funds or insurance policies. As of December 31, 2017, DMI had an aggregate of approximately $1.7 million of environmental liabilities on sites acquired by us that are not covered by escrow accounts, state funds or insurance policies. To the extent escrow accounts, insurance and/or payments from DMI are not sufficient to cover any such costs or expenses, our business, liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We are relying on Circle K to indemnify us for any costs or expenses that we incur for environmental liabilities and third-party claims, regardless of when a claim is made, that are based on environmental conditions in existence prior to the closing of the Closed Asset Exchange Transactions. To the extent escrow accounts, insurance and/or payments from Circle K are not sufficient to cover any such costs or expenses, our business, financial condition and results of operations and ability to make distributions to unitholders could be adversely affected.

The Asset Exchange Agreement and related agreements provide that Circle K must indemnify us for any costs or expenses that we incur for environmental liabilities and third-party claims, regardless of when a claim is made, that are based on environmental conditions in existence prior to the closing of the Closed Asset Exchanges. Such indemnification survives the termination of the Circle K Omnibus Agreement. Circle K is the beneficiary of escrow accounts created to cover the cost to remediate certain environmental liabilities. In addition, Circle K maintains insurance policies to cover environmental liabilities and/or, where available, participates in state programs that may also assist in funding the costs of environmental liabilities. To the extent escrow accounts, insurance and/or payments from Circle K are not sufficient to cover any such costs or expenses, our business, liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Risks Inherent in an Investment in Usour Structure

Couche-TardThe Topper Group controls us and may have conflicts of interest with us.

Couche-TardThe Topper Group controls and manages the operations and activities of the Partnership, including the election of our Board; decisions regarding mergers, consolidations or acquisitions, the sale of all or substantially all of our assets and other matters affecting our capital structure; and other significant decisions that could impact our financial results and the amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders. In addition, Couche-Tardthe Topper Group may compete directly with us for future acquisitions, which may conflict with our core strategy to grow our business and increase distributions to unitholders. As long as Couche-Tard owns all of the membership interests inTopper Group controls the sole member of our General Partner, it will effectively control our decisions, operations and activities.

Couche-Tard owns all of the membership interests inThe Topper Group controls the sole member of our General Partner, which has sole responsibility for conducting our business and managing our operations. Our General Partner and its affiliates, including Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, have conflicts of interest with us and limited fiduciary duties and they may favor their own interests to the detriment of us and our unitholders.

Couche-Tard ownsThe Topper Group controls the sole member of and controls our General Partner and therefore has the ability to appoint all of the directors of our Board. Although our General Partner has a legal duty to manage us in good faith, the General Partner and its executive officers (as employees of affiliates of Couche-Tard)the Topper Group) have a fiduciary duty to manage our General Partner in a manner beneficial to its owner, Couche-Tard.the Topper Group. Furthermore, certain officers of our General Partner are directors of our Board or officers of affiliates of our General Partner. Therefore, conflicts of interest may arise between us and our unitholders, on the one hand, and our General Partner and its affiliates, including Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest, under the Partnership Agreement, our General Partner may favor its own interests and the interests of Couche-Tardthe Topper Group over our interests and the interests of our common unitholders. These conflicts include the following situations, among others:

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Couche-TardThe Topper Group or the Board may modify or revoke our cash distribution policy at any time at their discretion. Our Partnership Agreement does not require us to pay any distributions at all.

The Board has adopted a cash distribution policy pursuant to which we intend to distribute quarterly an amount at least equal to the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4375 per unit on all of our units to the extent we have sufficient cash from our operations after the establishment of reserves and the payment of our expenses. However, Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, as the owner of our General Partner, or the Board may change such policy at any time at their discretion and could elect not to pay distributions for one or more quarters. In addition, our credit facility includes specified restrictions on our ability to make distributions.

Our Partnership Agreement does not require us to pay any distributions at all. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the permanence of our distribution policy in making an investment decision. Any modification or revocation of our cash distribution policy could substantially reduce or eliminate the amounts of distributions to our unitholders. The amount of distributions we make, if any, and the decision to make any distribution at all will ultimately be determined by Couche-Tardthe Topper Group as the owner of all of the membership interests in the sole member of our General Partner, whose interests may differ from those of our common unitholders.

We rely on the employees of Couche-Tardthe Topper Group to provide key management services to our business pursuant to the AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement. If our AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement were to be terminated, we may not be able to find suitable replacements to perform such services for us without interruption to our business or increased costs.

Under our AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement, Couche-Tardthe Topper Group provides us with the personnel necessary to support our management, administrative and operating services, including accounting, tax, legal, internal audit, risk management and compliance, environmental compliance and remediation management oversight, treasury, information technology and other administrative functions, as well as the management and operation of our wholesale distribution and retail business. If our AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement is terminated, we may suffer interruptions to our business or increased costs to replace these services.

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Distributions with respect to our 17.5% interest in CST Fuel Supply are at the discretion of Couche-Tard.

Couche-Tard controls the general partner of CST Fuel Supply and its wholly owned subsidiary, CST Marketing and Supply. The Partnership owns a 17.5% limited partner interest in CST Fuel Supply and derives substantial economic benefit from distributions made by CST Fuel Supply; however, there is no contractual obligation on Couche-Tard to cause CST Fuel Supply to make distributions, and the decisions as to timing and amount of any distributions are controlled by Couche-Tard. Any decrease in the distributions from CST Fuel Supply with respect to our interest could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

The liability of DMIthe Topper Group and Couche-Tard is limited under our AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement and Circle K Omnibus Agreement and we have agreed to indemnify DMIthe Topper Group and Couche-Tard against certain liabilities, which may expose us to significant expenses.

The AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement providesand the Circle K Omnibus Agreement provide that we must indemnify DMIthe Topper Group and Couche-Tard for certain liabilities, including any liabilities incurred by the Topper Group and Couche-Tard attributable to the operating and administrative services provided to us under the agreement, other than liabilities resulting from DMI’sthe Topper Group’s or Couche-Tard’s bad faith, fraud, or willful misconduct, as applicable.

Our General Partner has and intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.

Our General Partner has and intends to limit its liability under contractual arrangements between us and third parties so that the counterparties to such arrangements have recourse only against our assets, and not against our General Partner or its assets. Our General Partner may therefore cause us to incur indebtedness or other obligations that are nonrecourse to our General Partner. Our Partnership Agreement provides that any action taken by our General Partner to limit its liability is not a breach of our General Partner’s fiduciary duties, even if we could have obtained more favorable terms without the limitation on liability. In addition, we are obligated to reimburse or indemnify our General Partner to the extent that it incurs obligations on our behalf. Any such reimbursement or indemnification payments would reduce the amount of cash otherwise available for distribution to our unitholders.

If we distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution to our partners, our ability to grow and make acquisitions could be limited.

We may determine to distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution to our unitholders. In addition, we expect to rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund our acquisitions and expansion capital expenditures. To the extent we are unable to finance growth externally, distributing a significant portion of our cash available for distribution may impair our ability to grow.

In addition, if we distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution, our growth may lag behind the growth of businesses that reinvest all of their cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures, the payment of distributions on those additional units may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per unit distribution level. There are no limitations in our Partnership Agreement or our credit facility on our ability to issue additional common units, provided there is no default under the credit facility. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, may impact the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

Our Partnership Agreement replaces, eliminates and modifies, as applicable, the duties, including the fiduciary duties, of our General Partner, the Board or any committee thereof, and modifies the burden of proof in any action brought against the General Partner, the Board or any committee thereof.

Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that modify the duties of the General Partner, including the fiduciary duties of the General Partner, and restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our General Partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under Delaware partnership law. For example, our Partnership Agreement:

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By purchasing a common unit, a unitholder is treated as having consented to the provisions in the Partnership Agreement, including the provisions discussed above.

Our General Partner’s affiliates, including Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, 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 and those activities incidental to its ownership interest in us. Except as provided in the AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement, affiliates of our General Partner are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.

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Pursuant to the terms of our Partnership Agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, does not apply to our General Partner, Couche-Tardthe Topper Group or any of their affiliates, including their executive officers and directors. Any such person or entity that becomes aware of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for us will not have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to us. Any such person or entity will not be liable to us or to any limited partner for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursues or acquires such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another person or entity or does not communicate such opportunity or information to us. This may create actual and potential conflicts of interest between us and affiliates of our General Partner and result in less than favorable treatment of us and our unitholders. Conflicts of interest may arise in the future between us and our unitholders, on the one hand, and the affiliates of our General Partner and Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts, Couche-Tardthe Topper Group may favor its own interests over the interests of our unitholders.

Couche-Tard, as the holder of our IDRs, may elect to cause us to issue common units to the holders of our IDRs in connection with a resetting of the target distribution levels related to the IDRs, without the approval of the independent conflicts committee of the Board or the holders of our common units. This could result in lower distributions to holders of our common units.

Under the Partnership Agreement, the holders of our IDRs have the right, at any time when the holders of our IDRs have received incentive distributions at the highest level to which they are entitled (50%) for each of the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters, to reset the initial target distribution levels at higher levels based on our distributions at the time of the exercise of the reset election. Following such a reset election, the minimum quarterly distribution will be adjusted to equal the reset minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reset to correspondingly higher levels based on percentage increases above the reset minimum quarterly distribution.

If the holder of our IDRs elects to reset the target distribution levels, it will be entitled to receive a number of common units. The number of common units to be issued to the holder of our IDRs will equal the number of common units that would have entitled the holder of our IDRs to an aggregate quarterly cash distribution in the prior quarter equal to the distributions to the holder of our IDRs on the IDRs in the prior quarter. It is possible that the holder of our IDRs could exercise this reset election at a time when it is experiencing, or expects to experience, declines in the cash distributions that the holder of our IDRs receives related to the IDRs and may, therefore, desire to be issued common units rather than retain the right to receive IDRs based on the initial target distribution levels. This risk could be elevated if our IDRs are transferred to another party. As a result, a reset election may cause our common unitholders to experience a reduction in the amount of cash distributions that our common unitholders would have otherwise received had we not issued new common units to the holder of our IDRs in connection with resetting the target distribution levels.

Holders of our common units have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our General Partner or the directors of the Board, which could reduce the price at which the common units will trade.

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions regarding our business. Unitholders will have no right on an annual or ongoing basis to elect or remove the members of our Board. The Board, including the independent directors, is chosen entirely by Couche-Tard,the Topper Group, as a result of its ownership of all the membership interests in the sole member of our General Partner, and not by our unitholders. Unlike publicly traded corporations, we will not conduct annual meetings of our unitholders to elect directors or conduct other matters routinely conducted at annual meetings of stockholders of corporations. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished because of the absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.

Even if holders of our common units are dissatisfied, they may not be able to remove our General Partner.

If our unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our General Partner, they will have limited ability to remove our General Partner. The vote of the holders of at least 66 2⁄3% of all outstanding common units voting together as a single class is required to remove our General Partner. As of February 21, 2018, Circle K2020, the Topper Group beneficially owned approximately 21.1%47.7% of our outstanding common units and the Topper Group, including DMI, owned approximately 22.4% of our outstanding common units. Pursuant to a voting agreement, dated October 1, 2014, the Topper Group agreed to vote such units in accordance with the recommendation of the Board, allowing Couche-Tard to effectively block the removal of the General Partner. The voting agreement will remain in effect so long as Mr. Topper is the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the outstanding common units of the Partnership.

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Our General Partner interest or the control of our General Partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.

Our General Partner may transfer its General Partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our unitholders. Furthermore, our Partnership Agreement does not restrict the ability of the members of our General PartnerTopper Group to transfer its membership interests in the sole member of our General Partner to a third party. The new members of our General Partner would then be in a position to replace the Board and executive officers of our General Partner with their own designees and thereby exert significant control over the decisions taken by the Board and executive officers of our General Partner. This effectively permits a “change of control” without the vote or consent of the unitholders.

Our General Partner has a call right that may require unitholders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price.

If at any time our General Partner and its affiliates hold more than 80% of the common units, our General Partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price equal to the greater of (1) the average of the daily closing price of the common units over the 20 trading days preceding the date that is three days before notice of exercise of the call right is first mailed and (2) the highest per-unit price paid by our General Partner or any of its affiliates for common units during the 90-day period preceding the date such notice is first mailed. As a result, unitholders may be required to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return or a negative return on their investment. Unitholders may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of their 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 General Partner from issuing additional common units and exercising its call right. If our General Partner exercised its call right, the effect would be to take us private and, if the units were subsequently deregistered, we would no longer be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. As of December 31, 2017, Circle KFebruary 21, 2020, the Topper Group beneficially owned approximately 21.1%47.7% of our outstanding common units.

The market price of our common units could be adversely affected by sales of substantial amounts of our common units in the public or private markets, including sales by the Topper Group DMI or other large holders.

As of February 21, 2018,2020, we had 34,111,46137,023,114 common units outstanding. Sales by the Topper Group DMI or other large holders such as Couche-Tard, of a substantial number of our common units in the public or private markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common units or could impair our ability to obtain capital through an offering of equity securities. In addition, we have agreed to provide registration rights to the Topper Group, including DMI.Group. Under our Partnership Agreement and pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we have entered into, the Topper Group and DMI havehas registration rights relating to the offer and sale of any units that they hold,it holds, subject to certain limitations.

We may issue unlimited additional units without unitholder approval, which would dilute existing unitholder ownership interests.

Our Partnership Agreement does not limit the number of additional limited partner interests, including limited partner interests that rank senior to the common units that we may issue at any time without the approval of our unitholders. The issuance of additional common units or other equity interests of equal or senior rank could have the following effects:

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Our General Partner’s discretion in establishing cash reserves may reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders.

The Partnership Agreement requires our General Partner to deduct from operating surplus cash reserves that it determines are necessary to fund our future operating expenditures. The General Partner may reduce cash available for distribution by establishing cash reserves for the proper conduct of our business, to comply with applicable law or agreements to which we are a party or to provide funds for future distributions to partners. These cash reserves will affect the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders.

Our Partnership Agreement restricts the voting rights of unitholders owning 20% or more of our common units.

Our Partnership Agreement restricts unitholders’ voting rights by providing that any units held by a person or group that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our General Partner and its affiliates, their transferees and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the Board, cannot vote on any matter.

Management fees and cost reimbursements due to our General Partner and Couche-Tardthe Topper Group for services provided to us or on our behalf will reduce cash available for distribution to our unitholders. The amount and timing of such reimbursements will be determined by our General Partner.

Prior to making any distribution on our common units, we will pay Couche-Tardthe Topper Group the management fee and reimburse our General Partner and Couche-Tardthe Topper Group for all out-of-pocket third-party expenses they incur and payments they make on our behalf, pursuant to the AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement. Our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner will determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us. In addition, pursuant to the AmendedTopper Group Omnibus Agreement, Couche-Tardthe Topper Group will be entitled to reimbursement for certain expenses that they incur on our behalf. Our Partnership Agreement does not limit the amount of expenses for which our General Partner and Couche-Tardthe Topper Group may be reimbursed. The reimbursement of expenses and payment of fees, if any, to our General Partner and Couche-Tardthe Topper Group will reduce the amount of cash available to pay distributions to our unitholders.

Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions and in certain circumstances may be personally liable for the obligations of the partnership.Partnership.

Under certain circumstances, unitholders may have to repay amounts wrongfully returned or distributed to them. Under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “Delaware Act”), we may not make a distribution to our unitholders if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets. Delaware law provides that for a period of three years from the date of the impermissible distribution, limited partners who received the distribution and who knew at the time of the distribution that it violated Delaware law will be liable to the limited partnership for the distribution amount. Liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities that are non-recourse to the partnershipPartnership are not counted for purposes of determining whether a distribution is permitted.

It may be determined that the right, or the exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group, to (i) remove or replace our General Partner, (ii) approve some amendments to our Partnership Agreement or (iii) take other action under our Partnership Agreement constitutes “participation in the control” of our business. A limited partner that participates in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act may 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 under the reasonable belief 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.

The NYSE does not require a publicly traded partnership like us to comply with certain of its corporate governance requirements.

Our common units are listed on the NYSE. Because we are a publicly traded partnership, the NYSE does not require us to have, and we do not intend to have, a majority of independent directors on our Board. Additionally, the NYSE does not require us as a publicly traded partnershipBoard or to establish and maintain a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee. Additionally, any future issuance of additional common units or other securities, including to our affiliates, will not be subject to the NYSE’s shareholder approval rules that apply to a corporation.

Accordingly, unitholders will not have the same protections afforded to corporations (other than “controlled companies”) that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

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An increase in interest rates may cause the market price of our common units to decline and a significant increase in interest rates could adversely affect our ability to service our indebtedness.

Like all equity investments, an investment in our common units is subject to certain risks. Borrowings under the credit facility will bear interest at variable rates. If market interest rates increase, such variable-rate debt will create higher debt service requirements, which could adversely affect our cash flow and ability to make cash distributions. In exchange for accepting these risks, investors may expect to receive a higher rate of return than would otherwise be obtainable from lower-risk investments. Accordingly, as interest rates rise, the ability of investors to obtain higher risk-adjusted rates of return by purchasing government-backed debt securities may cause a corresponding decline in demand for riskier investments generally, including yield-based equity investments such as publicly traded limited partnership interests. Reduced demand for our common units resulting from investors seeking other more favorable investment opportunities may cause the trading price of our common units to decline.

The interest rate on our credit facility is variable; therefore, we have exposure to movements in interest rates. A significant increase in interest rates could adversely affect our ability to service our indebtedness. The increased cost could make the financing of our business activities more expensive. These added expenses could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

LIBOR, the interest rate benchmark used as a reference rate on our variable rate credit facility, is expected to be phased out after 2021, when private-sector banks are no longer required to report the information used to set the rate. Without this data, LIBOR may no longer be published, or the lack of quality and quantity of data may cause the rate to no longer be representative of the market. At this time, no consensus exists as to what rate or rates will become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, although the U.S. Federal Reserve, in connection with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). SOFR is a more generic measure than LIBOR and considers the cost of borrowing cash overnight, collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities. Given the inherent differences between LIBOR and SOFR or any other alternative benchmark rate that may be established, there are many uncertainties regarding a transition from LIBOR, including but not limited to the need to amend all contracts with LIBOR as the referenced rate and how this will impact the Partnership’s cost of variable rate debt. The Partnership will also need to consider new contracts and if they should reference an alternative benchmark rate or include suggested fallback language, as published by the Alternative Reference Rates Committee. The consequences of these developments with respect to LIBOR cannot be entirely predicted and span multiple future periods but could result in an increase in the cost of our variable rate debt which may be detrimental to our financial position or operating results.

Tax Risks

Our tax treatment depends in large part on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and our otherwise not being subject to a material amount of U.S. federal, state and local income or franchise tax. If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or if we were to otherwise be subject to a material amount of additional entity level income, franchise or other taxation for U.S. federal, state or local tax purposes, then our cash available for distribution to our unitholders would be substantially reduced.

The anticipated after-tax benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. First, a partnership is exempt from U.S. federal income tax, and the partnership’s income is instead allocated to the partners for inclusion on their tax returns. Second, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the partner may also deduct from the partnership’s taxable income allocable to such partner an amount equal to 20% of such qualified business income (subject to certain limits), resulting in a lower effective tax rate for the partner with respect to the partnership’s income. A publicly traded partnership, such as us, may be treated as a corporation, instead of being treated as a partnership, for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless 90% or more of its gross income for every taxable year it is publicly traded consists of qualifying income. Based on our current operations we believe that we will be able to satisfy this requirement and, thus, be able to be treated as a partnership, rather than a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, a change in our business, or a change in current law, could also cause us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to entity-level taxation.

If we were required to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject to entity-level taxation, then we would pay U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at the corporate tax rate which, under current law, is 21%. We would also likely pay state and local income tax at varying rates. Distributions to our unitholders would generally be taxed again as either a dividend (to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits) and/or as taxable gain after recovery of a unitholder’s U.S. federal income tax basis in their units, and no income, gains, losses, deductions or credits would flow through to our unitholders. Because a U.S. federal income tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders would be substantially reduced. Thus, treatment of us as a corporation would result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax return to our unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.unitholders.

At the state level, were we to be subject to federal income tax, we would also be subject to the income tax provisions of many states. Moreover, because of widespread state budget deficits and other reasons, several states are evaluating ways to independently subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income taxes, franchise taxes and other forms of taxation. Imposition of any additional such taxes on us or an increase in the existing tax rates would reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

Our Partnership Agreement provides that if a law is enacted or existing law is modified or interpreted in a manner that results in us becoming subject to either: (a) entity-level taxation for U.S. federal, state, local and/or foreign income and/or withholding tax purposes to which we were not subject prior to such enactment, modification or interpretation, and/or (b) an increased amount of one or more of such taxes (including as a result of an increase in tax rates), then the minimum quarterly distribution amounts and the target distribution amounts may be adjusted (i.e., reduced) to reflect the impact of that law on us.

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We have subsidiaries that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes and are subject to entity-level U.S. federal, state and local income and franchise tax.

We conduct a portion of our operations and business through one or more direct and indirect subsidiaries that are treated as C corporations for federal income tax purposes (including LGWS). We may elect to conduct additional operations through these corporate subsidiaries in the future. These corporate subsidiaries are subject to corporate-level taxes, at the corporate tax rate, which is currently 21%, and will also likely be subject to state (and possibly local) income tax at varying rates, on their taxable income. Any such entity level taxes will reduce the cash available for distribution to us and, in turn, to unitholders. If the IRS were to successfully assert that these corporations have more tax liability than we anticipate or legislation were enacted that increased the corporate tax rate, our cash available for distribution to unit holders would be further reduced. Distributions from any such C corporation will generally be taxed again to unitholders as dividend income to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits of such C corporation. The maximum federal income tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income that is allocable to individuals is 20%. An individual unitholders’ share of dividend and interest income from LGWS or other C corporation subsidiaries would constitute portfolio income that could not be offset by the unitholders’ share of our other losses or deductions.

A significant amount of our income is attributable to our leasing of real property to DMS. If DMS were to become related to us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the real property rents that we receive from DMS would no longer constitute qualifying income and we would likely be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

A significant amount of our qualifying income is composed of real property rents from DMS attributable to the sites that DMS leases from us. In general, any real property rents that we receive from a tenant or sub-tenant of ours in which we, directly or indirectly, own or are treated as owning by reason of the application of certain constructive ownership rules: (a) at least 10% of such tenant’s or sub-tenant’s stock (voting power or value) in the case where such tenant or sub-tenant is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or (b) an interest of at least 10% of such tenant’s or sub-tenant’s assets or net profits in the case where such tenant or sub-tenant is not a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes (as would be the case with respect to DMS), would not constitute qualifying income. After applying certain constructive ownership rules, we will be treated as owning the 5% interest in the assets and net profits of DMS that Joseph V. Topper, Jr. actually and constructively owns. If we were considered to directly or indirectly own an interest of 10% or more of the assets or net profits of DMS, then the real property rents that we receive from DMS would no longer constitute qualifying income in which case, based on our current operations, we would likely no longer qualify to be treated as a “partnership” (and instead would be treated as a corporation) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Our and DMS’ governing documents contain transfer restrictions designed to prevent us from being treated as directly or indirectly owning by reason of the application of constructive ownership rules an interest of 10% or more of DMS’ assets or net profits. We received an opinion of counsel at the closing of the IPO that transfer restrictions are generally enforceable under Delaware law, but a court could determine that these restrictions are inapplicable or unenforceable.

See Note 25 to the financial statements regarding the acquisition of retail and wholesale assets from the Topper Group and certain other parties, at which time these contracts with DMS will be terminated.

The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our common units could be subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or of an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial changes or differing interpretations at any time. For example, from time to time, members of Congress propose and consider such substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. If successful, these proposals or other similar proposals could eliminate the qualifying income exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws may be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any of these changes or other proposals will ultimately be enacted. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units.

If the IRS contests the U.S. federal income tax positions we take, the market for our common units may be adversely impacted and the costs of any contest will reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders. We have not requested any ruling from the IRS with respect to our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes or any other U.S. federal income tax matter affecting us. The IRS may adopt positions that differ from the conclusions of our counsel expressed in our disclosures or from the positions we take. It may be necessary to resort to administrative or court proceedings to sustain some or all of our counsel’s conclusions or the positions we take.take, and such positions may not ultimately be sustained. A court may not agree with some or all of our counsel’s conclusions or the positions we take. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the price at which they trade. In addition, the costs of any contest with the IRS, which will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our General Partner, will result in a reduction in cash available for distribution.

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Our unitholders are required to pay taxes on their share of income from us even if they do not receive any cash distributions from us. A unitholder's share of our taxable income, and its relationship to any distributions we make, may be affected by a variety of factors, including our economic performance, transactions in which we engage or changes in law and may be substantially different from any estimate we make in connection with a unit offering.

Our unitholders are required to pay U.S. federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local taxes, on their allocable share of our taxable income and gain even if they do not receive any cash distributions from us. Our unitholders may not receive cash distributions from us equal to their share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual tax due with respect to that income.

A unitholder’s share of our taxable income, and its relationship to any distributions we make, may be affected by a variety of factors, including our economic performance, which may be affected by numerous business, economic, regulatory, legislative, competitive and political uncertainties beyond our control, and certain transactions in which we might engage. For example, we may engage in transactions that produce substantial taxable income allocations to some or all of our unitholders without a corresponding increase in cash distributions to our unitholders, such as a sale or exchange of assets, the proceeds of which are reinvested in our business or used to reduce our debt, or an actual or deemed satisfaction of our indebtedness for an amount less than the adjusted issue price of the debt. A unitholder’s ratio of its share of taxable income to the cash received by it may also be affected by changes in law. For instance, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the net interest expense deductions of certain business entities, including us, are limited to 30% of such entity’s “adjusted taxable income,” which is generally taxable income with certain modifications. If the limit applies, a unitholder’s taxable income allocations will be more (or its net loss allocations will be less) than would have been the case absent the limitation.

From time to time, in connection with an offering of our common units, we may state an estimate of the ratio of federal taxable income to cash distributions that a purchaser of our common units in that offering may receive in a given period. These estimates depend in part on factors that are unique to the offering with respect to which the estimate is stated, so the expected ratio applicable to other common units will be different, and in many cases less favorable, than these estimates. Moreover, even in the case of common units purchased in the offering to which the estimate relates, the estimate may be incorrect, due to the uncertainties described above, challenges by the IRS to tax reporting positions which we adopt, or other factors. The actual ratio of taxable income to cash distributions could be higher or lower than expected, and any differences could be material and could materially affect the value of our common units.

Unitholders may be subject to limitation on their ability to deduct interest expense incurred by us.

In general, we are entitled to a deduction for interest paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to our trade or business during our taxable year. However, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, our deduction for “business interest” is limited to the sum of our business interest income and 30% of our “adjusted taxable income.” For purposes of this limitation, our adjusted taxable income is computed without regard to any business interest expense or business interest income, and in the case of taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, any deduction allowable for depreciation, amortization or depletion.

Tax gain or loss on the disposition of our common units could be more or less than expected.

If a unitholder sells common units, the unitholder will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and that unitholder’s tax basis in those common units. Distributions per common unit in excess of a unitholder’s allocable share of our net taxable income result in a decrease in that unitholder’s tax basis in its common units. The amount of this decreased tax basis, with respect to the units sold will, in effect, become taxable income to that unitholder, if that unitholder sells such units at a price greater than that unitholder’s tax basis in those units, even if the sales price received is less than the original cost. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be taxed as ordinary income due to potential recapture of depreciation and amortization deductions and certain other items. In addition, because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our non-recourse liabilities, if a unitholder sells units, that unitholder may incur a tax liability in excess of the amount of cash received from the sale.

Tax-exempt organizations and non-U.S. persons face unique tax issues from owning common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.

Investment in our common units by an organization that is exempt from U.S. federal income tax, such as employee benefit plans, individual retirement accounts and non-U.S. persons raises issues unique to them. For example, a substantial amount of our U.S. federal taxable income and gain constitute gross income from an unrelated trade or business and the amount thereof allocable to a tax-exempt organization would be taxable to such organization as unrelated business taxable income. Distributions to a non-U.S. person that holds our common units will be reduced by U.S. federal withholding taxes imposed at the highest applicable U.S. federal income tax rate and such non-U.S. person will be required to file U.S. federal income tax returns and pay U.S. federal income tax, to the extent not previously withheld, on his, her or its allocable share of our taxable income and gain.

Under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, if a unitholder sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit, the transferee is required to withhold 10% of the amount realized by the transferor unless the transferor certifies that it is not a foreign person, and we are required to deduct and withhold from the transferee amounts that should have been withheld by the transferee but were not withheld. However, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS have determined that this withholding requirement should not apply to any disposition of a publicly traded interest in a publicly traded partnership (such as us) until regulation or other guidance have been issued clarifying the application of this withholding requirement to dispositions of interests in publicly traded partnerships. Accordingly, while this new withholding requirement does not currently apply to interests in us, there can be no assurance that such requirement will not apply in the future.

Any tax-exempt organization or a non-U.S. person should consult its tax advisor before investing in our common units.

Our unitholders are subject to state and local income taxes and return filing requirements in states and localities where they do not live as a result of investing in our common units.

In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, our unitholders will likely be subject to other taxes, such as state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property, even if they do not live in any of those jurisdictions. Our unitholders will likely be required to file state and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions. Further, our unitholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. We currently conduct business in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin31 states (see “Item 2. Properties”). Each unit holderunitholder must assess the need to file and pay income tax in these states on their allocated share of partnership taxable income. We may own property or conduct business in other states, localities or foreign countries in the future. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax returns. In certain states, tax losses may not produce a tax benefit in the year incurred and also may not be available to offset income in subsequent tax years. Some states may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder not otherwise exempt from withholding, who is not a resident of the state. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholders’ income tax liability to the state, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file a state income tax return. Amounts withheld may be treated as if distributed to unitholders for purposes of determining the amounts distributed by us. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in our common units.

We will treat each purchaser of our common units as having the same tax benefits without regard to the actual common units purchased. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of the common units.

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, we will adopt depreciation and amortization positions that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury Regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of U.S. federal income tax benefits available to our unitholders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain for U.S. federal income tax purposes from any sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in audit adjustments to a unitholder’s U.S. federal income tax returns.

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We prorate our items of income, gain, loss and deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes and allocate them between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based upon the ownership of our common units on the first business day of each month and as of the opening of the applicable exchange on which our common units are listed, instead of on the basis of the date a particular common unit is transferred. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among our unitholders.

We generally prorate our items of income, gain, loss and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based upon the ownership of our common units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular common unit is transferred. 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 permitted under existing Treasury Regulations as there is no direct or indirect controlling authority on this issue. The Department of the Treasury and the IRS have issued Treasury Regulations that provide a safe harbor pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may useallow a similar monthly simplifying convention, to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee unitholders. The Treasury Regulationsbut such regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. If the IRS were to successfully challenge our proration method, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among our unitholders.

If a unitholder loans their common units to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units, they may be considered to have disposed of those common units for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If so, the unitholder would no longer be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partner with respect to those common units during the period of the loan and they may recognize gain or loss from such deemed disposition.

DuringBecause a unitholder whose common units are loaned to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of common units may be considered as having disposed of the loaned common units, the unitholder may no longer be treated for federal income tax purposes as a partner with respect to those common units during the period of the loan to the short seller and the unitholder may recognize gain or loss from such disposition. Moreover, during the period of the loan of common units to the short seller, any of our income, gain, loss or deduction with respect to such common units may not be reportable by the respective unitholder, and any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those common units could be fully taxable to them as ordinary income. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion regarding the treatment of a unitholder where common units are loaned to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of gain recognition from a loan of their common unitsto a short seller are urged to consult a tax advisor to discuss whether it is advisable to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowingloaning their common units.

We have adopted certain valuation methodologies that may result in a shift of income, gain, loss and deduction between our General Partner and the unitholders. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of the common units.

When we issue additional units or engage in certain other transactions, our General Partner will determine the fair market value of our assets and allocate any unrealized gain or loss attributable to our assets to the capital accounts of our unitholders and our General Partner. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, including the valuation of our assets, our General Partner will make many of the fair market value determinations of our assets using a methodology based on the market value of our common units as a means to measure the fair market value of our assets. Our methodology may be viewed as understating or overstating the value of our assets. In that case, there may be a shift of income, gain, loss and deduction between certain unitholders and our General Partner, which may be unfavorable to such unitholders. The IRS may challenge our valuation methods and allocations of income, gain, loss and deduction between our General Partner and certain of our unitholders.

A successful IRS challenge to these methods or allocations could adversely affect the amount of taxable income, gain or loss being allocated to our unitholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. It also could affect the amount of taxable gain from our unitholders’ sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of the common units or result in audit adjustments to our unitholders’ U.S. federal income tax returns without the benefit of additional deductions.

If the IRS weremakes audit adjustments to contest the U.S. federalour income tax positionsreturns for tax years beginning after 2017, it (and some states) may assess and collect any resulting taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly from us, in which case we take, it may adversely impact the marketrequire our unitholders and former unitholders to reimburse us for such taxes (including any applicable penalties or interest) or, if we are required to bear such payment, our common units, and the costs of any such contest would reduce distributable cash flowavailable for distribution to our unitholders.unitholders might be substantially reduced.

ThePursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, requires large partnershipsif the IRS makes audit adjustments to pay federalour income tax deficiencies atreturns for tax years beginning after 2017, it (and some states) may assess and collect any resulting taxes (including any applicable interest and penalties) directly from us. We will generally have the partnership level, unlessability to shift any such tax liability to our General Partner and our unitholders in accordance with their interests in us during the partnership electsyear under audit, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to take into account any federaldo so (or will choose to do so) under all circumstances, or that we will be able to (or choose to) effect corresponding shifts in state income or similar tax deficiency by includingliability resulting from the IRS adjustment in states in which we do business in the Form K-1s ofyear under audit or in the partners for the auditedadjustment year. If we make payments of taxes, penalties and interest resulting from audit adjustments, we may require our unitholders and former unitholders to reimburse us for such taxes (including any applicable penalties or interest) or, if we are audited,required to bear such payment, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced. Additionally, we may be required to allocate an adjustment disproportionately among our unitholders, causing the publicly traded units to have different capital accounts, unless the IRS issues further guidance.

In the event the IRS makes an audit adjustment to our income tax returns and we do not or cannot shift the liability to our unitholders in accordance with their interests in us during the year under audit, we will determine atgenerally have the ability to request that time whether to pay the tax deficiency, if any, atIRS reduce the partnership level or to includedetermined underpayment by reducing the adjustment in the Form K-1s of the partners for the audited year.

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PROPERTIES

The following table shows the aggregate number of sites we owned or leased by customer groups at December 31, 2017:

We conduct business at sites located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The following table provides a historysuspended passive loss carryovers of our sites acquired, changes between customer groups or sold during 2017:

Our principal executive offices areunitholders (without any compensation from us to such unitholders), to the extent such underpayment is attributable to a net decrease in Allentown, Pennsylvania in approximately 27,000 square feet of leased office space.passive activity losses allocable to certain partners. Such reduction, if approved by the IRS, will be binding on any affected unitholders.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The following table shows the aggregate number of sites we owned or leased by customer groups at December 31, 2019:

We conduct business at sites located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The following table provides a history of our sites acquired, changes between customer groups or sold during 2019:

Our principal executive offices are in Allentown, Pennsylvania in approximately 25,000 square feet of leased office space.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are from time to time party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. These actions typically seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, breach of contract, property damages, environmental damages, employment-related claims and damages, punitive damages, civil penalties or other losses, or injunctive or declaratory relief. With respect to all such lawsuits, claims and proceedings, we record a reserve when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. In addition, we disclose matters for which management believes a material loss is at least reasonably possible. None of these proceedings, separately or in the aggregate, are expected to have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In all instances, management has assessed the matter based on current information and made a judgment concerning its potential outcome, giving due consideration to the nature of the claim, the amount and nature of damages sought and the probability of success. Management’s judgment may prove materially inaccurate, and such judgment is made subject to the known uncertainties of litigation.

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We were a co-defendant, together with our General Partner, CST and CST Services LLC, in a lawsuit brought by a former executive of CST Services who, until March 2015, provided services to us as Chief Investment Officer and Vice President of Finance (Court of Common Pleas,  Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, case number 2015-1003). In connection with CST’s acquisition of our General Partner in 2014, the plaintiff alleged breach of contract and associated claims relating to his termination of employment and claimed severance benefits under the EICP. In October 2017, a jury awarded the plaintiff a total of $1.7 million. Under the EICP, we were also obligated to pay reasonable legal expenses incurred by the plaintiff in connection with this dispute.

Additional information regarding legal proceedings is included in Note 15 to the financial statements.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

As of February 21, 2018,2020, we had 34,111,46137,023,114 common units outstanding, held by approximately 2017 holders of record. Our common units are listed and trade on the NYSE under the symbol “CAPL.” Included in the number of common units outstanding are 6,389,3469,210,137 common units currently owned by Circle K,the Topper Group, which cannot be transferred absent registration with the SEC or an available exemption from the SEC’s registration requirements. See “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Unitholder Matters.”

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices for our common units, as reported by the NYSE, and cash distributions paid per common unit. The last reported sales price of our common units on the NYSE on February 21, 2018 was $23.36 per share.

Cash Distribution Policy

General

The Board has adopted a policy to make cash distributions per unit each quarter, in an amount determined by the Board following the end of such quarter. In general, we expect that cash distributed for each quarter will equal cash generated from operations less cash needed for maintenance capital expenditures, accrued but unpaid expenses (including the management fee to Circle K)the Topper Group), reimbursement of expenses incurred by our General Partner, debt service and other contractual obligations and reserves for future operating and capital needs or for future distributions to our partners. We expect that the Board will reserve excess cash, from time to time, in an effort to sustain or permit gradual or consistent increases in quarterly distributions. Restrictions in our credit facility could limit our ability to pay distributions upon the occurrence of certain events. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Credit Facility.” The Board may also determine to borrow to fund distributions in quarters when we generate less cash available for distribution than necessary to sustain or grow our cash distributions per unit. The factors that we believe will be the primary drivers of our cash generated from operations are changes in demand for motor fuels, the number of sites to which we distribute motor fuels, the margin per gallon we are able to generate at such sites and the profitability of sites we own and lease.

Our cash distribution policy, established by our General Partner, is to distribute each quarter an amount at least equal to the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4375 per unit on all units ($1.75 per unit on an annualized basis). The distribution declared by the Board on January 24, 201822, 2020 was $0.6275$0.5250 per unit (or $2.51$2.10 per unit on an annualized basis). Our General Partner may determine at any time that it is in the best interest of our Partnership to modify or revoke our cash distribution policy. Modification of our cash distribution policy may result in distributions of amounts less than, or greater than, our minimum quarterly distribution, and revocation of our cash distribution policy could result in no distributions at all. In addition, our credit facility includes certain restrictions on our ability to make cash distributions.

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IDRs

IDRs represent the right to receive an increasing percentage (15.0%, 25.0% and 50.0%) of our quarterly distributions from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels (as described under Minimum Quarterly Distribution below) have been achieved. Circle K holdsAs of December 31, 2019, DMP held our IDRs and hashad the right to transfer these rights at any time. The distributions declared since March 2014 exceedAs of December 31, 2019, the current distribution per unit exceeded the 15% thresholdthreshold.

See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Developments” for a discussion of the distributions declared since June 2015 exceedelimination of the 25% threshold.IDRs, which closed on February 6, 2020.

Minimum Quarterly Distribution

If cash distributions to our unitholders exceed $0.5031 per unit in any quarter, our unitholders and the holders of our IDRs, willwould receive distributions according to the following percentage allocations:

Quarterly distribution activity during the last two years was as follows:

We expect to continue the practice of paying quarterly cash distributions, though the timing, declaration, amount and payment of future distributions to unitholders will fall within the discretion of the Board. Our indebtedness also restricts our ability to pay distributions. As such, there can be no assurance we will continue to pay distributions in the future.

Subordination Period

On February 25, 2016, the subordination period under the Partnership Agreement ended. At that time, each outstanding subordinated unit converted into one common unit and as such participates pro rata with the other common units in cash distributions.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Through December 31, 2017,February 21, 2020, we issued an aggregate of 6,389,3469,210,137 common units to CST or Circle K and DMP (now all owned by DMP) as consideration for asset purchases, and partial settlement of the management fee.fee and the elimination of the IDRs, which closed on February 6, 2020. These units are restricted and cannot be transferred absent registration with the SEC or an available exemption from the SEC’s registration requirements. These issuances were made in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. See “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Unitholder Matters.”

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Common Unit Repurchase Program

On November 2, 2015, our Board approved a common unit repurchase program under Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act authorizing us to repurchase up to an aggregate of $25 million of the common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership. Under the program, we may make purchases in the open market after November 9, 2015 in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act, or in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act or otherwise. Any purchases will be funded from available cash on hand. The common unit repurchase program does not require us to acquire any specific number of common units and may be suspended or terminated by us at any time without prior notice. The purchases will not be made from any officer, director or control person of CrossAmerica or Couche-Tard. Since inception, we repurchased $6.9 million, or 287,621 common units, at an average price of $23.84 per common unit. We made no common unit repurchases during 2017. 

Common Unit Purchases by CST

On September 21, 2015, CST approved a unit purchase program under Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act, authorizing CST to purchase up to an aggregate of $50 million of the common units representing limited partner interests in us. The unit purchase program does not have a fixed expiration date and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time at CST’s discretion. Throughquarter ended December 31, 2015, CST had purchased $19.8 million, or 804,667 common units, at an average price of $24.64 per common unit, which cannot be transferred absent registration with the SEC or an available exemption from the SEC’s registration requirements. CST and Circle K made no purchases of common units during 2016 or 2017.2019.

Management Fee Issuance

As approved by the independent conflicts committee of the Board, the Partnership and Circle K mutually agreed to settle, from time to time, a portion of the full amount due under the terms of the AmendedCircle K Omnibus Agreement in newly issued common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership. These issuances of common units were made in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. We issued the following common units to CST or Circle K for the periods presented below under the terms of the AmendedCircle K Omnibus Agreement:Agreement. As a result of the GP Purchase, the Topper Group now owns these units.

All charges allocated to us by Circle K under the Circle K Omnibus Agreement since the first quarter of 2018 have been paid by us in cash.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected financial data reflect the operating data for the periods and as of the dates indicated.

To ensure a full understanding, you should read the selected financial data presented below in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Form 10-K.

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The financial data below are presented in thousands.