Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1)
Registration No. 333-261870
PROSPECTUS
CSI COMPRESSCO LP
39,309,470 Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
Offered by the Selling Unitholders
The common units representing limited partner interests in CSI Compressco LP (“common units”) may be offered from time to time, in one or more offerings, by the selling unitholders named in this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of these common units by the selling unitholders.
The selling unitholders may offer and sell these common units in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of the offering. This prospectus provides you with only a general description of these common units and the manner in which the selling unitholders will offer these common units. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
You should read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein carefully before you invest in our common units. You should also read the documents we refer to in the “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information We Incorporate by Reference” sections of this prospectus for information about us, including our financial statements.
Our common units are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “CCLP.” The last reported sales price of our common units on the NASDAQ Global Market on January 24, 2022 was $1.40 per unit. We will provide information in the related prospectus supplement for the trading market, if any, for any other securities that may be offered.
Investing in our common units involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks relating to investing in our common units and each of the other risk factors described under “Risk Factors” on page 5 of this prospectus before you make an investment in our common units.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
THE DATE OF THIS PROSPECTUS IS JANUARY 25, 2022
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In making your investment, you should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to give you different information. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents. We will disclose any material changes in our affairs in an amendment to this prospectus, a prospectus supplement or a future filing with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
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This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the selling unitholders may, from time to time offer and sell up to 39,309,470 of our common units described in this prospectus.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the common units that are registered hereunder that may be offered by the selling unitholders. More specific terms of any common units that the selling unitholders offer may be provided in a prospectus supplement that describes, among other things, the specific amounts and prices of the securities being offered and the terms of the offering. A prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information in this prospectus. Before you invest in our common units, you should carefully read this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, the additional information described under “Where You Can Find More Information,” and any additional information that you may need to make your investment decision.
To the extent information in this prospectus is inconsistent with the information contained in a prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement. The information in this prospectus is accurate as of its date. Additional information, including our financial statements and the notes thereto, is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our reports filed with the SEC and is accurate as of the date stated in such report.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and other reports and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You can also obtain information about us on our website at http://www.csicompressco.com. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus unless specifically so designated and filed with the SEC.
INFORMATION WE INCORPORATE BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we have filed with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you without actually including the specific information in this prospectus by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. Information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and may replace information in this prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.
The documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K), including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date on which the registration statement that includes this prospectus was initially filed and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement with the SEC, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus until the termination of all offerings under this registration statement:
| • | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on March 4, 2021; |
| • | our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, filed on May 3, 2021, the quarter ended June 30, 2021, filed on July 30, 2021, and the quarter ended September 30, 2021, filed on November 12, 2021; |
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| • | the description of our common units contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed on June 3, 2011 and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description, including Exhibit 4.9 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 4, 2021; and |
| • | our Current Reports on Form 8-K or 8-K/A filed on January 29, 2021, February 22, 2021, March 12, 2021, April 20, 2021, July 20, 2021, October 18, 2021, November 16, 2021, January 11, 2022, and January 18, 2022. |
You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus, at no cost, by writing or calling us at the following address:
CSI Compressco LP
24955 Interstate 45 North
The Woodlands, Texas 77380
(281) 364-2244
You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference in, this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with any information. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than its respective date.
All statements included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any accompanying prospectus supplement, other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, results of operations and financial condition. You can identify many of these statements by looking for words such as “assume,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “goal,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “could,” “believes,” “seeks,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects” or “targets” and similar expressions that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes.
Known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those in these forward-looking statements are described below and in “Risk Factors” in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements include, among other things:
| • | economic and operating conditions that are outside of our control, including the trading price of our common units, and the supply, demand, and prices of oil and natural gas; |
| • | the availability of adequate sources of capital to us; |
| • | our existing debt levels and our ability to obtain additional financing; |
| • | our ability to continue to make cash distributions, or increase cash distributions from current levels, after the establishment of reserves, payment of debt service and other contractual obligations; |
| • | the restrictions on our business that are imposed under our long-term debt agreements; |
| • | our dependence upon a limited number of customers and the activity levels of our customers; |
| • | the levels of competition we encounter; |
| • | our ability to renew our contracts with customers, which are generally short-term contracts; |
| • | the availability of raw materials and labor at reasonable prices; |
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| • | risks related to acquisitions and our growth strategy; |
| • | the credit and risk profile of Spartan Energy Partners LP (“Spartan”); |
| • | information technology risks including the risk from cyberattack; |
| • | global or national health concerns, including the outbreak of pandemics or epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | operational challenges relating to COVID-19, distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines and efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, including logistical challenges, protecting the health and well-being of our employees, remote work arrangements, performance of contracts and supply chain disruptions; |
| • | the effect and results of litigation, regulatory matters, settlements, audits, assessments, and contingencies, and |
| • | other risks and uncertainties under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed on March 4, 2021, and as included in our other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. |
If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or expected. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in this prospectus or incorporated by reference herein, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and, to the extent applicable, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any prospectus supplement. The risk factors and other factors included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
All forward-looking statements included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference herein and therein are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus or, in the case of forward-looking statements contained in any document incorporated by reference, the date of such document, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update these statements to reflect any change in our expectations or beliefs or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based.
In this prospectus, unless the context indicates otherwise, when we refer to “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the Partnership,” we are describing CSI Compressco LP and its wholly owned subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. References to “CSI Compressco GP” or “our general partner” refer to our general partner, CSI Compressco GP LLC. References to “Spartan” refer to Spartan Energy Partners LP and its controlled subsidiaries other than us.
General
We are a provider of compression services for natural gas and oil production, gathering, artificial lift, transmission, processing, and storage. We also sell used standard compressor packages and provide aftermarket services and compressor package parts and components manufactured by third-party suppliers. We provide compression services and parts and component sales to a broad base of natural gas and oil exploration and production, midstream, and transmission companies operating throughout many of the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as in a number of international locations, including the countries of Mexico, Canada, and Argentina.
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Organizational History, Limited Partnership Structure and Management
As a limited partnership, we are managed and controlled by our general partner. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our general partner was a wholly owned subsidiary of TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TTI) (“TETRA”). On January 29, 2021, Spartan acquired from TETRA the Partnership’s general partner, IDRs and 10.95 million common units in the Partnership (the “GP Sale”). As of January 14, 2022, common units held by the public represent approximately a 50.6% ownership interest, which is exclusive of Spartan’s 45.2% limited partner interest and 0.5% general partner interest, and TETRA’s 3.7% limited partner interest. In connection with the GP Sale, on January 29, 2021, TETRA entered into a Transition Services Agreement (the “Transition Services Agreement”) with the Partnership, pursuant to which TETRA provides certain accounting, information technology and back office support services to the Partnership for a period of up to one year following closing.
Through Spartan’s wholly owned subsidiary and our general partner, CSI Compressco GP, Spartan manages and controls us. We rely on our general partner’s board of directors and executive officers to manage our operations and make decisions on our behalf. Our general partner is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Spartan. Unlike shareholders in a publicly traded corporation, our unitholders are not entitled to elect our general partner or its directors. Following the GP sale, all of our general partner’s directors are elected by Spartan. Our general partner does not receive any management fee in connection with its management of our business. However, our general partner is reimbursed for certain expenses, including compensation expenses, incurred on our behalf. In addition, our general partner receives distributions based on its limited and general partner interests.
On November 10, 2021, the Partnership entered into a Contribution Agreement (the “Contribution Agreement”) by and among the Partnership, CSI Compressco GP, Spartan, and CSI Compressco Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation. Pursuant to the terms of the Contribution Agreement, Spartan contributed to the Partnership 100% of the limited liability company interest in Treating Holdco, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and parent of Spartan Energy Services LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“SES”), Spartan International LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Spartan International”), and Gas Services Manpower LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (“GSM”, and together with SES and Spartan International, collectively, “Treating Holdco”), 100% of the common stock in Spartan Terminals Operating, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Spartan Terminals”), and 99% of the limited liability company interests in Spartan Operating Company LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Spartan Operating” and together with Treating Holdco and Spartan Terminals, collectively, “Spartan Treating”) (such interests in Spartan Treating, the “Contributed Interests”) in exchange for 48.4 million common units. In connection therewith, CSI Compressco GP agreed to cancel its incentive distribution rights in the Partnership within 60 days after the Contribution Agreement. On January 6, 2022, CSI Compressco GP amended and restated the Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership in its entirety by executing the Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership to reflect, among other things, the cancellation and elimination of its incentive distribution rights in the Partnership. Any reference to “our partnership agreement” or “the partnership agreement” in this prospectus or elsewhere in the registration statement means the Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership.
Our principal executive offices are located at 24955 Interstate 45 North, The Woodlands, Texas 77380, and our telephone number is (281) 364-2244. Our website is http://www.csicompressco.com. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus.
For additional information as to our business, properties and financial condition please refer to the documents cited in “Information We Incorporate by Reference.”
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An investment in our common units involves a significant degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors and all of the other information included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, including those in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as updated by our quarterly and other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, in evaluating an investment in the common units. If any of these risks were actually to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS
The Common Units
The common units (“common units”) represent limited partner interests in us. The holders of common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units in and to partnership distributions, please read this section and “How We Make Cash Distributions.” For a description of the rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read “The Partnership Agreement.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Duties. Computershare Trust Company, N.A., serves as the registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We will pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units except the following, which must be paid by unitholders:
| • | surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates, taxes and other governmental charges; |
| • | special charges for services requested by a common unitholder; and |
| • | other similar fees or charges. |
There is no charge to unitholders for disbursements of our cash distributions. We will indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Resignation or Removal. The transfer agent may resign, by notice to us, or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If no successor is appointed, our general partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.
Transfer of Common Units
By executing and delivering a transfer application, the transferee of common units:
| • | becomes the record holder of the common units and is entitled to be admitted into our partnership as a substituted limited partner; |
| • | automatically requests admission as a substituted limited partner in our partnership; |
| • | executes and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of our partnership agreement; |
| • | represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement; and |
| • | gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our partnership agreement. |
A transferee that executes and delivers a properly completed transfer application will become a substituted limited partner of our partnership for the transferred common units automatically upon the recording of the transfer on our books and records. Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.
A transferee’s broker, agent or nominee may, but is not obligated to, complete, execute and deliver a transfer application. We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
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Common units are securities and any transfers are subject to the laws governing the transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units. A purchaser or transferee of common units who does not execute and deliver a properly completed transfer application obtains only:
| • | the right to assign the common unit to a purchaser or other transferee; and |
| • | the right to transfer the right to seek admission as a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units. |
Thus, a purchaser or transferee of common units who does not execute and deliver a properly completed transfer application:
| • | will not receive cash distributions; |
| • | will not be allocated any of our income, gain, deduction, losses or credits for federal income tax or other tax purposes; and |
| • | may not receive some federal income tax information or reports furnished to record holders of common units; |
unless the common units are held in a nominee or “street name” account and the nominee or broker has executed and delivered a transfer application and certification as to itself and any beneficial holders.
The transferor does not have a duty to ensure the execution of the transfer application by the transferee and has no liability or responsibility if the transferee neglects or chooses not to execute and deliver a properly completed transfer application to the transfer agent. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Status as Limited Partner.”
Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.
Number of Common Units
As of January 14, 2022, we had outstanding 140,386,811 common units. Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CCLP.”
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HOW WE MAKE CASH DISTRIBUTIONS
Set forth below is a summary of the significant provisions of our partnership agreement that relate to cash distributions.
Distributions of Available Cash
General. Our partnership agreement requires that, within 45 days after the end of each quarter, we distribute all of our available cash to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.
Definition of available cash. Available cash, for any quarter, consists of all cash on hand at the end of that quarter:
| • | less, the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to: |
| • | provide for the proper conduct of our business after the end of the quarter; |
| • | comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements; and |
| • | provide funds for future distributions; |
| • | plus, if our general partner so determines, all or a portion of cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter. |
The purpose and effect of the last bullet point above is to allow our general partner, if it so decides, to use cash from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter but on or before the date of determination of available cash for that quarter to pay distributions to unitholders. Under our partnership agreement, working capital borrowings are borrowings that are made under a credit agreement, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement, and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners and with the intent of the borrower to repay such borrowings within twelve months from sources other than additional working capital borrowings. We may borrow funds to pay quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
General Partner Interest
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner was initially entitled to 2.0% of all distributions that we make prior to our liquidation. Our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest. Our general partner has not elected to make sufficient additional capital contributions to maintain its initial 2.0% interest. Accordingly, our general partner’s initial 2.0% interest in our distributions has been reduced to approximately 0.478% and may be further reduced if we issue additional limited partner units in the future and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its current general partner interest.
Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation
If we dissolve in accordance with the partnership agreement, we will sell or otherwise dispose of our assets in a process called liquidation. We will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of our creditors.
We will then distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders and the general partner, in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of our assets in liquidation.
If the sale of our assets in liquidation would be impracticable or would cause undue loss, the sale may be deferred for a reasonable amount of time or the assets (except those necessary to satisfy liabilities) may be distributed to our limited partners in lieu of cash in the same manner as cash or proceeds of a sale would have been distributed.
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The following is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. We will provide prospective investors with a copy of our partnership agreement upon request at no charge.
We summarize the following provisions of our partnership agreement elsewhere in this prospectus:
| • | with regard to distributions of available cash, please read “How We Make Cash Distributions”; |
| • | with regard to the duties of our general partner, please read “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties”; |
| • | with regard to the transfer of common units, please read “Description of the Common Units—Transfer of Common Units”; and |
| • | with regard to allocations of taxable income and taxable loss, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.” |
Organization and Duration
Our partnership was organized on October 31, 2008 and has a perpetual existence.
Purpose
Our purpose, as set forth in our partnership agreement, is limited to any business activity that is approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law; provided that without the approval of unitholders holding at least 90% of the outstanding units (including units held by our general partner and its affiliates) voting as a single class, our general partner shall not cause us to take any action that our general partner determines would be reasonably likely to cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes.
Although our general partner, in its individual capacity, has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the business of gathering, compressing and treating natural gas, our general partner may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. Our general partner is generally authorized to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.
Cash Distributions
Our partnership agreement specifies the manner in which we will make cash distributions to holders of our common units, preferred units and other partnership securities as well as to our general partner in respect of its general partner interest. For a description of these cash distribution provisions, please read “How We Make Cash Distributions.”
Capital Contributions
Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under “—Limited Liability.”
For a discussion of our general partner’s right to contribute capital to maintain its current general partner interest if we issue additional units, please read “—Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests.”
Voting Rights
The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for approval of the matters specified below.
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In voting their common units, our general partner and its affiliates have no fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners.
| Issuance of additional units | No approval right. | |
| Amendment of our partnership agreement | Certain amendments may be made by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a majority of the outstanding common units. Please read “—Amendment of the Partnership Agreement.” | |
| Merger of our partnership or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets | Unit majority in certain circumstances. Please read “—Merger, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets.” | |
| Dissolution of our partnership | Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.” | |
| Continuation of our business upon dissolution | Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.” | |
| Withdrawal of our general partner | Our general partner may withdraw as general partner without approval of our unitholders by giving 90 days’ written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.” | |
| Removal of our general partner | Not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.” | |
| Transfer of our general partner interest | Our general partner may transfer any or all of its general partner interest without unitholder approval. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.” | |
| Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner | No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner.” | |
If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply to any person or group that acquires the units from our general partner, its affiliates, their direct transferees and their indirect transferees approved by our general partner in its sole discretion or to any person or group who acquires the units with the specific prior approval of our general partner.
Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction
Our partnership agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:
| • | arising out of or relating in any way to the partnership agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of the partnership agreement), any partnership interest or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us; |
| • | asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, or the Delaware Act, or other similar applicable statutes; |
| • | asserting a claim arising out of any other instrument, document, agreement or certificate contemplated by any provision of the Delaware Act relating to the Partnership or the partnership agreement; and |
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| • | arising out of the federal securities laws of the U.S. or securities or antifraud laws of any governmental authority; |
shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction, regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims. By purchasing a common unit, a limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings. This provision would not apply to claims brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act and that he otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of the partnership agreement, his liability under the Delaware Act is limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital he is obligated to contribute to us for his common units plus his share of any undistributed profits and assets. However, if a court were to determine that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group to take any action under the partnership agreement constituted “participation in the control” of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us 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. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no precedent for this type of a claim in Delaware case law.
Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware Act provides that a limited partner who receives a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years. Under the Delaware Act, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of his assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except that such person is not obligated for liabilities unknown to him at the time he became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from the partnership agreement.
Our subsidiaries conduct business in several states and foreign countries and we may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states and foreign countries in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as a member of the operating company may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating company conducts business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.
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Limitations on the liability of members or limited partners for the obligations of a limited liability company or limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our ownership interest in our operating company or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement, or to take other action under our partnership agreement constituted “participation in the control” of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of that jurisdiction to the same extent as our general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.
Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders, subject to certain restrictions.
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing holders of common units in our distributions of available cash. In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, may have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit our subsidiaries from issuing equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.
Upon issuance of additional partnership interests, our general partner is entitled, but not required, to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its general partner interest in us. Our general partner’s interest in us will be reduced if we issue additional units in the future (other than in those circumstances described above) and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its general partner interest. Since our initial public offering, our general partner has not elected to make sufficient additional capital contributions to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest. Moreover, our general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership interests whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates and beneficial owners, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of the general partner and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The holders of common units will not have preemptive rights under our partnership agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests.
Amendment of the Partnership Agreement
General. Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. In order to adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below, our general partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or to call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a majority of the outstanding common units.
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Prohibited amendments. No amendment may be made that would:
| • | enlarge the obligations of any limited partner without its consent, unless approved by a majority of the type or class of limited partner interests so affected; or |
| • | enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to our general partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of our general partner, which consent may be given or withheld in its sole discretion. |
The provision of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in the bullets above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90.0% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class (including units owned by our general partner and its affiliates).
No unitholder approval. Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner to reflect:
a) a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office;
b) the admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement;
c) a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue our qualification as a limited partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed);
d) any amendments that our general partner determines:
| • | do not adversely affect the limited partners considered as a whole (or any particular class of limited partners) in any material respect; |
| • | are necessary or appropriate to satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute; |
| • | are necessary or appropriate to facilitate the trading of limited partner interests or to comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any securities exchange on which the limited partner interests are or will be listed for trading; |
| • | are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by our general partner relating to splits or combinations of units under the provisions of our partnership agreement; or |
| • | are required to effect the intent expressed in the prospectus used in our IPO or the intent of the provisions of our partnership agreement or are otherwise contemplated by our partnership agreement; |
e) a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes;
f) an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our general partner or its directors, officers, agents or trustees from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or “plan asset” regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed;
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g) an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the creation, authorization or issuance of additional partnership interests or the right to acquire partnership interests;
h) any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone;
i) an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our partnership agreement;
j) any amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement;
k) conversions into, mergers with or conveyances to another limited liability entity that is newly formed and has no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of the conversion, merger or conveyance other than those it receives by way of the conversion, merger or conveyance; or l) any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described above.
Opinion of counsel and unitholder approval. Any amendment that our general partner determines adversely affects in any material respect one or more particular classes of limited partners requires the approval of at least a majority of the class or classes so affected, but no vote is required by any class or classes of limited partners that our general partner determines are not adversely affected in any material respect. Any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units requires the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that reduces the voting percentage required to take any action, other than to remove the general partner or call a meeting, is required to be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced. Any amendment that increases the voting percentage required to remove the general partner or call a meeting of unitholders must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be increased. For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our general partner is not required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will neither result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners nor result in our being treated as a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments. No other amendments to our partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under applicable law of any of our limited partners.
Merger, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets
A merger, consolidation or conversion of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to consent to any merger, consolidation or conversion and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interest of us or the limited partners.
In addition, our partnership agreement generally prohibits our general partner, without the prior approval of the holders of a unit majority, from causing us to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without such approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without such approval. Finally, our general partner may consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in a material
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amendment to the partnership agreement (other than an amendment that the general partner could adopt without the consent of the limited partners), each of our units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the partnership interests to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests immediately prior to the transaction.
If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity, if the sole purpose of that conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our partnership agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters’ rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.
Dissolution
We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:
| • | the election of our general partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority; |
| • | there being no limited partners, unless we are continued without dissolution in accordance with applicable Delaware law; |
| • | the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our partnership; or |
| • | the withdrawal or removal of our general partner or any other event that results in its ceasing to be our general partner other than by reason of a transfer of its general partner interest in accordance with our partnership agreement or its withdrawal or removal following the approval and admission of a successor. |
Upon a dissolution under the last clause above, the holders of a unit majority may also elect, within specific time limitations, to continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our partnership agreement by appointing as a successor general partner an entity approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority, subject to our receipt of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:
| • | the action would not result in the loss of limited liability under Delaware law of any limited partner; and |
| • | neither our partnership, our operating company nor any of our other subsidiaries would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of that right to continue (to the extent not already so treated or taxed). |
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as described in “How We Make Cash Distributions—Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation.” The liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time or distribute assets to partners in-kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to our partners.
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Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner
Our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days’ written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without unitholder approval upon 90 days’ notice to the limited partners if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and its affiliates, other than our general partner and its affiliates. In addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner, in some instances, to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.”
Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by our general partner of all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders of a unit majority may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. Please read “—Dissolution.”
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding common units, voting as a class, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units, voting as a class.
In the event of the removal of our general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of our general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where our general partner withdraws or is removed by the limited partners, the departing general partner has the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner or its affiliates for fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. Or, if the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of them will determine the fair market value.
If the option described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partner’s general partner interest will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities incurred as a result of the termination of any employees employed for our benefit by the departing general partner or its affiliates.
Transfer of General Partner Interest
Our general partner may, at any time, transfer all or any of its general partner interest without unitholder approval. Our general partner and its affiliates may, at any time, transfer their common units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval.
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Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner
At any time, the owners of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part their ownership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or a third party without the approval of our unitholders.
Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove our general partner or otherwise change our management. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner” for a discussion of certain consequences of the removal of our general partner. If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of partnership units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its partnership units. This loss of voting rights does not apply in certain circumstances. Please read “— Meetings; Voting.”
Our partnership agreement also provides that, if our general partner is removed under circumstances where cause does not exist and the general partner interest held by our general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal, our general partner will have the right to convert its general partner interest into common units or to receive cash in exchange for that interest based on the fair market value of that interest at that time.
Limited Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 90% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or beneficial owners thereof or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests of the class held by unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by our general partner, on at least 10, but not more than 60, days’ notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:
| • | the highest price paid by our general partner or any of its affiliates for any limited partner interests of the class purchased within the 90 days preceding the date on which our general partner first mails notice of its election to purchase those limited partner interests; and |
| • | the current market price as of the date three days before the date the notice is mailed. |
As a result of our general partner’s right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have his limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his common units in the market. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Disposition of Units.”
Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of partnership units then outstanding, record holders of partnership units on the record date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our limited partners and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited. In the case of common units held by our general partner on behalf of non-citizen assignees, our general partner will distribute the votes on those common units in the same ratios as the votes of limited partners on other units are cast.
Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting, if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be
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called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum, unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read “—Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests.” However, if at any time any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, or a direct or subsequently approved (at the time of transfer) transferee of our general partner or its affiliates and purchasers specifically approved by our general partner in its sole discretion, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes, subject to certain exceptions in our partnership agreement. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise.
Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record holders of common units under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Status as Limited Partner
By transfer of a limited partner interest in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of a limited partner interest shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the limited partner interest transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Except as described under “—Limited Liability,” the limited partner interests will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.
Indemnification
Under our partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages or similar events:
| • | our general partner; |
| • | any departing general partner; |
| • | any person who is or was an affiliate of our general partner or any departing general partner; |
| • | any person who is or was a manager, managing member, director, officer, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of our partnership, our subsidiaries, our general partner, any departing general partner or any of their affiliates; |
| • | any person who is or was serving as a manager, managing member, director, officer, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of another person owing a fiduciary duty to us or our subsidiaries; |
| • | any person who controls our general partner or any departing general partner; and |
| • | any person designated by our general partner. |
Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless our general partner otherwise agrees, it will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or lend funds or assets
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to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under our partnership agreement.
Reimbursement of Expenses
Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for all expenses they incur or payments they make on our behalf. These expenses include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf and expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates. Our general partner is entitled to determine the expenses that are allocable to us.
Books and Reports
Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. These books are maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and financial reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.
We will furnish or make available to record holders of our common units, within 90 days (or such shorter time as required by SEC rules) after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report on those consolidated financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available summary financial information within 45 days (or such shorter time as required by SEC rules) after the close of each quarter. We will be deemed to have made any such report available if we file such report with the SEC on EDGAR or make the report available on a publicly available website which we maintain.
We will furnish each record holder with information reasonably required for federal and state tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to our unitholders will depend on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his federal and state tax liability and in filing his federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with the necessary information.
Right to Inspect Our Books and Records
Our partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:
| • | a current list of the name and last known address of each record holder; |
| • | a copy of our tax returns; |
| • | information as to the amount of cash, and a description and statement of the agreed value of any other property or services, contributed or to be contributed by each partner and the date on which each partner became a partner; |
| • | copies of our partnership agreement, our certificate of limited partnership and related amendments and any powers of attorney under which they have been executed; |
| • | information regarding the status of our business and our financial condition; and |
| • | any other information regarding our affairs as the general partner determines in its sole discretion is just and reasonable. |
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Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
Registration Rights
Under our partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any common units or other limited partner interests proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates or their assignees if an exemption from the registration requirements is not otherwise available. These registration rights continue for two years following any withdrawal or removal of our general partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts, commissions and structuring fees.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our general partner and its affiliates (including Spartan, which indirectly owns approximately 45.5% of our common units, and its subsidiaries) on the one hand, and our partnership and our limited partners, on the other hand. The directors and officers of our general partner have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. At the same time, our general partner has a fiduciary duty to manage our partnership in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders.
Whenever a conflict arises between our general partner or its affiliates, on the one hand, and us and our limited partners, on the other hand, our general partner will resolve that conflict. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that modify and limit our general partner’s fiduciary duties to our unitholders. Our partnership agreement also restricts the remedies available to our unitholders for actions taken by our general partner that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of its fiduciary duty.
Our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under our partnership agreement or its fiduciary duties to us or our unitholders if the resolution of the conflict is:
| • | approved by the conflicts committee of our general partner, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; |
| • | approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our general partner or any of its affiliates; |
| • | on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or |
| • | fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships among the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us. |
As required by our partnership agreement, the board of directors of our general partner will maintain a conflicts committee of at least two independent directors. Our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of its board of directors. In connection with a situation involving a conflict of interest, any determination by our general partner involving the resolution of the conflict of interest must be made in good faith, provided that, if our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee and its board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the third and fourth bullet points above, then it will conclusively be deemed that, in making its decision, the board of directors acted in good faith and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or
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prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for in our partnership agreement, our general partner or the conflicts committee may consider any factors that it determines in good faith to be appropriate when resolving a conflict. When our partnership agreement provides that someone act in good faith, it requires that person to reasonably believe he is acting in the best interests of the partnership.
Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.
Spartan and its affiliates are not limited in their ability to compete with us, which could cause conflicts of interest and limit our ability to acquire additional assets or businesses, which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
Our partnership agreement does not prohibit Spartan and its affiliates from owning assets or engaging in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. In addition, Spartan and its affiliates may acquire compression-based services business or assets in the future, without any obligation to offer us the opportunity to purchase any of that business or those assets.
Our general partner and its affiliates are allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us in resolving conflicts of interest.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce the fiduciary standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or our limited partners. Examples include our general partner’s limited call right, its voting rights with respect to the units it owns and its determination of whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership.
We rely on the directors, executive officers and employees of our general partner and its affiliates, including Spartan.
We rely on the directors, executive officers and employees of our general partner and its affiliates, including Spartan, to manage our operations, conduct our business and make decisions on our behalf. In addition, Spartan owns and controls our general partner. Spartan and its controlled affiliates will conduct businesses and activities of their own in which we will have no economic interest. If these separate activities are significantly greater than our activities, there could be material competition for the time and effort of these directors, executive officers and employees. In addition, Spartan will allocate expenses of personnel who perform general and administrative services for us and we will reimburse Spartan and any of its controlled affiliates for those expenses.
Our partnership agreement limits the liability of and reduces the fiduciary duties owed by our general partner, and also restricts the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that, without these limitations, might constitute breaches of its fiduciary duty.
In addition to the provisions described above, our partnership agreement contains provisions that restrict the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that might otherwise constitute breaches of our general partner’s fiduciary duty. For example, our partnership agreement:
| • | permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Actions of our general partner, which are made in its individual capacity, will be made by its sole shareholder, a wholly owned subsidiary of and controlled by Spartan. Examples include the exercise of its limited call right, the exercise of its rights to transfer or vote the units it owns, the exercise of its registration rights and its determination whether or not to consent to any sale, merger or consolidation of the partnership or amendment to the partnership agreement; |
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| • | provides that our general partner will not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as a general partner so long as such decisions are made in good faith, meaning, it believed that the decision was in the best interest of our partnership; |
| • | provides generally that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner and not involving a vote of the unitholders must either be (i) on terms no less favorable to us than those generally provided to or available from unrelated third parties or (ii) “fair and reasonable” to us, as determined by our general partner in good faith, provided that, in determining whether a transaction or resolution is “fair and reasonable,” our general partner may consider the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to us; |
| • | provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners resulting from any act or omission unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or its officers or directors, as the case may be, acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct; and |
| • | provides that in resolving conflicts of interest, it will be presumed that in making its decision our general partner or its conflicts committee acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or us, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. |
Except in limited circumstances, our general partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without unitholder approval.
Under our partnership agreement, our general partner has full power and authority to do all things, other than those items that require unitholder approval or with respect to which our general partner has sought conflicts committee approval, on such terms as it determines to be necessary or appropriate to conduct our business including, but not limited to, the following:
| • | the making of any expenditures, the lending or borrowing of money, the assumption or guarantee of or other contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness, including indebtedness that is convertible into our securities, and the incurring of any other obligations; |
| • | the purchase, sale or other acquisition or disposition of our securities, or the issuance of additional options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to our securities; |
| • | the acquisition, disposition, mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or exchange of any or all of our assets; |
| • | the negotiation, execution and performance of any contracts, conveyances or other instruments; |
| • | the distribution of our cash; |
| • | the selection and dismissal of employees and agents, outside attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors and the determination of their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring; |
| • | the maintenance of insurance for our benefit and the benefit of our partners; |
| • | the formation of, or acquisition of an interest in, the contribution of property to, and the making of loans to any limited or general partnership, joint venture, corporation, limited liability company or other entity; |
| • | the control of any matters affecting our rights and obligations, including the bringing and defending of actions at law or in equity, otherwise engaging in the conduct of litigation, arbitration or mediation and the incurring of legal expense, the settlement of claims and litigation; |
| • | the indemnification of any person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law; |
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| • | the making of tax, regulatory and other filings, or the rendering of periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over our business or assets; and |
| • | the entering into of agreements with any of its affiliates to render services to us or to itself in the discharge of its duties as our general partner. |
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner must act in “good faith” when making decisions on our behalf, and our partnership agreement further provides that in order for a determination to be made in “good faith,” our general partner must believe that the determination is in our best interests. Please read “The Partnership Agreement—Voting Rights” for information regarding matters that require unitholder approval.
Our general partner determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, capital expenditures, borrowings, issuances of additional preferred units or partnership securities and the creation, reduction or increase of reserves, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is distributed to our unitholders.
The amount of cash that is available for distribution to our unitholders is affected by the decisions of our general partner regarding such matters as:
| • | the manner in which our business is operated; |
| • | the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales; |
| • | the amount, nature and timing of our capital expenditures; |
| • | the amount of our borrowings; |
| • | the issuance of additional units; and |
| • | the creation, reduction or increase of reserves in any quarter. |
Our partnership agreement provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner and its affiliates may not borrow funds from us, or our operating company and its operating subsidiaries.
Our general partner determines which of the costs incurred by Spartan and its controlled affiliates on our behalf are reimbursable by us.
We will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates, including Spartan, for all direct and indirect costs incurred in managing and operating us. These expenses include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf, and expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates. The partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine the expenses that are allocable to us in good faith.
Our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or from entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf.
Our partnership agreement allows our general partner to determine, in good faith, any amounts to pay itself or its affiliates for any services rendered to us. Our general partner may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any of its affiliates on our behalf. Neither our partnership agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts or arrangements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other hand, are the result of arm’s-length negotiations. Similarly, agreements, contracts or arrangements between us and our general partner and its affiliates that are entered into may not be negotiated on an arm’s-length basis, although, in some circumstances, our general partner may determine that the conflicts committee of our general partner may make a determination on our behalf with respect to such arrangements.
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Our general partner and its affiliates have no obligation to permit us to use any of its or its affiliates’ facilities or assets, except as may be provided in contracts entered into specifically for such use. There is no obligation of our general partner or its affiliates to enter into any contracts of this kind.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability under contractual arrangements so that counterparties to such agreements have recourse only against our assets, and not against our general partner or its assets. Our partnership agreement provides that any action taken by our general partner to limit its liability 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.
Our general partner may exercise its right to call and purchase all of the common units not owned by it and its affiliates if they own more than 90% of our common units.
Our general partner may exercise its right to call and purchase common units, as provided in our partnership agreement, or may assign this right to one of its affiliates or to us. Our general partner is not bound by fiduciary duty restrictions in determining whether to exercise this right. As a result, a common unitholder may be required to sell his common units at an undesirable time or price. Please read “The Partnership Agreement—Limited Call Right.”
Our general partner controls the enforcement of its and its affiliates’ obligations to us.
Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other hand, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our favor.
Our general partner decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for us.
The attorneys, independent accountants and others who have performed services for us have been retained by our general partner. Attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us are selected by our general partner or the conflicts committee and may perform services for our general partner and its affiliates. We may retain separate counsel for ourselves or the holders of common units in the event of a conflict of interest between our general partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the holders of common units, on the other hand, depending on the nature of the conflict. We do not intend to do so in most cases.
Fiduciary Duties
Our general partner is accountable to us and our unitholders as a fiduciary. Fiduciary duties owed to unitholders by our general partner are prescribed by law and our partnership agreement. The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, modify, restrict or expand the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by a general partner to limited partners and the partnership.
Our partnership agreement contains various provisions modifying and restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our general partner. We have adopted these restrictions to allow our general partner or its affiliates to engage in transactions with us that would otherwise be prohibited by state-law fiduciary duty standards and to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because our general partner’s board of directors has fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner that is beneficial to its owners, as well as to our unitholders. Without these modifications, our general partner’s ability to make decisions involving conflicts of interest would be restricted. The modifications to the fiduciary standards enable our general partner to take into
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consideration all parties involved in the proposed action, so long as the resolution is fair and reasonable to us. These modifications also enable our general partner to attract and retain experienced and capable directors. These modifications are detrimental to our unitholders because they restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below, and permit our general partner to take into account the interests of third parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. The following is a summary of the material restrictions of the fiduciary duties owed by our general partner to the limited partners:
| State law fiduciary duty standards | Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general partner to act for the partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require that any action taken or transaction engaged in where a conflict of interest is present be entirely fair to the partnership. | |
| Partnership agreement modified standards | Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive, or consent to conduct by, our general partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues about compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in “good faith” and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our general partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. | |
| Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest that are not approved by a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner must be: | ||
• on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to, or available from, unrelated third parties; or
• “fair and reasonable” to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us). | ||
| If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee and the board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the bullet points above, then it will conclusively be deemed that, in making its decision, the board of directors, which may include board members affected by the conflict of interest, acted in good faith. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. | ||
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| In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the obligations of our general partner, our partnership agreement further provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or its officers and directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct. Our partnership agreement and the Delaware Act also provide that our general partner may consult with legal counsel, accountants, investment bankers and other consultants and advisers selected by it, and in any action shall be fully protected from liability to us or our partners in relying in good faith upon the advice or opinion of such persons as to matters that the general partner reasonably believes to be within such person’s professional or expert competence. | ||
Rights and remedies of unitholders | The Delaware Act generally provides that a limited partner may institute legal action on behalf of the partnership to recover damages from a third party where a general partner has refused to institute the action or where an effort to cause a general partner to do so is not likely to succeed. In addition, the statutory or case law of some jurisdictions may permit a limited partner to institute legal action on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated limited partners to recover damages from a general partner for violations of its fiduciary duties to the limited partners. The Delaware Act provides that, unless otherwise provided in a partnership agreement, a partner or other person shall not be liable to a limited partnership or to another partner or to another person that is a party to or is otherwise bound by a partnership agreement for breach of fiduciary duty for the partner’s or other person’s good faith reliance on the provisions of the partnership agreement. Under our partnership agreement, to the extent that, at law or in equity, an indemnitee has duties (including fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating thereto to us or to our partners, our general partner and any other indemnitee acting in connection with our business or affairs shall not be liable to us or to any partner for its good faith reliance on the provisions of our partnership agreement, and such reliance shall be a defense in any action relating to such duties or liabilities. | |
By purchasing our units, each unitholder automatically agrees to be bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner to sign a partnership agreement does not render the partnership agreement unenforceable against that person.
Under our partnership agreement, we must indemnify our general partner and its officers, directors, managers and certain other specified persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our general partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct. We must also provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings unless our general partner or these other persons acted with knowledge that their
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conduct was unlawful. Thus, our general partner could be indemnified for its negligent acts if it meets the requirements set forth above. To the extent these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is contrary to public policy and, therefore, unenforceable. Please read “The Partnership Agreement—Indemnification.”
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
This section summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective unitholders and is based upon current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), existing and proposed U.S.. Treasury regulations thereunder (the “Treasury Regulations”), and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change (possibly with retroactive effect). Changes in these authorities may cause the U.S. federal income tax consequences to a prospective unitholder to vary substantially from those described below, possibly on a retroactive basis. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we,” “us,” or “the Partnership” are references to CSI Compressco LP and its subsidiaries.
Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. and are based on the accuracy of representations made by us and by our general partner to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all U.S. federal income tax matters that may affect us or our unitholders, such as the application of the alternative minimum tax. This section also does not address local taxes, state taxes, non-U.S. taxes, or other taxes that may apply, except to the limited extent discussed below under “—State, Local, and Other Tax Considerations.” Furthermore, this section focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States (for U.S. federal income tax purposes), who have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, who use the calendar year as their taxable year, who purchase common units subject to this registration statement, who do not materially participate in the conduct of our business activities, and who hold units as capital assets (generally, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations (including entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes), partnerships (including other entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes), estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt entities, non-U.S. persons, individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds. Accordingly, we encourage each prospective unitholder to consult the unitholder’s own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of our units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.
We are relying on the opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for our units and the prices at which our units trade. In addition, our costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our general partner because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution. Furthermore, the tax consequences of an investment in us may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions, which may be retroactively applied.
For the reasons described below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following U.S. federal income tax issues: (1) the treatment of a unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans”); (2) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”); and (3) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” and “—Uniformity of Units”).
Taxation of the Partnership
Partnership Status
We are treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, subject to the discussion below under “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures,” generally will not be
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liable for entity-level U.S. federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its U.S. federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder. Distributions we make to a unitholder will not give rise to income or gain taxable to such unitholder, unless the amount of cash distributed exceeds the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Distributions” and “—Disposition of Units.”
Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnership’s gross income for every taxable year it is publicly traded consists of “qualifying income,” the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (the “Qualifying Income Exception”). Qualifying income includes (i) interest, (ii) dividends, (iii) real property rents within the meaning of Section 856(d) of the Code, as modified by Section 7704(d)(3) of the Code, (iv) gains from the sale or other disposition of real property, (v) income and gains derived from the exploration, development, mining or production, processing, refining, transportation (including pipelines transporting gas, oil, or products thereof), or the marketing of any “mineral or natural resource,” and (vi) gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets (or property described in Section 1231(b) of the Code) held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that 4% or less of our gross income for the taxable year ending December 31, 2021, will not be qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.
No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS with respect to our classification as a partnership for federal income tax purposes or as to the classification of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries. Instead we have relied on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that, based upon the Code, existing Treasury Regulations, published revenue rulings and court decisions and representations described below, we and each of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., will be classified as a partnerships or disregarded as an entity separate from us for federal income tax purposes.
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will be treated as a partnership, and each of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., will be treated as a partnership or disregarded as an entity separate from us. In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner, including, without limitation:
| (a) | Neither we nor any of our partnership or limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., has elected or will elect to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and |
| (b) | For each taxable year since and including the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of a character that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code. |
We believe that these representations are true and will be true in the future.
If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to all of our liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation of their interests in us. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income by our unitholders or us so long as the aggregate amount of our liabilities does not exceed the adjusted tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our units may be modified by administrative or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. From time to time, members of the U.S. Congress have proposed and considered substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that would affect publicly traded partnerships. One such legislative proposal would have eliminated the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
In addition, on January 24, 2017, final regulations regarding which activities give rise to “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code (the “Final Regulations”) were published in the Federal Register. The Final Regulations are effective as of January 19, 2017, and apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 19, 2017. We do not believe the Final Regulations affect our ability to qualify as a publicly traded partnership.
It is possible that a change in law could affect us and may be applied retroactively. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units. If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our U.S. federal income tax liability, rather than being passed through to our unitholders.
Several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise, or other forms of taxation. Imposition of a similar tax on us in the jurisdictions in which we operate or in other jurisdictions to which we may expand could substantially reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time when we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units (determined separately for each unit), and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain.
The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that we will be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Entity-Level Taxation
Even though we (as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, certain of our business activities are conducted through corporate subsidiaries. Such subsidiaries are subject to corporate-level income tax, which reduces the cash available for distribution to us and, in turn, to our unitholders. Moreover, some of our subsidiaries and operations may be subject to income and other taxes in the jurisdictions in which they are organized or from which they receive income. Such taxation may reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Limited Partner Status
Unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the Partnership will be treated as partners in us for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, (i) assignees who have executed and delivered transfer applications and are awaiting admission as limited partners and (ii) unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of their units will be treated as partners of the Partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
As there is no direct or indirect controlling authority addressing assignees of units who are entitled to execute and deliver transfer applications and thereby become entitled to direct the exercise of attendant rights,
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but who fail to execute and deliver transfer applications, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.’s opinion does not extend to these persons. Furthermore, a purchaser or other transferee of our units who does not execute and deliver a transfer application may not receive some federal income tax information or reports furnished to record holders of our units unless the units are held in a nominee or street name account and the nominee or broker has executed and delivered a transfer application for those units.
For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “—Treatment of Securities Loans.” Unitholders who are not treated as partners in us as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under their particular circumstances.
Flow-Through of Taxable Income
Subject to the discussion below under “—Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes” and “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures,” with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our unitholders, and aside from any taxes paid by our corporate subsidiaries (please read “—Taxation of the Partnership—Entity-Level Taxation” above), we will not pay any U.S. federal income tax. Rather, each unitholder will be required to report on its own U.S. federal income tax return each year its share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within its taxable year. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.
Basis of Units
A unitholder’s tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid or treated as paid for those units increased by the unitholder’s initial allocable share of our liabilities. That basis generally will be (i) increased by the unitholder’s share of our income and any increases in such unitholder’s share of our liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions to the unitholder, the unitholder’s share of our losses, any decreases in the unitholder’s share of our liabilities, the unitholder’s share of our expenditures that are not deductible in computing taxable income and are not required to be capitalized and the amount of any excess business interest allocated to the unitholder. The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests.
Treatment of Distributions
Distributions made by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder, unless such distributions are of cash or marketable securities treated as cash and exceed the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under “—Disposition of Units.”
Any reduction in a unitholder’s share of our “nonrecourse liabilities” (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. A decrease in a unitholder’s percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional units may decrease the unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities generally will be based upon that unitholder’s share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess nonrecourse liabilities allocated based on the unitholder’s share of our profits. Please read “—Disposition of Units.”
A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of a reallocation of our nonrecourse liabilities described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income, if the distribution reduces the unitholder’s share of our “unrealized receivables,” including depreciation recapture
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and substantially appreciated “inventory items,” both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (“Section 751 Assets”). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive its proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange generally will result in the unitholder’s recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (1) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (2) the unitholder’s tax basis (generally zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses
A unitholder may not be entitled to deduct the full amount of loss we allocate to it because its share of our losses will be limited to the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units, and (ii) in the case of a unitholder that is an individual, estate, trust or certain types of closely-held corporations, the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be “at risk” with respect to our activities. A unitholder will be at risk to the extent of its adjusted tax basis in its units, reduced by (1) any portion of that basis attributable to the unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, (2) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or similar arrangement and (3) any amount of money the unitholder borrows to acquire or hold its units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to another unitholder or can look only to the units for repayment.
A unitholder subject to the at risk limitation must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions (including distributions deemed to result from a reduction in a unitholder’s share of nonrecourse liabilities) cause the unitholder’s at risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year. Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of the basis or at risk limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction in a later year to the extent that the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is subsequently increased. Upon a taxable disposition of units, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but not losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at risk limitation in excess of that gain can no longer be used, and will not be available to offset a unitholder’s salary or active business income.
In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, a passive activity loss limitation generally limits the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations from “passive activities” (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly-traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us. Passive losses that exceed a unitholder’s share of passive income we generate may be deducted in full when the unitholder disposes of all of its units in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive loss rules generally are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at risk and basis limitations.
For taxpayers other than corporations in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, an “excess business loss” limitation further limits the deductibility of losses by such taxpayers. An excess business loss is the excess (if any) of a taxpayer’s aggregate deductions for the taxable year that are attributable to the trades or businesses of such taxpayer (determined without regard to the excess business loss limitation) over the aggregate gross income or gain of such taxpayer for the taxable year that is attributable to such trades or businesses plus a threshold amount. The threshold amount is equal to $250,000 or $500,000 (increased by the applicable inflation adjustment) for taxpayers filing a joint return. Disallowed excess business losses are treated as a net operating loss carryover to the following tax year. Any losses we generate that are allocated to a unitholder and not otherwise limited by the basis, at risk, or passive loss limitations will be included in the determination of such unitholder’s aggregate trade or business deductions. Consequently, any losses we generate that are not otherwise limited will only be available to offset a unitholder’s other trade or business income plus an amount of non-trade or business income equal to the applicable threshold amount. Thus, except to the extent of the threshold amount, our losses that are not otherwise limited may not offset a
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unitholder’s non-trade or business income (such as salaries, fees, interest, dividends and capital gains). This excess business loss limitation will be applied after the passive activity loss limitation.
Limitations on Interest Deductions
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, our deduction for this “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 or business interest income, and in the case of taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, any deduction allowable for depreciation, amortization, or depletion. This limitation is first applied at the partnership level and any deduction for business interest is taken into account in determining our non-separately stated taxable income or loss. Then, in applying this business interest limitation at the partner level, the adjusted taxable income of each of our unitholders is determined without regard to such unitholder’s distributive share of any of our items of income, gain, deduction, or loss and is increased by such unitholder’s distributive share of our excess taxable income, which is generally equal to the excess of 30% of our adjusted taxable income over the amount of our deduction for business interest for a taxable year.
To the extent our deduction for business interest is not limited, we will allocate the full amount of our deduction for business interest among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. To the extent our deduction for business interest is limited, the amount of any disallowed deduction for business interest will also be allocated to each unitholder in accordance with their percentage interest in us, but such amount of “excess business interest” will not be currently deductible. Subject to certain limitations and adjustments to a unitholder’s basis in its units, this excess business interest may be carried forward and deducted by a unitholder in a future taxable year. Further, a unitholder’s basis in his or her units will generally be increased by the amount of any excess business interest upon a disposition of such units.
In addition to this limitation on the deductibility of a partnership’s business interest, the deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer’s “investment interest expense” generally is limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:
| • | interest on indebtedness allocable to property held for investment; |
| • | interest expense allocated against portfolio income; and |
| • | the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent allocable against portfolio income. |
The computation of a unitholder’s investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses other than interest directly connected with the production of investment income. Net investment income does not include qualified dividend income (if applicable) or gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment. A unitholder’s share of a publicly-traded partnership’s portfolio income and, according to the IRS, net passive income will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest expense limitation.
Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes
If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any U.S. federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, our partnership agreement authorizes us to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or our general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all the unitholders or we cannot determine the specific unitholder on whose behalf the tax is payable,
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our partnership agreement authorizes us to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of a unitholder, in which event the unitholder may be entitled to claim a refund of the overpayment amount. Please read “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures.” Unitholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors to determine the consequences to them of any tax payment we make on their behalf.
Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction
In general, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated amongst our unitholders and our general partner in accordance with their percentage interests in us.
Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code) to account for any difference between the adjusted tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a “Book-Tax Disparity”). As a result, the U.S. federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible (subject to the limitations described above) to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders.
An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will be given effect for U.S. federal income tax purposes in determining a unitholder’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has “substantial economic effect.” In any other case, a unitholder’s share of an item will be determined on the basis of the unitholder’s interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) the unitholder’s relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interests of all the partners in cash flow, and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation.
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in “—Section 754 Election” and “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees,” allocations of income, gain, loss or deduction under our partnership agreement will be given effect for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Treatment of Securities Loans
A unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (for example, a loan to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of units) may be treated as having disposed of those units. If so, such unitholder would no longer be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the deemed disposition. As a result, during this period (i) any of our income, gain, loss or deduction allocated to those units would not be reportable by the lending unitholder and (ii) any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units may be treated as ordinary taxable income.
Due to a lack of controlling authority, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder that enters into a securities loan with respect to its units. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of income recognition from a loan of their units are urged to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and lending their units. The IRS has announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
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Tax Rates
Under current law, the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 37% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
In addition, a 3.8% net investment income tax applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholder’s allocable share of our income and gain, as well as any income or gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units (without taking into account the 20% deduction discussed below). In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the unitholder’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if married and filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest U.S. federal income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and ending on or before December 31, 2025, an individual unitholder is entitled to a deduction equal to 20% of his or her allocable share of our “qualified business income.” For this purpose, our “qualified business income” is equal to the sum of:
| • | The net amount of our U.S. items of income, gain, deduction, and loss to the extent such items are included or allowed in the determination of taxable income for the year, excluding, however, certain specified types of passive investment income (such as capital gains and dividends) and certain payments made to the unitholder for services rendered to the Partnership; and |
| • | Any gain recognized upon a disposition of our units to the extent such gain is attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our “inventory items,” and is thus treated as ordinary income under Section 751 of the Code. |
Section 754 Election
We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax basis in each of our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code to reflect the unit purchase price upon subsequent purchases of units. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to a unitholder who purchases units from another unitholder based upon the values and adjusted tax basis of each of our assets at the time of the relevant unit purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us. For purposes of this discussion, a unitholder’s basis in our assets will be considered to have two components: (1) its share of the tax basis in our assets as to all unitholders, and (2) its Section 743(b) adjustment to that tax basis (which may be positive or negative).
Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury Regulations governing a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by other publicly-traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read “—Uniformity of Units.”
The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment to preserve the uniformity of units due to lack of controlling authority. Because a unitholder’s
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adjusted tax basis for its units is reduced by its share of our items of deduction or loss, any position we take that understates deductions will overstate a unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.” If a challenge to such treatment were sustained, the gain from the sale of units may be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and are made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or non-depreciable assets. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.
Tax Treatment of Operations
Accounting Method and Taxable Year
We use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in its tax return its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for each taxable year ending within or with its taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of its units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of its taxable year must include its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for its taxable year, with the result that it will be required to include in income for its taxable year its share of more than twelve months of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees.”
Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization
The tax basis of our each of assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of those assets. If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain, determined by reference to the amount of depreciation deductions previously taken, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a unitholder who has taken cost recovery or depreciation deductions with respect to property we own will likely be required to recapture some or all of those deductions as ordinary income upon a sale of its interest in us. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction” and “—Disposition of Units – Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
The costs we incur in offering and selling our units (called “syndication expenses”) must be capitalized and cannot be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. While there are uncertainties regarding the classification of costs as organization expenses, which may be amortized by us, and as syndication expenses, which may not be amortized by us, the underwriting discounts and commissions we incur will be treated as syndication expenses. Please read “Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
We are allowed a first-year bonus depreciation deduction equal to 100% of the adjusted basis of certain depreciable property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023. For property placed in service during subsequent years, the deduction is phased down by 20% per year until December 31, 2026. This depreciation deduction applies to both new and used property. However, use of the deduction with respect to used property is subject to certain anti-abuse restrictions, including the requirement that the property be acquired from an unrelated party. We can elect to forgo the depreciation bonus and use the alternative depreciation system for any class of property for a taxable year.
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Valuation and Tax Basis of Our Properties
The U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the tax basis of each of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates and tax basis determinations ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or tax basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by unitholders could change, and unitholders could be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.
Disposition of Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss
A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale or exchange of a unit equal to the difference, if any, between the unitholder’s amount realized and the adjusted tax basis in the unit sold (taking into account any basis adjustments attributable to previously disallowed interest deductions). A unitholder’s amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our nonrecourse liabilities with respect to the unit sold or exchanged. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale or exchange of a unit could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale or exchange.
Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder on the sale or exchange of a unit held for more than one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or loss. However, gain or loss recognized on the disposition of units will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Code to the extent attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our “inventory items,” regardless of whether such inventory item has substantially appreciated in value. Ordinary income attributable to Section 751 Assets may exceed net taxable gain realized on the sale or exchange of a unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale or exchange of a unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital gain or loss upon a sale or exchange of a unit. Net capital loss may offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.
For purposes of calculating gain or loss on the sale or exchange of a unit, the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis will be adjusted by its allocable share of our income or loss in respect of its unit for the year of the sale. Furthermore, the IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that adjusted tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an “equitable apportionment” method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partner’s adjusted tax basis in its entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partner’s entire interest in the partnership.
Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed in the paragraph above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis units to sell or exchange as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, the unitholder may designate specific units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of the units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of any unit transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale or exchange of units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult its tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.
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Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an “appreciated” financial position, including a partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:
| • | a short sale; |
| • | an offsetting notional principal contract; or |
| • | a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property. |
Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue Treasury Regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans.”
Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees
In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis and will be subsequently apportioned among the unitholders in proportion to the number of units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month (the ��Allocation Date”). Nevertheless, we allocate certain deductions for depreciation of capital additions based upon the date the underlying property is placed in service, and gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets or, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss or deduction will be allocated among the unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which such income, gain, loss or deduction is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.
Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the Treasury Regulations do not specifically authorize the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If the IRS determines that this method is not allowed under the Treasury Regulations, our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among our unitholders. Our partnership agreement authorizes us to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under the Treasury Regulations.
A unitholder who disposes of units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition (and any other month during the quarter to which that cash distribution related and in which the unitholder held units on the first day of such month) but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.
Notification Requirements
A unitholder who sells or exchanges any of its units is generally required to notify us in writing of that transaction within 30 days after the transaction (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the transaction in the case of a seller). Upon receiving these notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of the transaction and furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a transfer of units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale or exchange through a broker who will satisfy these requirements.
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Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units and for other reasons, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the units to a purchaser of these units. As a result of the need to preserve uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of U.S. federal income tax requirements. Any non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of our units. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election.”
Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to take positions in filing our tax returns that preserve the uniformity of our units. These positions may include reducing the depreciation, amortization or loss deductions to which a unitholder would otherwise be entitled or reporting a slower amortization of Section 743(b) adjustments for some unitholders than that to which they would otherwise be entitled. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions.
A unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in units is reduced by its share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholder’s basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss” and “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” above. The IRS may challenge one or more of any positions we take to preserve the uniformity of units. If such a challenge were sustained, the uniformity of units might be affected, and, under some circumstances, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
Tax-Exempt Entities and Other Investors
Ownership of our units by employee benefit plans and other tax-exempt organizations, as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons (collectively, “Non-U.S. Unitholders”) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantial adverse tax consequences to them. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to U.S. federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder. Each prospective unitholder that is a tax-exempt entity or a Non-U.S. Unitholder should consult its tax advisors before investing in our units.
Non-U.S. Unitholders are taxed by the United States on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”) and on certain types of U.S.-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty. Non-U.S. Unitholders will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of their ownership of our units. Furthermore, Non-U.S. Unitholders will be deemed to conduct such activities through a permanent establishment in the United States within the meaning of applicable tax treaties. Consequently, Non-U.S. Unitholders will be required to file U.S. federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay U.S. federal income tax on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to Non-U.S. Unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable U.S. federal effective tax rate. Each Non-U.S. Unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable or successor form) in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.
In addition, if a Non-U.S. Unitholder is classified as a non-U.S. corporation, it will be treated as engaged in a United States trade or business and may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular U.S. federal income tax, on its share of our income and gain as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “U.S. net equity” to the extent reflected in the corporation’s earnings and profits. That tax may be reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a “qualified resident.” In addition, this type of unitholder is subject to special information reporting requirements under Section 6038C of the Code.
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A Non-U.S. Unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Non-U.S. Unitholder. Gain realized by a Non-U.S. Unitholder from the sale of its interest in a partnership that is engaged in U.S. trade or business will be considered to be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business to the extent gain that would be recognized upon a sale by the partnership of all of its assets would be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business. Thus, part or all of a Non-U.S. Unitholder’s gain from the sale or other disposition of its units may be treated as effectively connected with a unitholder’s indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by its investment in us and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax. As a result of the effectively connected income rules described above, the exclusion from U.S. taxation under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act for gain from the sale of partnership units regularly traded on an established securities market will not prevent a Non-U.S. Unitholder from being subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain from the sale or other disposition of its units to the extent such gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. We expect most of the gain from the sale or disposition of our units to be treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.
Moreover, under section 1446(f) of the Code, the transferee of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business is generally required to withhold 10% of the amount realized by the transferor unless the transferor certifies that it is not a foreign person. While the determination of a partner’s “amount realized” generally includes any decrease of a partner’s share of the partnership’s liabilities, recently issued Treasury Regulations provide that the “amount realized” on a transfer of an interest in a publicly traded partnership, such as our units, will generally be the amount of gross proceeds paid to the broker effecting the applicable transfer on behalf of the transferor, and thus will be determined without regard to any decrease in that partner’s share of a publicly traded partnership’s liabilities. The Treasury Regulations further provide that withholding on a transfer of an interest in a publicly traded partnership will not be imposed on a transfer that occurs prior to January 1, 2022, and administrative guidance from the IRS further provides that the applicability date the Section 1446(f) withholding obligation has been deferred until January 1, 2023. For a transfer of interests in a publicly traded partnership that is effected through a broker on or after January 1, 2023, the obligation to withhold is imposed on the transferor’s broker. Prospective foreign unitholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the impact of these rules on an investment in our units.
Administrative Matters
Information Returns and Audit Procedures
We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholder’s share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.
The IRS may audit our U.S. federal income tax information returns. Neither we, nor Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of the units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior year’s tax liability and may result in an audit of the unitholder’s own return. Any audit of a unitholder’s return could result in adjustments unrelated to our returns.
Publicly-traded partnerships are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of U.S. federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings for each of the partners. Pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for
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taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us, unless we elect to have our general partner, unitholders and former unitholders take any audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit. Similarly, for such taxable years, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to income tax returns filed by an entity in which we are a member or partner, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from such entity.
Generally, we expect to elect to have our general partner, unitholders and former unitholders take any such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election will be effective in all circumstances. If we are unable or if it is not economical to have our general partner, unitholders, and former unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, then our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own our units during the taxable year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties or interest, we may require our unitholders and former unitholder to reimburse us for such taxes (including any applicable penalties or interest) or, if we bear such payment directly, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced. These rules are not applicable for taxable years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2017. Congress has proposed changes to the Bipartisan Budget Act, and we anticipate that amendments may be made. Accordingly, the manner in which these rules may apply to us in the future is uncertain.
Additionally, pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the Code will no longer require that we designate a Tax Matters Partner (as defined in Section 6231 of the Code prior to its amendment by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). Instead, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, we are required to designate a partner, or other person, with a substantial presence in the United States as the partnership representative (“Partnership Representative”). We have designated our general partner as the Partnership Representative. The Partnership Representative has sole authority to act on our behalf for purposes of, among other things, federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS. Further, any actions taken by us or by the Partnership Representative on our behalf with respect to, among other things, federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, will be binding on us and all of our unitholders.
Additional Withholding Requirements
Withholding taxes may apply to certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” (as specially defined in the Code) and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on withholdable payments, including interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodic gains, profits and income from sources within the United States (“FDAP Income”) paid to a foreign financial institution or to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specially defined in the Code), unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting, (ii) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner or (iii) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. While withholdable payments would have originally included payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of any property of a type which could produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States (“Gross Proceeds”) on or after January 1, 2019, proposed Treasury Regulations provide that such payments of Gross Proceeds do not constitute withholdable payments. Taxpayers may rely generally on these proposed Treasury Regulations until they are revoked or final Treasury Regulations are issued.
If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in clause (i) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to noncompliant foreign
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financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing these requirements may be subject to different rules.
To the extent we have FDAP Income that is not treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (please read “—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors”), a unitholder that is a foreign financial institution or certain other non-U.S. entity, or a person that holds its units through such foreign entities, may be subject to withholding on distributions they receive from us, or its distributive share of our income, pursuant to the rules described above.
Each prospective unitholder should consult its own tax advisors regarding the potential application of these withholding provisions to its investment in our units.
Nominee Reporting
Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
| • | the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee; |
| • | a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is: |
| • | a non-U.S. person; |
| • | a non-U.S. government, an international organization or any wholly-owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or |
| • | a tax-exempt entity; |
| • | the amount and description of units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and |
| • | specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from sales. |
Each broker and financial institution is required to furnish additional information, including whether such broker or financial institution is a U.S. person and specific information on any units such broker or financial institution acquires, holds or transfers for its own account. A penalty per failure, with a significant maximum penalty per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of our units with the information furnished to us.
Accuracy-Related Penalties
Certain penalties may be imposed as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income tax and substantial valuation misstatements. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion. We do not anticipate that any accuracy-related penalties will be assessed against us.
State, Local, and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future or in which the unitholder is a resident. We currently conduct business or own assets in many states in the United States. Most of these states currently impose a personal income tax on individuals. Certain of these states also impose an income
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or other entity-level tax on corporations and other entities. In addition, we may also own property or do business in other states in the future that impose income or similar taxes on nonresident individuals. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective unitholder should consider the potential impact of such taxes on the prospective unitholder’s investment in us.
A unitholder may be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in many of the jurisdictions in which we do business or own property, though the unitholder may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in certain jurisdictions because its income from those jurisdictions falls below the jurisdiction’s filing and payment requirement. Further, a unitholder may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with any filing or payment requirement. Some of the jurisdictions may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not a resident of the jurisdiction. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholder’s income tax liability to the jurisdiction, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return.
It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions, of its investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend on, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all required state, local, non-U.S., and U.S. federal tax returns. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, alternative minimum tax, or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in us.
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INVESTMENT IN CSI COMPRESSCO LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
The following is a summary of certain considerations associated with the acquisition and holding of our common units by employee benefit plans that are subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), plans, individual retirement accounts and annuities (“IRAs”) and other arrangements that are subject to Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) or employee benefit plans that are governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA), certain church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA), non-U.S. plans (as described in Section 4(b)(4) of ERISA) or other plans that are not subject to the foregoing but may be subject to provisions under certain federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Code or ERISA, (collectively, “Similar Laws”), and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of such plans, accounts or arrangements (each, an “employee benefit plan”).
This summary is based on the provisions of ERISA and the Code (and related regulations and administrative and judicial interpretations) as of the date of this prospectus. This summary does not purport to be complete, and no assurance can be given that future legislation, court decisions, regulations, rulings or pronouncements will not significantly modify the requirements summarized below. Any of these changes may be retroactive and may thereby apply to transactions entered into prior to the date of their enactment or release. This discussion is general in nature and is not intended to be all inclusive, nor should it be construed as investment or legal advice.
General Fiduciary Matters
ERISA and the Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries of an employee benefit plan that is subject to Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code (an “ERISA Plan”) and prohibit certain transactions involving the assets of an ERISA Plan and its fiduciaries or other interested parties. Under ERISA and the Code, any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over the administration of an ERISA Plan or the management or disposition of the assets of an ERISA Plan, or who renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation to an ERISA Plan, is generally considered to be a fiduciary of the ERISA Plan. In considering an investment in our common units with a portion of the assets of any Plan, a fiduciary should consider the Plan’s particular circumstances and all of the facts and circumstances of the investment and determine whether the acquisition and holding of our common units is in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the Plan and the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code or any Similar Law relating to the fiduciary’s duties to the Plan, including, without limitation:
| • | whether the investment is prudent under Section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws; |
| • | whether, in making the investment, the employee benefit plan will satisfy the diversification requirements of Section 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws; |
| • | whether the investment is permitted under the terms of the applicable documents governing the employee benefit plan; |
| • | whether the acquisition or holding of our common units will constitute a “prohibited transaction” under Section 406 of ERISA, Section 4975 of the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws (see the discussion under “—Prohibited Transaction Issues” below); |
| • | whether in making the investment, the employee benefit plan will be considered to hold, as plan assets, (i) only the investment in our common units or (ii) an undivided interest in our underlying assets (see the discussion under “—Plan Asset Issues” below); and |
| • | whether the investment will result in recognition of unrelated business taxable income by the employee benefit plan and, if so, the potential after-tax investment return. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors.” |
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Governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA) and certain church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA) and non-U.S. plans (as described in Section 4(b)(4) of ERISA), while generally not subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA or the provisions of Section 4975 of the Code, may nevertheless be subject to Similar Laws.
The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in our common units is authorized by the appropriate governing instruments and is a proper investment for the employee benefit plan.
Prohibited Transaction Issues
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code prohibit ERISA Plans and certain IRAs that are not considered part of an ERISA Plan from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with persons or entities who are “parties in interest” under ERISA or “disqualified persons” under Section 4975 of the Code with respect to the ERISA Plan or IRA, unless an exemption is applicable. A party in interest or disqualified person who engages in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. In addition, the fiduciary of an ERISA Plan or IRA that engages in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes, penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. The acquisition and/or holding of our common units by an ERISA Plan with respect to which the Partnership, the initial purchaser, or a guarantor is considered a party in interest or a disqualified person may constitute or result in a direct or indirect prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA and/or Section 4975 of the Code, unless the investment is acquired and is held in accordance with an applicable statutory, class or individual prohibited transaction exemption.
In this regard, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued prohibited transaction class exemptions, or PTCEs, that may apply to the acquisition and holding of securities. These class exemptions include, without limitation, PTCE 84-14 respecting transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers, PTCE 90-1 respecting insurance company pooled separate accounts, PTCE 91-38 respecting bank collective investment funds, PTCE 95-60 respecting life insurance company general accounts and PTCE 96-23 respecting transactions determined by in-house asset managers. In addition, the statutory service provider exemption provided by Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Internal Revenue Code, which exempts certain transactions between employee benefit plans and parties in interest or disqualified persons that are not fiduciaries with respect to the transaction, could apply. These exemptions do not, however, provide relief from the self-dealing prohibitions under ERISA and the Code. It should also be noted that even if the conditions specified in one or more of these exemptions are met, the scope of relief provided by these exemptions may not necessarily cover all acts that might be construed as prohibited transactions. Therefore, the fiduciary of an employee benefit plan that is considering acquiring our common units in reliance on any of these, or any other, PTCEs should carefully review the PTCE and consult with its counsel to confirm that it is applicable. There can be no assurance that all of the conditions of any such exemptions will be satisfied.
Because of the foregoing, common units should not be acquired or held by any person investing “plan assets” of any Plan, unless such acquisition and holding will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA and the Code or a similar violation of any applicable Similar Laws.
Plan Asset Issues
In addition to considering whether the purchase of our common units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the employee benefit plan will, by investing in our common units, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our general partner also would be a fiduciary of the employee benefit plan and our operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.
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The DOL regulations provide guidance with respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed “plan assets” under certain circumstances. Under these regulations, an entity’s underlying assets generally would not be considered to be “plan assets” if, among other things:
| (i) | the equity interests acquired by employee benefit plans are publicly offered securities—i.e., the equity interests are part of a class of securities that are widely held by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and each other, “freely transferable” (as defined in the applicable DOL regulations) and either part of a class of securities registered pursuant to certain provisions of the federal securities laws or sold to the employee benefit plan as part of a public offering under certain conditions; |
| (ii) | the entity is an “operating company”—i.e., it is primarily engaged in the production or sale of a product or service, other than the investment of capital either directly or through a majority-owned subsidiary or subsidiaries; or |
| (iii) | there is no “significant” investment by “benefit plan investors” (as defined in Section 3(42) of ERISA and applicable DOL regulations), which is defined to mean that, immediately after the most recent acquisition of an equity interest in any entity by such a benefit plan investor, less than 25% of the total value of each class of equity interest, disregarding certain interests held by persons (other than benefit plan investors) with discretionary authority or control over the assets of the Partnership or who provide investment advice for a fee (direct or indirect) with respect to such assets and any affiliates thereof, is held by ERISA Plans, IRAs and certain other employee benefit plans (excluding governmental plans, foreign plans and certain church plans) and entities whose underlying assets are deemed to include employee benefit plan assets by reason of the employee benefit plan’s investment in the entity. |
The foregoing discussion of issues arising for investments by employee benefit plans under ERISA, the Code and applicable Similar Laws is general in nature and is not intended to be all inclusive and is based on laws in effect on the date of this prospectus. This discussion should not be construed as legal advice. Due to the complexity of these rules and the excise taxes, penalties and liabilities that may be imposed upon persons involved in non-exempt prohibited transactions or other violations, it is particularly important that fiduciaries, or other persons contemplating a purchase of our common units on behalf of, or with the assets of, any employee benefit plan should consult with their own counsel regarding the potential applicability of ERISA, Section 4975 of the Code and any Similar Laws to such investment and whether an exemption would be applicable to the purchase of our common units. Purchasers of our common units have the exclusive responsibility for ensuring that their purchase and holding of our common units complies with the fiduciary responsibility rules of ERISA and does not violate the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA, the Code or applicable Similar Laws. The sale of our common units to an employee benefit plan is in no respect a representation by us or any of our affiliates or representatives that such an investment meets all relevant legal requirements with respect to investments by any such employee benefit plan or that such investment is appropriate for any such employee benefit plan.
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As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been advised by the selling unitholders as to any plan of distribution. The selling unitholders may choose not to sell any of the common units. The selling unitholders may sell the common units offered pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement directly, through agents or to or through underwriters, brokers or dealers, in privately negotiated transactions, in a combination of any such methods of disposition, and through any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. The selling unitholders may distribute the common units offered pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement from time to time in one or more transactions at: a fixed price; market prices prevailing at the time of sale; prices related to prevailing market prices; varying prices determined at the time of sale; or negotiated prices. The selling unitholders may make sales of our common units on the NASDAQ or otherwise at prices and under terms prevailing at the time of sale, or at prices related to the then-current market price, at fixed prices, or in privately negotiated transactions.
In connection with sales of the common units under this prospectus, the selling unitholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers, who may in turn engage in short sales of the common units in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling unitholders also may engage in short sales, short sales against the box, puts and calls and other transactions in common units, or derivatives thereof, and may sell and deliver their common units in connection therewith, or loan or pledge the common units to broker-dealers that in turn may sell them.
In addition, the selling unitholders may from time to time sell common units in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to other available exemptions from the registration requirements under the Securities Act, rather than pursuant to this prospectus. The selling unitholders may be required by the securities laws of certain states to offer and sell the common units only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
As of the date of this prospectus, neither we nor any selling unitholder has engaged any underwriter, broker, dealer or agent in connection with the distribution of common units pursuant to this prospectus by the selling unitholders. To the extent required, the number of common units to be sold, the purchase price, the name of any applicable agent, broker, dealer or underwriter and any applicable commissions with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The aggregate net proceeds to the selling unitholders from the sale of their common units offered hereby will be the sale price of those shares, less any commissions, if any, and other expenses of issuance and distribution not borne by us.
We will pay the costs and expenses related to the registration and offering of the common units offered hereby. We will not pay any underwriting fees, discounts and selling commissions (and similar fees or arrangements associated therewith) and transfer taxes allocable to each selling unitholder’s sale of its common units; these expenses will be paid by the selling unitholders.
The selling unitholders may agree to indemnify any underwriter, broker-dealer or agent that participates in transactions involving sales of the common units against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. We have agreed to indemnify the selling unitholders against certain liabilities to which they may become subject in connection with the sale of the common units owned by the selling unitholders and registered under this prospectus, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. We may indemnify underwriters, brokers, dealers and agents against specific liabilities to which they may become subject in connection with the sale of the common units owned by the selling unitholders and registered under this prospectus, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules.
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This prospectus covers the offering for resale, from time to time, in one or more offerings, of up to an aggregate of 39,309,470 common units owned by the selling unitholders. These common units were issued to the selling unitholders on November 10, 2021 and November 16, 2021 in private placement transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act under Section 4(a)(2) thereof and/or Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act pursuant to that certain Common Unit Purchase Agreement dated November 10, 2021, by and among CSI Compressco LP and the purchasers party thereto and that certain Securities Purchase Agreement, dated November 10, 2021, by and among CSI Compressco LP, CSI Compressco Finance Inc. and the other parties thereto. It is our understanding that each selling unitholder acquired these common units in the ordinary course of business and at the time of such acquisition did not have any arrangement or understanding with any person to distribute these common units.
The selling unitholders may sell all, some or none of the common units covered by this prospectus. Please read “Plan of Distribution.” We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the common units offered by this prospectus. Brokerage commissions and similar selling expenses, if any, attributable to the sale of the common units will be borne by the selling unitholders.
The following table sets forth information relating to the selling unitholders as of December 23, 2021, based on information supplied to us by the selling unitholders on or prior to that date. We have not sought to verify such information. Information concerning the selling unitholders may change over time, and if necessary, we will supplement this prospectus accordingly. The selling unitholders may at any time hold or acquire common units in addition to those offered by this prospectus and may have acquired additional common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us. In addition, the selling unitholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of their common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us and may in the future sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of some or all of its common units in private placement transactions exempt from or not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Because the selling unitholders are not obligated to sell the offered common units, we cannot state with certainty the amount of our common units that the selling unitholders will hold upon consummation of any such sales.
Name of Selling Unitholder | Number of Common Units Owned Prior to Offering | Number of Common Units Registered Hereby | Number of Common Units Owned After Offering(1) | Percentage of Class After Offering(1) | ||||||||||||
Invesco SteelPath MLP Select 40 Fund(2) | 10,731,105 | 5,555,555 | 5,175,550 | 3.69 | % | |||||||||||
Athilon Capital Corp. LLC(3) | 6,732,922 | 5,925,925 | 806,997 | * | ||||||||||||
Peter H. Kamin GST Trust(4) | 2,222,222 | 2,222,222 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Orvieto Fund LP(5) | 3,781,481 | 3,781,481 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Greentree Enterprises, LLC(6) | 2,963,000 | 2,963,000 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Hill City Capital Master Fund LP(7) | 7,459,259 | 7,459,259 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Red Oak Associates, L.P.(8) | 740,740 | 740,740 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Jon S. Brumley(9) | 148,148 | 148,148 | — | * | ||||||||||||
James Cook(10) | 740,740 | 740,740 | — | * | ||||||||||||
MCD Investments, LLC(11) | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Ted Gardner(12) | 1,206,723 | 1,111,111 | 95,612 | * | ||||||||||||
Alexander Wellford Tabor(13) | 370,370 | 370,370 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Vincent Foster(14) | 235,185 | 185,185 | 50,000 | * | ||||||||||||
Don A. Sanders(15) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Don A. Sanders 2003 Childrens Trust(16) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
James R. Gill(17) | 370,370 | 370,370 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Scott A. Gill(18) | 92,592 | 92,592 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Brett Taylor Gill(19) | 111,111 | 111,111 | — | * | ||||||||||||
James A. Redmond(20) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
P2P Investors, LLC(21) | 200,000 | 200,000 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Frank P. Brady Trust(22) | 74,074 | 74,074 | — | * | ||||||||||||
William H. Parkerson(23) | 74,074 | 74,074 | — | * | ||||||||||||
William S. Byers, MD(24) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
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Name of Selling Unitholder | Number of Common Units Owned Prior to Offering | Number of Common Units Registered Hereby | Number of Common Units Owned After Offering(1) | Percentage of Class After Offering(1) | ||||||||||||
Webbie’s Family Holdings(25) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
J. Joseph Gardner(26) | 370,370 | 370,370 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Mark J. Donnelly Trust(27) | 74,074 | 74,074 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Michael S. Yim Revocable Trust(28) | 92,593 | 92,593 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Yim Family Investments, LLC(29) | 92,592 | 92,592 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Laureg Investments, LLC(30) | 74,074 | 74,074 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Dennis Michael Wood(31) | 740,740 | 740,740 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Gregory T. Bertovich(32) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Katherine B. Broom(33) | 37,037 | 37,037 | — | * | ||||||||||||
John E. Jackson(34) | 900,599 | 165,000 | 735,599 | * | ||||||||||||
Jonathan Wood Byers(35) | 750,010 | 259,259 | 490,751 | * | ||||||||||||
David L. Edelmaier(36) | 74,074 | 74,074 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Robert W. Price(37) | 632,332 | 148,148 | 484,184 | * | ||||||||||||
Michael Moscoso(38) | 78,359 | 37,037 | 41,322 | * | ||||||||||||
Allison Tinker(39) | 22,222 | 22,222 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Riplee Parkening(40) | 33,406 | 22,222 | 11,184 | * | ||||||||||||
Eric Garcia(41) | 14,814 | 14,814 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Sheraz Islam(42) | 7,407 | 7,407 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Jennifer Roemershauser(43) | 11,690 | 10,000 | 1,690 | * | ||||||||||||
Rodney Pruski(44) | 88,500 | 74,074 | 14,426 | * | ||||||||||||
Jorge Rolando Abreu(45) | 46,000 | 40,000 | 6,000 | * | ||||||||||||
Colby Meyer(46) | 26,343 | 22,222 | 4,121 | * | ||||||||||||
Barry Pullin(47) | 185,185 | 185,185 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Steve Hyche(48) | 250,000 | 250,000 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Christine M. Maloney Trust(49) | 18,518 | 18,518 | — | * | ||||||||||||
Transamerica Life Insurance Company(50) | 1,607,548 | 1,147,459 | 460,089 | * | ||||||||||||
Verso Corporation(51) | 93,282 | 93,282 | — | * | ||||||||||||
| * | Less than 1% |
| (1) | Assume the sale of all common units registered hereby by the applicable selling unitholder. |
| (2) | The common units are directly held by AIM Investment Funds (Invesco Investment Funds), on behalf of its series Invesco SteelPath MLP Select 40 Fund. Invesco Advisers, Inc. serves as the investment advisor of the selling unitholder and has voting and investment control over the common units. The address of this selling unitholder is c/o Invesco Advisers, Inc., Two Peachtree Point, 1555 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. |
| (3) | The selling unitholder is managed by its sole member, Athilon Group Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Athilon Group Holdings, LLC is managed by its sole member, AGH Acquisition Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. AGH Acquisition Partners, LLC is managed by its managing member, Series A of MC AGH Partners, LLC, a series of a Delaware limited liability company. Merced Capital, L.P. provides investment management services to AGH Acquisition Partners, LLC, Athilon Group Holdings, LLC and Athilon Capital Corp. LLC. Merced Capital, L.P. is managed by Series E of Merced Capital Partners, LLC, a series of a Delaware limited liability company. David A. Ericson, Vincent C. Vertin and Stuart B. Brown have voting control over the interests in Series E of Merced Capital Partners, LLC and may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 200, Minnetonka, MN 55305. |
| (4) | The selling unitholder is managed by Peter H. Kamin as trustee, who may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 2720 Donald Ross Road, Apt. 311, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410. |
| (5) | The selling unitholder is managed by Orvieto Partners, LP, a Delaware limited partnership. Michael Tucker has voting and investment control of Orvieto Partners, LP, and may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 21 Custom House Street, Suite 910, Boston, MA 02110. |
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| (6) | The selling unitholder is managed by The Greentree Trust and Cumberland Trust. Connie Hale may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 3750 Paris Pike, Lexington, KY 40511. |
| (7) | The selling unitholder is managed by Hill City Capital LP, a Delaware limited partnership. Herbert Frazier is the Managing Member of Hill City Capital LP and may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 89 Nexus Way, Camana Bay, Grand Cayman KY1-9009, Cayman Islands. |
| (8) | The selling unitholder is managed by Red Oak Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation. I. Jon Brumley, as CEO, President and sole stockholder of Red Oak Holdings, Inc., the sole general partner of Red Oak Associates, L.P., may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 777 Main Street, Suite 3400, Fort Worth, TX 76102. |
| (9) | The address of the selling unitholder is 4455 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. 114 #49, Fort Worth, TX 76107. |
| (10) | The address of the selling unitholder is 20 Walsh Lane, Greenwich, CT 06830. |
| (11) | The selling unitholder is managed by Mark C. Demetree. Mark C. Demetree may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is P.O. Box 47050, Jacksonville, FL 32247. |
| (12) | The address of the selling unitholder is 230 Wells Road, Palm Beach, FL 33480. |
| (13) | The address of the selling unitholder is 2820 Selwyn Ave., Suite 550, Charlotte, NC 28209. |
| (14) | The address of the selling unitholder is 1300 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 800, Houston, TX 77056. |
| (15) | The address of the selling unitholder is 600 Travis St., Ste. 5900, Houston, TX 77002. |
| (16) | The selling unitholder is managed by Don Weir as trustee, who may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 600 Travis St., Ste. 5900, Houston, TX 77002. |
| (17) | The address of the selling unitholder is 6010 Dillon Creek Ln., Katy, TX 77494. |
| (18) | The address of the selling unitholder is 6548 Fisher Rd., Dallas, TX 75214. |
| (19) | The address of the selling unitholder is 2010 Millwood Rd., Houston, TX 77008. |
| (20) | The address of the selling unitholder is 24 Grand Manor, Sugar Land, TX 77479. |
| (21) | The selling unitholder is managed by J.C. Demetree, Jr. J.C. Demetree, Jr. may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is P.O. Box 47050, Jacksonville, FL 32247. |
| (22) | The selling unitholder is managed by Frank P. Brady as trustee, who may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 10955 Lowell Ave., Suite 600, Overland Park, KS 66210. |
| (23) | The address of the selling unitholder is 2 Dunford Circle, Kansas City, MO 64112. |
| (24) | The address of the selling unitholder is P.O. Box 62, Goliad, TX 77963. |
| (25) | The selling unitholder is managed by Gerard J. Weber. Gerard J. Weber may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 9 Wedgemere Ave, Winchester, MA 01890. |
| (26) | The address of the selling unitholder is 11 Pond View Road, Peabody, MA 01960. |
| (27) | The selling unitholder is managed by Mark J. Donnelly and Mendy Donnelly as trustees. Mark J. Donnelly and Mendy Donnelly may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 11532 Canterbury Circle, Leawood, KS 66211. |
| (28) | The selling unitholder is managed by Michael S. Yim as trustee, who may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 4601 W. 146th Street, Leawood, KS 66224. |
| (29) | The selling unitholder is managed by Michael S. Yim. Michael S. Yim may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 4601 W. 146th Street, Leawood, KS 66224. |
| (30) | The selling unitholder is managed by Gregory K. Crooker. Gregory K. Crooker may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 5841 W. 137th St., Overland Park, KS 66223. |
| (31) | The address of the selling unitholder is 12204 Buena Vista, Leawood, KS 66209. |
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| (32) | The address of the selling unitholder is 48 Ocean Ave., Scituate, MA 02066. |
| (33) | The address of the selling unitholder is 1404 Mayflower Dr., McLean, VA 22101. |
| (34) | The address of the selling unitholder is 216 S. 6th St., Unit Q, Waco, TX 76701. |
| (35) | The address of the selling unitholder is 3723 Harper Street, Houston, TX 77005. |
| (36) | The address of the selling unitholder is 111 E. Mirror Ridge Circle, The Woodlands, TX 77382. |
| (37) | The address of the selling unitholder is 11354 Harbor Breeze Dr., Montgomery, TX 77356. |
| (38) | The address of the selling unitholder is 14227 Ashland Landing Dr., Cypress, TX 77429. |
| (39) | The address of the selling unitholder is 36903 Anglers Way, Pinehurst, TX 77362. |
| (40) | The address of the selling unitholder is 2815 Woodland Glen Ln., Conroe, TX 77385. |
| (41) | The address of the selling unitholder is 21022 Summer Trace Ln., Spring, TX 77379. |
| (42) | The address of the selling unitholder is 54 S Longford Circle, The Woodlands, TX 77382. |
| (43) | The address of the selling unitholder is 15202 Beisert Circle, Magnolia, TX 77355. |
| (44) | The address of the selling unitholder is 206 Tropical Dr., Victoria, TX 77904. |
| (45) | The address of the selling unitholder is Alferes 12, Colonia Almena I, Santa Catarina, Nueva León, Mexico, CP 66369. |
| (46) | The address of the selling unitholder is 2000 Taylor Street, Apt. 322, Houston, TX 77007. |
| (47) | The address of the selling unitholder is 158 Highridge Lane, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. |
| (48) | The address of the selling unitholder is 6808 Mosswood Drive, Midland, TX 79707. |
| (49) | The selling unitholder is managed by Michael W. Maloney as trustee, who may be deemed to have voting and investment control over the subject common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 54 Red Coat Rd., Westport, CT 06880. |
| (50) | The common units are directly held by Transamerica Life Insurance Company. Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC serves as the investment advisor of the selling unitholder and has voting and investment control over the common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 6300 C Street SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499. |
| (51) | The common units are held directly by Verso Corporation. Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC serves as the investment advisor of the selling unitholder and has voting and investment control over the common units. The address of the selling unitholder is 8450 Gander Creek Drive, Miamisburg, OH 45342. |
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Certain legal matters in connection with the securities will be passed upon for us by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Additional legal matters may be passed on for us, or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
The audited consolidated financial statements of CSI Compressco LP as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020 incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The consolidated financial statements of CSI Compressco LP as of December 31, 2019, and for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 appearing in CSI Compressco LP’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2020 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The audited combined financial statements of Spartan Treating as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent certified public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
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