Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-185211
This preliminary prospectus supplement relates to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, but the information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell and are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED NOVEMBER 18, 2013
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated December 14, 2012)
Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
2,600,000 Common Units
Representing Limited Partner Interests
We are selling 2,600,000 common units representing limited partner interests in Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 390,000 additional common units.
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol OILT. The last reported sales price of our common units on the NYSE on November 15, 2013 was $64.25 per common unit.
Investing in our common units involves risks. You should carefully consider each of the factors described under Risk Factors on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement and on page 1 of the accompanying prospectus and the other risk factors incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Common Unit | Total | |||||||
Public Offering Price |
$ | $ | ||||||
Underwriting Discount(1) |
$ | $ | ||||||
Proceeds to Oiltanking Partners, L.P. (before expenses) |
$ | $ |
(1) | We refer you to Underwriting for additional information regarding underwriting compensation. |
The underwriters expect to deliver the common units to purchasers on or about , 2013 through the book-entry facilities of The Depository Trust Company.
Joint Book-Running Managers
Citigroup | Barclays | |||||
Deutsche Bank Securities | J.P. Morgan | Wells Fargo Securities |
RBC Capital Markets |
Co-Managers
Goldman, Sachs & Co. | U.S. Capital Advisors |
, 2013
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Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions |
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About this Prospectus Supplement
This document is in two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part is the accompanying prospectus, which gives more general information about the securities we may offer from time to time, some of which may not apply to this offering of common units. If the information relating to this offering varies between the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.
Any statement made in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement and the
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accompanying prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any other subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Please read Incorporation by Reference on page S-17 of this prospectus supplement.
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with additional, different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy our common units in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale would be unlawful. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents or that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since such dates.
You should review carefully all of the detailed information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, any free writing prospectus and the documents we have incorporated by reference before making any investment decision.
None of Oiltanking Partners, L.P., the underwriters or any of their respective representatives is making any representation to you regarding the legality of an investment in our common units by you under applicable laws. You should consult with your own advisors as to legal, tax, business, financial and related aspects of an investment in our common units.
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This summary highlights information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. You should read carefully the entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the other documents to which we refer herein and therein for a more complete understanding of this offering.
As used in this prospectus supplement, and unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms (i)Oiltanking Partners, L.P., the partnership, we, our, us or like terms refer to Oiltanking Partners, L.P. and its subsidiaries; (ii) our general partner refers to OTLP GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the partnership; (iii) OTA refers to Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc., our North American parent and owner of our general partner; and (iv) Oiltanking GmbH refers to Oiltanking GmbH, our German foreign parent and the sole owner of OTA. Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to the Oiltanking Group refer to Oiltanking GmbH and its subsidiaries, other than us and our subsidiaries. OT Finance refers to Oiltanking Finance B.V., a wholly owned finance company of Oiltanking GmbH that serves as the global financing division for the Oiltanking Groups terminal holdings, including us.
Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
Overview
We are a growth-oriented Delaware limited partnership formed in March 2011 to engage in the terminaling, storage and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG. We are focused on growing our business through the acquisition, ownership and operation of terminaling, storage, pipeline and other midstream assets that generate stable cash flows. Within the energy industry, storage and terminaling services are the critical logistical midstream link between the exploration and production sector and the refining sector. The owner of our general partner is Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Oiltanking GmbH, one of the worlds leading independent storage providers for crude oil, refined products, liquid chemicals and gases. Through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Oiltanking Houston, L.P. and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P., we own and operate crude oil and refined petroleum products storage and terminaling assets located along the Texas Gulf Coast on the Houston Ship Channel and in Beaumont, Texas.
Our Houston terminal serves as a regional hub for crude oil and other feedstocks for refineries and petrochemical facilities located in the Gulf Coast region and also serves as an important import and export facility for LPGs and other refined petroleum products. Our Houston facility had an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 14.4 million barrels at September 30, 2013 and provides integrated terminaling services to a variety of customers, including major integrated oil companies, distributors, marketers and chemical and petrochemical companies. Our Beaumont terminal serves as a regional hub for refined petroleum products for refineries located in the Gulf Coast region. Our Beaumont facility had an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 5.6 million barrels at September 30, 2013 and provides integrated terminaling services to a variety of customers, including major integrated oil companies, distributors, marketers and chemical and petrochemical companies.
Recent Developments
Appelt Expansion Projects
In November 2013, we announced approval of expansion projects of approximately $101.0 million to construct approximately 3.5 million barrels of additional crude oil storage capacity near our Houston terminal at our Appelt property. One of these projects includes a new 390,000 barrel storage tank expected to be completed by the end of 2014. We have received all necessary construction permits in connection with this storage tank and
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anticipate commencing construction during the fourth quarter of 2013. The remaining additional storage capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels consists of nine tanks to be constructed on 26 acres of land adjacent to our Appelt II expansion. We refer to this project as Appelt III. This project will include a new manifold and, upon completion, will bring total storage capacity at our Appelt property to approximately 10.0 million barrels. We anticipate commencing construction on this project during the third quarter of 2014 when all relevant permits are in place. The new storage capacity at Appelt III is expected to be placed into service during the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016.
Pipeline Expansion Projects
In November 2013, we announced approval of expansion projects of approximately $98.0 million to construct two new crude oil pipelines connecting our Houston terminal with Crossroads (sometimes referred to as Moore Road) Junction, which is the termination point of TransCanada Corporations Gulf Coast Pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma and the origination point of Shell Pipelines Houston-to-Houma pipeline (the HoHo Pipeline). The expansion projects include a new 24-inch pipeline that will give our terminal customers direct access to the origination point of the HoHo Pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from the Houston area eastbound to refining centers in Texas and Louisiana. The expansion projects also include a new 36-inch pipeline that will give our terminal customers access to the termination point of TransCanada Corporations Gulf Coast Pipeline, which is expected to be completed in late 2013, and would also connect to TransCanada Corporations Keystone XL pipeline if approved and constructed. Our new 24-inch pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, and our new 36-inch pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2015.
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Organizational Structure
The following is a simplified diagram of our ownership structure with ownership percentages before giving effect to this offering.
Common Units Held by the Public |
29.0 | % | ||
Interests Held by OTA: |
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Common Units |
20.0 | % | ||
Subordinated Units |
49.0 | % | ||
General Partner Interest |
2.0 | % | ||
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Total |
100.0 | % | ||
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Principal Executive Offices
Our principal executive offices are located at Three Allen Center, 333 Clay Street, Suite 2400, Houston, Texas 77002, and our telephone number is (281) 457-7900. We maintain a website at www.oiltankingpartners.com. The information on our website is not part of this prospectus supplement, and you should only rely on information contained in or incorporated by reference herein and in any free writing prospectus filed in connection with this offering when making an investment decision.
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Common units offered by us |
2,600,000 common units, or 2,990,000 common units if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase an additional 390,000 common units from us. |
Units outstanding before this offering |
19,449,901 common units and 19,449,901 subordinated units. |
Units outstanding after this offering |
22,049,901 common units, or 22,439,901 common units if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase an additional 390,000 common units from us, and 19,449,901 subordinated units. |
Use of proceeds |
We expect to receive net proceeds of approximately $ million from this offering, or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional common units from us, in each case including our general partners proportionate capital contribution to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, including any net proceeds from the underwriters exercise of their option to purchase additional common units from us, to reduce indebtedness outstanding under our revolving credit facility with OT Finance, fund ongoing expansion projects and for general partnership purposes. Please read Use of Proceeds. |
Cash distributions |
Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute all of our available cash each quarter in the following manner: |
| first, 98.0% to the holders of our common units and 2.0% to our general partner, until each common unit has received the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 plus any arrearages from prior quarters; |
| second, 98.0% to the holders of our subordinated units and 2.0% to our general partner, until each subordinated unit has received the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375; and |
| third, 98.0% to all unitholders pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until each unit has received a quarterly distribution of $0.38813. |
If cash distributions to our unitholders exceed $0.38813 per common unit and subordinated unit in any quarter, our general partner will receive, in addition to distributions on its 2.0% general partner interest, increasing percentages, up to 48.0%, of the cash we distribute in excess of that amount. We refer to these distributions as incentive distributions. |
Please read Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions in the accompanying prospectus. |
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Issuance of additional units |
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional units without the approval of our unitholders. |
Limited voting rights |
Our general partner manages and operates our business. Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, our unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business. Our unitholders have no right to elect our general partner or its directors on an annual or other continuing basis. Our general partner may not be removed except by a vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, including any units owned by our general partner and its affiliates, voting together as a single class. Upon the closing of this offering, OTA will own an aggregate of 66.0% of our outstanding limited partner interests (or 65.4% of our outstanding limited partner interests, if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional common units). This gives OTA the ability to prevent the removal of our general partner. Please read The Partnership AgreementVoting Rights in the accompanying prospectus. |
Estimated ratio of taxable income to distributions |
We estimate that if you own the common units you purchase in this offering through the record date for distributions for the period ending December 31, 2016, you will be allocated, on a cumulative basis, an amount of federal taxable income for that period that will be less than 20% of the cash distributed to you with respect to that period. Please read Material Tax Considerations in this prospectus supplement for an explanation of the basis of this estimate. |
Material federal income tax considerations |
For a discussion of the material federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to prospective unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States, please read Material Tax Considerations in this prospectus supplement and Material Tax Consequences in the accompanying prospectus. |
NYSE symbol |
OILT. |
Risk factors |
You should read the risk factors on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement, on page 1 of the accompanying prospectus and in the documents incorporated herein by reference, as well as the other cautionary statements throughout this prospectus supplement, to ensure you understand the risks associated with an investment in our common units. |
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An investment in our common units involves risk. You should carefully read the risk factors included under the caption Risk Factors beginning on page 1 of the accompanying prospectus, as well as the risk factors included in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common units could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
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We expect to receive net proceeds of approximately $ million from the sale of 2,600,000 common units offered by us pursuant to this prospectus supplement, including our general partners proportionate capital contribution to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional common units from us, we will receive additional net proceeds of approximately $ million.
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, including any net proceeds from the underwriters exercise of their option to purchase additional common units from us, to reduce indebtedness outstanding under our revolving credit facility with OT Finance, fund ongoing expansion projects and for general partnership purposes.
At September 30, 2013, we had $42.0 million of outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility with OT Finance at a weighted average interest rate of 2.18% per annum. We used borrowings from our revolving credit facility with OT Finance to fund ongoing expansion projects and other capital expenditures and for general partnership purposes. Our revolving credit facility with OT Finance matures on November 30, 2017.
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The following table shows our capitalization and cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2013 on a historical basis and as adjusted to reflect this offering of common units and the application of the net proceeds as described under Use of Proceeds.
The following table should be read together with our historical financial statements and the related notes thereto that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The following table does not reflect any common units that may be sold to the underwriters upon exercise of their option to purchase additional common units.
As of September 30, 2013 | ||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 16,530 | $ | |||||
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Long-term debt: |
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Term borrowings from OT Finance |
$ | 191,250 | $ | 191,250 | ||||
Revolving credit facility with OT Finance(1) |
42,000 | | ||||||
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Total long-term debt |
233,250 | 191,250 | ||||||
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Partners equity: |
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Held by public: |
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Common units |
152,833 | |||||||
Held by OTA: |
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Common units |
105,653 | 105,653 | ||||||
Subordinated units |
46,664 | 46,664 | ||||||
General partner interest |
14,547 | |||||||
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Total partners capital |
319,697 | |||||||
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Total capitalization |
$ | 552,947 | $ | |||||
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(1) | As of November 15, 2013, we had approximately $56.0 million of indebtedness outstanding under our revolving credit facility with OT Finance. |
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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON UNITS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Our common units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol OILT. The last reported sales price of our common units on the NYSE on November 15, 2013 was $64.25 per common unit. As of November 15, 2013, we had issued and outstanding 19,449,901 common units that were held by approximately six holders of record, including common units held by OTA. This number of holders of record does not include unitholders whose units are held in trust by other entities. The actual number of unitholders is greater than the number of holders of record. We also have 19,449,901 outstanding subordinated units, for which there is no established public trading market. All of the subordinated units are held directly or indirectly by OTA.
The following table presents the high and low sales prices for our common units (as reported on the NYSE) since our initial public offering and the amount of the cash distributions we paid on each of our outstanding units for the periods indicated:
Price Ranges | Cash Distribution per Unit(1) |
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High | Low | |||||||||||
2013 |
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Fourth Quarter (through November 15, 2013) |
$ | 65.99 | $ | 50.73 | $ | | ||||||
Third Quarter |
52.73 | 46.68 | 0.445 | |||||||||
Second Quarter |
53.97 | 46.50 | 0.425 | |||||||||
First Quarter |
53.20 | 38.01 | 0.405 | |||||||||
2012 |
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Fourth Quarter |
$ | 38.60 | $ | 33.11 | $ | 0.39 | ||||||
Third Quarter |
41.13 | 30.74 | 0.375 | |||||||||
Second Quarter |
31.96 | 27.65 | 0.36 | |||||||||
First Quarter |
32.93 | 26.57 | 0.35 | |||||||||
2011 |
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Fourth Quarter |
$ | 29.55 | $ | 22.11 | $ | 0.34 | ||||||
Third Quarter(2) |
25.25 | 21.75 | 0.2678 |
(1) | Cash distributions for a quarter are declared and paid in the following quarter. Cash distributions in respect of the third quarter of 2013 were declared on October 21, 2013, and paid on November 14, 2013, to unitholders of record on November 1, 2013. |
(2) | The distribution paid for the third quarter of 2011 represents our minimum quarterly distribution prorated for the period beginning immediately after the closing date of our initial public offering, July 19, 2011, and ending on September 30, 2011. |
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The tax consequences to you of an investment in our common units will depend in part on your own tax circumstances. For a discussion of the principal federal income tax considerations associated with our operations and the purchase, ownership and disposition of our units, please read the risk factors included under the caption Tax Risks to Unitholders in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, and Material Tax Consequences in the accompanying base prospectus, as well as the other information contained in or incorporated by reference herein and therein. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor about the federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences particular to your circumstances.
Tax Rates
As of January 1, 2013, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 39.6% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
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Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc. are acting as representatives of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions stated in the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus supplement, each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to that underwriter, the number of common units set forth opposite the underwriters name.
Underwriter |
Number of Common Units |
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Citigroup Global Markets Inc. |
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Barclays Capital Inc. |
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Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. |
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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC |
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC |
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RBC Capital Markets, LLC |
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Goldman, Sachs & Co. |
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USCA Securities LLC |
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Total |
2,600,000 | |||
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The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the common units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all the common units (other than those covered by the underwriters option to purchase additional common units described below) if they purchase any of the common units. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may also be increased or, under certain circumstances, the offering may be terminated
Common units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus supplement. Any common units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount from the initial public offering price not to exceed $ per common unit. If all the common units are not sold at the initial public offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms.
If the underwriters sell more common units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase up to 390,000 additional common units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional common units approximately proportionate to that underwriters initial purchase commitment. Any common units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other common units that are the subject of this offering.
We, our general partners officers and directors, OTA and OTB Holdco, LLC have agreed that, for a period of 60 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., dispose of or hedge any common units or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common units. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. has no present intent or arrangement to release any of the securities that would be subject to these lock-up agreements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (i) during the last 17 days of the 60-day restricted period, we issue an earnings release, announce material news or a material event relating to us occurs; or (ii) prior to the expiration of the 60-day restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on
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the last day of the 60-day restricted period, the restrictions described above shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release, announcement of the material news or occurrence of the material event.
Our common units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol OILT.
The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters option to purchase additional common units from us.
Paid by Oiltanking Partners, L.P. | ||||||||
No Exercise | Full Exercise | |||||||
Per common unit |
$ | $ | ||||||
Total |
$ | $ |
We estimate that the total expenses of this offering will be $250,000. We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain of their expenses in an amount up to $20,000.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell common units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the underwriters option to purchase additional common units, and stabilizing purchases.
| Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of common units than they are required to purchase in the offering. |
| Covered short sales are sales of common units in an amount up to the number of common units represented by the underwriters option to purchase additional common units. |
| Naked short sales are sales of common units in an amount in excess of the number of common units represented by the underwriters option to purchase additional common units. |
| Covering transactions involve purchases of common units either pursuant to the underwriters option to purchase additional common units or in the open market in order to cover short positions. |
| To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase common units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
| To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase common units in the open market or must exercise their option to purchase additional common units. In determining the source of common units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of common units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase common units through the underwriters option to purchase additional common units. |
| Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase common units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common units. They may also cause the price of the common units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.
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Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
Other Relationships
The underwriters are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and their respective affiliates have in the past performed commercial banking, investment banking and advisory services for us, OTA and our respective affiliates from time to time for which they have received customary fees and reimbursement of expenses and may, from time to time, engage in transactions with and perform services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they may receive customary fees and reimbursement of expenses. In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (which may include bank loans and/or credit default swaps) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, views the common units offered hereby as interests in a direct participation program, the offering is being made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Rules. Investor suitability with respect to the common units should be judged similarly to suitability with respect to other securities that are listed for trading on a national securities exchange.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a relevant member state), other than Germany, with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the relevant implementation date), an offer of securities described in this prospectus supplement may not be made to the public in that relevant member state other than:
| to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
| to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the |
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Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the Issuer for any such offer; or |
| in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive; |
provided that no such offer of securities shall require us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
For purposes of this provision, the expression an offer of securities to the public in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the securities, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State, and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state. The expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the securities as contemplated in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the securities, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the securities on behalf of us or the underwriters.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
We may constitute a collective investment scheme as defined by section 235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) that is not a recognized collective investment scheme for the purposes of FSMA (CIS) and that has not been authorized or otherwise approved. As an unregulated scheme, it cannot be marketed in the United Kingdom to the general public, except in accordance with FSMA. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are only being distributed in the United Kingdom to, and are only directed at:
(i) if we are a CIS and is marketed by a person who is an authorized person under FSMA, (a) investment professionals falling within Article 14(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Promotion of Collective Investment Schemes) Order 2001, as amended (the CIS Promotion Order) or (b) high net worth companies and other persons falling with Article 22(2)(a) to (d) of the CIS Promotion Order; or
(ii) otherwise, if marketed by a person who is not an authorized person under FSMA, (a) persons who fall within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the Financial Promotion Order) or (b) Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Financial Promotion Order; and
(iii) in both cases (i) and (ii) to any other person to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made, (all such persons together being referred to as relevant persons). Our common units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such common units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
An invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of FSMA) in connection with the issue or sale of any common units which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will only be communicated or caused to be communicated in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply to us.
S-14
Notice to Prospective Investors in Germany
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been prepared in accordance with the requirements for a securities or sales prospectus under the German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapierprospektgesetz), the German Sales Prospectus Act (Verkaufsprospektgesetz), or the German Investment Act (Investmentgesetz). Neither the German Federal Financial Services Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für FinanzdienstleistungsaufsichtBaFin) nor any other German authority has been notified of the intention to distribute our common units in Germany. Consequently, our common units may not be distributed in Germany by way of public offering, public advertisement or in any similar manner and this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any other document relating to this offering, as well as information or statements contained therein, may not be supplied to the public in Germany or used in connection with any offer for subscription of the common units to the public in Germany or any other means of public marketing. Our common units are being offered and sold in Germany only to qualified investors which are referred to in Section 3, paragraph 2 no. 1, in connection with Section 2, no. 6, of the German Securities Prospectus Act, Section 8f paragraph 2 no. 4 of the German Sales Prospectus Act, and in Section 2 paragraph 11 sentence 2 no. 1 of the German Investment Act. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are strictly for use of the person who has received them. They may not be forwarded to other persons or published in Germany.
This offering of our common units does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation or an offer to sell the common units in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Netherlands
Our common units may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in the Netherlands, other than to qualified investors (gekwalificeerde beleggers) within the meaning of Article 1:1 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht).
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are being communicated in Switzerland to a small number of selected investors only. Each copy of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are addressed to a specifically named recipient and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or passed on to third parties. Our common units are not being offered to the public in Switzerland, and neither this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, nor any other offering materials relating to our common units may be distributed in connection with any such public offering.
We have not been registered with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA as a foreign collective investment scheme pursuant to Article 120 of the Collective Investment Schemes Act of June 23, 2006 (CISA). Accordingly, our common units may not be offered to the public in or from Switzerland, and neither this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, nor any other offering materials relating to our common units may be made available through a public offering in or from Switzerland. Our common units may only be offered and this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may only be distributed in or from Switzerland by way of private placement exclusively to qualified investors (as this term is defined in the CISA and its implementing ordinance).
S-15
The validity of the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas. Certain legal matters in connection with the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for the underwriters by Latham & Watkins LLP, Houston, Texas.
The consolidated financial statements of Oiltanking Partners, L.P. as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012 and managements assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012 incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement have been so incorporated in reliance on the reports of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
S-16
The Securities and Exchange Commission (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 supplement by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. These other documents contain important information about us, our financial condition and results of operations. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and may replace information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.
We are incorporating by reference into this prospectus supplement the documents listed below and any subsequent filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (File No. 001-35230) (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K, or corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit) from the date of this prospectus supplement until we have sold all of the common units to which this prospectus supplement relates or the offering is otherwise terminated.
We incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement the documents listed below:
| Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012; |
| Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, and on Form 10-Q/A for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2013; |
| Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 24, 2013 and June 26, 2013; and |
| The description of our common units contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed on July 12, 2011. |
You may obtain any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus from the SEC through the SECs website at www.sec.gov. You also may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus (including exhibits to those documents specifically incorporated by reference in this document), at no cost, by visiting our internet website at www.oiltankingpartners.com, or by writing or calling us at the address set forth below. Information on our website is not incorporated into this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or our other securities filings and is not a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
333 Clay Street, Suite 2400
Houston, Texas 77002
(281) 457-7900
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with additional, different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it.
If information in incorporated documents conflicts with information in this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the most recent information. If information in an incorporated document conflicts with information in another incorporated document, you should rely on the most recent incorporated document. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents or that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since such dates.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the principal offices of the SEC located at Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such materials can be obtained by mail at prescribed rates from the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information about the operation of the Public Reference Room. Materials also may be obtained free of charge from the SECs website at www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding companies that file electronically with the SEC.
S-18
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide our current expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, or forecasts of future events. Words such as may, assume, forecast, position, predict, strategy, expect, intend, plan, estimate, anticipate, believe, project, budget, potential, or continue, and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be affected by assumptions used or by known or unknown risks or uncertainties. Consequently, no forward-looking statements can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and other filings with the SEC. Actual results may vary materially from such forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to:
| changes in general economic conditions; |
| competitive conditions in our industry; |
| changes in the long-term supply and demand of crude oil, refined petroleum products and LPGs in the markets in which we operate; |
| actions taken by our customers, competitors and third-party operators; |
| changes in the availability and cost of capital; |
| operating hazards, natural disasters, weather-related delays, casualty losses and other matters beyond our control; |
| the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations; and |
| the effects of current and future litigation. |
These and other risks are described in our in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. In addition, we may be subject to unforeseen risks that may have a materially adverse effect on us and risks we presently deem immaterial may turn out to be material. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that the actual events and results will not be materially different than the anticipated results described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and, other than as required by federal and state securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.
S-19
PROSPECTUS
Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
$600,000,000
Common Units
Debt Securities
7,949,901
Common Units
Offered by
Selling Unitholders
We may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell:
| common units representing limited partner interests in Oiltanking Partners, L.P.; and |
| debt securities, which may be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities. |
The aggregate offering price of all securities sold by us under this prospectus will not exceed $600,000,000. Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OILT. On November 26, 2012, the last reported sales price of our common units was $36.50 per common unit. We will provide information in the prospectus supplement for the trading market, if any, for any debt securities we may offer.
The selling unitholders named in this prospectus may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to 7,949,901 common units. These common units were obtained by the selling unitholders in connection with our initial public offering. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of these common units by the selling unitholders. For a more detailed discussion of the selling unitholders, please read Selling Unitholders.
We or the selling unitholders may offer and sell these securities to or through one or more underwriters, dealers, and agents, or directly to investors, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of the offering. This prospectus describes only the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities. The specific terms of any securities we or the selling unitholders offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will also describe the specific manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. The selling unitholders, as an affiliate of ours, may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and, as a result, may be deemed to be offering securities, indirectly, on our behalf. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders.
You should carefully read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement before you invest. You should also read the documents we refer to in the Where You Can Find More Information section of this prospectus for information on us and our financial statements.
Investing in our securities involves risks. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully consider each of the risk factors described under Risk Factors on page 1 of this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated herein and therein before you make an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission 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 December 14, 2012.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PROVISIONS OF OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT RELATING TO CASH DISTRIBUTIONS |
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You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus, or that the information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.
i
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a shelf registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may over time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to $600,000,000 in total aggregate offering price of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus. In addition, the selling unitholders may over time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to 7,949,901 of our common units.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of Oiltanking Partners, L.P. and the securities that are registered hereunder that may be offered by us or the selling unitholders. Each time we sell any securities offered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering and the securities being offered. Because each of the selling unitholders may be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act, each time either of the selling unitholders sells any common units offered by this prospectus, they are required to provide you with this prospectus and the related prospectus supplement containing specific information about such selling unitholder and the terms of the common units being offered in the manner required by the Securities Act. Any prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
The prospectus supplement may include additional risk factors or other special considerations applicable to those securities and may also add to, update or change information in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in that prospectus supplement. References in this prospectus to Oiltanking Partners, L.P., the partnership, we, our, us or like terms refer to Oiltanking Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and its subsidiaries. References in this prospectus to our general partner refer to OTLP GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the partnership. References in this prospectus to OTA refer to Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc., our North American parent and the owner of our general partner and references to OTB Holdco refer to OTB Holdco, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OTA. References in this prospectus to Oiltanking GmbH refer to Oiltanking GmbH, our German foreign parent and the sole owner of OTA. Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to the Oiltanking Group refer to Oiltanking GmbH and its subsidiaries, other than us and our subsidiaries.
The information in this prospectus is accurate as of its date. Therefore, before you invest in our securities, you should carefully read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement relating to the securities offered together with the additional information described under the heading Where You Can Find More Information.
ABOUT OILTANKING PARTNERS, L.P.
We are a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership engaged in the storage, terminaling and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas.
Our principal executive offices are located at 15631 Jacintoport Blvd., Houston, Texas 77015, and our telephone number is (281) 457-7900. Our website is located at http://www.oiltankingpartners.com. We make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC available, free of charge, through our website as soon as reasonably practicable. 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.
ii
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any documents filed by us at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports and other information regarding us. The SECs web site is at http://www.sec.gov.
We also make available free of charge on our internet website at http://www.oiltankingpartners.com all of the documents that we file with or furnish to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this prospectus unless specifically so designated and filed with the SEC.
We incorporate by reference information into this prospectus, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information superseded by information contained expressly in this prospectus, and the information we file later with the SEC and incorporate by reference into this prospectus will automatically supersede information we filed earlier with the SEC and information in this prospectus. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is current as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus.
We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC:
| Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed on March 15, 2012; |
| Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012 filed on May 10, 2012, for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2012 filed on August 9, 2012 and for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2012 filed on November 8, 2012; |
| Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 4, 2012, January 17, 2012, May 21, 2012, May 29, 2012, June 28, 2012 and November 13, 2012 (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K); and |
| The description of our common units contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on July 12, 2011, and including any other amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
In addition, we incorporate by reference in this prospectus any future filings made by Oiltanking Partners, L.P. 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), after the date on which the registration statement that includes this prospectus was initially filed with the SEC and until all offerings under this shelf registration statement are terminated.
You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any exhibit specifically incorporated by reference in those documents, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or phone number:
Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
Attention: Investor Relations
15631 Jacintoport Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77015
(281) 457-7900
iii
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and some of the documents we incorporate by reference contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, or forecasts of future events. These forward-looking statements may be found in Risk Factors and other sections of this prospectus, and in the Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Business and Properties sections included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such proposed, anticipate, project, potential, could, should, continue, estimate, expect, may, believe, will, plan, seek, outlook, the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. These statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition or state other forward-looking information. These statements also involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results or financial condition to materially differ from our expectations as expressed in this prospectus including, but not limited to:
| adverse regional, national or international economic conditions, adverse capital market conditions or adverse political development; |
| changes in the marketplace for our products or services, such as increased competition, better energy efficiency, or general reductions in demand; |
| changes in the long-term supply and demand of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas in the markets in which we operate; |
| actions taken by our customers, competitors and third party operators; |
| nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers; |
| changes in the availability and cost of capital; |
| unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair, or replacement of our assets; |
| operating hazards, natural disasters, terrorism, weather-related delays, adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, natural disasters, environmental releases, casualty losses and other matters beyond our control; |
| the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations to which we are subject, including those that permit the treatment of us as a partnership for federal income tax purposes; and |
| the effects of future litigation. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference are largely based on our expectations, which reflect estimates and assumptions made by our management. These estimates and assumptions reflect our best judgment based on currently known market conditions and other factors. Although we believe such estimates and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. In addition, managements assumptions about future events may prove to be inaccurate. All readers are cautioned that the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference are not guarantees of future performance, and we cannot assure any reader that such statements will be realized or that the forward-looking events and circumstances will occur. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements due to factors described in the Risk Factors section beginning on page 1 of this prospectus and elsewhere in this prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of their respective dates. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf.
iv
Limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business. Before you invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that are incorporated herein by reference and those that may be included in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference.
If any of the risks discussed in the foregoing documents were actually to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flow could be materially adversely affected. In that case, our ability to make distributions to our unitholders or pay interest on, or the principal of, any debt securities, may be reduced, the trading price of our securities could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.
1
Unless otherwise indicated to the contrary in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general partnership purposes, which may include debt repayment, future acquisitions, capital expenditures and additions to working capital.
Any specific allocation of the net proceeds of an offering of securities to a purpose will be determined at the time of the offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The table below sets forth our and our predecessors ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated on a consolidated historical basis.
Nine Months Ended September 30, |
Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges(1) |
22.63 | 7.39 | 6.13 | 4.55 | 2.92 | 3.38 |
(1) | These ratios were computed by dividing earnings by fixed charges. For purposes of computing the ratio, earnings are comprised of income before provision for income taxes, less capitalized interest, plus amortization of capitalized interest and fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest and debt expense, including amortization of debt issuance costs, interest capitalized and an estimate of the interest within rental expense. |
2
PROVISIONS OF OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT RELATING TO 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 and cash equivalents 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; |
| comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements; or |
| provide funds for distributions to our unitholders for any one or more of the next four quarters; |
| 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.
Intent to Distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution
We intend to distribute to the holders of common and subordinated units on a quarterly basis at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per unit, or $1.35 on an annualized basis, to the extent we have sufficient cash from our operations after establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner and its affiliates. However, there is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the units in any quarter. Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under our policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our general partner, taking into consideration the terms of our partnership agreement.
General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights
Our general partner is 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 current general partner interest. Our general partners 2.0% interest in our distributions will be 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 2.0% general partner interest.
Our general partner also currently holds incentive distribution rights that entitle it to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 50.0%, of the cash we distribute from operating surplus (as defined below) in excess of $0.38813 per unit per quarter. The maximum distribution of 50.0% includes distributions paid to our
3
general partner on its 2.0% general partner interest and assumes that our general partner maintains its general partner interest at 2.0%. The maximum distribution of 50.0% does not include any distributions that our general partner may receive on any limited partner units that it owns.
Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus
General
All cash distributed is characterized as either operating surplus or capital surplus. Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus.
Operating Surplus
We define operating surplus as:
| $30 million (as described below); plus |
| all of our cash receipts, excluding cash from interim capital transactions (as defined below); plus |
| working capital borrowings made after the end of a period but on or before the date of determination of operating surplus for the period; plus |
| cash distributions paid in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights), other than equity issued in our initial public offering, to finance all or a portion of expansion capital expenditures in respect of the period from such financing until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; plus |
| cash distributions paid on equity issued by us (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to pay the construction period interest on debt incurred, or to pay construction period distributions on equity issued, to finance the expansion capital expenditures referred to above, in each case, in respect of the period from such financing until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset is placed in service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; less |
| all of our operating expenditures (as defined below); less |
| the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to provide funds for future operating expenditures; less |
| all working capital borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred, or repaid within such twelve-month period with the proceeds of additional working capital borrowings; less |
| any loss realized on disposition of an investment capital expenditure. |
As described above, operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by our operations. For example, it includes a basket of $30 million that enables us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus cash we receive from non-operating sources such as asset sales, issuances of securities and long-term borrowings that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. In addition, the effect of including, as described above, certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions. As a result, we may also distribute as operating surplus up to the amount of any such cash that we receive from non-operating sources.
The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the
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borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.
We define operating expenditures in the partnership agreement, and it generally means all of our cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to our general partner or its affiliates, payments made under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge agreements (provided that (1) with respect to amounts paid in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract, such amounts will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (2) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to the expiration of its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract), officer compensation, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and estimated maintenance capital expenditures (as discussed in further detail below), provided that operating expenditures do not include:
| repayment of working capital borrowings deducted from operating surplus pursuant to the penultimate bullet point of the definition of operating surplus above when such repayment actually occurs; |
| payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties) of principal of and premium on indebtedness, other than working capital borrowings; |
| expansion capital expenditures; |
| actual maintenance capital expenditures (as discussed in further detail below); |
| investment capital expenditures; |
| payment of transaction expenses relating to interim capital transactions; |
| distributions to our partners (including distributions in respect of our incentive distribution rights); or |
| repurchases of equity interests except to fund obligations under employee benefit plans. |
Capital Surplus
Capital surplus is defined in our partnership agreement as any distribution of available cash in excess of our operating surplus. Accordingly, capital surplus would generally be generated only by the following (which we refer to as interim capital transactions):
| borrowings other than working capital borrowings; |
| sales of our equity and debt securities; and |
| sales or other dispositions of assets for cash, other than inventory, accounts receivable and other assets sold in the ordinary course of business or as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets. |
All available cash distributed by us on any date from any source will be treated as distributed from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since the closing of our initial public offering equals the operating surplus from the closing of our initial public offering through the end of the quarter immediately preceding that distribution. Any excess available cash distributed by us on that date will be deemed to be capital surplus.
Characterization of Cash Distributions
Our partnership agreement requires that we treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since the closing of our initial public offering equals the operating surplus from the closing of our initial public offering through the end of the quarter immediately
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preceding that distribution. Our partnership agreement requires that we treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. As described above, operating surplus includes up to $30 million, which does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders. Rather, it is a provision that enables us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus up to this amount of cash we receive in the future from interim capital transactions that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.
Capital Expenditures
Estimated maintenance capital expenditures reduce operating surplus, but expansion capital expenditures, actual maintenance capital expenditures and investment capital expenditures do not. Maintenance capital expenditures are those capital expenditures required to maintain our long-term operating capacity. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures include expenditures associated with the replacement of equipment and storage tanks, to the extent such expenditures are made to maintain our long-term operating capacity. Maintenance capital expenditures also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to finance all or any portion of the construction or development of a replacement asset that is paid in respect of the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence constructing or developing a replacement asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that any such replacement asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not considered maintenance capital expenditures.
Because our maintenance capital expenditures can be irregular, the amount of our actual maintenance capital expenditures may differ substantially from period to period, which could cause similar fluctuations in the amounts of operating surplus, adjusted operating surplus and cash available for distribution to our unitholders if we subtracted actual maintenance capital expenditures from operating surplus.
Our partnership agreement requires that an estimate of the average quarterly maintenance capital expenditures necessary to maintain our operating capacity over the long-term be subtracted from operating surplus each quarter as opposed to the actual amounts spent. The amount of estimated maintenance capital expenditures deducted from operating surplus for those periods will be subject to review and change by the board of directors of our general partner at least once a year, provided that any change is approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner. The estimate will be made at least annually and whenever an event occurs that is likely to result in a material adjustment to the amount of our maintenance capital expenditures, such as a major acquisition or the introduction of new governmental regulations that will impact our business. Our partnership agreement does not set a limit on the amount of maintenance capital expenditures that our general partner may estimate. For purposes of calculating operating surplus, any adjustment to this estimate will be prospective only.
The use of estimated maintenance capital expenditures in calculating operating surplus has the following effects:
| it reduces the risk that maintenance capital expenditures in any one quarter will be large enough to render operating surplus less than the initial quarterly distribution to be paid on all the units for the quarter and subsequent quarters; |
| it increases our ability to distribute as operating surplus cash we receive from non-operating sources; and |
| it is more difficult for us to raise our distribution above the minimum quarterly distribution and pay incentive distributions on the incentive distribution rights held by our general partner. |
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Expansion capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that we expect will increase our operating capacity over the long term. Examples of expansion capital expenditures include the acquisition of new properties or equipment and the construction of additional storage tanks or pipelines, to the extent such capital expenditures are expected to expand our long-term operating capacity. Expansion capital expenditures will also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to finance all or any portion of the construction of such capital improvement in respect of the period that commences when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not considered expansion capital expenditures.
Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely consist of capital expenditures made for investment purposes. Examples of investment capital expenditures include traditional capital expenditures for investment purposes, such as purchases of securities, as well as other capital expenditures that might be made in lieu of such traditional investment capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of a capital asset for investment purposes or development of assets that are in excess of the maintenance of our existing operating capacity, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, our operating capacity.
As described below, neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures are included in operating expenditures, and thus do not reduce operating surplus. Because expansion capital expenditures include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or a portion of the construction, replacement or improvement of a capital asset during the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of, such interest payments also do not reduce operating surplus. Losses on disposition of an investment capital expenditure will reduce operating surplus when realized and cash receipts from an investment capital expenditure will be treated as a cash receipt for purposes of calculating operating surplus only to the extent the cash receipt is a return on principal.
Capital expenditures that are made in part for maintenance capital purposes, investment capital purposes and/or expansion capital purposes will be allocated as maintenance capital expenditures, investment capital expenditures or expansion capital expenditure by our general partner.
Subordination Period
General
Our partnership agreement provides that, during the subordination period (which we define below), the common units will have the right to receive distributions of available cash from operating surplus each quarter in an amount equal to $0.3375 per common unit, which amount is defined in our partnership agreement as the minimum quarterly distribution, plus any arrearages in the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units from prior quarters, before any distributions of available cash from operating surplus may be made on the subordinated units. These units are deemed subordinated because for a period of time, referred to as the subordination period, the subordinated units will not be entitled to receive any distributions from operating surplus until the common units have received the minimum quarterly distribution plus any arrearages in the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution from prior quarters. Furthermore, no arrearages will be paid on the subordinated units. The practical effect of the subordinated units is to increase the likelihood that during the subordination period there will be sufficient available cash from operating surplus to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units.
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Determination of Subordination Period
OTA and OTB Holdco own all of our subordinated units. The subordination period will expire on the first business day after the distribution to unitholders in respect of any quarter, beginning with the quarter ending September 30, 2014, if each of the following has occurred:
| distributions of available cash from operating surplus on each of the outstanding common and subordinated units and the general partner interest equaled or exceeded the minimum quarterly distribution for each of the three consecutive, non-overlapping four-quarter periods immediately preceding that date; |
| the adjusted operating surplus (as defined below) generated during each of the three consecutive, non-overlapping four-quarter periods immediately preceding that date equaled or exceeded the sum of the minimum quarterly distribution on all of the outstanding common and subordinated units and the general partner interest during those periods on a fully diluted weighted-average basis; and |
| there are no arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units. |
Early Termination of Subordination Period
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the subordination period will automatically terminate, and all of the subordinated units will convert into common units on a one-for-one basis, on the first business day after the distribution to unitholders in respect of any quarter, if each of the following has occurred:
| distributions of available cash from operating surplus exceeded $2.025 (150.0% of the annualized minimum quarterly distribution) on all outstanding common units and subordinated units, plus the corresponding distribution on our general partners 2.0% interest and the related distributions on the incentive distribution rights for the four-quarter period immediately preceding that date; |
| the adjusted operating surplus (as defined below) generated during the four-quarter period immediately preceding that date equaled or exceeded the sum of $2.025 (150.0% of the annualized minimum quarterly distribution) on the weighted-average number of outstanding common and subordinated units on a fully diluted basis, plus the corresponding distribution on our general partners 2.0% interest and the related distribution on the incentive distribution rights; and |
| there are no arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distributions on the common units. |
Expiration Upon Removal of the General Partner
In addition, if the unitholders remove our general partner other than for cause:
| the subordinated units held by any person will immediately and automatically convert into common units on a one-for-one basis, provided (1) neither such person nor any of its affiliates voted any of its units in favor of the removal and (2) such person is not an affiliate of the successor general partner; and |
| if all of the subordinated units convert pursuant to the foregoing, all cumulative common unit arrearages on the common units will be extinguished and the subordination period will end. |
Expiration of the Subordination Period
When the subordination period ends, each outstanding subordinated unit will convert into one common unit and will then participate pro-rata with the other common units in distributions of available cash.
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Adjusted Operating Surplus
Adjusted operating surplus is intended to reflect the cash generated from operations during a particular period and therefore excludes net increases in working capital borrowings and net drawdowns of reserves of cash generated in prior periods. Adjusted operating surplus consists of:
| operating surplus generated with respect to that period (excluding any amounts attributable to the items described in the first bullet point under Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus Operating Surplus above); less |
| any net increase in working capital borrowings with respect to that period; less |
| any net decrease in cash reserves for operating expenditures with respect to that period not relating to an operating expenditure made with respect to that period; plus |
| any net decrease in working capital borrowings with respect to that period; plus |
| any net increase in cash reserves for operating expenditures with respect to that period required by any debt instrument for the repayment of principal, interest or premium; plus |
| any net decrease made in subsequent periods in cash reserves for operating expenditures initially established with respect to such period to the extent such decrease results in a reduction of adjusted operating surplus in subsequent periods pursuant to the third bullet point above. |
Distributions of Available Cash From Operating Surplus During the Subordination Period
Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter during the subordination period in the following manner:
| first, 98.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each common unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; |
| second, 98.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each common unit an amount equal to any arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units for any prior quarters during the subordination period; |
| third, 98.0% to the subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each subordinated unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and |
| thereafter, in the manner described in General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights below. |
The preceding discussion is based on the assumptions that our general partner maintains its 2.0% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
Distributions of Available Cash From Operating Surplus After the Subordination Period
Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter after the subordination period in the following manner:
| first, 98.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each common unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and |
| thereafter, in the manner described in General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights below. |
The preceding discussion is based on the assumptions that our general partner maintains its 2.0% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
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General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights
Our general partner is entitled to 2.0% of all distributions that we make prior to our liquidation and has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest if we issue additional units. Our general partners 2.0% interest, and the percentage of our cash distributions to which it is entitled, will be proportionately reduced if we issue additional units in the future (other than the issuance of common units upon conversion of outstanding subordinated units) and it does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us in order to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest. Our partnership agreement does not require that the general partner fund its capital contribution with cash and our general partner may fund its capital contribution by the contribution to us of cash, common units or other property.
Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an increasing percentage (13.0%, 23.0% and 48.0%, in each case, not including distributions paid to the general partner on its 2.0% general partner interest) of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. Our general partner holds all of our incentive distribution rights, but may transfer these rights separately from its general partner interest, subject to restrictions in the partnership agreement.
The following discussion assumes that our general partner maintains its 2.0% general partner interest, that there are no arrearages on common units and that our general partner continues to own the incentive distribution rights.
If for any quarter:
| we have distributed available cash from operating surplus to the common and subordinated unitholders in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution; and |
| we have distributed available cash from operating surplus on outstanding common units in an amount necessary to eliminate any cumulative arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution; |
then, our partnership agreement requires that we distribute any additional available cash from operating surplus for that quarter among the unitholders and the general partner in the following manner:
| first, 98.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.38813 per unit for that quarter (the first target distribution) |
| second, 85.0% to all common unitholders and subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.42188 per unit for that quarter (the second target distribution); |
| third, 75.0% to all common unitholders and subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.50625 per unit for that quarter (the third target distribution); and |
| thereafter, 50.0% to all common unitholders and subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to our general partner. |
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Percentage Allocations of Available Cash From Operating Surplus
The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of available cash from operating surplus between the unitholders and our general partner based on the specified target distribution levels. The amounts set forth under Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions are the percentage interests of our general partner and the unitholders in any available cash from operating surplus we distribute up to and including the corresponding amount in the column Total Quarterly Distribution Per Unit. The percentage interests shown for our unitholders and our general partner for the minimum quarterly distribution are also applicable to quarterly distribution amounts that are less than the minimum quarterly distribution. The percentage interests set forth below for our general partner include distributions paid on its 2.0% general partner interest, assume our general partner has contributed any additional capital to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest and has not transferred its incentive distribution rights and there are no arrearages on common units.
Total Quarterly Distribution Per Common Unit and Subordinated Unit |
Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions |
|||||||||
Unitholders | General Partners | |||||||||
Minimum Quarterly Distribution |
$0.3375 | 98.0 | % | 2.0 | % | |||||
First Target Distribution |
above $0.3375 up to $0.38813 | 98.0 | % | 2.0 | % | |||||
Second Target Distribution |
above $0.38813 up to $0.42188 | 85.0 | % | 15.0 | % | |||||
Third Target Distribution |
above $0.42188 up to $0.50625 | 75.0 | % | 25.0 | % | |||||
Thereafter |
above $0.50625 | 50.0 | % | 50.0 | % |
General Partners Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels
Our general partner, as the holder of our incentive distribution rights, has the right under our partnership agreement to elect to relinquish the right to receive incentive distribution payments based on the initial cash target distribution levels and to reset, at higher levels, the minimum quarterly distribution amount and cash target distribution levels upon which the incentive distribution payments to our general partner would be set. If our general partner transfers all or a portion of our incentive distribution rights in the future, then the holder or holders of a majority of our incentive distribution rights will be entitled to exercise this right. The following discussion assumes that our general partner holds all of the incentive distribution rights at the time that a reset election is made. The right to reset the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels upon which the incentive distributions are based may be exercised, without approval of our unitholders or the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, at any time when there are no subordinated units outstanding and we have made cash distributions to the holders of the incentive distribution rights at the highest level of incentive distribution for the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters. The reset minimum quarterly distribution amount and target distribution levels will be higher than the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels prior to the reset such that there will be no incentive distributions paid under the reset target distribution levels until cash distributions per unit following this event increase as described below. We anticipate that our general partner would exercise this reset right in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would otherwise not be sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit, taking into account the existing levels of incentive distribution payments being made to our general partner.
In connection with the resetting of the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels and the corresponding relinquishment by our general partner of incentive distribution payments based on the target cash distributions prior to the reset, our general partner will be entitled to receive a number of newly issued common units based on a predetermined formula described below that takes into account the cash parity value of the average cash distributions related to the incentive distribution rights received by our general partner for the two quarters prior to the reset event as compared to the average cash distributions per common unit during this period. In addition, our general partner will be issued a general partner interest necessary to maintain its general partner interest in us immediately prior to the reset election.
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The number of common units that our general partner would be entitled to receive from us in connection with a resetting of the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels then in effect would be equal to the quotient determined by dividing (x) the average amount of cash distributions received by our general partner in respect of its incentive distribution rights during the two consecutive fiscal quarters ended immediately prior to the date of such reset election by (y) the average of the amount of cash distributed per common unit during each of these two quarters.
Following a reset election, the minimum quarterly distribution amount will be reset to an amount equal to the average cash distribution amount per unit for the two fiscal quarters immediately preceding the reset election (which amount we refer to as the reset minimum quarterly distribution) and the target distribution levels will be reset to be correspondingly higher such that we would distribute all of our available cash from operating surplus for each quarter thereafter as follows:
| first, 98.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 115.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; |
| second, 85.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 125.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter; |
| third, 75.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to our general partner, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 150.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter; and |
| thereafter, 50.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to our general partner. |
The following table illustrates the percentage allocation of available cash from operating surplus between the unitholders and our general partner at various cash distribution levels (1) pursuant to the cash distribution provisions of our partnership agreement currently in effect, as well as (2) following a hypothetical reset of the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels based on the assumption that the average quarterly cash distribution amount per common unit during the two fiscal quarters immediately preceding the reset election was $0.60.
Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Prior to Reset |
Unitholders | General Partner | Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Following Hypothetical Reset | |||||||||
Minimum Quarterly Distribution |
$0.3375 | 98.0 | % | 2.0 | % | $0.60(1) | ||||||
First Target Distribution |
above $0.3375 up to $0.38813 |
98.0 | % | 2.0 | % | above $0.60(1) up to $0.69(2) | ||||||
Second Target Distribution |
above $0.38813 up to $0.42188 |
85.0 | % | 15.0 | % | above $0.69(2) up to $0.75(3) | ||||||
Third Target Distribution |
above $0.42188 up to $0.50625 |
75.0 | % | 25.0 | % | above $0.75(3) up to $0.90(4) | ||||||
Thereafter |
above $0.50625 | 50.0 | % | 50.0 | % | above $0.90(4) |
(1) | This amount is equal to the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution. |
(2) | This amount is 115.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution. |
(3) | This amount is 125.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution. |
(4) | This amount is 150.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution. |
Our general partner will be entitled to cause the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels to be reset on more than one occasion, provided that it may not make a reset election except at a time when it has received incentive distributions for the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters based on the highest level of incentive distributions that it is entitled to receive under our partnership agreement.
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Distributions from Capital Surplus
How Distributions from Capital Surplus Will Be Made
Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner:
| first, 98.0% to all common unitholders and subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each common unit that was issued in our initial public offering, an amount of available cash from capital surplus equal to our initial public offering price; |
| second, 98.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we distribute for each common unit an amount of available cash from capital surplus equal to any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units; and |
| thereafter, we will make all distributions of available cash from capital surplus as if they were from operating surplus. |
The preceding paragraph assumes that our general partner maintains its 2.0% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
Effect of a Distribution From Capital Surplus
Our partnership agreement treats a distribution of capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from our initial public offering, which is a return of capital. Our initial public offering price less any distributions of capital surplus per unit is referred to as the unrecovered initial unit price. Each time a distribution of capital surplus is made, the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced in the same proportion as the corresponding reduction in the unrecovered initial unit price. Because distributions of capital surplus will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels after any of these distributions are made, it may be easier for our general partner to receive incentive distributions and for the subordinated units to convert into common units. However, any distribution of capital surplus before the unrecovered initial unit price is reduced to zero cannot be applied to the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution or any arrearages.
Once we distribute capital surplus on a unit issued in our initial public offering in an amount equal to the initial unit price, our partnership agreement specifies that the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced to zero. Our partnership agreement specifies that we then make all future distributions from operating surplus, with 50.0% being paid to the holders of units and 50.0% to our general partner, including our general partners 2.0% general partner interest, assuming our general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights.
Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels
In addition to adjusting the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels to reflect a distribution of capital surplus, if we combine our common units into fewer common units or subdivide our common units into a greater number of common units, our partnership agreement specifies that the following items will be proportionately adjusted:
| the minimum quarterly distribution; |
| the target distribution levels; |
| the unrecovered initial unit price; |
| the per unit amount of any outstanding arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units; and |
| the number of subordinated units. |
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For example, if a two-for-one split of the common units should occur, the minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50.0% of its initial level, and each subordinated unit would convert into two subordinated units. Our partnership agreement provides that we do not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.
In addition, if legislation is enacted or if existing law is modified or interpreted by a governmental taxing authority, so that we become taxable as a corporation or otherwise subject to taxation as an entity for federal, state or local income tax purposes, our partnership agreement specifies that the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels for each quarter may, in the sole discretion of the general partner, be reduced by multiplying each distribution level by a fraction, the numerator of which is available cash for that quarter and the denominator of which is the sum of available cash for that quarter plus our general partners estimate of our aggregate liability for the quarter for such income taxes payable by reason of such legislation or interpretation. To the extent that the actual tax liability differs from the estimated tax liability for any quarter, the difference will be accounted for in subsequent quarters.
Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation
General
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 distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders, the general partner and the holders of the incentive distribution rights, 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.
The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended, to the extent possible, to entitle the holders of common units to a preference over the holders of subordinated units upon our liquidation, to the extent required to permit common unitholders to receive their unrecovered initial unit price plus the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which liquidation occurs plus any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units. However, there may not be sufficient gain upon our liquidation to enable the common unitholders to fully recover all of these amounts, even though there may be cash available for distribution to the holders of subordinated units. Any further net gain recognized upon liquidation will be allocated in a manner that takes into account the incentive distribution rights of our general partner.
Manner of Adjustments for Gain
The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in the partnership agreement. If our liquidation occurs before the end of the subordination period, we will generally allocate any gain to the partners in the following manner:
| first, to our general partner to the extent of certain prior losses specially allocated to our general partner; |
| second, 98.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until the capital account for each common unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price; (2) the amount of the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which our liquidation occurs; and (3) any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution; |
| third, 98.0% to the subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until the capital account for each subordinated unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price; and (2) the amount of the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which our liquidation occurs; |
| fourth, 98.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the first target distribution per unit |
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over the minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution per unit that we distributed 98.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 2.0% to our general partner, for each quarter of our existence; |
| fifth, 85.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to our general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the second target distribution per unit over the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the first target distribution per unit that we distributed 85.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to our general partner for each quarter of our existence; |
| sixth, 75.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to our general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the third target distribution per unit over the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the second target distribution per unit that we distributed 75.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to our general partner for each quarter of our existence; and |
| thereafter, 50.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to our general partner. |
The percentage interests set forth above for our general partner include its 2.0% general partner interest and assume our general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights.
If the liquidation occurs after the end of the subordination period, the distinction between common units and subordinated units will disappear, so that clause (3) of the second bullet point above and all of the third bullet point above will no longer be applicable.
We may make special allocations of gain among the partners in a manner to create economic uniformity among the common units into which the subordinated units convert and the common units held by public unitholders.
Manner of Adjustments for Losses
If our liquidation occurs before the end of the subordination period, we will generally allocate any loss to our general partner and the unitholders in the following manner:
| first, 98.0% to holders of subordinated units in proportion to the positive balances in their capital accounts and 2.0% to our general partner, until the capital accounts of the subordinated unitholders have been reduced to zero; |
| second, 98.0% to the holders of common units in proportion to the positive balances in their capital accounts and 2.0% to our general partner, until the capital accounts of the common unitholders have been reduced to zero; and |
| thereafter, 100.0% to our general partner. |
If the liquidation occurs after the end of the subordination period, the distinction between common units and subordinated units will disappear, so that all of the first bullet point above will no longer be applicable.
We may make special allocations of loss among the partners in a manner to create economic uniformity among the common units into which the subordinated units convert and the common units held by public unitholders.
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Adjustments to Capital Accounts
Our partnership agreement requires that we make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In this regard, our partnership agreement specifies that we allocate any unrealized and, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, unrecognized gain resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the general partner in the same manner as we allocate gain upon liquidation. In the event that we make positive adjustments to the capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units, our partnership agreement requires that we generally allocate any later negative adjustments to the capital accounts resulting from the issuance of additional units or upon our liquidation in a manner which results, to the extent possible, in the partners capital account balances equaling the amount which they would have been if no earlier positive adjustments to the capital accounts had been made. By contrast to the allocations of gain, and except as provided above, we generally will allocate any unrealized and unrecognized loss resulting from the adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units to the unitholders and our general partner based on their respective percentage ownership of us. In this manner, prior to the end of the subordination period, we generally will allocate any such loss equally with respect to our common and subordinated units. In the event we make negative adjustments to the capital accounts as a result of such loss, future positive adjustments resulting from the issuance of additional units will be allocated in a manner designed to reverse the prior negative adjustments, and special allocations will be made upon liquidation in a manner that results, to the extent possible, in our unitholders capital account balances equaling the amounts they would have been if no earlier adjustments for loss had been made.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS
The Units
The common units and the subordinated units are separate classes of units representing limited partner interests in us. The holders of units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units and subordinated units in and to partnership distributions, please read this section and Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions. For a description of other rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read The Partnership Agreement.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Duties
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC serves as the registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units except the following, which must be paid by unitholders:
| surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates, taxes and other governmental charges; |
| special charges for services requested by a holder of a common unit; and |
| other similar fees or charges. |
There is no charge to unitholders for disbursements of our 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
Upon the transfer of a common unit in accordance with our partnership agreement, the transferee of the common unit shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:
| represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement; |
| automatically becomes bound by the terms and conditions of, and is deemed to have executed, our partnership agreement; and |
| gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our partnership agreement. |
Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.
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We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holders rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
Common units are securities and 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.
Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the common unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.
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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 Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions; |
| with regard to rights of holders of units, please read Description of the Common Units; and |
| with regard to allocations of taxable income and taxable loss, please read Material Tax Consequences. |
Organization and Duration
Our partnership was organized in March 2011 and will have a perpetual existence unless terminated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement.
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 the 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 has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the business of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas storage, terminaling and transportation, 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 make cash distributions to holders of our common units and other partnership securities as well as to our general partner in respect of its general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights. For a description of these cash distribution provisions, please read Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to 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 partners right to contribute capital to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest if we issue additional units, please read Issuance of Additional Interests.
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Voting Rights
The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for approval of the matters specified below. Matters that require the approval of a unit majority require:
| during the subordination period, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding those common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and a majority of the subordinated units, voting as separate classes; |
| after the subordination period, the approval of a majority of the common units, voting as a single class. |
In voting their common and subordinated 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.
The incentive distribution rights may be entitled to vote in certain circumstances.
Issuance of additional units |
No approval right. Please read Issuance of Additional Interests. |
Amendment of the 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 unit majority. 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, Consolidation, Conversion, 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 |
Under most circumstances, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required for the withdrawal of our general partner prior to September 30, 2021 in a manner that would cause a dissolution of our partnership. Please read Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner. |
Removal of our general partner |
Not less than 662/3% 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 all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in us without a vote of our unitholders to an affiliate or another person in connection with its merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, such person. The approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required in other circumstances for a transfer of the general partner interest to a third party prior to September 30, 2021. Please read Transfer of General Partner Interest. |
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Transfer of incentive distribution rights |
No approval right. Please read Transfer of Subordinated Units and Incentive Distribution Rights. |
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 or its affiliates and any transferees of that person or group approved by our general partner or to any person or group who acquires the units with the specific 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 or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us); |
| brought in a derivative manner on our behalf; |
| asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our general partner, or owed by our general partner, to us or the limited partners; |
| asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Act; or |
| asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, |
shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, in each case, 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 in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings.
Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act and that he otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of the partnership agreement, his liability under the Delaware Act will be 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 it were determined that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:
| to remove or replace our general partner; |
| to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement; or |
| to take other action under our partnership agreement; |
constituted participation in the control of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our
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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.
Our subsidiaries currently conduct business in one state and we may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states or countries in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as owner of our operating subsidiaries may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating subsidiaries conduct business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.
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 subsidiaries or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any jurisdiction 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 Interests
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders.
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units, subordinated units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing common unitholders 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 common unitholders 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 (other than the issuance of partnership interests issued in connection with a reset of the incentive distribution target levels relating to our general partners incentive
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distribution rights or the issuance of partnership interests upon conversion of outstanding partnership securities), our general partner will be entitled, but not required, to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest in us. Our general partners 2.0% interest in us will be reduced if we issue additional units in the future and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us 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, subordinated units or other partnership interests whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue partnership interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of the general partner and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common and subordinated units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The common unitholders 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 unit majority.
Prohibited Amendments
No amendment may be made that would:
| enlarge the obligations of any limited partner without its consent, unless approved by at least 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 clauses 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 change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office; |
| the admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement; |
| a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue our qualification as a limited partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability |
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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 U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed); |
| an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our general partner or its directors, officers, agents or trustees from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or plan asset regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed; |
| an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the creation, authorization or issuance of additional partnership interests or the right to acquire partnership interests; |
| any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone; |
| an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our partnership agreement; |
| any amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect and account for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement; |
| a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes; |
| 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 |
| any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described in the clauses above. |
In addition, our general partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement, without the approval of any limited partner, if our general partner determines that those amendments:
| do not adversely affect the limited partners (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 initial public offering or the intent of the provisions of our partnership agreement or are otherwise contemplated by our partnership agreement. |
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 will require the approval of at least a majority of the class or classes so affected, but no vote will be 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
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units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that would reduce the voting percentage required to take any action other than to remove the general partner or call a meeting of unitholders 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 would increase the percentage of units 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 percentage sought to be increased. For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will 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, Consolidation, Conversion, 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, including by way of merger, consolidation or other combination. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without 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 amendment to the partnership agreement (other than an amendment that the general partner could adopt without the consent of other partners), each of our units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the partnership securities to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests (other than incentive distribution rights) 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, we have received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our partnership agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.
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; |
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| the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act; 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 nor any of our subsidiaries would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of that right to continue (to the extent not already so treated or taxed). |
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as described in Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to 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.
Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner
Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to September 30, 2021 without obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after September 30, 2021, our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without 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 units, voting together as a single 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
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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, and the outstanding subordinated units, voting as a class. The ownership of more than 33 1/3% of the outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates gives them the ability to prevent our general partners removal.
Our partnership agreement also provides that if our general partner is removed as our general partner under circumstances where cause does not exist:
| all subordinated units held by any person who did not, and whose affiliates did not, vote any units in favor of the removal of the general partner, will immediately and automatically convert into common units on a one-for-one basis; and |
| if all of the subordinated units convert pursuant to the foregoing, all cumulative common unit arrearages on the common units will be extinguished and the subordination period will end. |
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 and incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner and its affiliates 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 will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest and the incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner and 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 partners general partner interest and all its and its affiliates incentive distribution rights 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
Except for transfer by our general partner of all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest to:
| an affiliate of our general partner (other than an individual); or |
| another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of our general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by our general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to another entity, our general partner may not transfer all or any of its general partner interest to another person prior to September 30, 2021 without the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. As a condition of this transfer, the transferee must, among other things, assume the rights and duties of our general partner, agree to be bound by the provisions of our partnership agreement and furnish an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. |
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Our general partner and its affiliates may, at any time, transfer common units or subordinated units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval, except that they may not transfer subordinated units to us.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner
At any time, the owners of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part of its ownership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or third party without the approval of our unitholders.
Transfer of Subordinated Units and Incentive Distribution Rights
By transfer of subordinated units or incentive distribution rights in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of subordinated units or incentive distribution rights will be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the subordinated units or incentive distribution rights transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:
| represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement; |
| automatically becomes bound by the terms and conditions of our partnership agreement; and |
| gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our partnership agreement. |
Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of subordinated units or incentive distribution rights as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holders rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
Subordinated units or incentive distribution rights are securities and any transfers are subject to the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a limited partner for the transferred subordinated units or incentive distribution rights.
Until a subordinated unit or incentive distribution right has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the unit or right as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.
Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove OTLP GP, LLC as our general partner or from otherwise changing 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 units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply in certain circumstances. Please read Meetings; Voting.
Limited Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or beneficial owners or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner
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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 average of the daily closing prices of the partnership securities of such class over the 20 consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date three days before the date the notice is mailed. |
As a result of our general partners 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 at a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. The 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 Tax Consequences Disposition of Units.
Non-Taxpaying Holders; Redemption
To avoid any adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by us or any of our future subsidiaries, or in order to reverse an adverse determination that has occurred regarding such maximum rate, our partnership agreement provides our general partner the power to amend the agreement. If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines that our not being treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, coupled with the tax status (or lack of proof thereof) of one or more of our limited partners, has, or is reasonably likely to have, a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by our subsidiaries, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
| obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and |
| permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose tax status has or is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by our general partner to obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption. |
Non-Citizen Assignees; Redemption
If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are subject to U.S. federal, state or local laws or regulations that, in the reasonable determination of our general partner, create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property that we have an interest in because of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of any limited partner, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
| obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and |
| permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose nationality, citizenship or other related status creates substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by the general partner to obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption. |
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Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, record holders of units on the record date are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our limited partners and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited.
Our general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of our unitholders will be called in the foreseeable future. Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum, unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read Issuance of Additional Interests. However, if at any time any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, or a direct or subsequently approved transferee of our general partner or its affiliates and purchasers specifically approved by our general partner, 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. 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. Except as our partnership agreement otherwise provides, subordinated units will vote together with common units, as a single class.
Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record common unitholders under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Voting Rights of Incentive Distribution Rights
If a majority of the incentive distribution rights are held by our general partner and its affiliates, the holders of the incentive distribution rights will have no right to vote in respect of such rights on any matter, unless otherwise required by law, and the holders of the incentive distribution rights, in their capacity as such, shall be deemed to have approved any matter approved by our general partner.
If less than a majority of the incentive distribution rights are held by our general partner and its affiliates, the incentive distribution rights will be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of unitholders, other than amendments and other matters that our general partner determines do not adversely affect the holders of the incentive distribution rights in any material respect. On any matter in which the holders of incentive distribution rights are entitled to vote, such holders will vote together with the subordinated units, prior to the end of the subordination period, or together with the common units, thereafter, in either case as a single class, and such incentive distribution rights shall be treated in all respects as subordinated units or common units, as applicable, when sending notices of a meeting of our limited partners to vote on any matter (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our partnership agreement. The relative voting power of the holders of the incentive distribution rights and the subordinated units or common units, depending on which class the holders of incentive distribution rights are voting with, will be set in the same proportion as cumulative cash distributions, if any, in respect of the incentive distribution rights for the four consecutive quarters prior to the record date for the vote bears to the cumulative cash distributions in respect of such class of units for such four quarters.
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Status as Limited Partner
By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Except as described under Limited Liability, the common units 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, general partner, director, officer, 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, general partner, 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 to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under our partnership agreement.
Reimbursement of Expenses
Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf and all other expenses allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our general partner in connection with operating our business. The partnership agreement does not limit the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed, however our services agreement provides for an annual fixed fee of $14.9 million, payable in equal monthly installments to our affiliate, Oiltanking North America, LLC (OTNA), for the provision of certain specified selling, general and administrative services necessary to manage our business. 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. Pursuant to the services agreement, we reimburse OTNA for all operating expenses and all expenses it incurs as a result of our becoming a publicly traded partnership, including all operating expenses it incurs with respect to insurance coverage for our business, with such reimbursement obligations not subject to any cap.
Books and Reports
Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. These books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.
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We furnish or make available to record holders of our common units, within 105 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report on those consolidated financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we also furnish or make available summary financial information within 50 days after the close of each quarter. We are 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 furnish each record holder with information reasonably required for U.S. 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 depends on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his U.S. federal and state tax liability and in filing his U.S. 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; |
| 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 our general partner determines is just and reasonable. |
Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests, could damage us or our business 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, subordinated 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.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES
We will issue debt securities under an indenture between Oiltanking Partners, L.P. and a trustee that we will name in the related prospectus supplement. If we offer senior debt securities, we will issue them under a senior indenture. If we issue subordinated debt securities, we will issue them under a subordinated indenture. The term Trustee as used in this prospectus refers to the trustee under either of these two indentures. References in this prospectus to an Indenture refer to the particular indenture under which Oiltanking Partners, L.P. issues a series of debt securities. The debt securities will be governed by the provisions of the related Indenture and those made part of the Indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
This description is a summary of the material provisions of the debt securities and the Indentures. We urge you to read the forms of Indentures filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part because those Indentures, and not this description, govern your rights as a holder of debt securities.
General
Any series of debt securities:
| will be issued only in fully registered form; and |
| will be our general obligations. |
The Indenture will not limit the total amount of debt securities that may be issued. Debt securities under the Indenture may be issued from time to time in separate series, up to the aggregate amount authorized for each such series.
We will prepare a prospectus supplement and either an indenture supplement or a resolution of the board of directors of our general partner and accompanying officers certificate relating to any series of debt securities that we offer, which will include specific terms relating to some or all of the following:
| whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated debt securities; |
| the form and title of the debt securities; |
| the total principal amount of the debt securities; |
| the date or dates on which the debt securities may be issued; |
| the portion of the principal amount which will be payable if the maturity of the debt securities is accelerated; |
| any right we may have to defer payments of interest by extending the dates payments are due and whether interest on those deferred amounts will be payable; |
| the dates on which the principal and premium, if any, of the debt securities will be payable; |
| the interest rate which the debt securities will bear and the interest payment dates for the debt securities; |
| any option or conversion provisions; |
| any optional redemption provisions; |
| any sinking fund or other provisions that would obligate us to redeem or otherwise repurchase the debt securities; |
| whether the debt securities may be issued in amounts other than $1,000 each or multiples thereof; |
| any changes to or additional Events of Default or covenants; and |
| any other terms of the debt securities. |
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This description of debt securities will be deemed modified, amended or supplemented by any description of any series of debt securities set forth in a prospectus supplement related to that series.
The prospectus supplement will also describe any material United States federal income tax consequences or other special considerations regarding the applicable series of debt securities, including those relating to:
| debt securities with respect to which payments of principal, premium or interest are determined with reference to an index or formula, including changes in prices of particular securities, currencies or commodities; |
| debt securities with respect to which principal, premium or interest is payable in a foreign or composite currency; |
| debt securities that are issued at a discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate that at the time of issuance is below market rates; and |
| variable rate debt securities that are exchangeable for fixed rate debt securities. |
Interest payments on debt securities in certificated form may be made by check mailed to the registered holders or, if so stated in the applicable prospectus supplement, at the option of a holder, by wire transfer to an account designated by the holder.
Unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, debt securities may be transferred or exchanged at the office of the Trustee at which its corporate trust business is principally administered in the United States, subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, without the payment of any service charge, other than any applicable tax or other governmental charge.
Any funds paid to the Trustee or any paying agent for the payment of amounts due on any debt securities that remain unclaimed for two years will be returned to us, and the holders of the debt securities must look only to us for payment after that time.
Events of Default, Remedies and Notice
Events of Default
Unless otherwise specified in a supplement to the Indenture, each of the following events will be an Event of Default under the Indenture with respect to a series of debt securities:
| default in any payment of interest on any debt securities of that series when due that continues for 30 days; |
| default in the payment of principal of or premium, if any, on any debt securities of that series when due at its stated maturity, upon redemption, upon required repurchase or otherwise; |
| default in the payment of any sinking fund payment on any debt securities of that series when due; |
| failure by us to comply for 60 days after notice with the other agreements contained in the Indenture, any supplement to the Indenture with respect to that series or any board resolution authorizing the issuance of that series; or |
| certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of the issuer. |
Exercise of Remedies
If an Event of Default, other than an Event of Default described in the fifth bullet point above, occurs and is continuing, the Trustee or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may declare the entire principal of, premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately.
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A default under the fourth bullet point above will not constitute an Event of Default until the Trustee or the holders of 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series notifies us of the default and such default is not cured within 60 days after receipt of notice.
If an Event of Default described in the fifth bullet point above occurs, the principal of, premium, if any, and accrued and unpaid interest on all outstanding debt securities of all series will become immediately due and payable without any declaration of acceleration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any holders.
The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may rescind any declaration of acceleration by the Trustee or the holders with respect to the debt securities of that series, but only if:
| rescinding the declaration of acceleration would not conflict with any judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction; and |
| all existing Events of Default with respect to that series have been cured or waived, other than the nonpayment of principal, premium or interest on the debt securities of that series that has become due solely by the declaration of acceleration. |
If an Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Trustee will be under no obligation, except as otherwise provided in the Indenture, to exercise any of the rights or powers under the Indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders unless such holders have offered to the Trustee reasonable indemnity or security against any costs, liability or expense. No holder may pursue any remedy with respect to the Indenture or the debt securities of any series, except to enforce the right to receive payment of principal, premium or interest on its own debt securities when due, unless:
| such holder has previously given the Trustee notice that an Event of Default with respect to that series is continuing; |
| holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have requested that the Trustee pursue the remedy; |
| such holders have offered the Trustee reasonable indemnity or security against any cost, liability or expense; |
| the Trustee has not complied with such request within 60 days after the receipt of the request and the offer of indemnity or security; and |
| the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have not given the Trustee a direction that is inconsistent with such request within such 60-day period. |
The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series have the right, subject to certain restrictions, to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee or of exercising any right or power conferred on the Trustee with respect to that series of debt securities. The Trustee, however, may refuse to follow any direction that:
| conflicts with law; |
| is inconsistent with any provision of the Indenture; |
| the Trustee determines is unduly prejudicial to the rights of any other holder; or |
| would involve the Trustee in personal liability. |
Notice of Event of Default
Within 30 days after the occurrence of an Event of Default, we must give written notice to the Trustee and indicate the status of the default and what action we are taking or proposes to take to cure the default. In addition,
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we must deliver to the Trustee, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, a compliance certificate indicating that we have complied with all covenants contained in the Indenture or whether any default or Event of Default has occurred during the previous year.
Within 90 days after the occurrence of any default known to it, the Trustee must mail to each holder a notice of the default. Except in the case of a default in the payment of principal, premium or interest with respect to any debt securities, the Trustee may withhold such notice, but only if and so long as the board of directors, the executive committee or a committee of directors or responsible officers of the Trustee in good faith determines that withholding such notice is in the interests of the holders.
Amendments and Waivers
We may supplement or amend the Indenture without the consent of any holder of debt securities to, among other things:
| cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency; |
| provide for the assumption by a successor of our obligations under the Indenture; |
| secure the debt securities; |
| add covenants for the benefit of the holders or surrender any right or power conferred upon us; |
| in the case of any subordinated debt security, to make any change in the subordination provisions that limits or terminates the benefits applicable to any holder of our Senior Indebtedness; |
| make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder; |
| add or appoint a successor or separate Trustee; |
| comply with any requirement of the SEC in connection with the qualification of the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act; or |
| establish the form or terms of the debt securities of any new series. |
In addition, we may amend the Indenture if the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of all debt securities of each series that would be affected then outstanding under the Indenture consent to it. We may not, however, without the consent of each holder of outstanding debt securities of each series that would be affected, amend the Indenture to:
| reduce the percentage in principal amount of debt securities of any series whose holders must consent to an amendment; |
| reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest on any debt securities; |
| reduce the principal of or extend the stated maturity of any debt securities; |
| reduce the premium payable upon the redemption of any debt securities or change the time at which any debt securities may or shall be redeemed; |
| make any debt securities payable in a currency other than that stated in the debt security; |
| in the case of any subordinated debt security, make any change in the subordination provisions that adversely affects the rights of any holder under those provisions; |
| impair the right of any holder to receive payment of premium, principal or interest with respect to such holders debt securities on or after the applicable due date; |
| impair the right of any holder to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment with respect to such holders debt securities; |
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| release any security that has been granted in respect of the debt securities; |
| make any change in the amendment provisions which require each holders consent; or |
| make any change in the waiver provisions. |
The consent of the holders is not necessary under the Indenture to approve the particular form of any proposed amendment. It is sufficient if such consent approves the substance of the proposed amendment. After an amendment under the Indenture requiring the consent of the holders becomes effective, we are required to mail to all holders a notice briefly describing the amendment. The failure to give, or any defect in, such notice, however, will not impair or affect the validity of the amendment.
The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series of debt securities then outstanding, on behalf of all holders of such series, and subject to certain rights of the Trustee, may waive:
| compliance with certain restrictive provisions of the Indenture; and |
| any past default under the Indenture; |
except that such majority of holders may not waive a default:
| in the payment of principal, premium or interest; or |
| in respect of a provision that under the Indenture cannot be amended without the consent of all holders of the series of debt securities that is affected. |
Satisfaction and Discharge
The Indenture will be discharged and will cease to be of further effect as to all outstanding debt securities of any series issued thereunder, when:
(a) either:
(1) all outstanding debt securities of that series that have been authenticated (except lost, stolen or destroyed debt securities that have been replaced or paid and debt securities for whose payment money has theretofore been deposited in trust and thereafter repaid to the issuer) have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or
(2) all outstanding debt securities of that series that have not been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation have become due and payable or will become due and payable at their stated maturity within one year or are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee and in any case we have irrevocably deposited with the Trustee as trust funds cash, certain U.S. government obligations or a combination thereof, in such amounts as will be sufficient, to pay the entire indebtedness of such debt securities not delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, for principal, premium, if any, and accrued interest to the stated maturity or redemption date;
(b) we have paid or caused to be paid all other sums payable by us under the Indenture with respect to the debt securities of that series; and
(c) we have delivered to the Trustee an accountants certificate as to the sufficiency of the trust funds, without reinvestment, to pay the entire indebtedness of such debt securities at maturity.
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Defeasance
At any time, we may terminate, with respect to debt securities of a particular series, all our obligations under such series of debt securities and the Indenture, which we call a legal defeasance. If we decide to make a legal defeasance, however, we may not terminate our obligations specified in the Indenture, including those:
| relating to the defeasance trust; |
| to register the transfer or exchange of the debt securities; |
| to replace mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen debt securities; or |
| to maintain a registrar and paying agent in respect of the debt securities. |
At any time we may also effect a covenant defeasance, which means we have elected to terminate our obligations under covenants applicable to a series of debt securities and described in the prospectus supplement applicable to such series, other than as described in such prospectus supplement, and any Event of Default resulting from a failure to observe such covenants.
The legal defeasance option may be exercised notwithstanding a prior exercise of the covenant defeasance option. If the legal defeasance option is exercised, payment of the affected series of debt securities may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default with respect to that series. If the covenant defeasance option is exercised, payment of the affected series of debt securities may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default specified in the fourth or sixth bullet points under Events of Default, Remedies and Notice Events of Default above or an Event of Default that is added specifically for such series and described in a prospectus supplement.
In order to exercise either defeasance option, we must:
| irrevocably deposit in trust with the Trustee money or certain U.S. government obligations for the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest on the series of debt securities to redemption or stated maturity, as the case may be; |
| comply with certain other conditions, including that no bankruptcy or default with respect to the issuer has occurred and is continuing 91 days after the deposit in trust; and |
| deliver to the Trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that holders of the defeased series of debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such defeasance and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such defeasance had not occurred. In the case of legal defeasance only, such opinion of counsel must be based on a ruling of the Internal Revenue Service or a change in applicable Federal income tax law. |
No Personal Liability
Our partners, directors, officers, employees, incorporators and members will not be liable for:
| any of our obligations under the debt securities or the Indenture; or |
| any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. |
By accepting a debt security, each holder will be deemed to have waived and released all such liability. This waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issuance of the debt securities. This waiver may not be effective, however, to waive liabilities under the Federal securities laws and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.
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No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control
Unless otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that protect the holders of the debt securities in the event of our change of control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction, whether or not such transaction results in our change of control.
Provisions Relating only to the Senior Debt Securities
The senior debt securities will rank equally in right of payment with all of our other unsubordinated debt. The senior debt securities will be effectively subordinated, however, to all of our secured debt to the extent of the value of the collateral for that debt, and they will be structurally subordinated to all debt and other liabilities of our subsidiaries. We will disclose the amounts of our secured debt and our subsidiaries liabilities in the prospectus supplement.
Provisions Relating only to the Subordinated Debt Securities
Subordinated Debt Securities Subordinated to Senior Indebtedness
The subordinated debt securities will rank junior in right of payment to all of our Senior Indebtedness. Senior Indebtedness will be defined in a supplemental indenture or authorizing resolutions respecting any issuance of a series of subordinated debt securities, and the definition will be set forth in the prospectus supplement.
Payment Blockages
The subordinated indenture will provide that no payment of principal, interest and any premium on the subordinated debt securities may be made in the event:
| we or our property is involved in any voluntary or involuntary liquidation or bankruptcy; |
| we fail to pay the principal, interest, any premium or any other amounts on any Senior Indebtedness of the issuer within any applicable grace period or the maturity of such Senior Indebtedness is accelerated following any other default, subject to certain limited exceptions set forth in the subordinated indenture; or |
| any other default on any of our Senior Indebtedness occurs that permits immediate acceleration of its maturity, in which case a payment blockage on the subordinated debt securities will be imposed for a maximum of 179 days at any one time. |
No Limitation on Amount of Senior Debt
The subordinated indenture will not limit the amount of Senior Indebtedness that we may incur, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement.
Book Entry, Delivery and Form
The debt securities of a particular series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global certificates that will be deposited with the Trustee as custodian for The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York (DTC). This means that we will not issue certificates to each holder except in the limited circumstances described below. Instead, one or more global debt securities will be issued to DTC, who will keep a computerized record of its participants (for example, your broker) whose clients have purchased the debt securities. The participant will then keep a record of its clients who purchased the debt securities. Unless it is exchanged in whole or in part for a certificated debt security, a global debt security may not be transferred, except that DTC, its nominees and their successors may transfer a global debt security as a whole to one another.
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Beneficial interests in global debt securities will be shown on, and transfers of global debt securities will be made only through, records maintained by DTC and its participants.
DTC has provided us the following information: DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a banking organization within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the United States Federal Reserve System, a clearing corporation within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a clearing agency registered under the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds securities that its participants (Direct Participants) deposit with DTC. DTC also records the settlement among Direct Participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through computerized records for Direct Participants accounts. This eliminates the need to exchange certificates. Direct Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations.
DTCs book-entry system is also used by other organizations such as securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies that work through a Direct Participant. The rules that apply to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.
DTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries.
We will wire all payments on the global debt securities to DTCs nominee. We and the Trustee will treat DTCs nominee as the owner of the global debt securities for all purposes. Accordingly, we, the Trustee and any paying agent will have no direct responsibility or liability to pay amounts due on the global debt securities to owners of beneficial interests in the global debt securities.
It is DTCs current practice, upon receipt of any payment on the global debt securities, to credit Direct Participants accounts on the payment date according to their respective holdings of beneficial interests in the global debt securities as shown on DTCs records. In addition, it is DTCs current practice to assign any consenting or voting rights to Direct Participants whose accounts are credited with debt securities on a record date, by using an omnibus proxy. Payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in the global debt securities, and voting by participants, will be governed by the customary practices between the participants and owners of beneficial interests, as is the case with debt securities held for the account of customers registered in street name. However, payments will be the responsibility of the participants and not of DTC, the Trustee or us.
Debt securities represented by a global debt security will be exchangeable for certificated debt securities with the same terms in authorized denominations only if:
| DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under applicable law and in either event a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 90 days; or |
| an Event of Default occurs and DTC notifies the Trustee of its decision to exchange the global debt security for certificated debt securities. |
Governing Law
Each Indenture and all of the debt securities will be governed by the laws of the State of New York.
The Trustee
We will enter into each Indenture with a Trustee that is qualified to act under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, and with any other trustee chosen by us and appointed in a supplemental indenture for a particular series of debt securities. We may maintain a banking relationship in the ordinary course of business with our Trustee and one or more of its affiliates.
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Resignation or Removal of Trustee
If the Trustee has or acquires a conflicting interest within the meaning of the Trust Indenture Act after a default has occurred and is continuing, the Trustee must either eliminate its conflicting interest within 90 days, apply to the SEC for permission to continue as trustee or resign. Any resignation will require the appointment of a successor trustee under the applicable Indenture in accordance with the terms and conditions of such Indenture.
The Trustee may resign or be removed by us with respect to one or more series of debt securities and a successor Trustee may be appointed to act with respect to any such series. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of any series may remove the Trustee with respect to the debt securities of such series.
Limitations on Trustee if it is Our Creditor
Each Indenture will contain certain limitations on the right of the Trustee, in the event that it becomes a creditor of us, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise.
Annual Trustee Report to Holders of Debt Securities
The Trustee will be required to submit an annual report to the holders of the debt securities regarding, among other things, the Trustees eligibility to serve as such, the priority of the Trustees claims regarding certain advances made by it, and any action taken by the Trustee materially affecting the debt securities.
Certificates and Opinions to be Furnished to Trustee
Each Indenture will provide that, in addition to other certificates or opinions that may be specifically required by other provisions of the Indenture, every application by us for action by the Trustee shall be accompanied by a certificate of certain of our officers and an opinion of counsel (who may be our counsel) stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent to such action have been complied with by us.
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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. Changes in these authorities may cause the federal income tax consequences to a prospective unitholder to vary substantially from those described below. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to we or us are references to Oiltanking Partners, L.P. and our 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 to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all federal income tax matters that affect us or our unitholders and does not describe the application of the alternative minimum tax that may be applicable to certain unitholders. Furthermore, this section focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States (for federal income tax purposes), who have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency and who hold units as capital assets (generally, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations, partnerships (including entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes), estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt institutions, non-U.S. persons, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds. Accordingly, we encourage each unitholder to consult the unitholders own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.
We are relying on opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsels best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for 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 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 expect to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, generally will not be liable for entity-level federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder. Distributions we make to a unitholder generally will not give rise to income or gain taxable to such unitholder unless the amount of cash distributed exceeds the unitholders adjusted tax basis in its units.
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Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnerships gross income for every taxable year it is publicly traded consists of qualifying income, the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes (the Qualifying Income Exception). Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the exploration and production, refining, transportation, storage, processing and marketing of certain natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, and products thereof. Other types of qualifying income include interest (other than from a financial business), dividends, gains from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of qualifying income. We estimate that less than 8% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.
Based upon factual representations made by us and our general partner regarding the composition of our income and the other representations set forth below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and each of our operating subsidiaries will be disregarded as an entity separate from us for federal income tax purposes. In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied include, without limitation:
(a) Neither we nor any of our operating subsidiaries has elected to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes;
(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; and
(c) Each hedging transaction that we treat as resulting in qualifying income has been and will be appropriately identified as a hedging transaction pursuant to applicable Treasury Regulations, and has been and will be associated with oil, natural gas, or products thereof that are held or to be held by us in activities that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined or will opine result in qualifying income.
We believe that these representations are true and will be true in the future.
If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income by our unitholders or us so long as our liabilities do not exceed the tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.
The present federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative, or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. Currently, one such legislative proposal would eliminate the qualifying income exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted. However, 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 liability for federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our unitholders. Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the
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cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholders tax basis in its units, and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain.
The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Limited Partner Status
Unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership, as well as unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of units, will be treated as partners of the partnership for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read Treatment of Securities Loans. Unitholders who are not treated as partners of the partnership as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under the circumstances.
Flow-Through of Taxable Income
Subject to the discussion below under Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our unitholders, we will not pay any federal income tax. Rather, each unitholder will be required to report on its federal income tax return each year its share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within its taxable year. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.
Basis of Units
A unitholders tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid for those units plus the unitholders share of our liabilities. That basis generally will be (i) increased by the unitholders share of our income and any increases in such unitholders share of our liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions, the unitholders share of our losses, and any decreases in its share of our liabilities.
Treatment of Distributions
Distributions made by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder, unless such distributions exceed the unitholders tax basis in its units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under Disposition of Units.
Any reduction in a unitholders share of our liabilities will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. A decrease in a unitholders percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional units may decrease the unitholders share of our liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholders share of our nonrecourse liabilities (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) generally will be based upon that unitholders share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess liabilities allocated based on the unitholders share of our profits. Please read Disposition of Units.
A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of the reduction in a unitholders share of our liabilities as described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income, if the distribution reduces the unitholders share of our unrealized receivables, including
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depreciation recapture and substantially appreciated inventory items, both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (Section 751 Assets). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive its proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange generally will result in the unitholders recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (1) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (2) the unitholders tax basis (generally zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses
A unitholder may not be entitled to deduct the full amount of loss we allocate to it because its share of our losses will be limited to the lesser of (i) the unitholders tax basis in its units, and (ii) in the case of a unitholder that is an individual, estate, trust or certain types of closely-held corporations, the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be at risk with respect to our activities. In general, a unitholder will be at risk to the extent of its tax basis in its units, reduced by (1) any portion of that basis attributable to the unitholders share of our liabilities, (2) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or similar arrangement and (3) any amount of money the unitholder borrows to acquire or hold its units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to another unitholder or can look only to the units for repayment. A unitholder subject to the at risk limitation must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions (including distributions deemed to result from a reduction in a unitholders share of nonrecourse liabilities) cause the unitholders at risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year.
Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of the basis or at risk limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction in a later year to the extent that the unitholders tax basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is subsequently increased. Upon a taxable disposition of units, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but not losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at risk limitation in excess of that gain can no longer be used, and will not be available to offset a unitholders salary or active business income.
In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, a passive activity loss limitation generally limits the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely held corporations and personal service corporations from passive activities (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly-traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us Passive losses that exceed a unitholders share of passive income we generate may be deducted 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.
Limitations on Interest Deductions
The deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayers investment interest expense generally is limited to the amount of that taxpayers net investment income. Investment interest expense includes:
| interest on indebtedness properly 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 unitholders investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules,
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less deductible expenses, other than interest, directly connected with the production of investment income. Net investment income generally does not include qualified dividend income (if applicable) or gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment. A unitholders share of a publicly traded partnerships portfolio income and, according to the IRS, net passive income will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest expense limitation.
Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes
If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all the unitholders or we cannot determine the specific unitholder on whose behalf the tax is payable, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of a unitholder, in which event the unitholder may be entitled to claim a refund of the overpayment amount. Unitholders are urged to consult their tax advisors to determine the consequences to them of any tax payment we make on their behalf.
Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction
In general, if we have a net profit, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated amongst our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. If we have a net loss, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated first among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us to the extent of their positive capital accounts and thereafter to our general partner.
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 tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a Book-Tax Disparity). As a result, the federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering generally will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders.
An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will generally be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partners share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has substantial economic effect. In any other case, a partners share of an item will be determined on the basis of the partners interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) his relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interest of all the partners in cash flow and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in Section 754 Election and Disposition of Units Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees, allocations under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partners share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction.
Treatment of Securities Loans
A unitholder whose units are loaned (for example, a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) may be treated as having disposed of those units. If so, such unitholder would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition. As a result, during this period (i) any of our income, gain, loss or deduction allocated to those units would not be reportable by the lending unitholder and (ii) any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units may be treated as ordinary taxable income.
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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.
Tax Rates
Under current law, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 35% and 15%, respectively. However, absent new legislation extending the current rates, beginning January 1, 2013, the highest marginal federal income tax rate applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains of individuals will increase to 39.6% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
A 3.8% Medicare tax on certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts will apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholders allocable share of our income and gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholders net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the unitholders modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if married filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.
Section 754 Election
We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax bases in our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to each purchaser of units based upon the values and bases of our assets at the time of the relevant purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us.
Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury Regulations governing a 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read Uniformity of Units.
The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of units due to lack of controlling authority. Because a unitholders tax basis for its units is reduced by its share of our items of deduction or loss, any position we take that understates deductions will overstate a unitholders basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read Disposition of 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 will be made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or nondepreciable assets.
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Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally nonamortizable or amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.
Tax Treatment of Operations
Accounting Method and Taxable Year
We will use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in income its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for each taxable year ending within or with its taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of its units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of its taxable year must include its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for its taxable year, with the result that it will be required to include in income for its taxable year its share of more than one year of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read Disposition of Units Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees.
Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization
The tax basis of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of these 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.
Valuation and Tax Basis of Our Properties
The federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the initial tax bases of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by unitholders could change, and unitholders could be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.
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Disposition of Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss
A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale of units equal to the difference between the unitholders amount realized and tax basis in the units sold. A unitholders amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash or the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our liabilities with respect to such units. Because the amount realized includes a unitholders share of our liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale.
Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder on the sale or exchange of a unit held for more than one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or loss. However, gain or loss recognized on the disposition of units will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Code to the extent attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture. Ordinary income attributable to Section 751 Assets may exceed net taxable gain realized on the sale of a unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale of a unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital gain or loss upon a sale of units. Net capital loss may offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.
The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an equitable apportionment method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partners tax basis in its entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partners entire interest in the partnership.
Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis units to sell as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, it may designate specific units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of units transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult its tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.
Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an appreciated financial position, including a partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:
| a short sale; |
| an offsetting notional principal contract; or |
| a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property. |
Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position.
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Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees
In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis and will be subsequently apportioned among the unitholders in proportion to the number of units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month (the Allocation Date). However, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets or, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss or deduction will be allocated among the unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which such income, gain, loss or deduction is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.
Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be permitted under existing Treasury Regulations. Recently, however, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued proposed Treasury Regulations that provide a safe harbor pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may use a similar monthly simplifying convention to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee unitholders, although such tax items must be prorated on a daily basis. Nonetheless, the proposed regulations do not specifically authorize the use of 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 this method is not allowed under the final Treasury Regulations, or only applies to transfers of less than all of the unitholders interest, our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among our unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under future Treasury Regulations.
A unitholder who disposes of units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.
Notification Requirements
A unitholder who sells or purchases any of its units is 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 such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a transfer of units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.
Constructive Termination
We will be considered to have constructively terminated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes upon the sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For such purposes, multiple sales of the same unit are counted only once. A constructive termination results in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than the calendar year, the closing of our taxable year may result in more than twelve months of our taxable income or loss being includable in such unitholders taxable income for the year of termination.
A constructive termination occurring on a date other than December 31 generally would require that we file two tax returns for one fiscal year, and the cost of the preparation of these returns will be borne by all unitholders. However, pursuant to an IRS relief procedure, the IRS may allow a constructively terminated partnership to provide a single Schedule K-1 for the calendar year in which a termination occurs. Following a constructive termination, we would be required to make new tax elections, including a new election under Section 754 of the Code, and the termination would result in a deferral of our deductions for depreciation. A
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termination could also result in penalties if we were unable to determine that the termination had occurred. Moreover, a termination may either accelerate the application of, or subject us to, any tax legislation enacted before the termination that would not otherwise have been applied to us as a continuing as opposed to a terminating partnership.
Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units and for other reasons, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the units to a purchaser of these units. In the absence of uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of federal income tax requirements. Any non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of the units. Please read Tax Consequences of Unit 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 validity of such filing positions.
A unitholders basis in units is reduced by its share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholders basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read Disposition of Units Recognition of Gain or Loss above 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 Organizations and Other Investors
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans, other tax-exempt organizations, non-resident aliens, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or non-U.S. persons should consult their tax advisors before investing in our units. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.
Non-resident aliens and foreign corporations, trusts or estates that own units will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of their ownership of our units. Consequently, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax at regular rates on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each non-U.S. unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.
In addition, because a foreign corporation that owns units will be treated as engaged in a United States trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular federal income tax, on its share of our income and gain to the extent reflected in earnings and profits, and as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporations U.S. net equity. That tax may be reduced or eliminated by an
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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.
A non-U.S. unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. unitholder. Under a ruling published by the IRS interpreting the scope of effectively connected income, part or all of a non-U.S. unitholders gain may be treated as effectively connected with that unitholders indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by its investment in us. Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a non-U.S. unitholder generally will be subject to federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a unit if (i) it owned (directly or constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of all of our assets consisted of U.S. real property interests at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the units or the 5-year period ending on the date of disposition. More than 50% of our assets may consist of U.S. real property interests. Therefore, non-U.S. unitholders may be subject to federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.
Administrative Matters
Information Returns and Audit Procedures
We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholders share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.
The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of the units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior years tax liability, and may result in an audit of the unitholders own return. Any audit of a unitholders return could result in adjustments unrelated to our returns.
Publicly traded partnerships generally are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings of the partners. The Code requires that one partner be designated as the Tax Matters Partner for these purposes, and our partnership agreement designates our general partner.
The Tax Matters Partner can extend the statute of limitations for assessment of tax deficiencies against unitholders for items in our returns. The Tax Matters Partner may bind a unitholder with less than a 1% profits interest in us to a settlement with the IRS unless that unitholder elects, by filing a statement with the IRS, not to give that authority to the Tax Matters Partner. The Tax Matters Partner may seek judicial review, by which all the unitholders are bound, of a final partnership administrative adjustment and, if the Tax Matters Partner fails to seek judicial review, judicial review may be sought by any unitholder having at least a 1% interest in profits or by any group of unitholders having in the aggregate at least a 5% interest in profits. However, only one action for judicial review may go forward, and each unitholder with an interest in the outcome may participate in that action.
A unitholder must file a statement with the IRS identifying the treatment of any item on its federal income tax return that is not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return. Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency requirement may subject a unitholder to substantial penalties.
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Nominee Reporting
Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
(1) the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee;
(2) a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is:
(a) a non-U.S. person;
(b) a non-U.S. government, an international organization or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or
(c) a tax-exempt entity;
(3) the amount and description of units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and
(4) specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from sales.
Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty of $100 per failure, up to a maximum of $1.5 million per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.
Accuracy-Related Penalties
An additional tax equal to 20% of the amount of any portion 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, is imposed by the Code. 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.
State, Local and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to federal income taxes, unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future or in which the unitholder is a resident. We currently conduct business or own property only in Texas. Although Texas does not impose an income tax on nonresident partners of partnerships doing business in Texas, we may also own property or do business in other states in the future that impose income or similar taxes on nonresident persons owning an interest in us. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective unitholder should consider their potential impact on its investment in us. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent states and localities, of its investment in us. 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. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend on, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all tax returns that may be required of it.
Tax Consequences of Ownership of Debt Securities
A description of the material federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of debt securities will be set forth on the prospectus supplement relating to the offering of debt securities.
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The securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement may be sold in any of the following ways:
| directly to one or more purchasers; |
| through agents; |
| through underwriters, brokers or dealers; or |
| through a combination of any of these methods of sale. |
In addition, we or the selling unitholders may from time to time sell securities in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to other available exemptions from the registration requirements under the Securities Act, rather than pursuant to this prospectus. In such event, we and the selling unitholders, if applicable, may be required by the securities laws of certain states to offer and sell the common units only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
We will fix a price or prices of our securities at:
| market prices prevailing at the time of any sale under this registration statement; |
| prices related to market prices; or |
| negotiated prices. |
We may change the price of the securities offered from time to time.
The selling unitholders may act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each of its sales. The selling unitholders may make sales of the common units on the NYSE or otherwise at prices and under terms prevailing at the time of the sale, or at prices related to the then-current market price, at fixed prices, or in privately negotiated transactions.
Offers to purchase securities may be solicited directly by us and the sale thereof may be made by us directly to institutional investors or others. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell offered securities directly.
We, or agents designated by us, may directly solicit, from time to time, offers to purchase the securities. Any such agent may be deemed to be an underwriter as that term is defined in the Securities Act. We will name any agents involved in the offer or sale of the securities and describe any commissions payable by us to these agents in the prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, these agents will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of their appointment. The agents may be entitled under agreements which may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against specific civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The agents may also be our customers or may engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
If we or the selling unitholders utilize any underwriters in the sale of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we and, if applicable, the selling unitholders, will enter into an underwriting agreement with those underwriters at the time of sale to them. We will set forth the names of these underwriters and the terms of the transaction in the prospectus supplement, which will be used by the underwriters to make resales of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered to the public. We or the selling unitholders may indemnify the underwriters under the relevant underwriting agreement against specific liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The underwriters or their affiliates may be customers of, may engage in transactions with and may perform services for us or our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
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If we or the selling unitholders utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we or the selling unitholders, as applicable, will sell those securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale. We or the selling unitholders may indemnify the dealers against specific liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The dealers or their affiliates may also be our customers or may engage in transactions with, or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
We or the selling unitholders may offer the common units covered by this prospectus into an existing trading market on the terms described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. Underwriters, dealers, and agents who participate in any at-the-market offerings will be described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. To the extent that we make sales through one or more underwriters or agents in at-the-market offerings, we will do so pursuant to the terms of a sales agency financing agreement or other at-the-market offering arrangement between us and the underwriters or agents. If we engage in at-the-market sales pursuant to any such agreement, we will issue and sell our common units through one or more underwriters or agents, which may act on an agency basis or on a principal basis. During the term of any such agreement, we may sell our common units on a daily basis in exchange transactions or otherwise as we agree with the underwriters or agents. The agreement will provide that any common units sold will be sold at prices related to the then-prevailing market prices for our common units. Therefore, exact figures regarding proceeds that will be raised or commissions to be paid cannot be determined at this time. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we also may agree to sell, and the relevant underwriters or agents may agree to solicit offers to purchase, blocks of our common units. The terms of each such agreement will be set forth in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement.
A prospectus and accompanying prospectus supplement in electronic form may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriters. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of securities for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Such allocations of securities for internet distributions will be made on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, securities may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell securities to online brokerage account holders.
The aggregate maximum compensation the underwriters will receive in connection with the sale of any securities under this prospectus and the registration statement of which it forms a part will not exceed 10% of the gross proceeds from the sale. Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may be customers of, may engage in transactions with and may perform services for us or our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules.
To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. The place and time of delivery for the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
In connection with offerings of securities under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and in compliance with applicable law, underwriters, brokers or dealers may engage in transactions that stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market. Specifically, underwriters, brokers or dealers may over-allot in connection with offerings, creating a short position in the securities for their own accounts. For the purpose of covering a syndicate short position or stabilizing the price of the securities, the underwriters, brokers or dealers may place bids for the securities or effect purchases of the securities in the open market. Finally, the underwriters may impose a penalty whereby selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other brokers or dealers for distribution of the securities in offerings may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the syndicate repurchases previously distributed securities in transactions to cover short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. These activities may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the securities, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market, and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
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This prospectus covers the offering for resale from time to time, in one or more offerings, of up to 7,949,901 common units owned by the selling unitholders. These common units were obtained by the selling unitholders in connection with our initial public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-1 (SEC File No. 333-173199). As of November 30, 2012, OTB Holdco owns 4,368,869 of our common units and 8,992,059 of our subordinated units. As of November 30, 2012, OTA owns 3,581,032 of our common units and 10,457,842 of our subordinated units. Additionally, OTA also owns all of our incentive distribution rights and all of the membership interests in our general partner. The subordinated units held by OTA and OTB Holdco were obtained in connection with our initial public offering and may be converted into common units on a one-for-one basis upon termination of the subordination period under certain circumstances, as set forth in our partnership agreement.
The following table sets forth information relating to the selling unitholders as of November 30, 2012, 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, including by addition of additional selling unitholders, and if necessary, we will supplement this prospectus accordingly. The selling unitholders may hold or acquire at any time common units in addition to those offered by this prospectus and may have acquired additional common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us. In addition, the selling unitholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of 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 their common units in private placement transactions exempt from or not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Common Units Owned Prior to Offering(1) |
Common Units Being Offered(1) |
Common Units Owned After Offering | ||||||||||||||
Selling Unitholder |
Number of Units(2) |
Percentage(3) | ||||||||||||||
Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc.(4) |
3,581,032 | 3,581,032 | | | ||||||||||||
OTB Holdco, LLC(5) |
4,368,869 | 4,368,869 | | |
(1) | Does not include 10,457,842 subordinated units held by Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. and 8,992,059 subordinated units held by OTB Holdco, LLC, all of which are convertible into common units. |
(2) | Assumes the sale of all common units held by the selling unitholders offered by this prospectus. |
(3) | Based on 19,449,901 common units outstanding as of November 30, 2012. |
(4) | Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oiltanking GmbH, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG, which is controlled by a four-person supervisory board. The address for OTA is 15631 Jacintoport Blvd., Houston, TX 77015. |
(5) | OTB Holdco, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of OTA, and the units owned by OTB Holdco are therefore beneficially owned by OTA. The address for OTB Holdco is 15631 Jacintoport Blvd., Houston, TX 77015. |
Each time any of the selling unitholders sell any common units offered by this prospectus, they are required to provide you with this prospectus and the related prospectus supplement containing specific information about the selling unitholder and the terms of the common units being offered in the manner required by the Securities Act. The prospectus supplement will set forth the following information with respect to the selling unitholder:
| the name of the selling unitholder; |
| the nature of any position, office or other material relationship that the selling unitholder has had within the last three years with us or any of our affiliates; |
| the amount of common units to be offered for the selling unitholders account; and |
| the amount and (if one percent or more) the percentage of common units to be owned by the selling unitholder after the completion of the offering. |
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No offer or sale may occur unless the registration statement that includes this prospectus has been declared effective by the SEC and remains effective at the time the selling unitholders offer or sell common units. We are required, under certain circumstances, to update, supplement or amend this prospectus to reflect material developments in our business, financial position and results of operations and may do so by an amendment to this prospectus, a prospectus supplement or a future filing with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Certain legal matters in connection with the securities will be passed upon for us or the selling unitholders by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas. If certain legal matters in connection with an offering of the securities made by this prospectus and a related prospectus supplement are passed upon by counsel for the underwriters of such offering, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement related to that offering.
The financial statements of Oiltanking Partners, L.P. as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011 incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
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Oiltanking Partners, L.P.
2,600,000 Common Units
Representing Limited Partner Interests
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
, 2013
Joint Book-Running Managers
Citigroup
Barclays
Deutsche Bank Securities
J.P. Morgan
Wells Fargo Securities
RBC Capital Markets
Co-Managers
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
U.S. Capital Advisors