e424b3
Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-128101
PROSPECTUS
Holly Energy Partners, L.P.
Holly Energy Finance Corp.
$800,000,000
COMMON UNITS
DEBT SECURITIES
1,170,000 COMMON UNITS
Offered by the
Selling Unitholders
We may from time to time offer the following securities under
this prospectus:
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common units representing limited partner interests in Holly
Energy Partners, L.P.; and |
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debt securities of Holly Energy Partners L.P. |
Holly Energy Finance Corp. may act as co-issuer of the debt
securities and certain other subsidiaries of Holly Energy
Partners, L.P. may guarantee the debt securities.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the
securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities we will
provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific
information about the terms of that offering. The amount of any
securities offered and the price at which those securities are
offered will be determined at the time of each offering. Any
prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information
contained in this prospectus. You should read carefully this
prospectus and any prospectus supplement before you invest. You
should also read the documents we have referred you to in the
Where You Can Find More Information section of this
prospectus for information about us, including our financial
statements.
In addition, up to 1,170,000 common units may be offered from
time to time by the selling unitholders named herein. Specific
terms of certain offerings by such selling unitholders may be
specified in a prospectus supplement to this prospectus. We will
not receive proceeds of any sale of common units by any such
selling unitholders unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus
supplement. For a more detailed discussion of selling
unitholders, please read Selling Unitholders.
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the trading symbol HEP.
Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, any of
our senior debt securities, when and if issued, will be
unsecured and will rank equally with our other unsecured and
unsubordinated indebtedness, and any of our subordinated debt
securities, when and if issued, will be subordinated in right of
payment to our senior debt.
Limited partnerships are inherently different from
corporations. You should review carefully Risk
Factors beginning on page 4 for a discussion of
important risks you should consider before investing in our
securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state
securities commission has approved or disapproved of these
securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this
prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of
securities by the Registrants unless accompanied by a prospectus
supplement.
The date of this prospectus is October 31, 2005.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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You should rely only on the information contained or
incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus
supplement. We have not authorized any other person to provide
you with different information. If anyone provides you with
different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on
it. You should not assume that the information incorporated by
reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus
supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the
front of each document.
Our, we, us and Holly
Energy Partners as used in this prospectus refer to Holly
Energy Partners, L.P. or to Holly Energy Partners, L.P. and
certain of its subsidiaries collectively, including its
subsidiary Holly Energy Finance Corp., as the context requires.
i
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
Commission) using a shelf registration
process. Under this shelf process, we may offer from time to
time up to $800,000,000 of our securities and the selling
unitholders may offer from time to time up to 1,170,000 of our
common units. Each time we offer securities, we will provide you
with a prospectus supplement that will describe, among other
things, the specific amounts and prices of the securities being
offered and the terms of the offering. The selling unitholders
may offer common units pursuant to this prospectus or may
provide you with a prospectus supplement that will describe,
among other things, the specific amounts and prices of the
common units being offered and the terms of the offering. Any
prospectus supplement may add, update or change information
contained in this prospectus. Any statement that we make in this
prospectus will be modified or superseded by any inconsistent
statement made by us in any prospectus supplement. Therefore,
you should read this prospectus and any attached prospectus
supplement before you invest in our securities.
1
WHO WE ARE
Holly Energy Partners, L.P. is a Delaware limited partnership
engaged principally in the business of operating a system of
refined product pipelines and distribution terminals primarily
in West Texas, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. We generate
revenues by charging tariffs for transporting intermediate and
refined products through our pipelines and by charging fees for
terminalling refined products and other hydrocarbons in, and
storing and providing other services at, our terminals. We do
not take ownership of products that we transport or terminal and
therefore we are not directly exposed to changes in commodity
prices. We serve Holly Corporations refineries in New
Mexico and Utah under two pipelines and/or terminals agreements
expiring in July 2019 and July 2020 and Alon USA, Inc.s
(Alon) Big Spring Refinery under a separate
pipelines and terminals agreement expiring in February 2020. We
are dedicated to generating stable cash flows and growing our
business. Our assets include:
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Refined Product Pipelines: |
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approximately 949 miles of refined product pipelines,
including 340 miles of leased pipelines, that transport
gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Holly Corporations
Navajo Refinery in New Mexico and Alons Big Spring
Refinery in Texas to their customers in the metropolitan and
rural areas of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado,
Utah and northern Mexico; and |
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a 70% interest in Rio Grande Pipeline Company, a joint venture
that owns a 249-mile refined product pipeline, that transports
liquid petroleum gases, or LPGs, from West Texas to the Texas/
Mexico border near El Paso for further transport into
northern Mexico by shippers other than Holly Corporation. |
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Intermediate Pipelines: |
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two 65-mile parallel pipelines that originate in Lovington, New
Mexico and terminate at Holly Corporations Artesia
refining facility, with an aggregate throughput capacity of
84,000 barrels per day (bpd), which we acquired from Holly
Corporation in July 2005. |
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Refined Product Terminals: |
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seven refined product terminals (one of which is 50% owned),
located in El Paso, Abilene and Wichita Falls, Texas,
Moriarty, Bloomfield and Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tucson,
Arizona, with an aggregate capacity of approximately
2.3 million barrels, that are integrated with our refined
product pipeline system; |
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three refined product terminals (two of which are 50% owned),
located in Burley and Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington,
with an aggregate capacity of approximately
514,000 barrels, that serve third-party common carrier
pipelines; |
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one refined product terminal near Mountain Home, Idaho, with a
capacity of 120,000 barrels, that serves a nearby United
States Air Force Base; and |
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two refined product truck loading racks, one located within
Holly Corporations Navajo Refinery, that is permitted to
load over 40,000 bpd of light refined products, and one
located within Holly Corporations Woods Cross Refinery
near Salt Lake City, Utah, that is permitted to load over
25,000 bpd of light refined products. |
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one tank farm in Orla, Texas, with a storage capacity of
135,000 barrels. |
Holly Energy Finance Corp. (Holly Energy Finance) is
a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Holly
Energy Partners organized for the sole purpose of co-issuing
certain of our debt securities. Holly Energy Finance does not
have any operations of any kind and does not generate any
revenue other than as may be incidental to its activities as a
co-issuer of any of our debt securities.
Our principal executive offices are located at 100 Crescent
Court, Suite 1600, Dallas, Texas 75201, and our telephone
number is (214) 871-3555.
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THE SUBSIDIARY GUARANTORS
Throughout this prospectus, we refer to each of the following
subsidiaries of Holly Energy Partners as the Subsidiary
Guarantors: HEP Logistics GP, L.L.C., Holly Energy
Partners Operating, L.P., HEP Pipeline GP, L.L.C.,
HEP Refining GP, L.L.C., HEP Mountain Home, L.L.C., HEP
Pipeline, L.L.C., HEP Refining, L.L.C., HEP Woods Cross, L.L.C.,
HEP Navajo Southern, L.P., HEP Pipeline Assets, Limited
Partnership, HEP Refining Assets, L.P. and HEP FinTex/
Trust River, L.P. Each of the Subsidiary Guarantors
may jointly and severally and unconditionally guarantee our
payment obligations under any series of debt securities offered
by this prospectus and any prospectus supplement.
3
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves risks. You should
consider carefully the following risk factors, together with all
of the other information included in, or incorporated by
reference into, this prospectus and any prospectus supplement in
evaluating an investment in our securities. This prospectus also
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Please read Forward-Looking
Statements. Our actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a
result of certain factors, including the risks described below
and the other information included in, or incorporated by
reference into, this prospectus. If any of these risks occur,
our business, financial condition or results of operations could
be adversely affected. When we offer and sell any securities
pursuant to a prospectus supplement, we may include additional
risk factors relevant to such securities in the prospectus
supplement.
Risks Inherent in Our Business
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We depend upon Holly Corporation and particularly its
Navajo Refinery for a majority of our revenues and upon Alon and
its Big Spring Refinery for a substantial portion of our other
revenues, and if revenues from either of these customers were
materially-reduced, there would be a material adverse effect on
our results of operations. |
For the six months ended June 30, 2005, Holly Corporation
accounted for approximately 49.5% of the revenues of our refined
products pipelines and approximately 70.5% of the revenues of
our terminals and truck loading racks. For the six months ended
June 30, 2005, which includes four months for which our
pipelines and terminals agreement with Alon was in effect, Alon
accounted for approximately 34.4% of the revenues of our refined
products pipelines and approximately 9.4% of the revenues of our
terminals and truck loading racks. We expect to continue to
derive a substantial majority of our revenues from Holly
Corporation and Alon for the foreseeable future. If either Holly
Corporation or Alon satisfy only their minimum obligations under
our respective pipelines and/or terminals agreements with them
or are unable to meet their minimum revenue commitment or
minimum volume commitment for any reason, including due to
prolonged downtime or a shutdown at the Navajo Refinery, the
Woods Cross Refinery or the Big Spring Refinery, our revenues
would decline.
Any significant curtailing of production at either the Navajo
Refinery or the Big Spring Refinery could, by reducing
throughput in our pipelines, result in our realizing materially
lower levels of revenues and cash flow for the duration of the
shutdown. Operations at the Navajo Refinery or the Big Spring
Refinery could be partially or completely shut down, temporarily
or permanently, as the result of:
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competition from other refineries and pipelines that may be able
to supply the end-user markets of either Holly Corporation or
Alon on a more cost-effective basis; |
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operational problems such as catastrophic events at the
refinery, labor difficulties or environmental proceedings or
other litigation that compel the cessation of all or a portion
of the operations at the refinery; |
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increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations, such
as the Environmental Protection Agencys gasoline and
diesel sulfur control requirements that limit the concentration
of sulfur in motor gasoline and diesel fuel for both on-road and
non-road usage as well as various state and federal emission
requirements that may affect the refinery itself; |
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an inability to obtain crude oil for the refinery at competitive
prices; or |
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a general reduction in demand for refined products in the area
due to: |
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a local or national recession or other adverse economic
condition that results in lower spending by businesses and
consumers on gasoline and diesel fuel; |
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higher gasoline prices due to higher crude oil prices, higher
taxes or stricter environmental laws or regulations; or |
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a shift by consumers to more fuel-efficient or alternative fuel
vehicles or an increase in fuel economy, whether as a result of
technological advances by manufacturers, legislation either
mandating or encouraging higher fuel economy or the use of
alternative fuel or otherwise. |
The magnitude of the effect on us of any shutdown will depend on
the length of the shutdown and the extent of the refinery
operations affected by the shutdown. We have no control over the
factors that may lead to a shutdown or the measures either Holly
Corporation or Alon may take in response to a shutdown. Holly
Corporation and Alon make all decisions at the Navajo Refinery
and the Big Spring Refinery, respectively, concerning levels of
production, regulatory compliance, planned shutdowns of
individual process units within the refinery to perform major
maintenance activities, also referred to as refinery
turnarounds, labor relations, environmental remediation
and capital expenditures, and are responsible for all related
costs, and are under no contractual obligation to us to maintain
operations at these refineries.
Holly Corporations obligations under our pipelines and
or/terminals agreements with it would be temporarily suspended
during the occurrence of a force majeure event that renders
performance impossible with respect to an asset for at least
30 days. If such an event were to continue for a year, we
or Holly Corporation could terminate the applicable pipelines
and/or terminals agreement. Our pipelines and terminals
agreement with Alon provides that if we are unable to transport
our terminal refined products that Alon is prepared to ship,
then Alon has the right to reduce its minimum volume commitment
to us during the period of interruption. If a force majeure
event occurs beyond the control of either of us, we or Alon
could terminate the Alon pipelines and terminals agreement after
the expiration of certain time periods. The occurrence of any of
these events could reduce our revenues and cash flows and our
ability to make distributions on our common units or to meet our
debt service requirements.
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We are exposed to the credit risks of our key
customers. |
We are subject to risks of loss resulting from nonpayment or
nonperformance by our customers. In addition to revenues that we
receive from Holly Corporation and Alon, a subsidiary of BP is
the only shipper on the Rio Grande Pipeline, a joint venture in
which we own a 70% interest and from which we derived
approximately 12.8% of our revenues for the six months ended
June 30, 2005.
If any of our key customers default on their obligations to us,
our financial results could be adversely affected. Furthermore,
some of our customers may be highly leveraged and subject to
their own operating and regulatory risks. Any loss of our key
customers, including Holly Corporation, Alon or the BP
subsidiary, could reduce our ability to make distributions on
our common units or to meet our debt service requirements.
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We may be unable to make future acquisitions on attractive
terms and potential future acquisitions, if any, may affect our
business by substantially increasing the level of our
indebtedness and contingent liabilities and increasing our risks
of being unable to effectively integrate these new
operations. |
We expect to continue to evaluate and, where appropriate, pursue
acquisitions of assets and businesses that we believe complement
our existing assets and businesses. We cannot assure you that we
will be able to identify suitable acquisitions in the future, or
that we will be able to purchase or finance any acquisitions on
terms that we find acceptable. Additionally, we compete against
other companies for acquisitions, and we cannot assure you that
we will be successful in the acquisition of any assets or
businesses appropriate for our growth strategy.
Acquisitions may require substantial capital or the incurrence
of substantial indebtedness. If we consummate any future
acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may
change significantly, and you will not have the opportunity to
evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information
that we will consider in determining the application of our
funds and other resources.
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Any acquisition involves potential risks, including, among other
things:
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mistaken assumptions about revenues and costs, including
synergies; |
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the assumption of unknown liabilities or known liabilities for
which we underestimate the risk; |
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the potentially substantial transaction costs associated with
completed acquisitions or pursuing acquisitions that are not
completed; |
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limitations on rights to indemnity from the seller; |
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the diversion of managements attention from other business
concerns; |
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unforeseen difficulties operating in new product areas or new
geographic areas; and |
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customer or key employee losses at the acquired businesses. |
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Competition from other pipelines, including the Longhorn
Pipeline, that may be able to supply our shippers
customers with refined products at a lower price could cause us
to reduce our rates or could reduce our revenues. |
We and our shippers face competition from other pipelines that
may be able to supply our shippers end-user markets with
refined products on a more competitive basis. One particular
pipeline, the Longhorn Pipeline, could provide significant
competition. The Longhorn Pipeline is a common carrier pipeline
that is capable of delivering refined products utilizing a
direct route from the Texas Gulf Coast to El Paso and,
through interconnections with third-party common carrier
pipelines, into the Arizona market. If the Longhorn Pipeline
operates as currently proposed, it could result in significant
downward pressure on wholesale refined product prices and
refined product margins in El Paso and related markets.
Additionally, the increased supply of refined products from Gulf
Coast refiners entering the El Paso and Arizona markets on
this pipeline and the likely increase in the demand for shipping
product on the interconnecting common carrier pipelines, which
are currently capacity constrained, could cause a decline in the
demand for refined product from Holly Corporation or Alon. For
Holly Corporation, this could ultimately result in a reduction
in Holly Corporations minimum revenue commitment to us,
and while our pipelines and terminals agreement with Alon does
not provide for a reduction in its minimum volume commitment
obligation in these circumstances, it could reduce our
opportunity to earn revenue from Alon in excess of Alons
minimum volume commitment and our ability to make distributions
on our common units or to meet our debt service requirements.
An additional factor that could affect some of Holly
Corporations and Alons markets is excess pipeline
capacity from the West Coast into our shippers Arizona
markets on the pipeline from the West Coast to Phoenix. If
refined products become available on the West Coast in excess of
demand in that market, additional products could be shipped into
our shippers Arizona markets with resulting possible
downward pressure on refined products prices in these markets.
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A material decrease in the supply, or a material increase
in the price, of crude oil available to Holly Corporations
and Alons refineries, could materially reduce our
revenues. |
The volume of refined products we transport in our refined
product pipelines depends on the level of production of refined
products from Holly Corporations and Alons
refineries, which, in turn, depends on the availability of
attractively-priced crude oil produced in the areas accessible
to those refineries. In order to maintain or increase production
levels at their refineries, our shippers must continually
contract for new crude oil supplies. A material decrease in
crude oil production from the fields that supply their
refineries, as a result of depressed commodity prices, lack of
drilling activity, natural production declines or otherwise,
could result in a decline in the volume of crude oil our
shippers refine. Such an event would result in an overall
decline in volumes of refined products transported through our
pipelines and therefore a corresponding reduction in our cash
flow. In addition, the future growth of our shippers
operations will depend in part upon whether they can contract
for additional supplies of crude oil at a greater rate than the
rate of natural decline in their currently connected supplies.
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Fluctuations in crude oil prices can greatly affect production
rates and investments by third parties in the development of new
oil reserves. Drilling activity generally decreases as crude oil
prices decrease. We and our shippers have no control over the
level of drilling activity in the areas of operations, the
amount of reserves underlying the wells and the rate at which
production from a well will decline or producers or their
production decisions, which are affected by, among other things,
prevailing and projected energy prices, demand for hydrocarbons,
geological considerations, governmental regulation and the
availability and cost of capital. Similarly, if there were a
material increase in the price of crude oil supplied to our
shippers refineries without an increase in the value of
the products produced by the refineries, either temporary or
permanent, which caused a reduction in the production of refined
products at the refineries, this would cause a reduction in the
volumes of refined products we transport and our cash flow and
could materially reduce our revenues and our ability to make
distributions on our common units and to meet our debt service
requirements.
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We may not be able to retain existing customers or acquire
new customers. |
The renewal or replacement of existing contracts with our
customers at rates sufficient to maintain current revenues and
cash flows depends on a number of factors outside our control,
including competition from other pipelines and the demand for
refined products in the markets that we serve. Alons
obligations to lease capacity on the Artesia-Orla-El Paso
pipeline have remaining terms ranging from three to six years.
BPs agreement to ship on the Rio Grande Pipeline expires
in 2007. If we are unable to renew or replace our current
contracts as they expire, our ability to make distributions on
our common units and to meet our debt service requirements could
be adversely affected.
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Our operations are subject to federal, state and local
laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and
operational safety that could require us to make substantial
expenditures. |
Our pipelines and terminal operations are subject to
increasingly strict environmental and safety laws and
regulations. The transportation and storage of refined products
produces a risk that refined products and other hydrocarbons may
be suddenly or gradually released into the environment,
potentially causing substantial expenditures for a response
action, significant government penalties, liability to
government agencies for natural resources damages, personal
injury or property damages to private parties and significant
business interruption. We own or lease a number of properties
that have been used to store or distribute refined products for
many years. Many of these properties, such as recently acquired
assets from Holly Corporation and Alon, have also been operated
by third parties whose handling, disposal, or release of
hydrocarbons and other wastes were not under our control. If we
were to incur a significant liability pursuant to environmental
laws or regulations, it could have a material adverse effect on
our financial position and our ability to make distributions on
our common units and to meet our debt service requirements.
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Our operations are subject to operational hazards and
unforeseen interruptions for which we may not be adequately
insured. |
Our operations are subject to operational hazards and unforeseen
interruptions such as natural disasters, adverse weather,
accidents, fires, explosions, hazardous materials releases,
mechanical failures and other events beyond our control. These
events might result in a loss of equipment or life, injury or
extensive property damage, as well as an interruption in our
operations. We may not be able to maintain or obtain insurance
of the type and amount we desire at reasonable rates. As a
result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for
certain of our insurance policies have increased substantially,
and could escalate further. In some instances, certain insurance
could become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts
of coverage. For example, our insurance carriers require broad
exclusions for losses due to terrorist acts. If we were to incur
a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it
could have a material adverse effect on our financial position
and our ability to make distributions on our common units and to
meet our debt service requirements.
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Any reduction in the capacity of, or the allocations to,
our shippers in interconnecting, third-party pipelines could
cause a reduction of volumes transported in our pipelines and
through our terminals. |
Holly Corporation, Alon and the other users of our pipelines and
terminals are dependent upon connections to third-party
pipelines to receive and deliver crude oil and refined products.
Any reduction of capacities of these interconnecting pipelines
due to testing, line repair, reduced operating pressures, or
other causes could result in reduced volumes transported in our
pipelines or through our terminals. Similarly, if additional
shippers begin transporting volumes of refined products over
interconnecting pipelines, the allocations to existing shippers
in these pipelines would be reduced, which could also reduce
volumes transported in our pipelines or through our terminals.
For example, the common carrier pipelines used by Holly
Corporation to serve the Arizona and Albuquerque markets are
currently operated at or near capacity and are subject to
proration. As a result, the volumes of refined product Holly
Corporation and other shippers have been able to deliver to
these markets have been limited. The flow of additional products
into El Paso for shipment to Arizona, either as a result of
the operation of the Longhorn Pipeline or otherwise, could
further exacerbate such constraints on deliveries to Arizona.
Any reduction in volumes transported in our pipelines or through
our terminals would adversely affect our revenues and our
ability to make distributions on our common units and to meet
our debt service requirements.
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If our assumptions concerning population growth are
inaccurate or if Holly Corporations growth strategy is not
successful, our ability to grow may be adversely
affected. |
Our growth strategy is dependent upon:
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the accuracy of our assumption that many of the markets that we
serve in the Southwestern and Rocky Mountain regions of the
United States will experience population growth that is higher
than the national average; and |
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the willingness and ability of Holly Corporation to capture a
share of this additional demand in its existing markets and to
identify and penetrate new markets in the Southwestern and Rocky
Mountain regions of the United States. |
If our assumptions about growth in market demand prove
incorrect, Holly Corporation may not have any incentive to
increase refinery capacity and production or shift additional
throughput to our pipelines, which would adversely affect our
growth strategy. Furthermore, Holly Corporation is under no
obligation to pursue a growth strategy. If Holly Corporation
chooses not to, or is unable to, gain additional customers in
new or existing markets in the Southwestern and Rocky Mountain
regions of the United States, our growth strategy would be
adversely affected. Moreover, Holly Corporation may not make
acquisitions that would provide acquisition opportunities to us,
or if those opportunities arose, they may not be on terms
attractive to us. Finally, Holly Corporation also will be
subject to integration risks with respect to any new
acquisitions it chooses to make.
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Growing our business by constructing new pipelines and
terminals, or expanding existing ones, subjects us to
construction risks. |
One of the ways we may grow our business is through the
construction of new pipelines and terminals or the expansion of
existing ones. The construction of a new pipeline or the
expansion of an existing pipeline, by adding horsepower or pump
stations or by adding a second pipeline along an existing
pipeline, involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political
and legal uncertainties, most of which are beyond our control.
These projects may not be completed on schedule or at all or at
the budgeted cost. In addition, our revenues may not increase
immediately upon the expenditure of funds on a particular
project. For instance, if we build a new pipeline, the
construction will occur over an extended period of time and we
will not receive any material increases in revenues until after
completion of the project. Moreover, we may construct facilities
to capture anticipated future growth in demand for refined
products in a region in which such growth does not materialize.
As a result, new facilities may not be able to attract enough
throughput to achieve our expected investment return, which
could adversely affect our results of
8
operations and financial condition and could affect our ability
to make distributions on our common units and to meet our debt
service requirements.
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Rate regulation may not allow us to recover the full
amount of increases in our costs. |
The primary rate-making methodology of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is price indexing. We use this
methodology in all of our interstate markets. The indexing
method allows a pipeline to increase its rates by a percentage
equal to the change in the producer price index for finished
goods. If the index falls, we will be required to reduce our
rates that are based on the FERCs price indexing
methodology if they exceed the new maximum allowable rate. In
addition, changes in the index might not be large enough to
fully reflect actual increases in our costs. The FERCs
rate-making methodologies may limit our ability to set rates
based on our true costs or may delay the use of rates that
reflect increased costs. Any of the foregoing would adversely
affect our revenues and cash flow and could affect our ability
to make distributions on our common units and to meet our debt
service requirements.
If our interstate or intrastate tariff rates are successfully
challenged, we could be required to reduce our tariff rates,
which would reduce our revenues.
Under the Energy Policy Act adopted in 1992, our interstate
pipeline rates were deemed just and reasonable or
grandfathered. As that Act applies to our rates, a
person challenging a grandfathered rate must, as a threshold
matter, establish that a substantial change has occurred since
the date of enactment of the Act, in either the economic
circumstances or the nature of the service that formed the basis
for the rate. If the FERC were to find a substantial change in
circumstances, then our existing rates could be subject to
detailed review. If our rates were found to be in excess of
levels justified by our cost of service the FERC could order us
to reduce our rates. In addition, a state commission could also
investigate our intrastate rates or our terms and conditions of
service on its own initiative or at the urging of a shipper or
other interested party. If a state commission found that our
rates exceeded levels justified by our cost of service, the
state commission could order us to reduce our rates. Any such
reductions would result in lower revenues and cash flows.
Holly Corporation and Alon have agreed not to challenge, or to
cause others to challenge or assist others in challenging, our
tariff rates in effect during the terms of their respective
pipelines and terminals agreements. These agreements do not
prevent other current or future shippers from challenging our
tariff rates. If any party successfully challenges our tariff
rates, it could have an adverse effect on us.
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Potential changes to current petroleum pipeline
rate-making methods and procedures may impact the federal and
state regulations under which we will operate in the
future. |
If the FERCs petroleum pipeline rate-making methodology
changes, the new methodology could result in tariffs that
generate lower revenues and cash flow and could adversely our
ability to make distributions on our common units and to meet
our debt service requirements.
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Our pipeline operations are subject to FERC rate-making
principles that could have an adverse impact on our ability to
recover the full cost of operating our pipeline facilities and
our ability to make distributions to unitholders. |
In a decision last year involving an oil pipeline limited
partnership, BP West Coast Products, LLC v. FERC,
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit vacated FERCs Lakehead policy. Under that
policy, the FERC allowed an oil pipeline limited partnership to
include in its cost of service an income tax allowance only to
the extent that its unitholders were corporations subject to
income tax. In May 2005, the FERC issued a statement of general
policy regarding income tax allowances, stating that a pipeline
organized as a tax pass-through entity may include in its cost
of service-based rates an income tax allowance to reflect actual
or potential tax liability on its public utility income
attributable to all entities or individuals owning public
utility assets, if the pipeline proves that the ultimate owner
of the interest has an actual or potential income tax liability
on such income. The FERC also stated that whether a
pipelines owners have such actual or potential income tax
liability will be reviewed by the
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FERC on a case-by-case basis. In June 2005, the FERC issued an
order on remand of BP West Coast, which, in part, applied
its new policy on income tax allowance. Although the new policy
affords pipelines that are organized as pass-through entities an
opportunity to recover a tax allowance, the FERC has not
indicated what evidence is required to establish such actual or
legal income tax liability for all owners. In August 2005, the
FERC dismissed requests for rehearing of its new tax allowance
policy. In addition, multiple petitions for review of the
FERCs application of its new tax allowance policy on
remand of the BP West Coast decision have been filed at
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. Further, application of the FERCs policy
statement in individual cases may be subject to further FERC
action or review in the appropriate Court of Appeals. Therefore,
the ultimate outcome of these proceedings is not certain and
could result in changes to the FERCs treatment of income
tax allowances in cost of service. If we were to file for a cost
of service-based rate increase above the applicable indexing
level for a given year, we would be permitted to include an
income tax allowance in such rates only to the extent we could
show, pursuant to the new policys standard, that the
ultimate owners of our units have actual or potential income tax
liability on our income. If the FERC were to disallow a
substantial portion of our income tax allowance, it is likely
that the maximum rates that could be charged could decrease from
current levels.
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Terrorist attacks, and the threat of terrorist attacks,
have resulted in increased costs to our business. Continued
hostilities in the Middle East or other sustained military
campaigns may adversely impact our results of operations. |
The long-term impact of terrorist attacks, such as the attacks
that occurred on September 11, 2001, and the threat of
future terrorist attacks, on the energy transportation industry
in general, and on us in particular, is not known at this time.
Increased security measures taken by us as a precaution against
possible terrorist attacks have resulted in increased costs to
our business. Uncertainty surrounding continued hostilities in
the Middle East or other sustained military campaigns may affect
our operations in unpredictable ways, including disruptions of
crude oil supplies and markets for refined products, and the
possibility that infrastructure facilities could be direct
targets of, or indirect casualties of, an act of terror.
Changes in the insurance markets attributable to terrorist
attacks may make certain types of insurance more difficult for
us to obtain. Moreover, the insurance that may be available to
us may be significantly more expensive than our existing
insurance coverage. Instability in the financial markets as a
result of terrorism or war could also affect our ability to
raise capital.
Risks Inherent in an Investment in Us
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Holly Corporation and its affiliates have conflicts of
interest and limited fiduciary duties, which may permit them to
favor their own interests. |
Currently, Holly Corporation indirectly owns the 2% general
partner interest and a 43% limited partner interest in us and
owns and controls our general partner, HEP Logistics Holdings,
L.P. Conflicts of interest may arise between Holly Corporation
and its affiliates, including our general partner, on the one
hand, and us, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts,
the general partner may favor its own interests and the
interests of its affiliates over our interests. These conflicts
include, among others, the following situations:
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Holly Corporation, as a shipper on our pipelines, has an
economic incentive not to cause us to seek higher tariff rates
or terminalling fees, even if such higher rates or terminalling
fees would reflect rates that could be obtained in
arms-length, third-party transactions; |
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neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement
requires Holly Corporation to pursue a business strategy that
favors us or utilizes our assets, including whether to increase
or decrease refinery production, whether to shut down or
reconfigure a refinery, or what markets to pursue or grow. Holly
Corporations directors and officers have a fiduciary duty
to make these decisions in the best interests of the
stockholders of Holly Corporation; |
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our general partner is allowed to take into account the
interests of parties other than us, such as Holly Corporation,
in resolving conflicts of interest; |
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our general partner determines which costs incurred by Holly
Corporation and its affiliates are reimbursable by us; |
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our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner
from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services
rendered to us or entering into additional contractual
arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf; |
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our general partner determines the amount and timing of our
asset purchases and sales, capital expenditures and borrowings,
each of which can affect the amount of cash available to
us; and |
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our general partner controls the enforcement of obligations owed
to us by our general partner and its affiliates, including the
pipelines and terminals agreement with Holly Corporation. |
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Cost reimbursements, which will be determined by our
general partner, and fees due our general partner and its
affiliates for services provided, are substantial. |
For three years commencing on July 13, 2004, the closing
date of our initial public offering, we are obligated to pay
Holly Corporation an administrative fee of $2.0 million per
year for the provision by Holly Corporation or its affiliates of
various general and administrative services for our benefit. The
administrative fee may increase on the second and third
anniversaries of the closing date of our initial public offering
by the greater of 5% or the percentage increase in the consumer
price index and may also increase if we make an acquisition that
requires an increase in the level of general and administrative
services that we receive from Holly Corporation or its
affiliates. In addition, our general partner and its affiliates
are entitled to reimbursement for all other expenses they incur
on our behalf, including the salaries of and the cost of
employee benefits for employees of Holly Logistic Services,
L.L.C. who provide services to us. Prior to making any
distribution on the common units, we will reimburse our general
partner and its affiliates, including officers and directors of
the general partner, for all expenses incurred on our behalf.
The reimbursement of expenses and the payment of fees could
adversely affect our ability to make distributions. The general
partner has sole discretion to determine the amount of these
expenses. Our general partner and its affiliates also may
provide us other services for which we are charged fees as
determined by our general partner.
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Our partnership agreement limits our general
partners fiduciary duties to our unitholders and restricts
the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our
general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of
fiduciary duty. |
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce the
standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held
by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership
agreement:
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permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its
individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our
general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider
only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no
duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of,
or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner; |
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provides that our general partner is entitled to make other
decisions in good faith if it reasonably believes
that the decision is in our best interests; |
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generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions
of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee
of the board of directors of our general partners general
partner and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms
no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to
or available from unrelated third parties or be fair and
reasonable to us and that, in determining whether a
transaction or resolution is fair and reasonable,
our general partner may consider the totality of the
relationships between the parties involved, including other
transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial
to us; and |
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provides that our general partner, its general partner and its
officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages
to us, our limited partners or assignees for any acts or
omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable
judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction
determining that the general partner or those other persons
acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct or
gross negligence. |
In order to become a limited partner of our partnership, a
unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in
the partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed
above.
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Even if unitholders are dissatisfied, they cannot remove
our general partner without its consent. |
Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, unitholders
have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our
business and, therefore, limited ability to influence
managements decisions regarding our business. Unitholders
did not elect our general partner or the board of directors of
our general partners general partner and have no right to
elect our general partner or the board of directors of our
general partners general partner on an annual or other
continuing basis. The board of directors of our general
partners general partner is chosen by the members of our
general partners general partner. Furthermore, if
unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our general
partner, they will have little ability to remove our general
partner. As a result of these limitations, the price at which
the common units trade could be diminished because of the
absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.
The vote of the holders of at least
662/3%
of all outstanding units voting together as a single class is
required to remove the general partner. Unitholders will be
unable to remove the general partner without its consent because
the general partner and its affiliates own sufficient units to
prevent its removal. Also, if the general partner is removed
without cause during the subordination period and units held by
the general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of
that removal, all remaining subordinated units will
automatically convert into common units and any existing
arrearages on the common units will be extinguished. A removal
of the general partner under these circumstances would adversely
affect the common units by prematurely eliminating their
distribution and liquidation preference over the subordinated
units, which would otherwise have continued until we had met
certain distribution and performance tests. Cause is narrowly
defined to mean that a court of competent jurisdiction has
entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding the general
partner liable for actual fraud, gross negligence, or willful or
wanton misconduct in its capacity as our general partner. Cause
does not include most cases of charges of poor management of the
business, so the removal of the general partner because of the
unitholders dissatisfaction with the general
partners performance in managing our partnership will most
likely result in the termination of the subordination period.
Furthermore, unitholders voting rights are further
restricted by the partnership agreement provision providing that
any units held by a person that owns 20% or more of any class of
units then outstanding, other than the general partner, its
affiliates, their transferees, and persons who acquired such
units with the prior approval of the board of directors of the
general partners general partner, cannot vote on any
matter. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions
limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings or to
acquire information about our operations, as well as other
provisions limiting the unitholders ability to influence
the manner or direction of management.
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The control of our general partner may be transferred to a
third party without unitholder consent. |
Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest to
a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially
all of its assets without the consent of the unitholders.
Furthermore, our partnership agreement does not restrict the
ability of the partners of our general partner from transferring
their respective partnership interests in our general partner to
a third party. The new partners of our general partner would
then be in a position to replace the board of directors and
officers of the general partner of our general partner with
their own choices and to control the decisions taken by the
board of directors and officers.
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We may issue additional common units without your
approval, which would dilute your ownership interests. |
During the subordination period, our general partner, without
the approval of our unitholders, may cause us to issue up to
3,500,000 additional common units. Our general partner may also
cause us to issue an unlimited number of additional common units
or other equity securities of equal rank with the common units,
without unitholder approval, in a number of circumstances such
as:
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the issuance of common units in connection with acquisitions or
capital improvements that increase cash flow from operations per
unit on an estimated pro forma basis; |
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issuances of common units to repay indebtedness, the cost of
which to service is greater than the distribution obligations
associated with the units issued in connection with the
repayment of the indebtedness; |
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the conversion of subordinated units into common units; |
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the conversion of units of equal rank with the common units into
common units under some circumstances; |
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in the event of a combination or subdivision of common units; |
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issuances of common units under our employee benefit
plans; or |
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the conversion of the general partner interest and the incentive
distribution rights into common units as a result of the
withdrawal or removal of our general partner. |
The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity
securities of equal or senior rank will have the following
effects:
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our unitholders proportionate ownership interest in us
will decrease; |
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the amount of cash available for distribution on each unit may
decrease; |
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because a lower percentage of total outstanding units will be
subordinated units, the risk that a shortfall in the payment of
the minimum quarterly distribution will be borne by our common
unitholders will increase; |
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the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding unit
may be diminished; and |
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the market price of the common units may decline. |
After the end of the subordination period, we may issue an
unlimited number of limited partner interests of any type
without the approval of our unitholders. Our partnership
agreement does not give our unitholders the right to approve our
issuance of equity securities ranking junior to the common units
at any time.
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In establishing cash reserves, our general partner may
reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to
you. |
Our partnership agreement requires our general partner to deduct
from operating surplus cash reserves that it establishes are
necessary to fund our future operating expenditures. In
addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner
to reduce available cash by establishing cash reserves for the
proper conduct of our business, to comply with applicable law or
agreements to which we are a party, or to provide funds for
future distributions to partners. These cash reserves will
affect the amount of cash available to make the required
payments to our debt holders or to pay the minimum quarterly
distribution on our common units every quarter.
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Holly Corporation and its affiliates may engage in limited
competition with us. |
Holly Corporation and its affiliates may engage in limited
competition with us. Pursuant to the omnibus agreement among us,
Holly Corporation and our general partner, Holly Corporation and
its affiliates agreed not to engage in the business of operating
intermediate or refined product pipelines or terminals, crude
oil pipelines or terminals, truck racks or crude oil gathering
systems in the continental United States. The omnibus agreement,
however, does not apply to:
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any business operated by Holly Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries at the closing of our initial public offering; |
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any crude oil pipeline or gathering system acquired or
constructed by Holly Corporation or any of its subsidiaries that
is physically interconnected to Holly Corporations
refining facilities; |
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any business or asset that Holly Corporation or any of it
subsidiaries acquires or constructs that has a fair market value
or construction cost of less than $5.0 million; and |
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any business or asset that Holly Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries acquires or constructs that has a fair market value
or construction cost of $5.0 million or more if we have
been offered the opportunity to purchase the business or asset
at fair market value, and we decline to do so with the
concurrence of our conflicts committee. |
In the event that Holly Corporation or its affiliates no longer
control our partnership or there is a change of control of Holly
Corporation, the non-competition provisions of the omnibus
agreement will terminate.
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Our general partner may cause us to borrow funds in order
to make cash distributions, even where the purpose or effect of
the borrowing benefits our general partner or its
affiliates. |
In some instances, our general partner may cause us to borrow
funds from affiliates of Holly Corporation or from third parties
in order to permit the payment of cash distributions.
These borrowings are permitted even if the purpose and effect of
the borrowing is to enable us to make a distribution on the
subordinated units, to make incentive distributions, or to
hasten the expiration of the subordination period.
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Our general partner has a limited call right that may
require a holder of units to sell its common units at an
undesirable time or price. |
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more
than 80% of the common units, our general partner will have the
right, but not the obligation, which it may assign to any of its
affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of
the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price not
less than their then-current market price. As a result, a holder
of common units may be required to sell its units at an
undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on its
investment. A common unitholder may also incur a tax liability
upon a sale of its units.
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A unitholder may not have limited liability if a court
finds that unitholder actions constitute control of our
business. |
Under Delaware law, a unitholder could be held liable for our
obligations to the same extent as a general partner if a court
determined that the right of unitholders to remove our general
partner or to take other action under our partnership agreement
constituted participation in the control of our
business.
Our general partner generally has unlimited liability for our
obligations, such as our debts and environmental liabilities,
except for those contractual obligations that are expressly made
without recourse to our general partner.
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In addition, Section 17-607 of the Delaware Revised Uniform
Limited Partnership Act (the Delaware Act) provides
that under some circumstances, a unitholder may be liable to us
for the amount of a distribution for a period of three years
from the date of the distribution.
Tax Risks to Common Unitholders
You should read Material Tax Consequences for a more
complete discussion of the expected material federal income tax
consequences of owning and disposing of common units.
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Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership
for federal income tax purposes, as well as our not being
subject to entity-level taxation by states. If the IRS were to
treat us as a corporation or if we were to become subject to
entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, then our cash
available for distribution to unitholders would be substantially
reduced. |
The anticipated after-tax benefit of an investment in the common
units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for
federal income tax purposes. We have not requested, and do not
plan to request, a ruling from the IRS on this or any other
matter affecting us.
If we were treated as a corporation for federal income tax
purposes, we would pay federal income tax on our income at the
corporate tax rate, which is currently a maximum of 35%.
Distributions to unitholders would generally be taxed again as
corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses,
deductions or credits would flow through to unitholders. Because
a tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash
available for distribution to unitholders would be substantially
reduced. Thus, treatment of us as a corporation would result in
a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax
return to unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in
the value of the common units.
Current law may change, causing us to be treated as a
corporation for federal income tax purposes or otherwise
subjecting us to entity-level taxation. For example, because of
widespread state budget deficits, several states are evaluating
ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through
the imposition of state income, franchise or other forms of
taxation. If any state were to impose a tax upon us as an
entity, the cash available for distribution to unitholders would
be reduced. The partnership agreement provides that if a law is
enacted or existing law is modified or interpreted in a manner
that subjects us to taxation as a corporation or otherwise
subjects us to entity-level taxation for federal, state or local
income tax purposes, then the minimum quarterly distribution
amount and the target distribution amounts will be adjusted to
reflect the impact of that law on us.
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A successful IRS contest of the federal income tax
positions we take may adversely impact the market for our common
units, and the costs of any contest will be borne by our
unitholders and our general partner. |
We have not requested any ruling from the IRS with respect to
our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes
or any other matter affecting us. The IRS may adopt positions
that differ from our counsels conclusions expressed in
this prospectus. It may be necessary to resort to administrative
or court proceedings to sustain some or all of our
counsels conclusions or the positions we take. A court may
not agree with some or all of our counsels conclusions or
the positions we take. Any contest with the IRS may materially
and adversely impact the market for our common units and the
price at which they trade. In addition, the costs of any contest
with the IRS will result in a reduction in cash available for
distribution to our unitholders and our general partner and thus
will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our general
partner.
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Unitholders may be required to pay taxes on your share of
their income even if they do not receive any cash distributions
from us. |
Unitholders will be required to pay federal income taxes and, in
some cases, state and local income taxes on their share of our
taxable income, whether or not they receive cash distributions
from us.
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Unitholders may not receive cash distributions from us equal to
their share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual
tax liability that results from their share of our taxable
income.
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Tax gain or loss on the disposition of our common units
could be different than expected. |
If a unitholder sells common units, it will recognize gain or
loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and its
tax basis in those common units. Prior distributions to a
unitholder in excess of the total net taxable income it was
allocated for a common unit, which decreased its tax basis in
that common unit, will, in effect, become taxable income to the
unitholder if the common unit is sold at a price greater than
its tax basis in that common unit, even if the price received is
less than the original cost. A substantial portion of the amount
realized, whether or not representing gain, may be ordinary
income.
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If you are a tax-exempt entity, a regulated investment
company or an individual not residing in the United States, you
may have adverse tax consequences from owning common
units. |
Investment in common units by tax-exempt entities, regulated
investment companies or mutual funds and foreign persons raises
issues unique to them. For example, virtually all of our income
allocated to organizations exempt from federal income tax,
including individual retirement accounts and other retirement
plans, will be unrelated business taxable income and will be
taxable to them. Recent legislation treats net income derived
from the ownership of certain publicly traded partnerships
(including us) as qualifying income to a regulated investment
company. However, this legislation is only effective for taxable
years beginning after October 22, 2004, the date of
enactment. For taxable years beginning on or before the date of
enactment, very little of our income will be qualifying income
to a regulated investment company. Distributions to foreign
persons will be reduced by withholding taxes at the highest
effective U.S. federal income tax rate for individuals, and
foreign persons will be required to file federal income tax
returns and pay tax on their share of our taxable income.
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We treat each purchaser of common units as having the same
tax benefits without regard to the units purchased. The IRS may
challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value
of the common units. |
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common
units, we have adopted depreciation and amortization positions
that may not conform with all aspects of existing Treasury
regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could
adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to a
unitholder. It also could affect the timing of these tax
benefits or the amount of gain from the sale of common units and
could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or
result in audit adjustments to unitholder tax returns. Please
read Material Tax Consequences Uniformity of
Units for a further discussion of the effect of the
depreciation and amortization positions we have adopted.
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Unitholders will likely be subject to state and local
taxes and return filing requirements as a result of investing in
our common units. |
In addition to federal income taxes, unitholders will likely be
subject to other taxes, such as state and local income taxes,
unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance, or
intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions
in which we do business or own property. Unitholders will likely
be required to file state and local income tax returns and pay
state and local income taxes in some or all of these various
jurisdictions. Further, unitholders may be subject to penalties
for failure to comply with those requirements. We currently own
property and conduct business in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas,
Washington, Utah, and Idaho. Of those states, only Texas and
Washington do not currently impose a state income tax. We may
own property or conduct business in other states or foreign
countries in the future. It is the unitholders
responsibility to file all federal, state and local tax returns.
Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the state and local
tax consequences of an investment in our common units.
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Risks Relating to the Debt Securities
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Our partnership agreement limits our ability to accumulate
cash, which may limit cash available to service any debt
securities or to repay them at maturity. |
Our partnership agreement requires us to distribute on a
quarterly basis 100% of our available cash to our unitholders of
record and our general partner. Available cash is generally all
of our cash on hand at the end of each quarter, after payment of
fees and expenses and the establishment of cash reserves by our
general partner. Our general partner determines the amount and
timing of cash distributions and has broad discretion to
establish and make additions to our reserves or the reserves of
our operating subsidiaries in amounts our general partner
determines to be necessary or appropriate:
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to provide for the proper conduct of our business and the
businesses of our operating subsidiaries (including reserves for
future capital expenditures and for our anticipated future
credit needs); |
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to provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and our
general partner for any one or more of the next four calendar
quarters; or |
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to comply with applicable law or any of our loan or other
agreements. |
Depending on the timing and amount of our cash distributions to
unitholders and because we are not required to accumulate cash
for the purpose of meeting obligations to holders of any of our
debt securities, such distributions could significantly reduce
the cash available to us in subsequent periods to make payments
on any debt securities.
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The right to receive payments on any debt securities may
be effectively subordinated to the rights of our existing and
future secured creditors. Further, any guarantees of debt
securities may be effectively subordinated to all our Subsidiary
Guarantors existing and future secured
indebtedness. |
Our debt securities may be effectively subordinated to claims of
our secured creditors and any guarantees may be effectively
subordinated to the claims of our secured creditors as well as
the secured creditors of any of our Subsidiary Guarantors.
Additionally, in connection with the Alon transaction and the
intermediate pipelines transaction with Holly Corporation, we
granted each of Alon and Holly Corporation a mortgage on the
pipelines and/or terminals we acquired from them that secures
certain of their rights under the applicable pipelines and/or
terminals agreement and gives each of them the ability, in the
event of our default under the applicable pipelines and
terminals agreement, to enter our property and operate the
pipelines and terminals that we acquired from them. In the event
of any distribution or sale of our assets in any foreclosure,
dissolution, winding-up, liquidation, reorganization or other
bankruptcy proceeding, holders of secured indebtedness will have
prior claim to those of our assets that constitute their
collateral. Holders of our unsecured debt securities will
participate ratably with all holders of our unsecured
indebtedness that is deemed to be of the same class as such debt
securities, and potentially with all of our other general
creditors, based upon the respective amounts owed to each holder
or creditor, in our remaining assets. In any of the foregoing
events, there may not be sufficient assets to pay amounts due on
the debt securities. As a result, holders of such debt
securities may receive less, ratably, than holders of secured
indebtedness.
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We are a holding company. We conduct our operations
through our subsidiaries and depend on cash flow from our
subsidiaries to service our debt obligations. |
We are a holding company. We conduct our operations through our
subsidiaries. As a result, our cash flow and ability to service
our debt is dependent upon the earnings of our subsidiaries. In
addition, we are dependent on the distribution of earnings,
loans or other payments from our subsidiaries to us. Any payment
of dividends, distributions, loans or other payments from our
subsidiaries to us could be subject to statutory or contractual
restrictions. Payments to us by our subsidiaries also will be
contingent upon the profitability of our subsidiaries. If we are
unable to obtain funds from our subsidiaries we may not be able
to pay interest or principal on our debt securities when due or
to obtain the necessary funds from other sources.
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Any subsidiary guarantees could be deemed to be fraudulent
conveyances under certain circumstances, and a court may try to
subordinate or void the subsidiary guarantees. |
Under federal bankruptcy laws and comparable provisions of state
fraudulent transfer laws, a guarantee by any Subsidiary
Guarantor could be voided, or claims in respect of a guarantee
could be subordinated to all other debts of that Subsidiary
Guarantor if, among other things, the Subsidiary Guarantor, at
the time it incurred the indebtedness evidenced by its guarantee
received less than reasonably equivalent fair value or fair
consideration for the incurrence of such guarantee; and
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was insolvent or rendered insolvent by reason of such incurrence; |
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was engaged in a business or transaction for which the
guarantors remaining assets constituted unreasonably small
capital; or |
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intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts beyond
its ability to pay such debts as they mature. |
In addition, any payment by that Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant
to its guarantee could be voided and required to be returned to
such guarantor, or to a fund for the benefit of the creditors of
the guarantor. The measures of insolvency for purposes of these
fraudulent transfer laws will vary depending upon the law
applied in any proceeding to determine whether a fraudulent
transfer has occurred. Generally, however, a Subsidiary
Guarantor would be considered insolvent if:
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the sum of its assets, including contingent liabilities were
greater than the fair saleable value of all of its assets; |
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the present fair saleable value of its assets were less than the
amount that would be required to pay its procurable liability,
including contingent liabilities, on its existing debts, as they
become absolute or mature; or |
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it could not pay its debts as they become due. |
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To service our indebtedness, we will require a significant
amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many
factors beyond our control. |
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our
indebtedness, including our debt securities, and to fund planned
capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate cash
in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general
economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and
other factors that are beyond our control.
We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient
cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be
available to us under our revolving credit agreement or
otherwise in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our
indebtedness, including our debt securities, or to fund our
other liquidity needs. We may need to refinance all or a portion
of our indebtedness, including our debt securities on or before
maturity. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance
any of our indebtedness, including our revolving credit
agreement and our debt securities, on commercially reasonable
terms or at all.
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Our leverage may limit our ability to borrow additional
funds, comply with the terms of our indebtedness or capitalize
on business opportunities. |
As of June 30, 2005, our total principal amount of
outstanding long-term debt, including current maturities, was
$185 million. Various limitations in our revolving credit
agreement and the indenture for our existing debt securities may
reduce our ability to incur additional debt, to engage in some
transactions and to capitalize on business opportunities. Any
subsequent refinancing of our current indebtedness or any new
indebtedness could have similar or greater restrictions.
Our leverage could have important consequences to investors in
our debt securities. We will require substantial cash flow to
meet our payment obligations with respect to our existing debt
securities and our other indebtedness. Our ability to make
scheduled payments, to refinance our obligations with respect to
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our indebtedness or our ability to obtain additional financing
in the future will depend on our financial and operating
performance, which, in turn, is subject to prevailing economic
conditions and to financial, business and other factors. We
believe that we will have sufficient cash flow from operations
and available borrowings under our revolving credit agreement to
service our indebtedness. However, a significant downturn in our
business or other development adversely affecting our cash flow
could materially impair our ability to service our indebtedness.
If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund
our debt service obligations, we may be forced to refinance all
or a portion of our debt or sell assets. We cannot assure you
that we would be able to refinance our existing indebtedness or
sell assets on terms that are commercially reasonable.
Furthermore, the instruments governing our current debt contain
restrictive covenants that may prevent us from engaging in
certain beneficial transactions. The agreements governing our
debt generally require us to comply with various affirmative and
negative covenants including the maintenance of certain
financial ratios and restrictions on incurring additional debt,
entering into mergers, consolidations and sales of assets,
making investments and granting liens. Additionally,
(1) our contribution agreement with Alon restricts us from
selling the pipelines and terminals we acquired from Alon and
from prepaying more than $30 million of the
$150 million principal amount of the outstanding debt
securities issued on February 28, 2005 for ten years,
subject to certain limited exceptions, and (2) our purchase
agreement with Holly Corporation for the intermediate pipelines
restricts us from selling the intermediate pipelines and from
prepaying any of the $35 million principal amount of the
outstanding debt securities issued on June 28, 2005 for ten
years, subject to certain limited exceptions. Our leverage may
adversely affect our ability to fund future working capital,
capital expenditures and other general partnership requirements,
future acquisition, construction or development activities, or
to otherwise fully realize the value of our assets and
opportunities because of the need to dedicate a substantial
portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our
indebtedness or to comply with any restrictive terms of our
indebtedness. Our leverage may also make our results of
operations more susceptible to adverse economic and industry
conditions by limiting our flexibility in planning for, or
reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which
we operate and may place us at a competitive disadvantage as
compared to our competitors that have less debt.
19
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and some of the documents we incorporate by
reference contain various forward-looking statements and
information that are based on our beliefs and those of our
general partner, as well as assumptions made by and information
currently available to us. These forward-looking statements are
identified as any statement that does not relate strictly to
historical or current facts. When used in this prospectus or the
documents we have incorporated herein or therein by reference,
words such as anticipate, project,
expect, plan, goal,
forecast, intend, could,
believe, may, and similar expressions
and statements regarding our plans and objectives for future
operations, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Although we and our general partner believe that such
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, neither we nor our general partner can give
assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such
statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our
actual results may vary materially from those anticipated,
estimated, projected or expected. Among the key risk factors
that may have a direct bearing on our results of operations and
financial condition are:
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risks and uncertainties with respect to the actual quantities of
petroleum products shipped on our pipelines and/or terminalled
in our terminals; |
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the future performance of the intermediate pipelines acquired
from Holly Corporation in July 2005 and of the pipelines and
terminals acquired from Alon in February 2005; |
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the economic viability of Holly Corporation, Alon and our other
customers; |
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the demand for refined petroleum products in markets we serve; |
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our ability to successfully purchase and integrate any future
acquired operations; |
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the availability and cost of our financing; |
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the possibility of inefficiencies or shutdowns of refineries
utilizing our pipeline and terminal facilities; |
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the effects of current and future government laws, regulations
and policies; |
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our operational efficiency in carrying out routine operations
and capital construction projects; |
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the possibility of terrorist attacks and the consequences of any
such attacks; and |
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general economic, market or business conditions. |
Other factors described herein, or factors that are unknown or
unpredictable, could also have a material adverse effect on
future results. You should not put undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. Please review the risk factors
described under Risk Factors in this prospectus and
any prospectus supplement. Except as required by securities
laws, we do not intend to update these forward-looking
statements and information.
20
USE OF PROCEEDS
We will use the net proceeds from any sale of securities
described in this prospectus for general partnership purposes,
which may include, among other things, funding acquisitions of
assets or businesses, working capital, capital expenditures,
investments in subsidiaries, the retirement of existing debt
and/or the repurchase of common units or other securities. The
prospectus supplement for any particular offering of securities
using this prospectus will disclose the actual use of the net
proceeds from the sale of such securities. The exact amounts to
be used and when the net proceeds will be applied to partnership
purposes will depend on a number of factors, including our
funding requirements and the availability of alternative funding
sources.
We will not receive any proceeds from any sale of common units
by any selling unitholders.
21
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
For purposes of calculating the ratio of earnings to fixed
charges, earnings represent income before income tax expense
before deducting fixed charges. Fixed charges include interest
and 30% of rental expense, which is the portion deemed to be
interest. Our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the
periods indicated is as follows:
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Navajo Pipeline Co., L.P. (Predecessor) |
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Holly Energy |
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and Holly Energy Partners, L.P. |
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Partners, L.P. |
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Year Ended December 31, |
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Six Months |
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Ended June 30, |
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2000 |
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2001 |
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2002 |
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2003 |
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2004 |
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2005(1) |
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Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
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2.7 |
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1.9 |
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2.5 |
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1.3 |
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16.1 |
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4.0 |
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(1) |
The ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the six months ended
June 30, 2005 only includes earnings from our recently
acquired Alon operations and interest on $150 million of
our outstanding
61/4% senior
notes due 2015 from February 28, 2005, when such operations
were acquired and such
61/4% notes
were issued, and interest on an additional $35 million of
our outstanding
61/4% senior
notes due 2015 from June 28, 2005, when such additional
61/4% notes
were issued. |
22
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
Holly Energy Partners may issue debt securities in one or more
series and Holly Energy Finance may be a co-issuer of one or
more series of such debt securities. When used in this section,
references to we, us and our
refer to Holly Energy Partners and, if Holly Energy Finance
co-issues any debt securities, Holly Energy Finance. References
to an Indenture refer to the particular Indenture
under which we issue a series of debt securities.
The following description sets forth the general terms and
provisions that will apply to any of our debt securities. Each
prospectus supplement will state the particular terms that will
apply to any debt securities included in the supplement.
General
The Indentures
We will issue our debt securities under either a Senior
Indenture or a Subordinated Indenture, among us, a trustee that
we will name in the related prospectus supplement and, as
applicable, any Subsidiary Guarantors. The term
Trustee as used in this prospectus shall refer to
the trustee under any Indenture. Any debt securities will be
governed by the applicable provisions of the Indenture and those
made part of the Indenture by reference to the
Trust Indenture Act of 1939. We, the Trustee and, as
applicable, the Subsidiary Guarantors, may enter into
supplements to the applicable Indenture from time to time. The
debt securities will be either senior debt securities or
subordinated debt securities.
Neither Indenture contains provisions that would afford holders
of debt securities protection in the event of a sudden and
significant decline in our credit quality or a takeover,
recapitalization or highly leveraged or similar transaction.
Accordingly, we could in the future enter into transactions that
could increase the amount of indebtedness outstanding at that
time or otherwise adversely affect our capital structure or
credit rating.
This description is a summary of the material provisions of the
debt securities and the Indentures. We urge you to read the
forms of Senior Indenture and Subordinated Indenture 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 our debt securities.
The Debt Securities
Any series of debt securities that we issue:
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will be the general obligations of Holly Energy Partners and
Holly Energy Finance, if Holly Energy Finance co-issues such
debt securities; |
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will be general obligations of the Subsidiary Guarantors, if
guaranteed by them; and |
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may be subordinated to our Senior Indebtedness and that of any
Subsidiary Guarantors. |
The Indenture does not limit the total amount of debt securities
that we may issue. We may issue debt securities under the
Indenture from time to time in separate series, up to the
aggregate amount authorized for each such series.
Specific Terms of Each Series of Debt Securities to be
Described in the Prospectus Supplement
We will prepare a prospectus supplement and either a
supplemental indenture, or authorizing resolutions of the board
of directors of our general partners general partner,
accompanied by an 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:
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the form and title of the debt securities; |
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the total principal amount of the debt securities; |
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the date or dates on which the debt securities may be issued; |
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whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated debt
securities; |
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the currency or currencies in which principal and interest will
be paid, if not in U.S. dollars; |
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the portion of the principal amount which will be payable if the
maturity of the debt securities is accelerated; |
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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; |
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the dates on which the principal and premium, if any, of the
debt securities will be payable; |
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the interest rate or rates which the debt securities will bear,
or by which the debt securities will accrete in value, and the
interest payment dates for the debt securities; |
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any conversion or exchange provisions; |
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any optional redemption provisions; |
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any sinking fund or other provisions that would obligate us to
repurchase or otherwise redeem the debt securities; |
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whether the debt securities are (i) to be co-issued by
Holly Energy Finance and (ii) entitled to the benefits of
any guarantees by the Subsidiary Guarantors; |
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whether the debt securities may be issued in amounts other than
$1,000 each or multiples thereof; |
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any changes to or additional events of default or covenants; |
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any changes to the defeasance or discharge provisions of the
Indenture; |
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the subordination, if any, of the debt securities and any
changes to the subordination provisions of the Subordinated
Indenture; and |
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any other terms of the debt securities. |
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 also will describe any material United
States federal income tax consequences or other special
considerations regarding the applicable series of debt
securities, including, without limitation, those relating to:
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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; |
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debt securities with respect to which principal, premium or
interest is payable in a foreign or composite currency; |
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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 |
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variable rate debt securities that are exchangeable for fixed
rate debt securities. |
At our option, we may make interest payments by check mailed to
the registered holders of debt securities 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, fully registered securities may be transferred or
exchanged at the office of the Trustee at which its corporate
trust business is principally
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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 governmental charge.
Any funds we pay to a 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.
The Subsidiary Guarantees
Our payment obligations under any series of debt securities may
be jointly and severally, fully and unconditionally guaranteed
by any Subsidiary Guarantors. If a series of debt securities is
so guaranteed, the Subsidiary Guarantors will execute a notation
of guarantee as further evidence of their guarantee. The
applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any
guarantee by the Subsidiary Guarantors.
The obligations of each Subsidiary Guarantor under its guarantee
of the debt securities will be limited to the maximum amount
that will not result in the obligations of the Subsidiary
Guarantor under the guarantee constituting a fraudulent
conveyance or fraudulent transfer under Federal or state law,
after giving effect to:
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all other contingent and fixed liabilities of the Subsidiary
Guarantor; and |
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any collections from or payments made by or on behalf of any
other Subsidiary Guarantors in respect of the obligations of the
Subsidiary Guarantor under its guarantee. |
The guarantee of any Subsidiary Guarantor may be released under
certain circumstances. If we exercise our legal or covenant
defeasance option with respect to debt securities of a
particular series as described below in Defeasance,
then any Subsidiary Guarantor will be released with respect to
that series. Further, if no default has occurred and is
continuing under the Indenture, and to the extent not otherwise
prohibited by the Indenture, a Subsidiary Guarantor will be
unconditionally released and discharged from its guarantee:
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automatically upon any sale, exchange or transfer, whether by
way of merger or otherwise, to any person that is not our
affiliate, of all of our direct or indirect limited partnership
or other equity interests in the Subsidiary Guarantor; |
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automatically upon the merger of the Subsidiary Guarantor into
us or any other Subsidiary Guarantor or the liquidation and
dissolution of the Subsidiary Guarantor; or |
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following delivery of a written notice by us to the Trustee,
upon the release of all guarantees by the Subsidiary Guarantor
of any debt of ours under any credit facility, except a
discharge or release by or as a result of payment under such
guarantee. |
If a series of debt securities is guaranteed by the Subsidiary
Guarantors and is designated as subordinate to our Senior
Indebtedness, then the guarantees by the Subsidiary Guarantors
will be subordinated to the Senior Indebtedness of the
Subsidiary Guarantors to substantially the same extent as the
series is subordinated to our Senior Indebtedness. See
Subordination.
Specific Covenants
The prospectus supplement applicable to any particular series of
debt securities will contain a description of the important
financial and other covenants that apply to us and our
subsidiaries that are added to the Indenture specifically for
the benefit of holders of a particular series.
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The Indenture will contain the following covenant for the
benefit of the holders of all series of debt securities:
So long as any debt securities are outstanding, we will:
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for as long as it is required to file information with the
Commission pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
(the Exchange Act), file with the Trustee, within
15 days after we are required to file with the Commission,
copies of the annual report and of the information, documents
and other reports which we are required to file with the
Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act; |
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if we are not required to file information with the Commission
pursuant to the Exchange Act, file with the Trustee, within
15 days after we would have been required to file with the
Commission, financial statements and a Managements
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations, both comparable to what we would have been required
to file with the Commission had we been subject to the reporting
requirements of the Exchange Act, unless the Commission will not
accept such a filing; and |
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if we are required to furnish annual or quarterly reports to our
unitholders pursuant to the Exchange Act, file with the Trustee
any annual report or other reports sent to unitholders generally. |
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Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets |
The Indenture will provide that we and any Subsidiary Guarantor
may, without the consent of the holders of any of the debt
securities, consolidate with or sell, lease, convey all or
substantially all of our assets to, or merge with or into, any
partnership, limited liability company or corporation if:
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the entity surviving any such consolidation or merger or to
which such assets shall have been transferred (the
successor) is either us or any Subsidiary Guarantor,
as applicable, or the successor is a domestic partnership,
limited liability company or corporation and expressly assumes
all of our or any Subsidiary Guarantors, as the case may
be, obligations and liabilities under the Indenture and the debt
securities (in the case of us) and any guarantee (in the case of
any Subsidiary Guarantor); |
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immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Event of
Default (as defined below) has occurred and is
continuing; and |
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we and any Subsidiary Guarantor, as applicable, have delivered
to the Trustee an officers certificate and an opinion of
counsel, each stating that such consolidation, merger or
transfer complies with the Indenture. |
The successor will be substituted for us and any Subsidiary
Guarantor, as applicable, in the Indenture with the same effect
as if it had been an original party to the Indenture.
Thereafter, the successor may exercise the rights and powers of
us and any Subsidiary Guarantor under the Indenture, in its name
or in its own name. If we and any Subsidiary Guarantor, as
applicable, sell or transfer all or substantially all of our
assets, we and any such Subsidiary Guarantor will be released
from all liabilities and obligations under the Indenture and
under the debt securities (in the case of us) and any guarantee
(in the case of any Subsidiary Guarantor) except that no such
release will occur in the case of a lease of all or
substantially all of our assets.
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Events of Default, Remedies and Default
Each of the following events will be an Event of
Default under the Indenture with respect to a series of
debt securities, except as set forth in any prospectus
supplement:
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default in any payment of interest on any debt securities of
that series when due that continues for 30 days; |
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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; |
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default in the payment of any sinking fund payment on any debt
securities of that series when due; |
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failure by us or, if the series of debt securities is guaranteed
by any Subsidiary Guarantor, by such Subsidiary Guarantor, to
comply for 60 days after notice with the other agreements
contained in the Indenture, any supplement to the Indenture or
any board resolution authorizing the issuance of that series; |
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certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of us
or, if the series of debt securities is guaranteed by any
Subsidiary Guarantor, of any such Subsidiary Guarantor that is a
Significant Subsidiary Guarantor (as defined below) or any group
of Subsidiary Guarantors that, taken together, would constitute
a Significant Subsidiary Guarantor; or |
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if the series of debt securities is guaranteed by any Subsidiary
Guarantor: |
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any of the guarantees ceases to be in full force and effect,
except as otherwise provided in the Indenture; |
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any of the guarantees is declared null and void in a judicial
proceeding; or |
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any Subsidiary Guarantor denies or disaffirms its obligations
under the Indenture or its guarantee. |
A Significant Subsidiary Guarantor means any
Subsidiary Guarantor that would be a significant
subsidiary as defined in Article 1, Rule 1-02 of
Regulation S-X, promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act
of 1933 (the Securities Act), as such Regulation is
in effect on the date of the Indenture.
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.
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 notify us and, if the series of debt securities is
guaranteed by any Subsidiary Guarantor, any such Subsidiary
Guarantor, 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 and is continuing, 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.
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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:
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rescinding the declaration of acceleration would not conflict
with any judgment or decree of a court of competent
jurisdiction; and |
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all existing Events of Default have been cured or waived, other
than the nonpayment of principal, premium or interest on the
debt securities of that series that have 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, if any, or interest
when due, unless:
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such holder has previously given the Trustee notice that an
Event of Default with respect to that series is continuing; |
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holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding
debt securities of that series have requested that the Trustee
pursue the remedy; |
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such holders have offered the Trustee reasonable indemnity or
security against any cost, liability or expense; |
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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 |
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the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding
debt securities of that series have not given the Trustee a
direction that, in the opinion of the Trustee, 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:
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conflicts with law; |
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is inconsistent with any provision of the Indenture; |
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the Trustee determines is unduly prejudicial to the rights of
any other holder; |
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would involve the Trustee in personal liability. |
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Notice of an Event of Default |
Within 30 days after the occurrence of any default (meaning
an event that is, or after the notice or passage of time would
be, an Event of Default,) or Event of Default, we are required
to give written notice to the Trustee and indicate the status of
the default or Event of Default and what action we are taking or
propose to take to cure it. In addition, we are required to
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.
If an Event of Default occurs and is continuing and is known to
the Trustee, the Trustee must mail to each holder a notice of
the Event of Default by the later of 90 days after the
Event of Default occurs or 30 days after the Trustee knows
of the Event of Default. Except in the case of a default in the
payment of
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principal, premium, if any, 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
Without the consent of any holder of debt securities affected,
we, the Trustee and any Subsidiary Guarantors, as applicable,
may amend or supplement the Indenture to:
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cure any ambiguity, omission, defect or inconsistency; |
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convey, transfer, assign, mortgage or pledge any property to or
with the Trustee; |
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provide for the assumption by a successor of our obligations
under the Indenture; |
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add any Subsidiary Guarantor with respect to the debt securities; |
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release Holly Energy Finance as an issuer under the Indenture
under certain circumstances; |
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change or eliminate any restriction on the payment of principal
of, or premium, if any, on, any debt securities; |
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secure the debt securities; |
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add covenants for the benefit of the holders or surrender any
right or power conferred upon us or any Subsidiary Guarantor; |
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make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any
holder; |
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add or appoint a successor or separate Trustee; |
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comply with any requirement of the Commission in connection with
the qualification of the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act
of 1939; |
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conform the text of the Indenture or any guarantee to any
provision of the Description of Debt Securities in this
prospectus or any prospectus supplement, to the extent that such
provision was intended to be a verbatim recitation of a
provision of the Indenture or the guarantee; |
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provide for the issuance of additional debt securities in
accordance with the limitations set forth in the Indenture as of
the date of the Indenture; or |
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establish the form or terms of debt securities of any series to
be issued under the Indenture. |
In addition, we, the Trustee and any Subsidiary Guarantors, may
amend the Indenture if the holders of a majority in principal
amount of all debt securities of each series that would be
affected then outstanding under such Indenture consent to it.
We, the Trustee and any Subsidiary Guarantors, as applicable,
may not, however, without the consent of each holder of
outstanding debt securities of each series that would be
affected, amend the Indenture to:
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reduce the percentage in principal amount of debt securities of
any series whose holders must consent to an amendment; |
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reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest on
any debt securities; |
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reduce the principal of or extend the stated maturity of any
debt securities; |
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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; |
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make any debt securities payable in other than U.S. dollars; |
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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; |
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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, other than in accordance with the Indenture; |
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make any change in the amendment provisions which require each
holders consent; |
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make any change in the waiver provisions; or |
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release any Subsidiary Guarantor or modify the guarantee of any
Subsidiary Guarantor in any manner adverse to the holders. |
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
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 affected series, on behalf
of all such holders, and subject to certain rights of the
Trustee, may waive:
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compliance by us or a Subsidiary Guarantor with certain
restrictive provisions of the Indenture; and |
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any past default or Event of Default under the Indenture,
subject to certain rights of the Trustee under the Indenture; |
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except that such majority of holders may not waive a default: |
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in the payment of principal, premium or interest; or |
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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. |
Defeasance and Discharge
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:
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relating to the defeasance trust; |
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to register the transfer or exchange of the debt securities; |
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to replace mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen debt
securities; or |
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to maintain a registrar and paying agent in respect of the debt
securities. |
If we exercise our legal defeasance option, any guarantee will
terminate with respect to that series of debt securities.
At any time we may also effect a covenant
defeasance, which means we have elected to terminate our
obligations under:
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covenants applicable to a series of debt securities, including
any covenant that is added specifically for such series and is
described in a prospectus supplement; |
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the bankruptcy provisions with respect to any Significant
Subsidiary Guarantor or group of Subsidiary Guarantors that,
taken together, constitute a Significant Subsidiary
Guarantor; and |
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the guarantee provision described under Events
of Default, Remedies and Notices Events of
Default above with respect to a series of debt securities,
if applicable, and any Events of Default that is added
specifically for such series and described in a prospectus
supplement. |
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We may exercise our legal defeasance option notwithstanding our
prior exercise of our covenant defeasance option. If we exercise
our legal defeasance option, payment of the affected series of
debt securities may not be accelerated because of an Event of
Default with respect to that series. If we exercise our covenant
defeasance option, payment of the defeased series of debt
securities may not be accelerated because of an Event of Default
specified in the fourth, fifth (with respect only to a
Subsidiary Guarantor (if any)) or sixth bullet points under
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:
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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 maturity, as the case may be; |
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comply with certain other conditions, including that no default
has occurred and is continuing after the deposit in trust; and |
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deliver to the Trustee of an opinion of counsel to the effect
that holders of the 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 amount and in the same manner and at the same times as
would have been the case if such deposit and 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 other change in applicable Federal income tax law. |
If we exercise either our legal defeasance option or our
covenant defeasance option, any guarantee by a Subsidiary
Guarantor will terminate with respect to the defeased series of
debt securities.
In addition, we may discharge all our obligations under the
Indenture with respect to debt securities of a particular
series, other than our obligation to register the transfer of
and exchange such debt securities, provided that we either:
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deliver all outstanding debt securities of such series to the
Trustee for cancellation; or |
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all such debt securities not so delivered for cancellation have
either become due and payable or will become due and payable at
their stated maturity within one year or are called for
redemption within one year, and in the case of this bullet
point, we have deposited with the Trustee in trust an amount of
cash sufficient to pay the entire indebtedness of such debt
securities, including interest to the stated maturity or
applicable redemption date. |
No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and
Unitholders
No director, officer, partner, member, employee, incorporator,
manager or unitholder or other owner of any equity interest in
us, our general partner or partners or any Subsidiary
Guarantors, as applicable, will have any liability for any
obligations of us or any Subsidiary Guarantors under any debt
securities, any Indenture, any guarantee of any debt securities
or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such
obligations or their creation. Each holder of any debt security
accepting such debt security waives and releases all such
liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration
for issuance of any debt securities and any guarantee. The
waiver may not be effective to waive liabilities under the
federal securities laws.
Subordination
Debt securities of a series may be subordinated to our
Senior Indebtedness, which we define generally to
include any obligation created or assumed by us (or, if the
series is guaranteed, any Subsidiary Guarantors) for the
repayment of borrowed money, purchase money obligation created
or assumed by us, and any guarantee therefor, whether
outstanding or hereafter issued, unless, by the terms of the
instrument creating or evidencing such obligation, it is
provided that such obligation is subordinate or not superior in
right of payment to the debt securities (or, if the series is
guaranteed, the guarantee of any Subsidiary
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Guarantor), or to other obligations which are pari passu with or
subordinated to the debt securities (or, if the series is
guaranteed, the guarantee of any Subsidiary Guarantor).
Subordinated debt securities will be subordinate in right of
payment, to the extent and in the manner set forth in the
Indenture and the prospectus supplement relating to such series,
to the prior payment of all of our indebtedness and that of any
Subsidiary Guarantor that is designated as Senior
Indebtedness with respect to the series.
The holders of Senior Indebtedness of ours or, if applicable,
any Subsidiary Guarantor, will receive payment in full of the
Senior Indebtedness before holders of any subordinated debt
securities will receive any payment of principal, premium or
interest with respect to the subordinated debt securities upon
any payment or distribution of our assets or, if applicable to
any series of outstanding debt securities, the Subsidiary
Guarantors assets, to creditors:
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upon a liquidation or dissolution of us or, if applicable to any
series of outstanding debt securities, the Subsidiary
Guarantors; or |
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in a bankruptcy, receivership or similar proceeding relating to
us or, if applicable to any series of outstanding debt
securities, to the Subsidiary Guarantors. |
Until the Senior Indebtedness is paid in full, any distribution
to which holders of subordinated debt securities would otherwise
be entitled will be made to the holders of Senior Indebtedness,
except that the holders of subordinated debt securities may
receive units representing limited partner interests and any
debt securities that are subordinated to Senior Indebtedness to
at least the same extent as the subordinated debt securities.
If we do not pay any principal, premium or interest with respect
to Senior Indebtedness within any applicable grace period
(including at maturity), or any other default on Senior
Indebtedness occurs and the maturity of the Senior Indebtedness
is accelerated in accordance with its terms, we may not:
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make any payments of principal, premium, if any, or interest
with respect to subordinated debt securities; |
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make any deposit for the purpose of defeasance of the
subordinated debt securities; or |
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repurchase, redeem or otherwise retire any subordinated debt
securities, except that in the case of subordinated debt
securities that provide for a mandatory sinking fund, we may
deliver subordinated debt securities to the Trustee in
satisfaction of our sinking fund obligation, |
unless, in either case,
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the default has been cured or waived and any declaration of
acceleration has been rescinded; |
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the Senior Indebtedness has been paid in full in cash; or |
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we and the Trustee receive written notice approving the payment
from the representatives of each issue of Designated
Senior Indebtedness. |
Generally, Designated Senior Indebtedness will
include:
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any specified issue of Senior Indebtedness of at least
$100 million; and |
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any other Senior Indebtedness that we may designate in respect
of any series of subordinated debt securities. |
During the continuance of any default, other than a default
described in the immediately preceding paragraph, that may cause
the maturity of any Designated Senior Indebtedness to be
accelerated immediately without further notice, other than any
notice required to effect such acceleration, or the expiration
of any applicable grace periods, we may not pay the subordinated
debt securities for a period called the Payment Blockage
Period. A Payment Blockage Period will commence on the
receipt by us and the Trustee of written notice of the default,
called a Blockage Notice, from the representative of
any Designated Senior Indebtedness specifying an election to
effect a Payment Blockage Period and will end 179 days
thereafter.
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The Payment Blockage Period may be terminated before its
expiration:
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by written notice from the person or persons who gave the
Blockage Notice; |
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by repayment in full in cash of the Designated Senior
Indebtedness with respect to which the Blockage Notice was
given; or |
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if the default giving rise to the Payment Blockage Period is no
longer continuing. |
Unless the holders of the Designated Senior Indebtedness have
accelerated the maturity of the Designated Senior Indebtedness,
we may resume payments on the subordinated debt securities after
the expiration of the Payment Blockage Period.
Generally, not more than one Blockage Notice may be given in any
period of 360 consecutive days. The total number of days during
which any one or more Payment Blockage Periods are in effect,
however, may not exceed an aggregate of 179 days during any
period of 360 consecutive days.
After all Senior Indebtedness is paid in full and until the
subordinated debt securities are paid in full, holders of the
subordinated debt securities shall be subrogated to the rights
of holders of Senior Indebtedness to receive distributions
applicable to Senior Indebtedness.
As a result of the subordination provisions described above, in
the event of insolvency, the holders of Senior Indebtedness, as
well as certain of our general creditors, may recover more,
ratably, than the holders of the subordinated debt securities.
Book-Entry System
We may issue debt securities of a series in the form of one or
more global certificates, each of which we refer to as a global
security, registered in the name of a depositary or a nominee of
a depositary. We expect that The Depository Trust Company, New
York, New York, or DTC, will act as depositary. If we issue debt
securities of a series in book-entry form, we will issue one or
more global certificates that will be deposited with or on
behalf of DTC and will not issue physical certificates to each
holder. A global security may not be transferred unless it is
exchanged in whole or in part for a certificated security,
except that DTC, its nominees and their successors may transfer
a global security as a whole to one another.
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 advised us as follows:
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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 Federal
Reserve System, a clearing corporation within the
meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code, and a
clearing agency registered pursuant to the
provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. |
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DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC and
facilitates the settlement among direct participants of
securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in
deposited securities, through electronic computerized book-entry
changes in direct participants accounts, thereby
eliminating the need for physical movement of securities
certificates. |
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Direct participants include securities brokers and dealers,
banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other
organizations. |
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DTC is owned by a number of its direct participants and by the
New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the American Stock Exchange LLC
and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. |
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Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as
securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies that
clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct
participant, either directly or indirectly. |
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The rules applicable to DTC and its direct and indirect
participants are on file with the Commission. |
Any purchases of debt securities under the DTC system must be
made by or through direct participants, which will receive a
credit for the debt securities on DTCs records. The
ownership interest of each actual purchaser of debt securities
is in turn to be recorded on the direct and indirect
participants records. Beneficial owners of the debt
securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of
their purchase, but beneficial owners are expected to receive
written confirmations providing details of the transaction, as
well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct
or indirect participants through which the beneficial owner
entered into the transaction. Transfers of ownership interests
in the debt securities are to be accomplished by entries made on
the books of direct and indirect participants acting on behalf
of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive
certificates representing their ownership interests in the debt
securities, except in the event that use of the book-entry
system for the debt securities is discontinued.
Because DTC can only act on behalf of direct participants, who
in turn act on behalf of indirect DTC participants and certain
banks, the ability of a person having a beneficial interest in a
security held in DTC to transfer or pledge that interest to
persons or entities that do not participate in the DTC system,
or otherwise take actions in respect of that interest, may be
affected by the lack of a physical certificate of that interest.
The laws of some states of the United States require that
certain persons take physical delivery of securities in
definitive form in order to transfer or perfect a security
interest in those securities. Consequently, the ability to
transfer beneficial interests in a security held in DTC to those
persons may be limited.
DTC has advised us that it will take any action permitted to be
taken by a holder of debt securities (including, without
limitation, the presentation of debt securities for exchange)
only at the direction of one or more of the participants to
whose accounts with DTC interests in the relevant debt
securities are credited, and only in respect of the portion of
the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities as to
which that participant or those participants has or have given
the direction. However, in certain circumstances, DTC will
exchange the global securities held by it for certificated debt
securities, which it will distribute to its participants.
To facilitate subsequent transfers of ownership interests in the
debt securities, all debt securities deposited by direct
participants with DTC are registered in the name of DTCs
partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as
may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The
deposit of debt securities with DTC and their registration in
the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee do not
effect any change in beneficial ownership. DTC has no knowledge
of the actual beneficial owners of the debt securities;
DTCs records reflect only the identity of the direct
participants to whose accounts such debt securities are
credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The
direct and indirect participants will remain responsible for
keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.
Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct
participants, by, direct participants to indirect participants,
and by direct participants and indirect participants to
beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them,
subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in
effect from time to time.
Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (nor any other DTC nominee)
will consent or vote with respect to the global securities.
Under its usual procedures, DTC mails an omnibus proxy to the
issuer as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus
proxy assigns Cede & Co.s consenting or voting
rights to those direct participants to whose accounts the debt
securities are credited on the record date (identified in the
listing attached to the omnibus proxy).
All payments on the global securities will be made to
Cede & Co., as holder of record, or such other nominee
as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC.
DTCs practice is to credit direct participants
accounts upon DTCs receipt of funds and corresponding
detail information from us or the Trustee on payment dates in
accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTCs
records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be
governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is
the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in
bearer form or registered in street name,
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and will be the responsibility of such participant and not of
DTC, us, the Trustee or any Subsidiary Guarantor, as applicable,
subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in
effect from time to time. Payment of principal, premium, if any,
and interest to Cede & Co. (or such other nominee as
may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC) shall
be the responsibility of us or the Trustee. Disbursement of such
payments to direct participants shall be the responsibility of
DTC, and disbursement of such payments to the beneficial owners
shall be the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.
Neither we, the Trustee nor any Subsidiary Guarantor, as
applicable, will have any responsibility or obligation to direct
or indirect participants, or the persons for whom they act as
nominees, with respect to the accuracy of the records of DTC,
its nominee, any other depositary or its nominee, or any
participant with respect to any ownership interest in any debt
securities, or payments to, or the providing of notice to
participants or beneficial owners.
The Trustee
We may appoint a separate trustee for any series of debt
securities. We may maintain banking and other commercial
relationships with the Trustee and its affiliates in the
ordinary course of business, and the Trustee may own debt
securities.
Governing Law
The Indenture for any series of debt securities will be governed
by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of
New York.
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DESCRIPTION OF OUR COMMON UNITS
Our common units represent limited partner interests that
entitle the holders to participate in our cash distributions and
to exercise the rights and privileges available to limited
partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of
the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units
and our general partner in and to cash distributions, please
carefully review this section and the section Cash
Distribution Policy in this prospectus.
Our outstanding common units are listed on the New York Stock
Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol HEP. Any
additional common units we issue will also be listed on the NYSE.
The transfer agent and registrar for our common units is
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Number of Units
We currently have outstanding 8,170,000 common units, 7,000,000
subordinated units and 937,500 Class B subordinated
units which were issued to Alon in connection with the
acquisition of certain pipelines, terminals and related assets.
See Subordinated Units. There is
currently no established public trading market for our
subordinated units or Class B subordinated units.
Status as Limited Partner or Assignee
Except as described below under Limited
Liability, the common units will be fully paid, and
unitholders will not be required to make additional capital
contributions to us.
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
our partnership agreement, his liability under the Delaware Act
will be limited, subject to some possible exceptions, generally
to the amount of capital he is obligated to contribute to us in
respect of his units plus his share of any undistributed profits
and assets.
Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a
distribution to a partner to the extent that at the time of the
distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, all
liabilities of the 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, exceed the fair value of
the assets of the limited partnership.
For the purposes of determining the fair value of the assets of
a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair
value of the property subject to liability of 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 is liable to the limited
partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years
from the date of the distribution.
Subordinated Units
Our subordinated units are a separate class of limited partner
interests in our partnership, and the rights of holders of
subordinated units to participate in distributions to partners
differ from, and are subordinated to, the rights of the holders
of our common units. Our Class B subordinated units are a
separate series of subordinated units and generally rank equally
with our previously existing subordinated units and are entitled
to the same cash distributions and to exercise the same rights
and privileges available to holders of our subordinated units,
except under certain circumstances described below. During the
subordination period, our subordinated units and our
Class B subordinated units will not be entitled to
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receive any distributions until our common units have received
the minimum quarterly distribution plus any arrearages from
prior quarters.
The subordination period for our subordinated units will end
once we meet the financial tests in the partnership agreement
and as further described in the section Cash Distribution
Policy Subordination Period Definition
of Subordination Period, but generally cannot end before
June 30, 2009.
Our Class B subordinated units were created by Amendment
No. 1 to our partnership agreement and issued to Alon USA
Inc. on February 28, 2005 as partial consideration for
certain pipelines, terminals and related assets acquired by us
from Alon. The Class B subordinated units rank equally with
our previously existing subordinated units and receive the same
cash distributions, rights and privileges as such subordinated
units, except (i) the subordination period with respect to
the Class B subordinated units will terminate on the first
day of any quarter ending on or after March 31, 2010 if
Alon has not defaulted on its minimum volume commitment payment
obligations under the pipelines and terminals agreement it
entered into with us, subject to certain conditions, and
(ii) distributions to Alon with respect to the Class B
subordinated units will be suspended if Alon defaults on its
payments due us pursuant to its minimum volume commitment under
the Alon pipelines and terminals agreement.
When the applicable subordination period ends, all related
subordinated units will convert into common units on a
one-for-one basis, and the common units will no longer be
entitled to arrearages once all subordination periods have ended.
Voting Rights
Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise requires,
references in this section Voting Rights
to subordinated units include both our subordinated
units and our Class B subordinated units.
Our general partner manages and operates us. Unlike the holders
of common stock in a corporation, the holders of our units have
only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business.
They have no right to elect our general partner, or the
directors of our general partner, on an annual or other
continuing basis. On those matters that are submitted to a vote
of unitholders, 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. However, if at any time any person or group, other than
the general partner and its affiliates, or a direct or
subsequently approved transferee of the general partner or its
affiliates, 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.
Unitholders will not have voting rights except with respect to
the following matters which require the unitholder vote
specified below. Matters requiring the approval of a unit
majority require:
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during the subordination period for the subordinated units,
(i) the approval of a majority of the common units,
excluding those common units held by our general partner and its
affiliates, and (ii) the approval of a majority of the
subordinated units and Class B subordinated units voting as
a single class; |
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after the end of the subordination period for the subordinated
units but prior to the end of the subordination period for the
Class B subordinated units, the approval of a majority of
the outstanding units; and |
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after the end of the subordination periods for both our
subordinated units and our Class B subordinated units, the
approval of a majority of the outstanding units. |
In voting their common and subordinated units, the general
partner and its affiliates will have no fiduciary duly or
obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including
any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us and
the limited partners.
37
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Issuance of additional common units or units of equal rank with
the common units during the subordination period |
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Unit majority, with certain exceptions. |
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Issuance of units senior to the common units during the
subordination period |
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Unit majority. |
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Issuance of units junior to the common units during the
subordination period |
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No approval right. |
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Issuance of additional units after the subordination period |
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No approval rights. |
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Amendment of the partnership
agreement |
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Certain amendments may be made by the general partner without
the approval of the unitholders. Other amendments generally
require the approval of a unit majority. |
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Merger of our partnership or the sale of all or substantially
all of our assets |
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Unit majority. |
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Amendment of the partnership agreement of our operating
partnership and other action taken by us as a limited partner of
the operating partnership |
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Unit majority if such amendment or other action would adversely
affect our limited partners (or any particular class of limited
partners) in any material respect. |
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Dissolution of our partnership |
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Unit majority. |
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Reconstitution of our partnership upon
dissolution |
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Unit majority. |
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Withdrawal of the general partner |
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Under most circumstances, the approval of a majority of the
common units, excluding common units held by the general partner
and its affiliates, is required for the withdrawal of the
general partner prior to June 30, 2014 in a manner which
would cause a dissolution of our partnership. |
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Removal of the general partner |
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Not less than
662/3%
of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, including
units held by our general partner and its affiliates. |
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Transfer of the general partner
interest |
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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
the general partner and its affiliates, is required in other
circumstances for a transfer of the general partner interest to
a third party prior to June 30, 2014. |
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Transfer of incentive distribution
rights |
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Except for transfers to an affiliate or another person as part
of the general partners merger or consolidation with or |
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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, voting separately as a class, is required in most
circumstances for a transfer of the incentive distribution
rights to a third party prior to June 30, 2014. |
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Transfer of ownership interests in the
general partner |
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No approval required at any time. |
Transfer of Common Units
The purchase of any common units offered by this prospectus and
any prospectus supplement is accomplished through the
completion, execution and delivery of a transfer application.
Additionally, any later transfers of common units will not be
recorded by the transfer agent or recognized by us unless the
transferee executes and delivers a transfer application. By
executing and delivering a transfer application, a purchaser or
transferee of common units:
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becomes the record holder of the common units and is an assignee
until admitted into our partnership as a substituted limited
partner; |
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automatically requests admission as a substituted limited
partner in our partnership; |
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agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of, and executes,
our partnership agreement; |
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represents that such transferee has the capacity, power and
authority to enter into the partnership agreement; |
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grants powers of attorney to officers of our general partner and
any liquidator of us as specified in the partnership agreement;
and |
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gives the consents and approvals contained in our partnership
agreement. |
An assignee will become a substituted limited partner of our
partnership for the transferred common units upon admission by
our general partner and the recording of the name of the
assignee on our books and records. Our general partner intends
to admit assignees as substituted limited partners on a
quarterly basis.
A transferees broker, agent or nominee may complete,
execute and deliver a transfer application. We are entitled to
treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner.
In that case, the beneficial holders rights are limited
solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a
result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the
nominee holder.
Common units are securities and are transferable according to
the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other
rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the
transferee the right to request admission as a substituted
limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common
units. A purchaser or transferee of common units who does not
execute and deliver a transfer application obtains only:
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the right to assign the common unit to a purchaser or other
transferee; and |
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the right to transfer the right to seek admission as a
substituted limited partner in our partnership for the
transferred common units. |
Thus, a purchaser or transferee of common units who does not
execute and deliver a transfer application:
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will not receive cash distributions or federal income tax
allocations, unless the common units are held in a nominee or
street name account and the nominee or broker has
executed and delivered a transfer application; and |
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may not receive some federal income tax information or reports
furnished to record holders of common units. |
The transferor of common units has a duty to provide the
transferee with all information that may be necessary to
transfer the common units. The transferor does not have a duty
to insure the execution of the transfer application by the
transferee and has no liability or responsibility if the
transferee neglects or chooses not to execute and forward the
transfer application to the transfer agent. Until a common unit
has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may
treat the record holder of the unit as the absolute owner for
all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock
exchange regulations.
Reports and Records
As soon as practicable, but in no event later than 120 days
after the close of each fiscal year, our general partner will
furnish or make available to each unitholder of record (as of a
record date selected by our general partner) an annual report
containing our audited financial statements and a report on
those financial statements by our independent public
accountants. These financial statements will be prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Except
for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available
summary financial information within 90 days after the
close of each quarter.
We will also furnish each unitholder of record with information
reasonably required for tax reporting purposes within
90 days after the close of each calendar year. This
information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that
some complex calculations normally required of partners can be
avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to
unitholders will depend on the cooperation of unitholders in
supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will
receive information to assist him in determining his federal and
state tax liability and filing his federal and state income tax
returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with information.
A limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to the
limited partners interest as a limited partner, upon
reasonable demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:
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a current list of the name and last known address of each
partner; |
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a copy of our tax returns; |
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information as to the amount of cash and a description and
statement of the agreed value of any other property or services,
contributed or to be contributed by each partner and the date on
which each became a partner; |
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copies of our partnership agreement, our certificate of limited
partnership, amendments to either of them and powers of attorney
which have been executed under our partnership agreement; |
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information regarding the status of our business and financial
condition; and |
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any other information regarding our affairs as is just and
reasonable. |
Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from
the limited partners trade secrets and other information the
disclosure of which our general partner believes in good faith
is not in our best interest or which we are required by law or
by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
40
CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY
Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise requires,
references in this section to subordinated units
includes both subordinated units and Class B subordinated
units of Holly Energy Partners.
Distributions of Available Cash
General. Our partnership agreement provides that we will
distribute all of our available cash to unitholders of record on
the applicable record date within 45 days after the end of
each quarter.
Definition of Available Cash. Available cash generally
means, for each fiscal quarter, all cash on hand at the end of
the quarter:
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less the amount of cash reserves established by our general
partner to: |
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provide for the proper conduct of our business; |
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comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments, or
other agreements; or |
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provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and to our
general partner for any one or more of the next four quarters; |
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plus all 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. Working capital borrowings
are generally borrowings that are made under our credit facility
and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or
to pay distributions to partners. |
Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus
General. All cash distributed to unitholders will be
characterized as either operating surplus or
capital surplus. We distribute available cash from
operating surplus differently than available cash from capital
surplus.
Definition of Operating Surplus. Operating surplus for
any period generally means:
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our cash balance on the closing date of our initial public
offering; plus |
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$10.0 million (as described below); plus |
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all of our cash receipts after the closing of our initial public
offering, excluding cash from borrowings that are not working
capital borrowings, sales of equity and debt securities and
sales or other dispositions of assets outside the ordinary
course of business; plus |
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working capital borrowings made after the end of a quarter but
before the date of determination of operating surplus for the
quarter; less |
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all of our operating expenditures after the closing of our
initial public offering, including the repayment of working
capital borrowings, but not the repayment of other borrowings,
and including maintenance capital expenditures; less |
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the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner
to provide funds for future operating expenditures. |
Definition of Capital Surplus. Generally, capital surplus
will be generated only by:
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borrowings other than working capital borrowings; |
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sales of debt and equity securities; and |
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sales or other disposition of assets for cash, other than
inventory, accounts receivable and other current assets sold in
the ordinary course of business or as part of normal retirements
or replacements of assets. |
41
Characterization of Cash Distributions. We will treat all
available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus
until the sum of all available cash distributed since we began
operations equals the operating surplus as of the most recent
date of determination of available cash. We will treat any
amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of
its source, as capital surplus. As reflected above, operating
surplus includes $10.0 million in addition to our cash
balance on July 13, 2004, the closing date of our initial
public offering, cash receipts from our operations and cash from
working capital borrowings. This amount does not reflect actual
cash on hand at closing that is available for distribution to
our unitholders. Rather, it is a provision that will enable us,
if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus up to
$10.0 million of cash we receive in the future from
non-operating sources, such as asset sales, issuances of
securities, and long-term borrowings, that would otherwise be
distributed as capital surplus.
Subordination Periods
General. During the subordination periods, the common
units will have the right to receive distributions of available
cash from operating surplus in an amount equal to 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. As
described in the section Description of Our Common
Units Subordinated Units, our Class B
subordinated units are subject to additional possible
restrictions on cash distributions. The purpose of the
subordinated units is to increase the likelihood that during the
subordination period there is available cash to be distributed
on the common units.
Definition of Subordination Period. The subordination
period for the subordinated units commenced upon the closing of
our initial public offering and generally extends until the
first day of any quarter beginning after June 30, 2009,
that each of the following tests are met:
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distributions of available cash from operating surplus on each
of the outstanding common units and subordinated units equaled
or exceeded the minimum quarterly distribution for each of the
three consecutive, non-overlapping four-quarter periods
immediately preceding that date; |
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the adjusted operating surplus 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 distributions on all of the outstanding
common units and subordinated units during those periods on a
fully diluted basis and the related distribution on the 2%
general partner interest during those periods; and |
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there are no arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly
distribution on the common units. |
Definition of Class B Subordination Period. The
subordination period for the Class B subordinated units
commenced upon the issuance of the Class B subordinated
units and generally extends until the first day of any quarter
beginning after March 31, 2010 that no Alon event of
default in respect of payments due under Alons pipelines
and terminals agreement existed with respect to each of the
three consecutive, non-overlapping four-quarter periods
immediately preceding such date.
Definition of Adjusted Operating Surplus. Adjusted
operating surplus for any period generally means:
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operating surplus generated with respect to that period; less |
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any net increase in working capital borrowings with respect to
that period; less |
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any net reduction in cash reserves for operating expenditures
with respect to that period not relating to an operating
expenditure made with respect to that period; plus |
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any net decrease in working capital borrowings with respect to
that period; plus |
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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. |
42
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.
Effect of Expiration of the Subordination Period. Upon
expiration of the applicable subordination period, each
outstanding subordinated unit or Class B subordinated unit,
as the case may be, will convert into one common unit and will
then participate pro rata with the other common units in
distributions of available cash. In addition, if the unitholders
remove our general partner other than for cause and units held
by the general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor
of such removal:
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the subordination period for our subordinated units and our
Class B subordinated units will end and each subordinated
unit and Class B subordinated unit will immediately convert
into one common unit; |
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any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly
distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and |
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the general partner will have the right to convert its general
partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into
common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests. |
Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus during
the Subordination Periods
We make distributions of available cash from operating surplus
for any quarter during the subordination periods in the
following manner:
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First, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata,
and 2% to the general partner, until we distribute for each
outstanding common unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly
distribution for that quarter; |
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Second, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata,
and 2% to the general partner, until we distribute for each
outstanding 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; |
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Third, 98% to the subordinated unitholders and the
Class B subordinated unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the
general partner, until we distribute for each subordinated unit
and Class B subordinated unit an amount equal to the
minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and |
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Thereafter, in the manner described in
Incentive Distribution Rights below; |
provided, however, that distributions on the Class B
subordinated units may be suspended or reduced if Alon defaults
on its payments due us pursuant to its minimum volume commitment
under the Alon pipelines and terminals agreement.
Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus after
the Subordination Period
We make distributions of available cash from operating surplus
for any quarter after the subordination period in the following
manner:
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First, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to
the general partner, until we distribute for each outstanding
unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for
that quarter; and |
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Thereafter, in the manner described in
Incentive Distribution Rights below. |
Incentive Distribution Rights
Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an
increasing percentage 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 currently holds the incentive
distribution rights, but may transfer these rights separately
from its general partner interest, subject to restrictions in
the partnership agreement.
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If for any quarter:
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we have distributed available cash from operating surplus to the
common and subordinated unitholders in an amount equal to the
minimum quarterly distribution; and |
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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, we will distribute any additional available cash from
operating surplus for that quarter among the unitholders and the
general partner in the following manner:
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First, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to
the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of
$0.55 per unit for that quarter (the first target
distribution); |
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Second, 85% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15%
to the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total
of $0.625 per unit for that quarter (the second
target distribution); |
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Third, 75% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25%
to the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total
of $0.75 per unit for that quarter (the third target
distribution); and |
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Thereafter, 50% to all unitholders, pro rata, and
50% to the general partner. |
In each case, the amount of the target distribution set forth
above is exclusive of any distributions to common unitholders to
eliminate any cumulative arrearages in payment of the minimum
quarterly distribution. The percentage interests set forth above
for our general partner include its 2% general partner interest
and assume the general partner has not transferred its incentive
distribution rights.
Percentage Allocations of Available Cash from Operating
Surplus
The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of
the additional available cash from operating surplus between the
unitholders and our general partner up to the various 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, until available cash from
operating surplus we distribute reaches the next target
distribution level, if any. The percentage interests shown for
the unitholders and the 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 its 2% general partner interest and
assume the general partner has not transferred its incentive
distribution rights.
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Total Quarterly |
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Marginal Percentage Interest |
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Distribution |
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in Distributions |
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Target Amount |
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Unitholders |
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General Partner |
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Minimum Quarterly Distribution
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$0.50 |
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98 |
% |
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2 |
% |
First Target Distribution
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up to $0.55 |
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98 |
% |
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2 |
% |
Second Target Distribution
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above $0.55 up to $0.625 |
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85 |
% |
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15 |
% |
Third Target Distribution
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above $0.625 up to $0.75 |
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75 |
% |
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25 |
% |
Thereafter
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above $0.75 |
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50 |
% |
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50 |
% |
Distributions from Capital Surplus
How Distributions from Capital Surplus Are Made. We will
make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if
any, in the following manner:
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First, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to
the general partner, until we distribute for each common unit,
an amount of available cash from capital surplus equal to the
initial public offering price; |
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Second, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata,
and 2% to the 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 |
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Thereafter, we will make all distributions of
available cash from capital surplus as if they were from
operating surplus. |
Effect of a Distribution from Capital Surplus. The
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. The 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 are 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, after any of these distributions are
made, it may be easier for the 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 equal to the
initial unit price, we will reduce the minimum quarterly
distribution and the target distribution levels to zero. We will
then make all future distributions from operating surplus, with
50% being paid to the holders of units and 50% to the general
partner. The percentage interests shown for our general partner
include its 2% general partner interest and assume the 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 units into fewer units or subdivide
our units into a greater number of units, we will
proportionately adjust:
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the minimum quarterly distribution; |
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target distribution levels; |
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the unrecovered initial unit price; |
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the number of common units issuable during the subordination
period without a unitholder vote; and |
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the number of common units into which a subordinated unit is
convertible. |
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% of its initial level, the number of
common units issuable during the subordination period without
unitholder vote would double and each subordinated unit would be
convertible into two common units. We will 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, we will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and
the target distribution levels for each quarter 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 the 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.
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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 and the
general partner, in accordance with their capital account
balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale
or other disposition of our assets in liquidation.
The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended,
to the extent possible, to entitle the holders of outstanding
common units to a preference over the holders of outstanding
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 holders of common units 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 the 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 allocate any gain to the partners in the
following manner:
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First, to the general partner and the holders of
units who have negative balances in their capital accounts to
the extent of and in proportion to those negative balances; |
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Second, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata,
and 2% to the 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; |
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Third, 98% to the subordinated unitholders, pro
rata, and 2% to the 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; |
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Fourth, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2%
to the 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 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% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the
general partner, for each quarter of our existence; |
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Fifth, 85% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15%
to the 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% to the
unitholders, pro rata, and 15% to the general partner for each
quarter of our existence; |
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Sixth, 75% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25%
to the 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% to the
unitholders, pro rata, and 25% to the general partner for each
quarter of our existence; and |
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Thereafter, 50% to all unitholders, pro rata, and
50% to the general partner. |
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The percentage interests set forth above for our general partner
include its 2% general partner interest and assume the 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.
Manner of Adjustments for Losses. If our liquidation
occurs before the end of the subordination period, we will
generally allocate any loss to the general partner and the
unitholders in the following manner:
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First, 98% to holders of subordinated units in
proportion to the positive balances in their capital accounts
and 2% to the general partner, until the capital accounts of the
subordinated unitholders have been reduced to zero; |
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Second, 98% to the holders of common units in
proportion to the positive balances in their capital accounts
and 2% to the general partner, until the capital accounts of the
common unitholders have been reduced to zero; and |
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Thereafter, 100% to the 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.
Adjustments to Capital Accounts. We will make adjustments
to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In
doing so, we will allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes,
unrecognized gain or loss resulting from the adjustments to the
unitholders and the general partner in the same manner as we
allocate gain or loss upon liquidation. In the event that we
make positive adjustments to the capital accounts upon the
issuance of additional units, we will 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 general
partners capital account balances equaling the amount
which they would have been if no earlier positive adjustments to
the capital accounts had been made.
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DESCRIPTION OF OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The following is a summary of the material provisions of our
partnership agreement. Our amended and restated partnership
agreement has been filed with the Commission. The following
provisions of our partnership agreement are summarized elsewhere
in this prospectus:
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distributions of our available cash are described under
Cash Distribution Policy; |
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allocations of taxable income and other matters are described
under Material Tax Consequences; and |
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rights of holders of common units are described under
Description of Our Common Units. |
Unless otherwise noted, references in this Description of
Our Partnership Agreement to subordinated
units include both of Holly Energy Partners
subordinated units and Class B subordinated units.
Purpose
Our purpose under our partnership agreement is to serve as the
limited partner of our operating partnership and to engage in
any business activities that may be engaged in by our operating
partnership or that are approved by our general partner. The
partnership agreement of our operating partnership provides that
the operating partnership may, directly indirectly, engage in
(i) its operations as conducted immediately before our
initial public offering, (ii) any other activity approved
by the general partner but only to the extent that the general
partner determines that, as of the date of the acquisition or
commencement of the activity, the activity generates
qualifying income as this term is defined in
Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code, or
(iii) any activity that enhances the operations of an
activity that is described in clause (i) or (ii).
Power of Attorney
Each limited partner, and each person who acquires a unit from a
unitholder and executes and delivers a transfer application,
grants to our general partner and, if appointed, a liquidator, a
power of attorney to, among other things, execute and file
documents required for our qualification, continuance or
dissolution. The power of attorney also grants the authority for
the amendment of, and to make consents and waivers under, our
partnership agreement.
Reimbursements of Our General Partner
Our general partner does not receive any compensation for its
services as our general partner. It is, however, entitled to be
reimbursed for all of its costs incurred in managing and
operating our business. Our partnership agreement provides that
our general partner will determine the expenses that are
allocable to us in any reasonable manner determined by our
general partner in its sole discretion.
Issuance of Additional Securities
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited
number of additional partnership securities and rights to buy
partnership securities for the consideration and on the terms
and conditions determined by our general partner in its sole
discretion without the approval of the unitholders. During the
subordination periods, however, except as we discuss in the
following paragraph, we may not issue equity securities ranking
senior to the common units or an aggregate of more than
3,500,000 additional common units or units on a parity with the
common units, in each case, without the approval of the holders
of a unit majority.
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During or after the subordination period, we may issue an
unlimited number of common units as follows:
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upon conversion of the subordinated units; |
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under employee benefit plans; |
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upon conversion of the general partner interest and incentive
distribution rights as a result of a withdrawal or removal of
the general partner; |
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in connection with the conversion of units of equal rank with
the common units into common units under certain circumstances; |
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in the event of a combination or subdivision of common units; |
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in connection with an acquisition or a capital improvement that
increases cash flow from operations per unit on an estimated pro
forma basis; |
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if the proceeds of the issuance are used to repay indebtedness
the cost of which to service is greater than the distribution
obligations associated with the units issued in connection with
the debts retirement; or |
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in connection with the redemption of common units if the net
proceeds from the issuance of the new common units are used to
redeem an equal number of common units outstanding at the time
of such issuance, at a price per unit equal to the net proceeds
per newly issued common unit, before expenses. |
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the
issuance of additional common units, subordinated units,
Class B subordinated units or other equity securities.
Holders of any additional common units, subordinated units,
Class B subordinated units or other equity securities we
issue may be entitled to share equally with the then-existing
holders of such common units, subordinated units, Class B
subordinated units or other equity securities in our cash
distributions. In addition, the issuance of additional
partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of
the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our
partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership
interests that, in the sole discretion of our general partner,
may have special voting rights to which common units are not
entitled.
Upon issuance of additional partnership securities, the general
partner will be required to make additional capital
contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its 2% general
partner interest in us. Moreover, the 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 equity securities whenever, and on
the same terms that, we issue those securities to persons other
than the general partner and its affiliates, to the extent
necessary to maintain its and its affiliates percentage
interest, including its interest represented by common units and
subordinated units, that existed immediately prior to each
issuance. The holders of common units do not have preemptive
rights to acquire additional common units or other partnership
securities.
Amendments to Our Partnership Agreement
Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by,
or with the consent of, our general partner, which consent may
be given or withheld at its option, except as set forth in our
partnership agreement. Any amendment that materially and
adversely affects the rights or preferences of any type or class
of limited partner interests in relation to other types or
classes of limited partner interests or our general partner
interest will require the approval of at least a majority of the
type or class of limited partner interests or general partner
interests so affected. However, in some circumstances, more
particularly described in our partnership agreement, our general
partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement without
the approval of our limited partners or assignees.
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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
June 30, 2014 without obtaining the approval of the holders
of at least a majority of the outstanding common units,
excluding common units held by the general partner and its
affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding
limited liability and tax matters. On or after June 30,
2014, 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 the 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 the general partner and its
affiliates. In addition, the 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.
Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances,
other than as a result of a transfer by the general partner of
all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders
of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated
units, voting as separate classes, may select a successor to
that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected,
or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited
liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be
dissolved, wound up, and liquidated, unless within a specified
period of time after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit
majority agree in writing to continue our business and to
appoint a successor general partner.
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is
approved by the vote of the holders of not less than
662/3%
of our outstanding units, voting together as a single class,
including units held by the general partner and its affiliates,
and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability
and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also
subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the
vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common
units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes.
Our partnership agreement also provides that if our general
partner is removed as our general partner under circumstances
where cause does not exist and units held by the general partner
and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal:
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the subordination period will end and all outstanding
subordinated units will immediately convert into common units on
a one-for-one basis; |
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any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly
distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and |
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the general partner will have the right to convert its general
partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into
common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests
based on the fair market value of the interests at the time. |
In the event of removal of our general partner under
circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of the general
partner where that withdrawal violates the 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 for a cash payment equal
to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other
circumstances where the 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 of the departing general partner
and its incentive distribution rights for their 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.
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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
its 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 for the
termination of any employees employed by the departing general
partner or its affiliates for our benefit.
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless we are reconstituted and continued
as a new limited partnership, the person authorized to wind up
our affairs (the liquidator) will, acting with all the powers of
our general partner that the liquidator deems necessary or
desirable in its good faith judgment, liquidate our assets and
apply the proceeds of the liquidation as provided in Cash
Distribution Policy Distributions of Cash Upon
Liquidation. The liquidator may defer liquidation or
distribution of our assets for a reasonable period or distribute
assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be
impractical or would cause undue loss to the partners.
Transfer of General Partner Interests
Except for transfer by our general partner of all, but not less
than all, of its general partner interest in us to:
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an affiliate of the general partner (other than an
individual), or |
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another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of the
general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by
the general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to
another entity. |
our general partner may not transfer all or any part of its
general partner interest in us to another person prior to
June 30, 2014 without the approval of the holders of at
least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding
common units held by the general partner and its affiliates. As
a condition of this transfer, the transferee must, among other
things, assume the rights and duties of the general partner,
agree to be bound by the provisions of the partnership
agreement, and furnish an opinion of counsel regarding limited
liability and tax matters.
Our general partner and its affiliates may at any time transfer
units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval,
except that they may not transfer subordinated units to us.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner
and in Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C.
At any time, the partners of our general partner and the members
of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. may sell or transfer all or
part of their respective partnership or membership interests in
our general partner or Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. to an
affiliate or a third party without the approval of our
unitholders.
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights
Our general partner or its affiliates or a subsequent holder may
transfer its incentive distribution rights to an affiliate of
the holder (other than an individual) or another entity as part
of the merger or consolidation of such holder with or into
another entity, or sale of all or substantially all of its
assets to, that entity without the prior approval of the
unitholders. Prior to June 30, 2014, other transfers of the
incentive distribution rights will require the affirmative vote
of holders of a majority of the outstanding common units
excluding common units held by the general partner and its
affiliates. On or after June 30, 2014, the incentive
distribution rights will be freely transferable.
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Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are
intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to
remove HEP Logistics Holdings, L.P. as our general partner or
otherwise change management. If any person or group other than
the 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 prior approval of the board of directors.
The partnership agreement also provides that if the general
partner is removed under circumstances where cause does not
exist and units held by the general partner and its affiliates
are not voted in favor of that removal:
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the subordination period will end and all outstanding
subordinated units will immediately convert into common units on
a one-for-one basis; |
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any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly
distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and |
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the general partner will have the right to convert its general
partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into
common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests. |
Limited Call Right
If at any time the general partner and its affiliates hold more
than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding partnership
securities of any class, the general partner will have the
right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its
affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of
the remaining partnership securities of the class held by
unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by the
general partner, on at least ten but not more than 60 days
notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the
greater of: (1) the highest cash price paid by either of
the general partner or any of its affiliates for any partnership
securities of the class purchased within the 90 days
preceding the date on which the general partner first mails
notice of its election to purchase those partnership securities;
and (2) the current market price as of the date three days
before the date the notice is mailed.
As a result of the general partners right to purchase
outstanding partnership securities, a holder of partnership
securities may have his partnership securities purchased at an
undesirable time or price. 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
Common Units.
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:
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our general partner; |
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the general partner of our general partner; |
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any departing general partner; |
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any person who is or was an affiliate of the general partner of
our general partner or any departing general partner; |
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any person who is or was an officer, director, member or partner
of any entity described in the first four bullet-points
above; or |
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any person designated by the general partner of the general
partner. |
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Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of
our assets. Unless it otherwise agrees, the general partner will
not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to
contribute or loan funds or assets to us to enable us to
effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against
liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons
for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the
power to indemnify the person against liabilities under the
partnership agreement.
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 partnership
securities 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 HEP Logistics Holdings, L.P. as our
general partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental
to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts and
commissions.
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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a
result of the relationships between our general partner and its
affiliates, including Holly Corporation, on the one hand, and us
and our limited partners, on the other hand. The directors and
officers of the general partner of our general partner, Holly
Logistic Services, L.L.C., have fiduciary duties to manage the
general partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. At the
same time, our general partner has a fiduciary duty to manage us
in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders.
Whenever a conflict arises between our general partner or its
affiliates, on the one hand, and us or any other partner, on the
other, our general partner will resolve that conflict. Our
partnership agreement contains provisions that modify and limit
our general partners fiduciary duties to the unitholders.
Our partnership agreement also restricts the remedies available
to unitholders for actions taken that, without those
limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations
under the partnership agreement or its duties to us or our
unitholders if the resolution of the conflict is:
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approved by the conflicts committee, although our general
partner is not obligated to seek such approval; |
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approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common
units, excluding any common units owned by our general partner
or any of its affiliates; |
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on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being
provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or |
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fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of
the relationships between the parties involved, including other
transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous
to us. |
Our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the
approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of the
board of directors of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. If our
general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts
committee and the board of directors of Holly Logistic Services,
L.L.C. determines that the resolution or course of action taken
with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the
standards set forth in the third and fourth bullet points above,
then the resolution or course of action taken by the general
partner will be permitted and deemed approved by the unitholders
and will not constitute a breach of its obligations under the
partnership agreement or its duties to us or the unitholders.
Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for
in our partnership agreement, our general partner or the
conflicts committee may consider any factors it determines in
good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. When our
partnership agreement requires someone to act in good faith, it
requires that person to reasonably believe that he is acting in
the best interests of the partnership, unless the context
otherwise requires.
Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described
below, among others.
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Actions taken by our general partner may affect the amount
of cash available for distribution to unitholders or accelerate
the right to convert subordinated units. |
The amount of cash that is available for distribution to
unitholders is affected by decisions of our general partner
regarding such matters as:
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amount and timing of asset purchases and sales; |
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cash expenditures; |
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borrowings; |
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issuance of additional units; and |
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the creation, reduction, or increase of reserves in any quarter. |
In addition, borrowings by us and our affiliates do not
constitute a breach of any duty owed by the general partner to
our unitholders, including borrowings that have the purpose or
effect of:
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enabling our general partner or its affiliates to receive
distributions on any subordinated units held by them or the
incentive distribution rights; or |
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hastening the expiration of the subordination period. |
For example, in the event we have not generated sufficient cash
from our operations to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on
our common units and our subordinated units, our partnership
agreement permits us to borrow funds, which would enable us to
make this distribution on all outstanding units.
Our partnership agreement provides that we and our subsidiaries
may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates.
Our general partner and its affiliates may not borrow funds from
us, our operating partnership, or its operating subsidiaries,
other than in connection with Holly Corporations
centralized cash management program.
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We do not have any officers or employees and rely solely
on officers and employees of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. and
its affiliates. |
Affiliates of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. conduct businesses
and activities of their own in which we have no economic
interest. If these separate activities are significantly greater
than our activities, there could be material competition for the
time and effort of the officers and employees who provide
services to Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. The officers of
Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. are not required to work full
time on our affairs. These officers are required to devote time
to the affairs of Holly Corporation or its affiliates and are
compensated by them for the services rendered to them.
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We will reimburse the general partner and its affiliates
for expenses. |
We will reimburse the general partner and its affiliates for
costs incurred in managing and operating us, including costs
incurred in rendering corporate staff and support services to
us. Our partnership agreement provides that the general partner
will determine the expenses that are allocable to us in good
faith.
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Our general partner intends to limit its liability
regarding our obligations. |
Our general partner intends to limit its liability under
contractual arrangements so that the other party has recourse
only to our assets and not against the general partner or its
assets or any affiliate of the general partner or its assets.
Our partnership agreement provides that any action taken by our
general partner to limit its or our liability is not a breach of
the general partners fiduciary duties, even if we could
have obtained terms that are more favorable without the
limitation on liability.
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Common unitholders will have no right to enforce
obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under
agreements with us. |
Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our general
partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the
unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce
the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our
favor.
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Contracts between us, on the one hand, and our general
partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not be the result
of arms-length negotiations. |
Our partnership agreement allows our general partner to
determine, in good faith, any amounts to pay itself or its
affiliates for any services rendered to us. Our general partner
may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any
of its affiliates on our behalf. Neither our partnership
agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts, and
arrangements between us and the general partner and its
affiliates are or will be the result of arms-length
negotiations. However, any of these transactions are to be on
terms that are fair and reasonable to us.
Our general partner and its affiliates will have no obligation
to permit us to use any facilities or assets of the general
partner and its affiliates, except as may be provided in
contracts entered into specifically dealing with that use. There
is no obligation of our general partner and its affiliates to
enter into any contracts of this kind.
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Common units are subject to our general partners
limited call right. |
Our general partner may exercise its right to call and purchase
common units as provided in the partnership agreement or assign
this right to one of its affiliates or to us. Our general
partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty
restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right. As
a result, a common unitholder may have his common units
purchased from him at an undesirable time or price.
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We may not choose to retain separate counsel for ourselves
or for the holders of common units. |
The attorneys, independent accountants, and others who perform
services for us have been retained by our general partner.
Attorneys, independent accountants, and others who perform
services for us are selected by our general partner or the
conflicts committee and may perform services for our general
partner and its affiliates. We may retain separate counsel for
ourselves or the holders of common units in the event of a
conflict of interest between our general partner and its
affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the holders of common
units, on the other, depending on the nature of the conflict. We
do not intend to do so in most cases.
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Our general partners affiliates may compete with
us. |
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will
be restricted from engaging in any business activities other
than those incidental to its ownership of interests in us and
certain services the employees of our general partner are
currently providing to Holly Corporation and its affiliates.
Except as provided in our partnership agreement and the omnibus
agreement among us, Holly Corporation and our general partner,
affiliates of our general partner are not prohibited from
engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that
might be in direct competition with us.
Our general partner is accountable to us and our unitholders as
a fiduciary. Fiduciary duties owed to unitholders by our general
partner are prescribed by law and the partnership agreement. The
Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, which we refer
to in this prospectus as the Delaware Act, provides that
Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership
agreements, restrict or expand the fiduciary duties owed by a
general partner to limited partners and the partnership.
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Our partnership agreement contains various provisions
restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by
our general partner. These modifications are detrimental to the
common unitholders because they restrict the remedies available
to unitholders for actions that, without those limitations,
might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below.
The following is a summary of the material restrictions of the
fiduciary duties owed by our general partner to the limited
partners:
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State law fiduciary duty standards |
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Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an
obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty.
The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership
agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general
partner to act for the partnership in the same manner as a
prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty,
in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement
providing otherwise, would generally prohibit a general partner
of a Delaware limited partnership from taking any action or
engaging in any transaction where a conflict of interest is
present. |
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The Delaware Act generally provides that a limited partner may
institute legal action on behalf of the partnership to recover
damages from a third party where a general partner has refused
to institute the action or where an effort to cause a general
partner to do so is not likely to succeed. In addition, the
statutory or case law of some jurisdictions may permit a limited
partner to institute legal action on behalf of himself and all
other similarly situated limited partners to recover damages
from a general partner for violations of its fiduciary duties to
the limited partners. |
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Partnership agreement modified
standards |
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Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive or
consent to conduct by our general partner and its affiliates
that might otherwise raise issues as to compliance with
fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership
agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in
its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its
individual capacity, it must act in good faith and
will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law.
In addition, when our general partner is acting in its
individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our
general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to
us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the
obligations to which the general partner would otherwise be held. |
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Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated
transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not
involving a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by the
conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general
partners general partner must be: |
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on terms no less favorable to us than those
generally being provided to or available from unrelated third
parties; or |
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fair and reasonable to us, taking into
account the totality of the relationships between the parties
involved (including other transactions that may be particularly
favorable or advantageous to us). |
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If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts
committee and the board of directors of our general
partners general partner determines that the resolution or
course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest
satisfies either of the standards set forth in the bullet points
above, then the resolution or course of action taken by the
general partner will be permitted and deemed approved by the
unitholders and will not constitute a breach of its obligations
under the partnership agreement or its duties to us or the
unitholders. These standards reduce the obligations to which our
general partner would otherwise be held. |
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In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the
obligations of our general partner, our partnership agreement
further provides that our general partner, its general partner
and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary
damages to us, our limited partners, or assignees for errors of
judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a
final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent
jurisdiction determining that the general partner or its
officers and directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud,
willful misconduct or gross negligence. |
In order to become one of our limited partners, a common
unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in
the partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed
above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act
favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the
enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a
limited partner or assignee to sign a partnership agreement does
not render the partnership agreement unenforceable against that
person.
We must indemnify our general partner and Holly Logistic
Services, L.L.C. and their officers, directors, and managers, to
the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs
and expenses incurred by the general partner, Holly Logistic
Services, L.L.C. or these other persons. We must provide this
indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable
judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that
these persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful
misconduct or gross negligence. We also must provide this
indemnification for criminal proceedings unless our general
partner, Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. or these other persons
acted with knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. Thus, our
general partner and Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. could be
indemnified for their negligent acts if they met requirements
set forth above. To the extent that these provisions purport to
include indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, such indemnification is contrary to public policy
and therefore unenforceable.
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MATERIAL TAX CONSEQUENCES
This section is a summary of the material tax consequences that
may be relevant to prospective unitholders who are individual
citizens or residents of the United States and, unless otherwise
noted in the following discussion, represents the opinion of
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., special counsel to the general
partner and us, insofar as it relates to matters of United
States federal income tax law matters. This section is based
upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, existing
and proposed regulations and current administrative rulings and
court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Later
changes in these authorities may cause the tax consequences to
vary substantially from the consequences described below.
The following discussion does not comment on all federal income
tax matters affecting us or the unitholders. Moreover, the
discussion focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or
residents of the United States and has only limited application
to corporations, estates, trusts, nonresident aliens or other
unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as
tax-exempt institutions, foreign persons, individual retirement
accounts (IRAs), real estate investment trusts (REITs) or mutual
funds. Accordingly, we recommend that each prospective
unitholder consult, and depend on, his own tax advisor in
analyzing the federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences
particular to him of the ownership or disposition of common
units.
All statements as to matters of law and legal conclusions, but
not as to factual matters, contained in this section, unless
otherwise noted, are the opinion of Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. and are based on the accuracy of the representations made
by us.
No ruling has been or will be requested from the IRS regarding
any matter affecting us or prospective unitholders. Instead, we
will rely on opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. Unlike a ruling, an opinion of counsel represents only
that counsels best legal judgment and does not bind the
IRS or the courts. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made
here may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS.
Any contest of this sort with the IRS may materially and
adversely impact the market for the common units and the prices
at which common units trade. In addition, the costs of any
contest with the IRS will be borne directly or indirectly by the
unitholders and the general partner. Furthermore, the tax
treatment of us, or of an investment in us, may be significantly
modified by future legislative or administrative changes or
court decisions. Any modifications may or may not be
retroactively applied.
For the reasons described below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following
specific federal income tax issues:
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(1) the treatment of a unitholder whose common units are
loaned to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units
(please read Tax Consequences of Unit
Ownership Treatment of Short Sales); |
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(2) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable
income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations
(please read Disposition of Common
Units Allocations Between Transferors and
Transferees); and |
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(3) whether our method for depreciating Section 743
adjustments is sustainable (please read Tax
Consequences of Unit Ownership Section 754
Election). |
Partnership Status
A partnership is not a taxable entity and incurs no federal
income tax liability. Instead, each partner of a partnership is
required to take into account his share of items of income,
gain, loss and deduction of the partnership in computing his
federal income tax liability, regardless of whether cash
distributions are made to him by the partnership. Distributions
by a partnership to a partner are generally not taxable unless
the amount of cash distributed is in excess of the
partners adjusted basis in his partnership interest.
Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that
publicly-traded partnerships will, as a general rule, be taxed
as corporations. However, an exception, referred to as the
Qualifying Income
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Exception, exists with respect to a publicly-traded
partnership of which 90% or more of the gross income for every
taxable year consists of qualifying income.
Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the
transportation, storage and processing of crude oil, natural gas
and products thereof. Other types of qualifying income include
interest other than from a financial business, dividends, gains
from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other
disposition of assets held for the production of income that
otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less
than 3% of our current gross income is not qualifying income;
however, this estimate could change from time to time. Based
upon and subject to this estimate, the factual representations
made by us and the general partner and a review of the
applicable legal authorities, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is
of the opinion that at least 90% of our current gross income
constitutes qualifying income.
No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS and the IRS
has made no determination as to our status as a partnership for
federal income tax purposes. Instead, we will rely on the
opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that, based upon the
Internal Revenue Code, its regulations, published revenue
rulings and court decisions and the representations described
below, we (together with the operating partnership and its
subsidiaries) will be classified as a partnership for federal
income tax purposes.
In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has
relied on factual representations made by us and the general
partner. The representations made by us and our general partner
upon which Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied are:
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(a) Neither we, the general partner of the operating
partnership nor the operating partnership has elected or will
elect to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax
purposes; and |
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(b) For each taxable year, more than 90% of our gross
income has been and will be income that Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. has opined or will opine is qualifying income
within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Internal
Revenue Code. |
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, we will be
treated as if we had transferred 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
distributed that stock to the unitholders in liquidation of
their interests in us. This contribution and liquidation should
be tax-free to unitholders and us so long as we, at that time,
do not have liabilities in excess of the tax basis of our
assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as a corporation for
federal income tax purposes.
If we were taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, either
as a result of a failure to meet the Qualifying Income Exception
or otherwise, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction
would be reflected only on our tax return rather than being
passed through to the unitholders, and our net income would be
taxed to us at corporate rates. In addition, any distribution
made to a unitholder would be treated as either taxable dividend
income, to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and
profits, or, in the absence of earnings and profits, a
nontaxable return of capital, to the extent of the
unitholders tax basis in his common units, or taxable
capital gain, after the unitholders tax basis in his
common units is reduced to zero. Accordingly, taxation as a
corporation would result in a material reduction in a
unitholders cash flow and after-tax return and thus would
likely result in a substantial reduction of the value of the
units.
The discussion below is based on Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P.s opinion that we will be classified as a
partnership for federal income tax purposes.
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Limited Partner Status
Unitholders who have become limited partners of Holly Energy
Partners will be treated as partners of Holly Energy Partners
for federal income tax purposes. Also:
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(a) assignees who have executed and delivered transfer
applications, and are awaiting admission as limited
partners, and |
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(b) unitholders whose common units are held in street name
or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in
the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the
ownership of their common units, |
will be treated as partners of Holly Energy Partners for federal
income tax purposes. As there is no direct authority addressing
assignees of common units who are entitled to execute and
deliver transfer applications and thereby become entitled to
direct the exercise of attendant rights, but who fail to execute
and deliver transfer applications, Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P.s opinion does not extend to these persons.
Furthermore, a purchaser or other transferee of common units who
does not execute and deliver a transfer application may not
receive some federal income tax information or reports furnished
to record holders of common units unless the common units are
held in a nominee or street name account and the nominee or
broker has executed and delivered a transfer application for
those common units.
A beneficial owner of common units whose units have been
transferred to a short seller to complete a short sale would
appear to lose his status as a partner with respect to those
units for federal income tax purposes. Please read
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Treatment of Short Sales.
Income, gains, deductions or losses would not appear to be
reportable by a unitholder who is not a partner for federal
income tax purposes, and any cash distributions received by a
unitholder who is not a partner for federal income tax purposes
would therefore be fully taxable as ordinary income. Prospective
unitholders are urged to consult with their own tax advisors
with respect to their status as partners in Holly Energy
Partners for federal income tax purposes.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Flow-through of Taxable Income. We will not pay any
federal income tax. Instead, each unitholder will be required to
report on his income tax return his share of our income, gains,
losses and deductions without regard to whether corresponding
cash distributions are received by him. Consequently, we may
allocate income to a unitholder even if he has not received a
cash distribution. Each unitholder will be required to include
in income his allocable share of our income, gains, losses and
deductions for our taxable year ending with or within his
taxable year.
Treatment of Distributions. Distributions by us to a
unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder for
federal income tax purposes to the extent of his tax basis in
his common units immediately before the distribution. Our cash
distributions in excess of a unitholders tax basis
generally will be considered to be gain from the sale or
exchange of the common units, taxable in accordance with the
rules described under Disposition of Common
Units below. Any reduction in a unitholders share of
our liabilities for which no partner, including the general
partner, bears the economic risk of loss, known as
nonrecourse liabilities, will be treated as a
distribution of cash to that unitholder. To the extent our
distributions cause a unitholders at risk
amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year, he
must recapture any losses deducted in previous years. Please
read Limitations on Deductibility of
Losses.
A decrease in a unitholders percentage interest in us
because of our issuance of additional common units will decrease
his share of our nonrecourse liabilities, and thus will result
in a corresponding deemed distribution of cash. A non-pro rata
distribution of money or property may result in ordinary income
to a unitholder, regardless of his tax basis in his common
units, if the distribution reduces the unitholders share
of our unrealized receivables, including
depreciation recapture, and/or substantially appreciated
inventory items, both as defined in the Internal
Revenue Code, and collectively, Section 751
Assets.
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To that extent, he will be treated as having been distributed
his proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and
having exchanged those assets with us in return for the non-pro
rata portion of the actual distribution made to him. This latter
deemed exchange will generally result in the unitholders
realization of ordinary income, which will equal the excess of
(1) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over
(2) the unitholders tax basis for the share of
Section 751 Assets deemed relinquished in the exchange.
Basis of Common Units. A unitholders initial tax
basis for his common units will be the amount he paid for the
common units plus his share of our nonrecourse liabilities. That
basis will be increased by his share of our income and by any
increases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities. That
basis will be decreased, but not below zero, by distributions
from us, by the unitholders share of our losses, by any
decreases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities and by his
share of our expenditures that are not deductible in computing
taxable income and are not required to be capitalized. A
unitholder will have no share of our debt which is recourse to
the general partner, but will have a share, generally based on
his share of profits, of our nonrecourse liabilities. Please
read Disposition of Common Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses. The deduction by
a unitholder of his share of our losses will be limited to the
tax basis in his units and, in the case of an individual
unitholder or a corporate unitholder, if more than 50% of the
value of the corporate unitholders stock is owned directly
or indirectly by five or fewer individuals or some tax-exempt
organizations, to the amount for which the unitholder is
considered to be at risk with respect to our
activities, if that is less than his tax basis. A unitholder
must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent
that distributions cause his 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 these limitations will
carry forward and will be allowable to the extent that his tax
basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is
subsequently increased. Upon the taxable disposition of a unit,
any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that
were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but may not
be offset by losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any
excess loss above that gain previously suspended by the at risk
or basis limitations is no longer utilizable.
In general, a unitholder will be at risk to the extent of the
tax basis of his units, excluding any portion of that basis
attributable to his share of our nonrecourse liabilities,
reduced by any amount of money he borrows to acquire or hold his
units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in
us, is related to the unitholder or can look only to the units
for repayment. A unitholders at risk amount will increase
or decrease as the tax basis of the unitholders units
increases or decreases, other than tax basis increases or
decreases attributable to increases or decreases in his share of
our nonrecourse liabilities.
The passive loss limitations generally provide that individuals,
estates, trusts and some closely-held corporations and personal
service corporations can deduct losses from passive activities,
which are generally corporate or partnership activities in which
the taxpayer does not materially participate, only to the extent
of the taxpayers income from those passive activities. 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 our passive
income generated in the future and will not be available to
offset income from other passive activities or investments,
including our investments or investments in other
publicly-traded partnerships, or salary or active business
income. Passive losses that are not deductible because they
exceed a unitholders share of income we generate may be
deducted in full when he disposes of his entire investment in us
in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The
passive activity loss rules are applied after other applicable
limitations on deductions, including the at risk rules and the
basis limitation.
A unitholders share of our net income may be offset by any
suspended passive losses, but it may not be offset by any other
current or carryover losses from other passive activities,
including those attributable to other publicly-traded
partnerships.
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Limitations on Interest Deductions. The deductibility of
a non-corporate taxpayers investment interest
expense is generally limited to the amount of that
taxpayers net investment income. Investment
interest expense includes:
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interest on indebtedness properly allocable to property held for
investment; |
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our interest expense attributed to portfolio income; and |
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the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an
interest in a passive activity to the extent attributable to
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, less deductible expenses, other than
interest, directly connected with the production of investment
income, but generally does not include gains attributable to the
disposition of property held for investment. The IRS has
indicated that net passive income earned by a publicly-traded
partnership will be treated as investment income to its
unitholders. In addition, the unitholders share of our
portfolio income will be treated as investment income.
Entity-Level Collections. If we are required or
elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or
foreign income tax on behalf of any unitholder or the general
partner or any former unitholder, we are authorized to pay those
taxes from our funds. That payment, if made, will be treated as
a distribution of cash to the partner on whose behalf the
payment was made. If the payment is made on behalf of a person
whose identity cannot be determined, we are authorized to treat
the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. We are
authorized to amend the partnership agreement in the manner
necessary to maintain uniformity of intrinsic tax
characteristics of units and to adjust later distributions, so
that after giving effect to these distributions, the priority
and characterization of distributions otherwise applicable under
the partnership agreement is maintained as nearly as is
practicable. Payments by us as described above could give rise
to an overpayment of tax on behalf of an individual partner in
which event the partner would be required to file a claim in
order to obtain a credit or refund.
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 among the general partner
and the unitholders in accordance with their percentage
interests in us. At any time that distributions are made to the
common units in excess of distributions to the subordinated
units, or incentive distributions are made to the general
partner, gross income will be allocated to the recipients to the
extent of these distributions. If we have a net loss for the
entire year, that loss will be allocated first to the general
partner and the unitholders in accordance with their percentage
interests in us to the extent of their positive capital accounts
and, second, to the general partner.
Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be
allocated to account for the difference between the tax basis
and fair market value of property contributed to us by the
general partner and its affiliates, referred to in this
discussion as Contributed Property. The effect of
these allocations to a unitholder purchasing common units in an
offering will be essentially the same as if the tax basis of our
assets were equal to their fair market value at the time of the
offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be
allocated to the extent possible to the partner who was
allocated the deduction giving rise to the treatment of that
gain as recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of
ordinary income by some unitholders. Finally, although we do not
expect that our operations will result in the creation of
negative capital accounts, if negative capital accounts
nevertheless result, items of our income and gain will be
allocated in an amount and manner to eliminate the negative
balance as quickly as possible.
An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction,
other than an allocation required by the Internal Revenue Code
to eliminate the difference between a partners
book capital account, credited with the fair market
value of Contributed Property, and tax capital
account, credited with the tax basis of Contributed Property,
referred to in this discussion as the 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
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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 his interest in us, which
will be determined by taking into account all the facts and
circumstances, including:
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his relative contributions to us; |
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the interests of all the partners in profits and losses; |
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the interest of all the partners in cash flow and other
nonliquidating distributions; and |
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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 Tax
Consequences of Unit Ownership Section 754
Election and Disposition of Common
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 Short Sales. A unitholder whose units are
loaned to a short seller to cover a short sale of
units may be considered as having disposed of those units. If
so, he would no longer be a partner for those units during the
period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the
disposition. As a result, during this period:
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any of our income, gain, loss or deduction with respect to those
units would not be reportable by the unitholder; |
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any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those
units would be fully taxable; and |
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all of these distributions would appear to be ordinary income. |
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion
regarding the treatment of a unitholder whose common units are
loaned to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units;
therefore, unitholders desiring to assure their status as
partners and avoid the risk of gain recognition from a loan to a
short seller are urged to modify any applicable brokerage
account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing
their units. The IRS has announced that it is actively studying
issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of
partnership interests. Please also read
Disposition of Common Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss.
Alternative Minimum Tax. Each unitholder will be required
to take into account his distributive share of any items of our
income, gain, loss or deduction for purposes of the alternative
minimum tax. The current minimum tax rate for noncorporate
taxpayers is 26% on the first $175,000 of alternative minimum
taxable income in excess of the exemption amount and 28% on any
additional alternative minimum taxable income. We strongly
recommend that prospective unitholders consult with their tax
advisors as to the impact of an investment in units on their
liability for the alternative minimum tax.
Tax Rates. In general the highest effective United States
federal income tax rate for individuals currently is 35.0% and
the maximum United States federal income tax rate for net
capital gains of an individual is currently 15.0% if the asset
disposed of was held for more than 12 months at the time of
disposition.
Section 754 Election. We have made the election
permitted by Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code. That
election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The
election generally permits us to adjust a common unit
purchasers tax basis in our assets (inside
basis) under Section 743(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code to reflect his purchase price. This election does not apply
to a person who purchases common units directly from us. The
Section 743(b) adjustment belongs to the purchaser and not
to other unitholders. For purposes of this discussion, a
unitholders inside basis in our assets will be considered
to have two components: (1) his share of our tax basis in
our assets (common basis) and (2) his
Section 743(b) adjustment to that basis.
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Treasury regulations under Section 743 of the Internal
Revenue Code require that, if the remedial allocation method is
adopted (which we have adopted), a portion of the
Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to recovery property
be depreciated over the remaining cost recovery period for the
Section 704(c) built-in gain. Under Treasury regulation
Section 1.167(c)-l(a)(6), a Section 743(b) adjustment
attributable to property subject to depreciation under
Section 167 of the Internal Revenue Code, rather than cost
recovery deductions under Section 168, is generally
required to be depreciated using either the straight-line method
or the 150% declining balance method. Under our partnership
agreement, our general partner is authorized to take a position
to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not
consistent with these Treasury Regulations. Please read
Tax Treatment of Operations and
Uniformity of Units.
Although Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine as
to the validity of this approach because there is no clear
authority on this issue, we intend to depreciate the portion of
a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to unrealized
appreciation in the value of Contributed Property, to the extent
of any unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, using a rate of
depreciation or amortization derived from the depreciation or
amortization method and useful life applied to the common basis
of the property, or treat that portion as non-amortizable to the
extent attributable to property the common basis of which is not
amortizable. This method is consistent with the regulations
under Section 743 of the Internal Revenue Code but is
arguably inconsistent with Treasury regulation
Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6), which is not expected to directly
apply to a material portion of our assets. To the extent this
Section 743(b) adjustment is attributable to appreciation
in value in excess of the unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, we
will apply the rules described in the Treasury regulations and
legislative history. If we determine that this position cannot
reasonably be taken, we may take a depreciation or amortization
position under which all purchasers acquiring units in the same
month would receive depreciation or amortization, whether
attributable to common basis or a Section 743(b)
adjustment, based upon the same applicable rate as if they had
purchased a direct interest in our assets. This kind of
aggregate approach may result in lower annual depreciation or
amortization deductions than would otherwise be allowable to
some unitholders. Please read Tax Treatment of
Operations Uniformity of Units.
A Section 754 election is advantageous if the
transferees tax basis in his units is higher than the
units share of our common basis immediately prior to the
transfer. In that case, as a result of the election, the
transferee would have, among other items, a greater amount of
depreciation and depletion deductions and his share of any gain
or loss on a sale of our assets would be less. Conversely, a
Section 754 election is disadvantageous if the
transferees tax basis in his units is lower than those
units share of the aggregate tax basis of our assets
immediately prior to the transfer. Thus, the fair market value
of the units may be affected either favorably or unfavorably by
the election.
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. For example, the
allocation of the Section 743(b) adjustment among our
assets must be made in accordance with the Internal Revenue
Code. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any
Section 743(b) adjustment allocated by us to our tangible
assets to goodwill instead. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is
generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a
less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot
assure you that the determinations we make will not be
successfully challenged by the IRS and that the deductions
resulting from them will not be reduced or disallowed
altogether. Should the IRS require a different 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 he would have been allocated had the
election not been revoked.
Tax Treatment of Operations
Accounting Method and Taxable Year. We use the year
ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual
method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Each
unitholder will be required to include in income his share of
our income, gain, loss and deduction for our taxable year ending
within or
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with his 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 his units following the close of our
taxable year but before the close of his taxable year must
include his share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in
income for his taxable year, with the result that he will be
required to include in income for his taxable year his share of
more than one year of our income, gain, loss and deduction.
Please read Disposition of Common
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. The federal income
tax burden associated with the difference between the fair
market value of our assets and their tax basis immediately prior
to an offering will be borne by partners holding interests in us
immediately prior to that offering. Please read
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.
To the extent allowable, we may elect to use the depreciation
and cost recovery methods that will result in the largest
deductions being taken in the early years after assets are
placed in service. We are not entitled to any amortization
deductions with respect to any goodwill conveyed to us on
formation. Property we subsequently acquire or construct may be
depreciated using accelerated methods permitted by the Internal
Revenue Code.
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 previously deducted and the nature
of the property, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed
as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a common
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 his interest in us. Please read
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction and
Disposition of Common Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss.
The costs incurred in selling our units (called
syndication expenses) must be capitalized and cannot
be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. 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 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
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 deductions previously reported
by unitholders might change, and unitholders might be required
to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest
and penalties with respect to those adjustments.
Disposition of Common Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss. Gain or loss will be
recognized on a sale of units equal to the difference between
the amount realized and the unitholders tax basis for the
units sold. A unitholders amount realized will be measured
by the sum of the cash or the fair market value of other
property received by him plus his share of our nonrecourse
liabilities. Because the amount realized includes a
unitholders share of our nonrecourse liabilities, the gain
recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability
in excess of any cash received from the sale.
Prior distributions from us in excess of cumulative net taxable
income for a common unit that decreased a unitholders tax
basis in that common unit will, in effect, become taxable income
if the
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common unit is sold at a price greater than the
unitholders tax basis in that common unit, even if the
price received is less than his original cost.
Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder,
other than a dealer in units, on the sale or
exchange of a unit held for more than one year will generally be
taxable as capital gain or loss. Capital gain recognized by an
individual on the sale of units held more than 12 months
will generally be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. A portion of
this gain or loss, which will likely be substantial, however,
will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss
under Section 751 of the Internal Revenue Code to the
extent attributable to assets giving rise to depreciation
recapture or other unrealized receivables or to
inventory items we own. The term unrealized
receivables includes potential recapture items, including
depreciation recapture. Ordinary income attributable to
unrealized receivables, inventory items and depreciation
recapture may exceed net taxable gain realized upon 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 a capital loss upon a sale of units.
Net capital losses may offset capital gains and no more than
$3,000 of ordinary income, in the case of individuals, and may
only be used to offset capital gains in the case of corporations.
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. Treasury Regulations under
Section 1223 of the Internal Revenue Code allow a selling
unitholder who can identify common units transferred with an
ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding
period of the common units transferred. Thus, according to the
ruling, a common unitholder will be unable to select high or low
basis common units to sell as would be the case with corporate
stock, but, according to the Treasury regulations, may designate
specific common units sold for purposes of determining the
holding period of units transferred. A unitholder electing to
use the actual holding period of common units transferred must
consistently use that identification method for all subsequent
sales or exchanges of common units. We strongly recommend that a
unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a
sale of common units purchased in separate transactions consult
his tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling
and application of the regulations.
Specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code affect the
taxation of some financial products and securities, including
partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an
appreciated partnership interest, one in which gain
would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at
its fair market value, if the taxpayer or related persons
enter(s) into:
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a short sale; |
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an offsetting notional principal contract; or |
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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 also 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.
Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees. In
general, our taxable income and losses 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 other than
in the ordinary course of business will be allocated among the
unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which that
gain or loss is
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recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be
allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the
date of transfer.
The use of this method may not be permitted under existing
Treasury Regulations. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. is unable to opine on the validity of this method of
allocating income and deductions between unitholders. If this
method is not allowed under the Treasury Regulations, or only
applies to transfers of less than all of the unitholders
interest, our taxable income or losses might be reallocated
among the unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of
allocation between 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 owns units at any time during a quarter and who
disposes of them prior to the record date set for a cash
distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our
income, gain, loss and deductions attributable to that quarter
but will not be entitled to receive that cash distribution.
Notification Requirements. A unitholder who sells or
exchanges units, other than through a broker, generally is
required to notify us in writing of that sale or exchange within
30 days after the sale or exchange (or, if earlier, January
15 of the year following the sale). A unitholder who acquires
units generally is required to notify us in writing of that
acquisition within 30 days of that purchase, unless a
broker or nominee will satisfy such requirement. We are required
to notify the IRS of any such transfers and to furnish specified
information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to satisfy
these reporting obligations may, in some cases, lead to the
imposition of penalties.
Constructive Termination. We will be considered to have
been terminated for tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange
of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits
within a 12-month period. 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 a fiscal
year ending December 31, the closing of our taxable year
may result in more than 12 months of our taxable income or
loss being includable in his taxable income for the year of
termination. We would be required to make new tax elections
after a termination, including a new election under
Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code, and a termination
would result in a deferral of our deductions for depreciation. A
termination could also result in penalties if we were unable to
determine that the termination had occurred. Moreover, a
termination might either accelerate the application of, or
subject us to, any tax legislation enacted before the
termination.
Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units, 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, both statutory and
regulatory. A lack of uniformity can result from a literal
application of Treasury
Regulation Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6). Any
non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of the
units. Please read Tax Consequences of Unit
Ownership Section 754 Election.
We intend to depreciate the portion of a Section 743(b)
adjustment attributable to unrealized appreciation in the value
of Contributed Property, to the extent of any unamortized
Book-Tax Disparity, using a rate of depreciation or amortization
derived from the depreciation or amortization method and useful
life applied to the common basis of that property, or treat that
portion as nonamortizable, to the extent attributable to
property the common basis of which is not amortizable,
consistent with the regulations under Section 743 of the
Internal Revenue Code, even though that position may be
inconsistent with Treasury regulation
Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6). Please read Tax
Consequences of Unit Ownership Section 754
Election. To the extent that the Section 743(b)
adjustment is attributable to appreciation in value in excess of
the unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, we will apply the rules
described in the Treasury Regulations and legislative history.
If we determine that this position cannot reasonably be taken,
we may adopt a depreciation and amortization position under
which all purchasers acquiring units in the same month would
receive depreciation and amortization deductions, whether
attributable to a common basis or Section 743(b)
adjustment, based upon the same applicable rate as if they had
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purchased a direct interest in our property. If this position is
adopted, it may result in lower annual depreciation and
amortization deductions than would otherwise be allowable to
some unitholders and risk the loss of depreciation and
amortization deductions not taken in the year that these
deductions are otherwise allowable. This position will not be
adopted if we determine that the loss of depreciation and
amortization deductions will have a material adverse effect on
the unitholders. If we choose not to utilize this aggregate
method, we may use any other reasonable depreciation and
amortization method to preserve the uniformity of the intrinsic
tax characteristics of any units that would not have a material
adverse effect on the unitholders. The IRS may challenge any
method of depreciating the Section 743(b) adjustment
described in this paragraph. If this challenge were sustained,
the uniformity of units might be affected, and the gain from the
sale of units might be increased without the benefit of
additional deductions. Please read Disposition
of Common Units Recognition of Gain or Loss.
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans, other tax-exempt
organizations, regulated investment companies, non-resident
aliens, foreign corporations, and other foreign persons raises
issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may
have substantially adverse tax consequences to them.
Employee benefit plans and most other organizations exempt from
federal income tax, including individual retirement accounts and
other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on
unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income
allocated to a unitholder that is a tax-exempt organization will
be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to them.
A regulated investment company or mutual fund is
required to derive 90% or more of its gross income from
interest, dividends and gains from the sale of stocks or
securities or foreign currency or specified related sources.
Recent legislation treats net income derived from the ownership
of certain publicly traded partnerships (including us) as
qualifying income to a regulated investment company. However,
this legislation is only effective for taxable years beginning
after October 22, 2004, the date of enactment. For taxable
years beginning prior to the date of enactment, very little of
our income will be qualifying income to a regulated investment
company.
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 the ownership of units. As a
consequence 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, we will withhold at the highest applicable
effective rate on cash distributions made quarterly to foreign
unitholders. Each foreign unitholder must obtain a taxpayer
identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our
transfer agent on a Form W-8 BEN or applicable substitute
form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes. A
change in applicable law may require us to change these
procedures.
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 United States branch
profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular federal
income tax, on its share of our income and gain, as adjusted for
changes in the foreign corporations U.S. net
equity, which are effectively connected with the conduct
of a United States trade or business. That tax may be reduced or
eliminated by an income tax treaty between the United States and
the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a
qualified resident. In addition, this type of
unitholder is subject to special information reporting
requirements under Section 6038C of the Internal Revenue
Code.
Under a ruling of the IRS, a foreign unitholder who sells or
otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to federal income
tax on gain realized on the sale or disposition of that unit to
the extent that this gain is effectively connected with a United
States trade or business of the foreign unitholder. Apart from
the ruling, a foreign unitholder will not be taxed or subject to
withholding upon the sale or disposition of a unit if he has
owned less than 5% in value of the units during the five-year
period ending on the date of
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the disposition and if the units are regularly traded on an
established securities market at the time of the sale or
disposition.
Administrative Matters
Information Returns and Audit Procedures. We intend to
furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close
of each calendar year, specific tax information, including a
Schedule K-1, which describes his share of our income,
gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In
preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., we will take various accounting
and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned
earlier, to determine his share of income, gain, loss and
deduction. We cannot assure you that those positions will yield
a result that conforms to the requirements of the Internal
Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative
interpretations of the IRS. Neither we nor Vinson &
Elkins L.L.P. can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS
will not successfully contend in court that those positions are
impermissible. Any challenge by the IRS could negatively affect
the value of the units.
The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns.
Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each
unitholder to adjust a prior years tax liability, and
possibly may result in an audit of his own return. Any audit of
a unitholders return could result in adjustments not
related to our returns as well as those related to our returns.
Partnerships generally are treated as separate entities for
purposes of federal 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 with the
partners. The Internal Revenue Code requires that one partner be
designated as the Tax Matters Partner for these
purposes. The partnership agreement names our general partner as
our Tax Matters Partner.
The Tax Matters Partner has made and will make some elections on
our behalf and on behalf of unitholders. In addition, 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 will go
forward, and each unitholder with an interest in the outcome may
participate.
A unitholder must file a statement with the IRS identifying the
treatment of any item on his federal income tax return that is
not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return.
Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency
requirement may subject a unitholder to substantial penalties.
Nominee Reporting. Persons who hold an interest in us as
a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
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(a) the name, address and taxpayer identification number of
the beneficial owner and the nominee; |
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(b) whether the beneficial owner is |
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(1) a person that is not a United States person, |
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(2) a foreign government, an international organization or
any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of either of the
foregoing, or |
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(3) a tax-exempt entity; |
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(c) the amount and description of units held, acquired or
transferred for the beneficial owner; and |
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(d) 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 United States
persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or
transfer for their own account. A penalty of $50 per
failure, up to a maximum of $100,000 per calendar year, is
imposed by the Internal Revenue 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 Internal Revenue Code. No
penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an
underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause
for that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith
regarding that portion.
A substantial understatement of income tax in any taxable year
exists if the amount of the understatement exceeds the greater
of 10% of the tax required to be shown on the return for the
taxable year or $5,000 ($10,000 for most corporations). The
amount of any understatement subject to penalty generally is
reduced if any portion is attributable to a position adopted on
the return:
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(1) for which there is, or was, substantial
authority, or |
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(2) as to which there is a reasonable basis and the
pertinent facts of that position are disclosed on the return. |
If any item of income, gain, loss or deduction included in the
distributive shares of unitholders might result in that kind of
an understatement of income for which no
substantial authority exists, we must disclose the
pertinent facts on our return. In addition, we will make a
reasonable effort to furnish sufficient information for
unitholders to make adequate disclosure on their returns to
avoid liability for this penalty. More stringent rules apply to
tax shelters, a term that in this context does not
appear to include us.
A substantial valuation misstatement exists if the value of any
property, or the adjusted basis of any property, claimed on a
tax return is 200% or more of the amount determined to be the
correct amount of the valuation or adjusted basis. No penalty is
imposed unless the portion of the underpayment attributable to a
substantial valuation misstatement exceeds $5,000 ($10,000 for
most corporations). If the valuation claimed on a return is 400%
or more than the correct valuation, the penalty imposed
increases to 40%.
Reportable Transactions. If we were to engage in a
reportable transaction, we (and possibly you and
others) would be required to make a detailed disclosure of the
transaction to the IRS. A transaction may be a reportable
transaction based upon any of several factors, including the
fact that it is a type of tax avoidance transaction publicly
identified by the IRS as a listed transaction or
that it produces certain kinds of losses in excess of
$2 million. Our participation in a reportable transaction
could increase the likelihood that our federal income tax
information return (and possibly your tax return) would be
audited by the IRS. Please read Information
Returns and Audit Procedures above.
Moreover, if we were to participate in a reportable transaction
with a significant purpose to avoid or evade tax, or in any
listed transaction, you may be subject to the following
provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004:
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accuracy-related penalties with a broader scope, significantly
narrower exceptions, and potentially greater amounts than
described above at Accuracy-related
Penalties, |
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for those persons otherwise entitled to deduct interest on
federal tax deficiencies, nondeductibility of interest on any
resulting tax liability, and |
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in the case of a listed transaction, an extended statute of
limitations. |
We do not expect to engage in any reportable
transactions.
State, Local, Foreign and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to federal income taxes, a unitholder will likely be
subject to other taxes, including state, local and foreign
income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate,
inheritance or intangible taxes that may be imposed by the
various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property or
in which a unitholder is a resident. Although an analysis of
those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective
unitholder should consider their potential impact on his
investment in us. We currently own property or do business in
New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, Texas, Utah and Idaho. We may
also own property or do business in other jurisdictions in the
future. Although a unitholder may not be required to file a
return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because its income
from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment
requirement, unitholders will be required to file state income
tax returns and to pay state income taxes in some or all of the
states in which we do business or own property and may be
subject to penalties for failure to comply with those
requirements. In some states, tax losses may not produce a tax
benefit in the year incurred and also may not be available to
offset income in subsequent taxable years. Some of the states
may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of
income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not
a resident of the state. Withholding, the amount of which may be
greater or less than a particular unitholders income tax
liability to the state, generally does not relieve a nonresident
unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return.
Amounts withheld may be treated as if distributed to unitholders
for purposes of determining the amounts distributed by us.
Please read Tax Consequences of Unit
Ownership Entity-Level Collections. Based
on current law and our estimate of our future operations, our
general partner anticipates that any amounts required to be
withheld will not be material. We may also own property or do
business in other states in the future.
It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate
the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent
jurisdictions, of his investment in us. Accordingly, each
prospective unitholder is urged to consult, and depend upon, his
own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters.
Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all
state, local, and foreign as well as United States federal tax
returns, that may be required of him. Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion on the state, local or
foreign tax consequences of an investment in us.
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 in the prospectus supplement relating to the
offering of any debt securities.
72
SELLING UNITHOLDERS
In addition to covering our offering of securities, this
prospectus covers the offering for resale of up to 1,170,000
common units by the selling unitholders. On July 8, 2005,
we originally issued an aggregate of 1,100,000 of our
unregistered common units to Fiduciary/ Claymore MLP Opportunity
Fund, Perry Partners, L.P., Structured Finance Americas, LLC,
Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company and Kayne Anderson Energy
Total Return Fund, Inc. (collectively, the Initial
Purchasers) in a private sale of our common units exempt
from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. In
connection with the sale of our common units, we agreed to file
a registration statement with the Commission to register those
common units. Also on July 8, 2005, in a separate
transaction for the acquisition of certain intermediate
feedstock pipelines and related assets of Holly Corporation, we
issued 70,000 of our unregistered common units to Holly
Corporation as partial consideration for such acquisition.
As used in this prospectus, selling unitholders
includes any or all of the Initial Purchasers and/or Holly
Corporation and any of their donees, pledgees, transferees or
other successors-in-interest who sell units received after the
date of this prospectus from a named selling unitholder as a
gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other non-sale related
transfer. The selling unitholders may sell all, some or none of
the common units covered by this prospectus. See Plan of
Distribution Distribution by Selling
Unitholders. We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in
connection with the registration of the common units offered by
this prospectus. Brokerage commissions and similar selling
expenses, if any, attributable to the sale of the units will be
borne by the selling unitholders. The following table sets forth
information relating to the selling unitholders beneficial
ownership of our common units as of October 13, 2005:
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Number and |
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Percentage of |
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Number and |
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Outstanding |
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Percentage of |
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Common Units |
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Outstanding |
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Beneficially Owned |
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Common Units |
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Prior to |
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Number of Common |
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Owned After |
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Completion of |
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Units Offered |
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Completion of |
Name of Selling Unitholder |
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Offering(1) |
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Hereunder |
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Offering(1) |
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Fiduciary/ Claymore MLP Opportunity Fund
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659,450 |
(2) |
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600,000 |
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59,450 |
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8.1% |
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0.7% |
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Perry Partners, L.P.(3)
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350,000 |
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350,000 |
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-0- |
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4.3% |
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Structured Finance Americas, LLC(4)
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100,000 |
(5) |
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100,000 |
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-0- |
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1.2% |
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Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company
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141,300 |
(6) |
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32,100 |
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109,200 |
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1.7% |
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1.3% |
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Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return Fund, Inc.
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64,600 |
(6) |
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17,900 |
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46,700 |
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0.8% |
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0.6% |
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Holly Corporation
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70,000 |
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70,000 |
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-0- |
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0.9% |
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(1) |
Percentage ownership is based on 8,170,000 common units
outstanding on October 13, 2005. |
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(2) |
Does not include 302,070 common units owned by Fiduciary Asset
Management, LLC, an affiliate of Fiduciary/ Claymore MLP
Opportunity Fund, and its affiliates. |
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(3) |
The general partner of Perry Partners, L.P. is Perry Corp., of
which Richard C. Perry is the President and sole
shareholder. Perry Corp. and Mr. Perry may be deemed to have
voting and dispositive power with respect to the common units
held by Perry Partners, L.P. Each of Mr. Perry and Perry Corp.
disclaims beneficial ownership of such common units, except to
the extent of his or its pecuniary interest therein, if any, and
this prospectus shall not be deemed an admission that either Mr.
Perry or |
73
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Perry Corp. is the beneficial owner of the common units for
purposes of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 or for any other purpose. |
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(4) |
This selling unitholder identified itself to us as an affiliate
of a broker-dealer, and represented to us that (a) the
common units shown above as being offered by such selling
unitholder were purchased by such selling unitholder in the
ordinary course of business, and (b) at the time of such
purchase, such selling unitholder had no arrangements or
understandings, directly or indirectly, with any person to
distribute such common units. |
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(5) |
Does not include 2,200 common units owned by Deutsche Bank AG,
an affiliate of Structured Finance Americas, LLC, and its
affiliates. Deutsche Bank AG is the ultimate parent of
Structured Finance Americas, LLC and thus may be deemed to have
voting and dispositive power with respect to the common units
held by Structured Finance Americas, LLC. |
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(6) |
Does not include 440,100 common units owned by Kayne Anderson
Capital Advisors, L.P., an affiliate of Kayne Anderson MLP
Investment Company and Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return Fund,
Inc. |
None of the Initial Purchasers has held a position or office or
had any other material relationship with us or any predecessor
affiliate during the last three years. Holly Corporation is the
ultimate parent company of HEP Logistics Holdings, L.P., and
may, therefore, be deemed to beneficially own the 7,000,000
subordinated units held by HEP Logistics Holdings, L.P.
Any prospectus supplement reflecting a sale of common units
hereunder will set forth, with respect to the selling
unitholders:
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the name of the selling unitholders; |
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the nature of the position, office or other material
relationship which the selling unitholders will have had within
the prior three years with us or any of our affiliates; |
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the number of common units owned by the selling unitholders
prior to the offering; |
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the number of common units to be offered for the selling
unitholders account; and |
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the number and (if one percent or more) the percentage of common
units to be owned by the selling unitholders after the
completion of the offering. |
74
INVESTMENT IN US BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
An investment in us by an employee benefit plan is subject to
certain additional considerations because the investments of
such plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and
prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and
restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal
Revenue Code. As used herein, the term employee benefit
plan includes, but is not limited to, qualified pension,
profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, Keogh plans, simplified
employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities or IRAs
established or maintained by an employer or employee
organization. Among other things, consideration should be given
to (a) whether such investment is prudent under
Section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA; (b) whether in making
such investment, such plan will satisfy the diversification
requirement of Section 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA; and
(c) whether such investment will result in recognition of
unrelated business taxable income by such plan and, if so, the
potential after-tax investment return. Please read Tax
Considerations Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other
Investors. The person with investment discretion with
respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan (a
fiduciary) should determine whether an investment in
us is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is
a proper investment for such plan.
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal
Revenue Code (which also applies to IRAs that are not considered
part of an employee benefit plan) prohibit an employee benefit
plan from engaging in certain transactions involving plan
assets with parties that are parties in
interest under ERISA or disqualified persons
under the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the plan.
In addition to considering whether the purchase of limited
partnership units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an
employee benefit plan should consider whether such plan will, by
investing in us, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our
assets, with the result that our general partner also would be a
fiduciary of such plan and our operations would be subject to
the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited
transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules
of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Department of Labor regulations provide guidance with
respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee
benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed
plan assets under certain circumstances. Pursuant to
these regulations, an entitys assets would not be
considered to be plan assets if, among other things,
(a) the equity interest acquired by employee benefit plans
are publicly offered securities i.e., the equity
interests are widely held by 100 or more investors independent
of the issuer and each other, freely transferable and registered
pursuant to certain provisions of the federal securities laws,
(b) the entity is an Operating
Partnership i.e., it is primarily engaged in
the production or sale of a product or service other than the
investment of capital either directly or through a majority
owned subsidiary or subsidiaries, or (c) there is no
significant investment by benefit plan investors, which is
defined to mean that less than 25% of the value of each class of
equity interest (disregarding certain interests held by our
general partner, its affiliates and certain other persons) is
held by the employee benefit plans referred to above, IRAs and
other employee benefit plans not subject to ERISA (such as
governmental plans). Our assets should not be considered
plan assets under these regulations because it is
expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in
(a) and (b) above and may also satisfy the
requirements in (c).
Plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of limited partnership
units should consult with their own counsel regarding the
consequences under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code in light
of the serious penalties imposed on persons who engage in
prohibited transactions or other violations.
75
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the common units and debt securities being offered
hereby directly, through agents or to or through underwriters or
dealers.
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 the 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 utilize any underwriters in the sale of the securities in
respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we 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 may indemnify the underwriters under
the relevant underwriting agreement against specific
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The
underwriters may also be our customers or may engage in
transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary
course of business.
If we utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities in respect
of which this prospectus is delivered, we 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 may indemnify
the dealers against specific liabilities, including liabilities
under the Securities Act. The dealers may also be our customers
or may engage in transactions with, or perform services for us
in the ordinary course of business.
Common units and debt securities may also be sold directly by
us. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved.
We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell
offered securities directly.
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 are set forth
in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
Distribution by Selling Unitholders
Distributions of the common units by the selling unitholders, or
by their partners, pledgees, donees (including charitable
organizations), transferees or other successors in interest, may
from time to time be offered for sale either directly by such
person or entities, or through underwriters, dealers or agents
or on any exchange on which the common units may from time to
time be traded, in the over-the-counter market, or in
independently negotiated transactions or otherwise. The methods
by which the common units may be sold include:
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a block trade (which may involve crosses) in which the broker or
dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the securities as agent
but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal
to facilitate the transaction; |
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purchases by a broker or dealer as principal and resale by such
broker or dealer for its own account pursuant to this prospectus; |
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exchange distributions and/or secondary distributions; |
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underwritten transactions; |
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ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the
broker solicits purchasers; and |
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direct sales or privately negotiated transactions. |
76
Such transactions may be effected by the selling unitholder at
market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated
prices. The selling unitholders may effect such transactions by
selling the common units to underwriters or to or through
broker-dealers, and such underwriters or broker-dealers may
receive compensation in the form of discounts or commissions
from the selling unitholders and may receive commissions from
the purchasers of the common units for whom they may act as
agent.
In connection with sales of the common units under this
prospectus, the selling unitholders may enter into hedging
transactions with broker-dealers, who may in turn engage in
short sales of the common units in the course of hedging the
positions they assume. The selling unitholders also may engage
in short sales, short sales against the box, puts and calls and
other transactions in common units, or derivatives thereof, and
may sell and deliver their common units in connection therewith,
or loan or pledge the common units to broker-dealers that in
turn may sell them. In addition, the selling unitholders may
from time to time sell their common units in transactions
permitted by Rule 144 under the Securities Act.
The selling unitholders may agree to indemnify any underwriter,
broker-dealer or agent that participates in transactions
involving sales of the common units against certain liabilities,
including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. We have
agreed to register the common units for sale under the
Securities Act and to indemnify the selling unitholders against
certain civil liabilities, including certain liabilities under
the Securities Act.
As of the date of this prospectus, neither we nor any selling
unitholder has engaged any underwriter, broker, dealer or agent
in connection with the distribution of common units pursuant to
this prospectus by the selling unitholders. To the extent
required, the number of common units to be sold, the purchase
price, the name of any applicable agent, broker, dealer or
underwriter and any applicable commissions with respect to a
particular offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus
supplement. The aggregate net proceeds to the selling
unitholders from the sale of their common units offered hereby
will be the sale price of those common units, less any
commissions, if any, and other expenses of issuance and
distribution not borne by us.
The selling unitholders and any brokers, dealers, agents or
underwriters that participate with the selling unitholders in
the distribution of their common units may be deemed to be
underwriters within the meaning of the Securities
Act, in which event any discounts, concessions and commissions
received by such brokers, dealers, agents or underwriters and
any profit on the resale of the common units purchased by them
may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under
the Securities Act.
77
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, and other
information with the Commission under the Exchange Act. You may
read and copy any document we file at the Commissions
public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C.
20549. Please call the Commission at 1-800-732-0330 for further
information on the public reference room. Our filings are also
available to the public at the Commissions web site at
http://www.sec.gov. In addition, documents filed by us can be
inspected at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10002.
The Commission allows us to incorporate by reference into this
prospectus the information we file with it, which means that we
can disclose important information to you by referring you to
those documents. The information incorporated by reference is
considered to be part of this prospectus, and later information
that we file with the Commission will automatically update and
supersede this information. Therefore, before you decide to
invest in a particular offering under this shelf registration,
you should always check for reports we may have filed with the
Commission after the date of this prospectus. We incorporate by
reference the documents listed below filed by us and any future
filings made after the date of the initial filing of the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a part with
the Commission under sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
Exchange Act until the termination of each offering under this
prospectus (other than information furnished and not filed with
the Commission).
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the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Holly Energy Partners,
L.P. for the year ended December 31, 2004, as filed with
the Commission on February 24, 2005; |
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the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Holly Energy Partners,
L.P. for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, as filed with
the Commission on May 5, 2005; |
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the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Holly Energy Partners,
L.P. for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, as filed with the
Commission on August 4, 2005; |
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the Current Reports on Form 8-K of Holly Energy Partners,
L.P., as filed with the Commission on March 4, 2005,
June 15, 2005, June 30, 2005, July 8, 2005,
July 12, 2005, July 27, 2005 and August 8,
2005; and |
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the description of our common units contained in our
registration statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the
Commission on June 21, 2004, and any subsequent amendment
thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
We will provide without charge to each person, including any
beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon
written or oral request, a copy of any document incorporated by
reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to any such
document not specifically described above. Requests for such
documents should be directed to Holly Energy Partners, L.P., 100
Crescent Court, Suite 1600, Dallas, Texas 75201, Attention:
Chief Financial Officer; telephone number: (214) 220-7700.
78
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the securities will be
passed upon by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., as our counsel.
Any underwriter will be advised about other issues relating to
any offering by their own legal counsel.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Holly Energy Partners,
L.P. as of December 31, 2004 and 2003 and for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2004 included
in Holly Energy Partners, L.P.s Current Report
(Form 8-K) filed with the Commission on July 27, 2005
and incorporated in this prospectus have been audited by
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public
accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon and
incorporated herein by reference, and are included in reliance
upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts
in accounting and auditing.
79