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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-212316
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated July 27, 2016)
NGL Energy Partners LP
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
Having an Aggregate Offering Price of Up to
$200,000,000
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus relate to the issuance and sale from time to time of common units representing limited partner interests in NGL Energy Partners LP having an aggregate offering price of up to $200,000,000 through one or more of our sales agents (each, a "Sales Agent" and together, the "Sales Agents"). These sales, if any, will be made pursuant to the terms of an equity distribution agreement, dated August 24, 2016, between us and the Sales Agents, which we previously filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
Under the terms of the equity distribution agreement, we may also sell common units to any Sales Agent as principal for its own account at a price agreed upon at the time of the sale. If we sell common units to any Sales Agent as principal, we will enter into a separate terms agreement with the Sales Agent and we will describe that agreement in a separate prospectus supplement or pricing supplement.
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the symbol "NGL." On August 23, 2016, the last reported sale price of our common units on the NYSE was $18.34 per common unit. Sales of common units under this prospectus supplement, if any, will be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an "at the market" offering, including ordinary brokers' transactions on the NYSE, to or through a market maker or directly on or through an electronic communication network, a "dark pool" or any similar market venue, at market prices, in block transactions or as otherwise as agreed upon by the Sales Agents and us.
Investing in our common units involves risks. Please read "Risk Factors" beginning on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement and on page 1 of the accompanying prospectus.
The compensation of each of the Sales Agents for sales of units shall be fixed at a commission rate of up to 2.0% of the gross sales price per unit, depending upon the number of units sold. The net proceeds from any sales under this prospectus supplement will be used as described under "Use of Proceeds" in this prospectus supplement.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Wells Fargo Securities | Credit Suisse | SunTrust Robinson Humphrey |
The date of this prospectus supplement is August 24, 2016.
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any free writing prospectus that we may provide to you. Neither we nor the Sales Agents have authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the Sales Agents are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. You should not assume that the information contained in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the terms of this offering of common units. The second part is the accompanying prospectus, which provides more general information regarding securities that we may offer from time to time, some of which does not apply to this offering. Generally, when we use the term "prospectus," we are referring to both parts combined. To the extent any inconsistency or conflict exists between the information included in this prospectus supplement and the information included in the accompanying prospectus, the information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement updates and supersedes the information in the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference important business and financial information about us that is not included in or delivered with this prospectus supplement.
It is important for you to read and consider all information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in making your investment decision. In making an investment decision, prospective investors must rely on their own examination of NGL Energy Partners LP and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. Prospective investors should not construe anything in this prospectus as legal, business or tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult its own advisors as needed to make its investment decision and to determine whether it is legally permitted to purchase the securities under applicable legal investment, or similar laws or regulations.
Any statement made in this prospectus, any free writing prospectus authorized by us or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, any free writing prospectus authorized by us or in any other subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus. Please read "Where You Can Find More Information" on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement.
None of NGL Energy Partners LP, the Sales Agents or their respective representatives is making any representation to you regarding the legality of an investment in our common units by you under applicable laws. You should consult with your own advisors as to legal, tax, business, financial and related aspects of an investment in our common units.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains 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, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "will," 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 the expectations on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, neither we nor our general partner can give assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking 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 impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations are:
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Other factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in this prospectus supplement, in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2016 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, and in our other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus supplement. Except as required by state and federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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This summary highlights information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. You should read carefully the entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein and the other documents to which we refer herein for a more complete understanding of our business and the terms of this offering, as well as the tax and other considerations that are important to you in making your investment decision.
Unless the context otherwise requires, references to "NGL Energy Partners," "NGL," "we," "us," "our" and similar terms, as well as references to the "Partnership," are to NGL Energy Partners LP and all of its subsidiaries. Our "general partner" refers to NGL Energy Holdings LLC.
We are a Delaware limited partnership formed in September 2010. As part of our formation, we acquired and combined the assets and operations of NGL Supply, Inc., primarily a wholesale propane and terminaling business founded in 1967, and Hicksgas, LLC and Hicksgas Gifford, Inc., primarily a retail propane business founded in 1940. Subsequent to our formation, we significantly expanded our operations through numerous business combinations. Our operations include:
We are a limited partnership formed under the laws of the State of Delaware. Our executive offices are located at 6120 South Yale Avenue, Suite 805, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136. Our telephone number is (918) 481-1119. We maintain a website at http://www.nglenergypartners.com. Information contained on this website, however, is not incorporated into or otherwise a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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Common Units Offered | Common units having an aggregate offering price of up to $200,000,000. | |
Use of Proceeds |
We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering, after deducting the Sales Agents' commissions and our offering expenses, for general partnership purposes, which may include, among other things, repayment of indebtedness, acquisitions and capital expenditures. Please read "Use of Proceeds" in this prospectus supplement for more information. |
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Certain Relationships |
Affiliates of each of the Sales Agents are lenders under our revolving credit facility. To the extent we use proceeds from the offering to repay any indebtedness under our revolving credit facility, such affiliates will receive proceeds from this offering. Please see "Plan of Distribution." |
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Material Tax Consequences |
For a discussion of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States, please read "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations" in this prospectus supplement and "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations" in the accompanying base prospectus. |
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Exchange Listing |
Our common units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "NGL." |
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Risk Factors |
You should carefully read and consider the information beginning on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement and page 1 of the accompanying prospectus set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" and all other information in this prospectus, including the information incorporated by reference, before deciding to invest in our common units. |
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An investment in our common units involves risk. Before you invest in our common units you should carefully consider the risk factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2016 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, each of which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, and the accompanying prospectus, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents we incorporate by reference. If any of the risks discussed in the foregoing documents were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected and you could lose all or part of your investment. Please also read "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements."
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We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting the Sales Agents' commissions and our offering expenses, for general partnership purposes, which may include, among other things, repayment of indebtedness, acquisitions and capital expenditures.
As of August 19, 2016, an aggregate of approximately $1,997.5 million of borrowings were outstanding under our revolving credit facility, and there were $92.8 million of letters of credit outstanding. The weighted average interest rate on the $1,997.5 million of borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility at August 19, 2016 was 2.78%. Our revolving credit facility matures on November 5, 2018. Borrowings under our revolving credit facility have been used to fund capital expenditures, for acquisition activity and for general partnership purposes.
Affiliates of each of the Sales Agents are lenders under our revolving credit facility and, accordingly, may receive a portion of the net proceeds from this offering if and to the extent any proceeds are used to repay outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Please read "Plan of Distribution."
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS SUPPLEMENT
The tax consequences to you of an investment in our common units will depend in part on your own tax circumstances For a discussion of the principal federal income tax considerations associated with our operations and the purchase, ownership and disposition of our units, please read "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations" in the accompanying prospectus. Please also read the risk factors included under the caption "Tax Risks to Common Unitholders" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement for a discussion of the tax risks related to purchasing and owning our common units. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor about the federal, state, foreign and local tax consequences particular to your circumstances.
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans, other tax-exempt organizations, non-resident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign persons raises issues unique to those investors. The relevant rules are complex, and the discussions herein and in the accompanying prospectus do not address tax considerations applicable to tax-exempt entities and foreign investors, except as specifically set forth in the accompanying prospectus. Please read "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors" in the accompanying prospectus.
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Inc. and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as Sales Agents in this offering. We have entered into an equity distribution agreement with the Sales Agents, the form of which has been or will be filed as an exhibit to a current report on Form 8-K incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. On the terms and subject to the conditions of the equity distribution agreement, we may offer and sell common units having an aggregate offering price of up to $200,000,000 from time to time through one or more of the Sales Agents. The common units offered hereby will be sold in ordinary brokers' transactions on the New York Stock Exchange or otherwise, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, in block transactions or as otherwise agreed with the Sales Agents. As agents, the Sales Agents will not engage in any transactions that stabilize the market price of our common units.
On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the equity distribution agreement, each Sales Agent has agreed to use its reasonable efforts to sell our common units as a sales agent and/or principal. Common units may be offered and sold on a daily basis or as otherwise agreed upon by any Sales Agent and us. We will designate the minimum offering price and the maximum number of common units to be offered through such Sales Agents on a daily basis or otherwise as we and the Sales Agents agree. We may instruct the Sales Agents not to sell common units if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us in any such instruction. We or any Sales Agent may suspend or terminate the offering of common units by notifying the other. We cannot predict the number of common units that we may sell hereby or if any common units will be sold.
Settlement for sales of common units will occur on the third business day following the trade date on which such sales are made, or on some other date that is agreed upon by us and the relevant Sales Agent in connection with a particular transaction, in return for payment by investors of the purchase price for the common units being sold. There is no arrangement for the purchase price paid by investors to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.
We will report at least quarterly the number of common units sold through the Sales Agents under the equity distribution agreement, the net proceeds to us and the compensation paid by us in connection with the sales of common units pursuant to the equity distribution agreement.
If we have reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(l) of Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), are not satisfied with respect to us or our common units, we are required by the equity distribution agreement to notify the other parties and sales of common units under the equity distribution agreement must be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party.
The offering of common units pursuant to the equity distribution agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of common units with an aggregate offering price of $200,000,000 pursuant to the equity distribution agreement or (ii) the termination of the equity distribution agreement by all of the Sales Agents or by us.
Commissions and Expenses
We will pay each Sales Agent a commission not to exceed 2.0% of the gross sales price of the common units sold through it as an agent under the equity distribution agreement. The proceeds remaining after the deduction of the compensation to such Sales Agent, after further deduction for any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales, will constitute our net proceeds for the sale of the common units. We have agreed to reimburse the Sales Agents for certain expenses incurred by them in connection with the sale of the common units offered hereby.
We plan to report the remaining expenses of the offering payable by us, other than such commissions, on the appropriate periodic report filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act.
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Indemnification
In connection with the sale of our common units on our behalf, the Sales Agents may be deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the compensation paid to the Sales Agents may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed to indemnify the Sales Agents against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the Sales Agents may be required to make for these liabilities.
Relationships
The Sales Agents and certain of their affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The Sales Agents and certain of their affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for the issuer and its affiliates, for which they received or may in the future receive customary fees and expenses. Additionally, if we use any net proceeds of this offering to repay borrowing under the revolving credit facility, an affiliate of each of the Sales Agents will receive proceeds of this offering.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the Sales Agents and certain of their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the issuer or its affiliates. If the Sales Agents or their affiliates have a lending relationship with us, certain of those Sales Agents or their affiliates routinely hedge, and certain other of the Sales Agents or their affiliates may hedge, their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, the Sales Agents and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities or the securities of our affiliates, including potentially the common units offered hereby. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the common units offered hereby. The Sales Agents and certain of their affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Because the common units offered hereby are interests in a "direct participation program" (as defined in Rule 2310 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA")), this offering is not required to comply with the requirements of FINRA Rule 5121. Among other things, this means that no "qualified independent underwriter" is required to be appointed in connection with the offering, even if offering proceeds in excess of 5% of the total offering proceeds are directed to the Sales Agents or their affiliates in connection with repayment under our revolving credit facility or otherwise. This offering, however, will be conducted in compliance with FINRA Rule 2310, which relates to offerings of securities by direct participation programs and contains certain requirements with respect to suitability and other matters.
Selling Restrictions
This prospectus supplement does not constitute an offer to sell to, or a solicitation of an offer to buy from, anyone in any country or jurisdiction (i) in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized, (ii) in which any person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or (iii) in which any such offer or solicitation would otherwise be unlawful. No action has been taken that would, or is intended to, permit a public offer of our common units or possession or distribution of this prospectus supplement or any other offering or publicity material relating to the common units in any country or jurisdiction (other than the United States) where any such action for that purpose is required.
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The validity of the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, Illinois, and certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the Sales Agents by Andrews Kurth LLP, Houston, Texas.
The consolidated financial statements and management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of NGL Energy Partners LP and subsidiaries included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The combined financial statements of Gavilon Energy (The Energy Business Units of Gavilon, LLC) as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related combined statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2012, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP ("KPMG"), independent auditors, incorporated by reference herein and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The Partnership has agreed to indemnify and hold KPMG harmless against and from any and all legal costs and expenses incurred by KPMG in successful defense of any legal action or proceeding that arises as a result of KPMG's consent to the incorporation by reference of its audit report on the past financial statements of Gavilon Energy (The Energy Business Units of Gavilon, LLC) incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports or other information we file at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference rooms. Our SEC filings are also available to the public from commercial document retrieval services and at the Internet website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Information about us, including our SEC filings, is also available at our Internet site at http://www.nglenergypartners.com. However, the information on our Internet site is not a part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that the Partnership has previously filed with the SEC. These documents contain important information about the Partnership's business and finances. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement, except for any information superseded by information in, or incorporated by reference in, this prospectus supplement.
We are also incorporating by reference additional documents that we file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(e), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act between the date of this prospectus supplement and termination or completion of this offering (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 on any current report on Form 8-K).
We encourage you to read our SEC reports, as they provide additional information about us which prudent investors find important. We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus at no charge upon written or oral request made by contacting us at NGL Energy Partners LP, 6120 South Yale Avenue, Suite 805, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136; telephone number (918) 481-1119.
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PROSPECTUS
NGL Energy Partners LP
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
We may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell common units representing limited partner interests in us ("common units"). The aggregate offering price of the common units sold by us under this prospectus will not exceed $200,000,000.
We may offer and sell these common units to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of each offering. This prospectus describes only the general terms of these common units and the general manner in which we will offer the common units. The specific terms of any common units we offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific manner in which we will offer the common units, and also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before you invest in our common units. This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our common units unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Our common units are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE"), under the symbol "NGL." The last reported sales price of our common units on the NYSE on June 28, 2016 was $19.54 per common unit.
Investing in our common units involves risks. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully read and consider the risk factors described under "Risk Factors" on page 1 of this prospectus and contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission incorporated by reference herein and therein before you make an investment in our common units.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities, or determined if this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is July 27, 2016.
In making your investment decision, you should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus relating to such offering. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with any other information. If anyone provides you with additional, different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it.
You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of those documents. You should not assume that the information contained in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects may have changed since those dates.
This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). By using a shelf registration statement, we may offer and sell our common units, from time to time, in one or more offerings, up to an aggregate offering price of $200,000,000.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the common units we may offer. It is not meant to be a complete description of the common units. Each time we offer and sell common units, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including, but not limited to, the specific amounts, prices and terms of the common units offered. We and any underwriter, dealer or agent that we may from time to time retain may also provide other information relating to an offering, which we refer to as "other offering material." The prospectus supplement as well as the other offering material may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in the documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, and any other offering material (including any free writing prospectus) prepared by or on behalf of us for a specific offering of common units, together with additional information described in the section entitled "Where You Can Find More Information" and any other offering material. Throughout this prospectus, where we indicate that information may be supplemented in an applicable prospectus supplement or supplements, that information may also be supplemented in other offering material. If there is any inconsistency between this prospectus and the information contained in a prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, all references to "NGL," "Partnership," "we," "our," "ours" and "us" refer to NGL Energy Partners LP and its subsidiaries. When we refer to "you" in this section, we mean all purchasers of the common units being offered by this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, whether they are the holders or only indirect owners of those common units.
We are a Delaware limited partnership formed in September 2010. As part of our formation, we acquired and combined the assets and operations of NGL Supply, Inc., primarily a wholesale propane and terminaling business founded in 1967, and Hicksgas Gifford, Inc. and Hicksgas, LLC, primarily a retail propane business founded in 1940. We completed our initial public offering in May 2011. Subsequent to our initial public offering, we significantly expanded our operations through business combination transactions. We and our subsidiaries own and operate a vertically integrated energy business with five primary segments: water solutions, crude oil logistics, NGL liquids, refined products / renewables and retail propane. Our principal executive offices are located at 6120 South Yale Avenue, Suite 805, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136, and our telephone number is (918) 481-1119.
Investing in the common units offered pursuant to this prospectus may involve a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed from time to time with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as the same may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by our filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as well as any risk factors set forth in any prospectus supplement that accompanies this prospectus. Before making any investment decision, you should carefully consider these risks as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference in this prospectus or in any applicable prospectus supplement. For more information, see the section entitled "Where You Can Find More Information" on page 57 of
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this prospectus. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition and affect the value of our common units. You could lose all or part of your investment.
Certain statements and information included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement may constitute "forward-looking statements." These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "forecast," "goal," "scheduled," "will," "should," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. All statements contained or incorporated in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including statements related to statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance, are forward-looking statements. Although we and our general partner believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are based upon a number of assumptions, any or all of which ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. These statements are also subject to numerous assumptions, uncertainties and risks that may cause future results to be materially different from the results projected, forecasted, estimated or budgeted. Important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
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Given these risks and uncertainties, we caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus are made only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to update any of these statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of these statements to reflect future events or developments.
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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the net proceeds we receive from the sale of the common units offered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement will be used for working capital and other general partnership purposes. We will have significant discretion in the use of any net proceeds. General partnership purposes may include, but are not limited to:
The net proceeds from the sale of common units may be invested temporarily or applied to repay short-term debt until they are used for their stated purpose. When common units are offered, we will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of such common units.
You should read the following discussion of our cash distribution policy in conjunction with the factors and assumptions included in this section. In addition, see "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" for information regarding statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and certain risks inherent in our business.
We have summarized below selected provisions of our Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership (the "partnership agreement"). However, because this summary is not complete it is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our partnership agreement. We suggest that you read the complete text of our partnership agreement, which we have incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Class A Preferred Unit Distributions
Our partnership agreement provides that holders of our 10.75% Class A Convertible Preferred Units (the "Class A Preferred Units") are entitled to receive a cumulative, quarterly cash distribution in arrears at an annual rate of 10.75% (or $0.3234 per quarter) on each outstanding Class A Preferred Unit. Unless and until the distribution payable on each Class A Preferred Unit in respect of a given quarter, together with any previously accrued and unpaid distributions on the Class A Preferred Units, has been paid in full, we may not declare or pay any distributions on any Junior Securities (as defined in the partnership agreement), including any of the common units, or Parity Securities (as defined in the partnership agreement), other than distributions on Parity Securities that are declared and paid pro rata with distributions on the Class A Preferred Units, as described in the partnership agreement. For additional information concerning the Class A Preferred Units, see "Our Partnership Agreement."
Our Minimum Quarterly Distribution
Our partnership agreement provides for a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per common unit per complete quarter, or $1.35 per unit on an annualized basis. Quarterly distributions, if any, will be paid within 45 days after the end of each quarter. Based on the number of common units outstanding at March 31, 2016 (exclusive of unvested restricted units issued pursuant to employee and director compensation programs), if we made distributions equal to our minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per unit ($1.35 annualized), total distributions on our common units would equal $35.2 million per quarter ($140.6 million per year). Our ability to make cash distributions equal to the
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minimum quarterly distribution will be subject to various factors, including those described under "Risk Factors."
Our general partner currently is entitled to 0.1% of all distributions that we make prior to our liquidation. In the future, our general partner's initial 0.1% general partner interest in these distributions may be reduced if we issue additional units and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its initial 0.1% general partner interest. Our general partner will also hold the incentive distribution rights, which entitle the holder to increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 48.0%, of the cash we distribute in excess of $0.388125 per unit per quarter.
We do not have a legal obligation to pay distributions on our common units at our minimum quarterly distribution rate or at any other rate except as provided in our partnership agreement. Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute all of our available cash quarterly. Under our partnership agreement, available cash is generally defined to mean, for each quarter, cash generated from our business in excess of the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to provide for the conduct of our business, to comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements or to provide for future distributions to our unitholders and our general partner for any one or more of the next four quarters. Our available cash may also include, if our general partner so determines, all or any portion of the 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.
If we do not pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units, our unitholders will not be entitled to receive such payments in the future.
Although our unitholders may pursue judicial action to enforce provisions of our partnership agreement, including those related to requirements to make cash distributions as described above, our partnership agreement provides that any determination made by our general partner in its capacity as our general partner must be made in good faith and that any such determination will not be subject to any other standard imposed by the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the "Delaware LP Act") or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity. Our partnership agreement provides that, in order for a determination by our general partner to be made in "good faith," our general partner must believe that the determination is in, or not opposed to, our best interest.
Our cash distribution policy, as expressed in our partnership agreement, may not be modified or repealed without amending our partnership agreement. However, the actual amount of our cash distributions for any quarter is subject to fluctuations based on the amount of cash we generate from our business and the amount of reserves our general partner establishes in accordance with our partnership agreement as described above.
We will pay our distributions on the 14th or 15th of each February, May, August and November to holders of record on or about the 1st of each such month. If the distribution date does not fall on a business day, we will make the distribution on the business day immediately preceding the indicated distribution date.
Distributions of Available Cash
General. Our partnership agreement requires that, within 45 days after the end of each quarter, we distribute all of our available cash to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.
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Definition of Available Cash. Available cash, for any quarter, consists of all cash on hand at the end of that quarter:
The purpose and effect of the last bullet point above is to allow our general partner, if it so decides, to use cash on hand after the end of the quarter but on or before the date of determination of available cash for that quarter to pay distributions to unitholders.
Intent to Distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution. We intend to distribute to our common unitholders on a quarterly basis at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per unit, or $1.35 on an annualized basis, to the extent we have sufficient cash from our operations after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units, establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner and its affiliates. However, there is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution or any amount on our common units in any quarter. Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under our policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our general partner, taking into consideration the terms of our partnership agreement.
General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights. Our general partner currently is entitled to 0.1% of all quarterly distributions that we make prior to our liquidation. Our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its current general partner interest. Our general partner's initial 0.1% interest in our distributions may be reduced if we issue additional limited partner interests in the future (other than the issuance of common units upon a reset of the incentive distribution rights) and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest.
Our general partner also currently holds incentive distribution rights, which represent a potentially material variable interest in our distributions. Incentive distribution rights entitle our general partner to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 48.1%, of the cash we distribute from operating surplus (as defined below) in excess of $0.388125 per unit per quarter. The maximum distribution of 48.1% includes distributions paid to our general partner on its 0.1% general partner interest and assumes that our general partner maintains its general partner interest at 0.1%. The maximum distribution of 48.1% does not include any distributions that our general partner may receive on common units that it owns. See "General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights" for additional information.
Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus
General. All cash distributed will be characterized as either being paid from "operating surplus" or "capital surplus." Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus.
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Operating Surplus. Operating surplus for any period consists of:
Under our partnership agreement, working capital borrowings are borrowings that are made under a credit facility, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement, and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners and with the intent of the borrower to repay such borrowings within twelve months from sources other than additional working capital borrowings.
As described above, operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by our operations. In addition, the effect of including, as described above, certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions and to permit the
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distribution as operating surplus of additional amounts of cash that we receive from non-operating sources.
The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.
We define operating expenditures as all of our cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to our general partner and its affiliates, payments made in the ordinary course of business under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge contracts (provided that (i) with respect to amounts paid in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract, such amounts will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (ii) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to the expiration of its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract), officer and other employee compensation, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and maintenance capital expenditures (as discussed in further detail below), provided that operating expenditures will not include:
Capital Surplus. We define capital surplus as any distribution of available cash in excess of our cumulative operating surplus. A distribution from capital surplus would potentially be generated by a distribution of cash from:
Characterization of Cash Distributions. Our partnership agreement requires that we treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since the completion of our initial public offering equals the operating surplus from the completion of our initial public offering through the end of the quarter immediately preceding that
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distribution. Our partnership agreement requires that we treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.
Capital Expenditures
Maintenance capital expenditures are cash expenditures (including expenditures for the addition or improvement to, or the replacement of, our capital assets or for the acquisition of existing, or the construction or development of new, capital assets) made to maintain, including over the long term, our operating capacity or operating income. Our partnership agreement provides that maintenance capital expenditures will also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions on equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to finance all or any portion of the construction or development of a replacement asset that is paid in respect of the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence constructing or developing a replacement asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that any such replacement asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of.
Expansion capital expenditures are cash expenditures incurred for acquisitions or capital improvements and do not include maintenance capital expenditures or investment capital expenditures. Expansion capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that we expect will increase our operating capacity or operating income over the long term. Our partnership agreement provides that expansion capital expenditures will also include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions on equity issued (including incremental incentive distribution rights in respect of newly issued equity) to finance all or any portion of the construction of a capital improvement in respect of the period that commences when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of the capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of.
Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely will consist of capital expenditures made for investment purposes. Examples of investment capital expenditures include traditional capital expenditures for investment purposes, such as purchases of securities, as well as other capital expenditures that might be made in lieu of such traditional investment capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of a capital asset for investment purposes or development of facilities that are in excess of the maintenance of our existing operating capacity or operating income, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, our operating capacity or operating income.
Neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures will be included in operating expenditures, and thus will not reduce operating surplus. Because expansion capital expenditures include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or a portion of the construction, replacement or improvement of a capital asset in respect of the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of the capital asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service or the date that it is abandoned or disposed of, such interest payments are also not subtracted from operating surplus. Losses on disposition of an investment capital expenditure will reduce operating surplus when realized and cash receipts from an investment capital expenditure will be treated as a cash receipt for purposes of calculating operating surplus only to the extent the cash receipt is a return on principal.
Capital expenditures that are made in part for maintenance capital purposes, investment capital purposes and/or expansion capital purposes will be allocated as maintenance capital expenditures, investment capital expenditures or expansion capital expenditure by our general partner.
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Distributions of Available Cash From Operating Surplus
Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from operating surplus in the following manner, after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units:
The preceding discussion assumes that our general partner maintains its 0.1% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner was initially entitled to 0.1% of all distributions that we make prior to our liquidation. Our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest if we issue additional units. Our general partner's 0.1% general partner interest, and the percentage of our cash distributions to which it is entitled from its general partner interest, will be proportionately reduced if we issue additional units in the future (other than the issuance of common units upon a reset of the incentive distribution rights) and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us in order to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest. Our partnership agreement does not require that the general partner fund its capital contribution with cash and our general partner may fund its capital contribution by the contribution to us of common units or other property.
Incentive distribution rights represent a potentially material variable interest in our distributions. The holder of the incentive distribution rights has the right to receive an increasing percentage (13.0%, 23.0% and 48.0%) 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 our partnership agreement that apply prior to the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering) unless the consent of a majority of our outstanding common units (excluding common units held by our general partner or its affiliates) is obtained first.
The following discussion assumes that our general partner maintains its 0.1% general partner interest and that our general partner continues to own all of the incentive distribution rights.
If for any quarter we have distributed available cash from operating surplus to the common unitholders in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution, then our partnership agreement requires that we distribute any additional available cash from operating surplus for that quarter among the unitholders and the general partner in the following manner:
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Percentage Allocations of Available Cash From Operating Surplus
The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of available cash from operating surplus between the unitholders (other than holders of Class A Preferred Units) and our general partner based on the specified target distribution levels. The amounts set forth under "Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions" are the percentage interests of our general partner and the unitholders (other than holders of Class A Preferred Units) in any available cash from operating surplus we distribute, after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units, up to and including the corresponding amount in the column "Total Quarterly Distribution per Unit." The percentage interests shown 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 0.1% general partner interest, assume our general partner has contributed any additional capital necessary to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest and has not transferred its incentive distribution rights.
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Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions |
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Total Quarterly Distribution per Unit | Unitholders | General Partner |
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Minimum quarterly distribution |
$ | 0.3375 | 99.9 | % | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||
First target distribution |
above | $ | 0.3375 | up to | $ | 0.388125 | 99.9 | % | 0.1 | % | |||||||
Second target distribution |
above | $ | 0.388125 | up to | $ | 0.421875 | 86.9 | % | 13.1 | % | |||||||
Third target distribution |
above | $ | 0.421875 | up to | $ | 0.50625 | 76.9 | % | 23.1 | % | |||||||
Thereafter |
above | $ | 0.50625 | 51.9 | % | 48.1 | % |
General Partner's Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels
Our general partner, as the initial holder of our incentive distribution rights, has the right under our partnership agreement to elect to relinquish the right to receive incentive distribution payments based on the initial target distribution levels and to reset, at higher levels, the minimum quarterly distribution amount and target distribution levels upon which the incentive distribution payments to our general partner would be set. If our general partner transfers all or a portion of our incentive distribution rights in the future, then the holder or holders of a majority of our incentive distribution rights will be entitled to exercise this right. The following discussion assumes that our general partner holds all of the incentive distribution rights at the time that a reset election is made. Our general partner's right to reset the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels upon which the incentive distributions payable to our general partner are based may be exercised, without approval of our unitholders or our conflicts committee, at any time when we have made cash distributions to the holders of the incentive distribution rights at the highest level of incentive distribution for each of the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters. The reset minimum quarterly distribution amount and target distribution levels will be higher than the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels prior to the reset such there will be no incentive distributions paid under the reset target distribution levels until cash distributions per unit following this event increase as described below. We anticipate that our general partner would exercise this reset right in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would otherwise not be
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sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit, taking into account the existing levels of incentive distribution payments being made to our general partner.
In connection with the resetting of the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels and the corresponding relinquishment by our general partner of incentive distribution payments based on the target distribution levels prior to the reset, our general partner will be entitled to receive a number of newly issued common units based on a predetermined formula described below that takes into account the "cash parity" value of the average cash distributions related to the incentive distribution rights received by our general partner for the two quarters prior to the reset event as compared to the average cash distributions per common unit during this period. Our general partner's general partner interest in us (currently 0.1%) will be maintained at the percentage interest immediately prior to the reset election.
The number of common units that our general partner would be entitled to receive from us in connection with a resetting of the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels then in effect would be equal to the quotient determined by dividing (x) the average aggregate amount of cash distributions received by our general partner in respect of its incentive distribution rights during the two consecutive fiscal quarters ended immediately prior to the date of such reset election by (y) the average of the amount of cash distributed per common unit during each of these two quarters.
Following a reset election, the minimum quarterly distribution amount will be reset to an amount equal to the average cash distribution amount per unit for the two fiscal quarters immediately preceding the reset election (which amount we refer to as the "reset minimum quarterly distribution") and the target distribution levels will be reset to be correspondingly higher such that we would thereafter distribute all of our available cash from operating surplus for each quarter, after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units, as follows:
Our general partner will be entitled to cause the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels to be reset on more than one occasion, provided that it may not make a reset election except at a time when it has received incentive distributions for the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters based on the highest level of incentive distributions that it is entitled to receive under our partnership agreement.
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Distributions From Capital Surplus
How Distributions from Capital Surplus Will Be Made. Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner, after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units:
The preceding paragraph assumes that our general partner maintains its 0.1% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
Effect of a Distribution from Capital Surplus. Our partnership agreement treats a distribution of capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from our initial public offering, which is a return of capital. 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 will be reduced in the same proportion as the corresponding reduction in the unrecovered initial unit price. Because distributions of capital surplus will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels after any of these distributions are made, it may be easier for our general partner to receive incentive distributions. 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.
Once we distribute capital surplus on a common unit issued in our initial public offering in an amount 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, after payment of distributions on our Class A Preferred Units, with 51.9% being paid to the unitholders (other than holders of Class A Preferred Units), pro rata, and 48.1% to our general partner. The percentage interests shown for our general partner include its 0.1% general partner interest and assume our general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights.
Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels
In addition to adjusting the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels to reflect a distribution of capital surplus, if we combine our units into fewer units or subdivide our units into a greater number of units, our partnership agreement specifies that the following items will be proportionately adjusted:
For example, if a two-for-one split of the units should occur, the minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50.0% of its initial level. Our partnership agreement provides that we do not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.
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In addition, if as a result of a change in law or interpretation thereof, we or any of our subsidiaries is treated as an association taxable as a corporation or is otherwise subject to additional taxation as an entity for U.S. federal, state, local or non-U.S. income or withholding tax purposes, our general partner may, in its sole discretion, reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels for each quarter by multiplying the minimum quarterly distribution and each target distribution level by a fraction, the numerator of which is available cash for that quarter (after deducting our general partner's estimate of our additional aggregate liability for the quarter for such income and withholdings taxes payable by reason of such change in law or interpretation thereof) and the denominator of which is the sum of (i) available cash for that quarter, plus (ii) our general partner's estimate of our additional aggregate liability for the quarter for such income and withholding taxes payable by reason of such change in law or interpretation thereof. To the extent that the actual tax liability differs from the estimated tax liability for any quarter, the difference will be accounted for in distributions with respect to subsequent quarters.
Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation
General. If we dissolve in accordance with our 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 our general partner, in accordance with capital account balances, including any capital account balance attributable to the Class A Preferred Unit liquidation preference, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of our assets in liquidation. For additional information concerning the Class A Preferred Unit liquidation preference, see "Description of Common UnitsClass A Preferred Units and WarrantsClass A Preferred Units."
Manner of Adjustments for Gain. The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in our partnership agreement. Upon our liquidation, we will allocate any gain to our partners in the following manner:
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The percentages set forth above for our general partner include its 0.1% general partner interest and assume our general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights and that we have not issued additional classes of equity interests.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the liquidation date occurs prior to the conversion of the last Class A Preferred Unit and, after all other allocations are made, the per unit capital amount of each outstanding Class A Preferred Unit does not at least equal the Class A Preferred Unit liquidation preference, then items of gross income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated to cause, to the maximum extent possible, the per unit capital amount in respect of each outstanding Class A Preferred Unit to equal the Class A Preferred Unit liquidation preference.
Manner of Adjustments for Losses. Upon our liquidation, after making allocations of loss to the general partner and the unitholders in a manner intended to offset in reverse order the allocations of gains that have previously been allocated, we will generally allocate any loss to our partners in the following manner:
Adjustments to Capital Accounts
Our partnership agreement requires that we make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In this regard, our partnership agreement specifies that we allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes, unrecognized gain resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the general partner in the same manner as we allocate gain upon liquidation. If we make positive adjustments to the capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units as a result of such gain, our partnership agreement requires that we generally allocate any later negative adjustments to the capital accounts resulting from the issuance of additional units or upon our liquidation in a manner that results, to the extent possible, in the partners' capital account balances equaling the amount that they would have been if no earlier positive adjustments to the capital accounts had been made. By contrast
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to the allocations of gain, and except as provided above, we generally will allocate any unrealized and unrecognized loss resulting from the adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units to the unitholders and our general partner based on their respective percentage ownership of us. In the event we make negative adjustments to the capital accounts as a result of such loss, future positive adjustments resulting from the issuance of additional units will be allocated in a manner designed to reverse the prior negative adjustments, and special allocations will be made upon liquidation in a manner designed to result, to the extent possible, in our unitholders' capital account balances equaling the amounts they would have been if no earlier adjustments for loss had been made.
The following description of our common units and of certain provisions of Delaware law is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our certificate of limited partnership, as amended, our partnership agreement and our registration rights agreement. We suggest that you read the complete text of our certificate of limited partnership, our partnership agreement and the registration rights agreement, which we have incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The Common Units
The common units represent limited partner interests in NGL Energy Partners LP. The holders of common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement.
Listing
Our common units are traded on the NYSE under the symbol "NGL." Any additional common units that we issue also will be traded on the NYSE.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Duties. Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, serves as the registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We will pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units, except the following that must be paid by unitholders:
There will be no charge to our unitholders for disbursements of our cash distributions. We will indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Resignation or Removal. The transfer agent may resign, by notice to us, or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If no successor is appointed, our general partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.
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Transfer of Common Units
By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:
Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records from time to time as necessary to accurately reflect the transfers.
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder's rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
Common units are securities, and any transfers are subject to the laws governing the transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units.
Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.
Registration Rights
We have entered into the registration rights agreement with certain third parties (the "registration rights parties") pursuant to which we agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act common units owned by the registration rights parties. In connection with our initial public offering, we granted registration rights to the individuals and entities that owned all of our then-outstanding common units, and subsequently, we have granted registration rights in connection with several acquisitions. We will not be required to register such common units if an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available with respect to the number of common units desired to be sold. This prospectus relates only to a primary offering of securities by us and does not relate to an offering by any stockholder.
Subject to limitations specified in the registration rights agreement, the registration rights of the registration rights parties include the following:
Demand Registration Rights. Certain registration rights parties deemed "Significant Holders" under the registration rights agreement may, to the extent that they continue to own more than 4% of our common units, require us to file a registration statement with the SEC registering the offer and sale of a specified number of common units, subject to limitations on the number of requests for registration that can be made in any twelve-month period as well as customary cutbacks at the discretion of the underwriters relating to a potential offering. All other registration rights parties are entitled to notice of a Significant Holder's exercise of its demand registration rights and may include their units in such registration. We can only be required to file a total of nine registration statements upon the Significant Holders' exercise of these demand registration rights and are only required to effect demand registration to the extent such holders hold registerable securities and if the aggregate proposed offering price to the public is at least $10.0 million.
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Piggyback Registration Rights. If we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act to register our common units, the registration rights parties are entitled to notice of such registration and have the right to include their units in the registration, subject to limitations that the underwriters relating to a potential offering may impose on the number of common units included in the registration. The registration rights parties also have the right to include their units in our future registrations, including secondary offerings of our common units.
Expenses of Registration. With specified exceptions, we are required to pay all expenses incidental to any registration of common units, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.
The registration rights described above will continue, with respect to any particular unitholder, for so long as the registration rights parties hold common units eligible for registration under the terms of the registration rights agreement.
Class A Preferred Units and Warrants
In June 2016, we completed a private placement of $240 million aggregate principal amount of Class A Preferred Units and warrants that may be exercised to purchase common units (the "Warrants"). The private placement was completed over the course of two closings (each, a "closing date"), with the initial closing having been completed in May 2016. In the aggregate, we issued 19,942,169 Class A Preferred Units at a purchase price of approximately $12.035 per Class A Preferred Unit (the "Class A Preferred Unit Purchase Price") and Warrants exercisable for 4,375,112 common units.
Class A Preferred Units. Our partnership agreement provides that holders of our Class A Preferred Units (each, a "Class A Preferred Unit Holder") are entitled to receive a cumulative, quarterly cash distribution in arrears at an annual rate of 10.75% (or $0.3234 per quarter) on each Class A Preferred Unit then owned by such Class A Preferred Unit Holder. Unless and until the distribution payable on each outstanding Class A Preferred Unit in respect of a given quarter, together with any previously accrued and unpaid distributions on the Class A Preferred Units, has been paid in full, we may not declare or pay any distributions on any Junior Securities, including any of the common units, or any Parity Securities, other than distributions on Parity Securities that are declared and paid pro rata with distributions on the Class A Preferred Units, as described in the partnership agreement.
At any time after the third anniversary of the initial closing, each Class A Preferred Unit Holder will have the right, subject to certain conditions, to convert all or any portion of the Class A Preferred Units then held by such Class A Preferred Unit Holder at the conversion rate then in effect. Such conversions may be settled, at our election, in common units, cash or a combination of common units and cash. At any time after the eighth anniversary of the initial closing, we will have the right to convert all of the outstanding Class A Preferred Units into common units at the conversion rate then in effect, provided that we have paid in full all quarterly distributions on the outstanding Class A Preferred Units and that certain conversion conditions described in the partnership agreement have been satisfied. At any time after the first anniversary of the initial closing, we will have the right to redeem all of the outstanding Class A Preferred Units at a price per Class A Preferred Unit equal to the Class A Preferred Unit Purchase Price multiplied by the redemption multiple then in effect, as described in the partnership agreement. Upon a Change of Control (as defined in the partnership agreement), each Class A Preferred Unit Holder shall have the right, at its election, to either (i) require us to redeem the Class A Preferred Units then held by such Class A Preferred Unit Holder at a price per Class A Preferred Unit equal to the Class A Preferred Unit Purchase Price multiplied by the change of control redemption multiple then in effect; (ii) if we are the surviving entity of such Change of Control, continue to hold Class A Preferred Units; or (iii) convert all of the Class A Preferred Units then held by such Class A Preferred Unit Holder at the conversion rate then in effect.
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The Class A Preferred Units vote together with the common units, as a single class, with each Class A Preferred Unit having such voting rights as it would have if it were converted into common units at the conversion rate then in effect, except that the Class A Preferred Units will be entitled to vote as a separate class on any matter on which unitholders are entitled to vote that adversely affects the rights, powers, privileges or preferences of the Class A Preferred Units in relation to other classes of partnership interests or as required by law. See "Our Partnership AgreementVoting Rights." Holders of Class A Preferred Units also have preemptive rights with respect to the issuance of Parity Securities or Senior Securities (as defined in the partnership agreement), subject to certain exceptions. See "Our Partnership AgreementIssuance of Additional Partnership Interests."
The Class A Preferred Units rank senior to the Junior Securities, including the common units, in respect of liquidation. Upon liquidation, each Class A Preferred Unit Holder shall be entitled to receive, in respect of each Class A Preferred Unit then owned, a liquidation preference (the "Class A Preferred Unit liquidation preference") equal to the sum of the Class A Preferred Unit Purchase Price (subject to adjustments for any stock splits, combinations or recapitalization with respect to the Class A Preferred Units), plus all accrued but unpaid and accumulated distributions, if any, on such Class A Preferred Unit to, but not including, the liquidation date. The Class A Preferred Units have no stated maturity and are not subject to mandatory redemption or any sinking fund and will remain outstanding indefinitely unless redeemed by us or converted into common units at our election or the election of the Class A Preferred Unit Holders or in connection with a Change of Control.
Warrants. The Warrants are exercisable in the aggregate for 4.2% of the total number of common units that were issued and outstanding immediately prior to the initial closing, at an exercise price of $0.01 per common unit (subject to customary adjustments). The Warrants do not include anti-dilution adjustments for economic dilution, including any such economic dilution resulting from the issuance of common units below a particular price. Incidental to their ownership of the Warrants, we have granted the holders of the Warrants preemptive rights (proportional to their common unit ownership on an as exercised basis) with respect to any issuance of common units, subject to certain exceptions, including the issuance of common units pursuant to an at-the-market program, any employee benefit or compensation program, policy or arrangement, certain mergers and acquisitions, certain firm commitment public offerings, exercises of warrants or options and any dividends, splits or other reclassifications. One-third of the Warrants issued on each closing date may be exercised from and after the first anniversary of such closing date, another one-third of the Warrants issued on each closing date may be exercised from and after the second anniversary of such closing date; and all Warrants issued on each closing date may be exercised from and after the third anniversary of such closing date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the partnership agreement) or in the event we exercise our redemption right (as described above) with respect to the Class A Preferred Units, all unvested Warrants shall immediately vest and be exercisable in full. Unexercised Warrants will expire on the eighth anniversary of the applicable closing date. The Warrants will not participate in cash distributions.
Registration Rights. We have entered into a registration rights agreement, as amended, with the initial purchasers of the Class A Preferred Units and Warrants, pursuant which we have agreed to register for resale the common units issued or issuable upon conversion of the Class A Preferred Units and exercise of the Warrants (the "registrable securities"). Within 180 days of the initial closing, we are required to prepare and file a registration statement to permit the public resale of the registrable securities, as well as any common units issued in lieu of cash as liquidated damages under the registration rights agreement, as described below. We are also required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective no later than 360 days after the initial closing (the "registration statement deadline").
If the registration statement is not declared effective on or prior to the registration statement deadline, then we will be liable to the holders of registrable securities for liquidated damages in
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accordance with a formula, and subject to the limitations, set forth in the registration rights agreement. Such liquidated damages are payable in cash, or if payment in cash would breach any covenant or a cause a default under any credit facility or other debt instrument that we have filed with the SEC, then such liquidated damages are payable in common units. In addition, the registration rights agreement grants the holders of registrable securities piggyback registration rights under certain circumstances. These registration rights are transferable to affiliates of the initial purchasers and, in certain circumstances, to third parties.
We have summarized below selected provisions of our partnership agreement. However, because this summary is not complete it is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our partnership agreement. We suggest that you read the complete text of our partnership agreement, which we have filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K, which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. The following provisions of our partnership agreement are summarized elsewhere in this prospectus: distributions of our available cash are described under "Cash Distribution Policy;" allocations of taxable income and other tax matters are described under "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations;" and rights of holders of common units are described under "Description of Common Units."
Organization and Duration
Our partnership was organized in September 2010 and will have a perpetual existence.
Purpose
Our purpose, as set forth in our partnership agreement, is limited to any business activity that is approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law; provided, that our general partner shall not cause us to engage, directly or indirectly, in any business activity that the general partner determines would be reasonably likely to cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes.
Although our general partner has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the businesses that we currently conduct, our general partner has no obligation to do so and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. Our general partner is generally authorized to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.
Cash Distributions
Our partnership agreement specifies the manner in which we will make cash distributions to holders of our common units and other partnership securities as well as to our general partner in respect of its general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights. For a description of these cash distribution provisions, see "Our Cash Distribution Policy."
Capital Contributions
Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under "Limited Liability."
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For a discussion of our general partner's right to contribute capital to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest if we issue additional units, please read "Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests."
Voting Rights
The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for approval of the matters specified below. Matters that require the approval of a "unit majority" require the approval of a majority of the common units (including the Class A Preferred Units voting on an as-converted basis), and matters that require the approval of a "Class A Preferred Unit majority" require the approval of a majority of the outstanding Class A Preferred Units, voting separately as a class with one vote per Class A Preferred Unit.
In voting their common units, our general partner and its affiliates will have no fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners.
Action
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Voting Right | |
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Issuance of additional units |
No approval right in respect of common unit issuances. Approval of a Class A Preferred Unit majority is required for issuance of additional Class A Preferred Units or any Senior Securities. Approval of a Class A Preferred Unit majority is also required for issuance of any Parity Securities, if (i) at the time of such issuance there are any accrued and unpaid distributions on the Class A Preferred Units or (ii) pro forma for the issuance of such Parity Securities, our Adjusted Leverage Ratio (as defined in the partnership agreement) would exceed 5.50. | |
Amendment of our partnership agreement |
Certain amendments may be made by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a unit majority and/or a Class A Preferred Unit majority. See "Amendment of our Partnership Agreement." | |
Merger of our partnership or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets |
Unit majority in certain circumstances. See "Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets." | |
Dissolution of our partnership |
Unit majority. Please read "Dissolution." |
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Continuation of our business upon dissolution |
Unit majority. Please read "Dissolution." |
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Withdrawal of our general partner |
Prior to the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering), the approval of a unit majority, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is generally required for the withdrawal of our general partner. See "Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner." |
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Removal of our general partner |
Not less than 662/3% of the outstanding units, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates. See "Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner." |
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Action
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Voting Right | |
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Transfer of our general partner interest |
Our general partner may transfer all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in us without a vote of our unitholders to an affiliate or another person in connection with its merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, such person. The approval of a unit majority, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required in other circumstances for a transfer of the general partner interest to a third party prior to the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering). See "Transfer of General Partner Interest." | |
Transfer of incentive distribution rights |
No approval rights after the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering) and limited approval rights prior to that time. See "Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights." | |
Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner |
No approval required at any time. See "Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner." |
If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply to (i) any person or group who acquired the units from our general partner or its affiliates; (ii) any person or group who acquired the units directly or indirectly from our general partner of its affiliates, provided that our general partner notifies such transferees that the limitation does not apply; (iii) to any person or group who acquired 20% or more of any class of units with the prior approval of the general partner; (iv) the initial purchasers of the Class A Preferred Units or their permitted affiliates with respect to their ownership (beneficial or of record) of the Class A Preferred Units (or the common units issued upon conversion thereof) or the Warrants (or the common units issued on exercise thereof); or (v) any holder of Class A Preferred Units in connection with any vote, consent or approval of the holders of the Class A Preferred Units as a separate class.
Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction
Our partnership agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:
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suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims.
By purchasing a common unit, a limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings.
Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware LP Act and that it otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of our partnership agreement, the limited partner's liability under the Delaware LP Act will be limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital such limited partner is obligated to contribute to us for its common units plus its share of any undistributed profits and assets. However, if it were determined that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:
constituted "participation in the control" of our business for the purposes of the Delaware LP Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us under the reasonable belief that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our partnership agreement nor the Delaware LP Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our general partner. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no precedent for this type of a claim in Delaware case law.
Under the Delaware LP Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. Neither liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests nor liabilities that are nonrecourse to the partnership are counted for purposes of determining whether a distribution is permitted. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware LP Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware LP 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 LP Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years. Under the Delaware LP Act, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of its assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except that such person is not obligated for liabilities unknown to it at the time it became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from our partnership agreement.
Our subsidiaries conduct business in numerous states and we may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as a member of the operating company may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating company conducts business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.
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Limitations on the liability of members or limited partners for the obligations of a limited liability company or limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our ownership interest in our operating company or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement, or to take other action under our partnership agreement constituted "participation in the control" of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of that jurisdiction to the same extent as our general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.
Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders.
We have and may continue to fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing holders of common units in our distributions of available cash (subject to certain waivers of distributions that parties have or may agree to in the future). In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, may have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled or may have other preferences, rights, powers and duties, which may be senior to existing classes and series of partnership interests. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit our subsidiaries from issuing equity securities, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.
We may not issue any additional Class A Preferred Units or any Senior Securities without the approval of a Class A Preferred Unit majority. In addition, we may not issue any Parity Securities, without the approval of a Class A Preferred Unit majority, if (i) at the time of such issuance there are any accrued and unpaid distributions on the Class A Preferred Units or (ii) pro forma for the issuance of such Parity Securities, our Adjusted Leverage Ratio would exceed 5.50.
Upon issuance of additional partnership interests (other than the issuance of common units upon a reset of the incentive distribution rights) our general partner will be entitled, but not required, to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest in us. Our general partner's 0.1% general partner interest in us will be reduced if we issue additional units in the future (other than in those circumstances described above) and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 0.1% general partner interest. Moreover, our general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or the beneficial owners thereof or any of their respective affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership interests whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates and such beneficial owners, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of our general partner and its affiliates and such beneficial owners or any of their respective affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance.
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The holders of common units will not have preemptive rights under our partnership agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests. The Class A Preferred Unit Holders shall have preemptive rights with respect to any issuance of Parity Securities or Senior Securities, subject to certain exceptions, including the issuance of securities to the owners of another entity in connection with the acquisition of such entity or the issuance of securities pursuant to any plan or program authorized by our general partner or any dividend, split or other reclassification, provided that with respect to any dividend, split or reclassification of Parity Securities, the Class A Preferred Units are given ratable treatment. The holders of the Warrants shall have preemptive rights (proportional to their common unit ownership on an as exercised basis) with respect to any issuance of common units by the Partnership, subject to certain exceptions, including the issuance of common units pursuant to an at-the-market program, any employee benefit or compensation program, policy or arrangement, certain mergers and acquisitions, certain firm commitment public offerings, exercises of warrants or options and pursuant to any dividends, splits or other reclassifications.
Amendment of our Partnership Agreement
General. Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by or with the consent of our general partner. However, to the full extent permitted by law, our general partner will have no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. To adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below, our general partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or to call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a unit majority.
Prohibited Amendments. No amendment may be made that would:
The provision of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in the clauses above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90.0% of the outstanding units (including units owned by our general partner and its affiliates).
Without the consent of a Class A Preferred Unit majority, no amendment to our partnership agreement may be made that would:
No Unitholder Approval. Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner to reflect:
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Our general partner may also make amendments to our partnership agreement, without the approval of any limited partner, if our general partner determines that those amendments:
Opinion of Counsel and Unitholder Approval. Our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will not result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners
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or result in our being treated as an entity for federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments described above under "No Unitholder Approval." No other amendments to our partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90.0% of the outstanding units unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under applicable law of any of our limited partners.
In addition to the above restrictions, any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that reduces the voting percentage required to take any action and any amendment which increases the voting percentage for the removal of our general partner or the calling of a special meeting must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced or increased, as applicable.
Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets
A merger, consolidation or conversion of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, to the fullest extent permitted by law, our general partner will have no duty or obligation to consent to any merger, consolidation or conversion and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interest of us or the limited partners.
In addition, our partnership agreement generally prohibits our general partner, without the prior approval of a unit majority, from causing us to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions. Our general partner may, however, in our best interests, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without such approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without such approval. Finally, our general partner may consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in an amendment to our partnership agreement (other than an amendment that the general partner could adopt without the consent of the limited partners), each of our units outstanding immediately prior to the transaction will be a substantially identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the partnership interests to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests (other than the incentive distribution rights) immediately prior to the transaction.
If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity, if the sole purpose of that conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our partnership agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters' rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.
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Dissolution
We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:
Upon a dissolution under the last clause above, the holders of a unit majority may also elect, within specific time limitations, to continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our partnership agreement by appointing as a successor general partner an entity approved by the holders of a unit majority, subject to our receipt of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as described in "Cash Distribution PolicyDistributions of Cash Upon Liquidation." The liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time or distribute assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to our partners.
Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner
Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to 11:59 p.m. Central Time on the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering) without obtaining the approval of a unit majority, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after 11:59 p.m. Central Time on the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering), our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days' written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without unitholder approval upon 90 days' notice to the limited partners if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and its affiliates, other than our general partner and its affiliates. In addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner, in some instances, to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders. See "Transfer of General Partner Interest" and "Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights."
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Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by our general partner of all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders of a unit majority may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner to continue the business of the partnership. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. Please read "Dissolution."
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 662/3% of the outstanding units, voting together as a single class, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the vote of a unit majority (including units held by our general partner and its affiliates). The ownership of more than 331/3% of the outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates gives them the practical ability to prevent our general partner's removal.
In the event of the removal of our general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of our general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest and incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where our general partner withdraws or is removed by the limited partners, the departing general partner will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest and the incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner or its affiliates for fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. Or, if the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value.
If the option to purchase described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partner's general partner interest and all of its or its affiliates' incentive distribution rights will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities incurred as a result of the termination of any employees employed for our benefit by the departing general partner or its affiliates.
Transfer of General Partner Interest
Prior to the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering), except for transfer by our general partner of all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest to (i) an affiliate of our general partner (other than an individual) or (ii) another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of our general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by our general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to another entity, our general partner may not transfer all or any of its general partner interest to another person without the approval of a unit majority, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. On or after the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering), our general partner may transfer all or
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any part of its general partner interest in us to another person without the approval of the unitholders. As a condition of this transfer, the transferee must, among other things, assume the rights and duties of our general partner, agree to be bound by the provisions of our partnership agreement and furnish an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters.
Our general partner may, at any time, transfer common units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner
At any time, the owners of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part their ownership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or a third party without unitholder approval.
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights
Prior to the first day of the first quarter beginning after May 17, 2021 (the tenth anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering), the consent of a unit majority (excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates) will be required to transfer the incentive distribution rights, except for transfers to an affiliate or to another person as part of our general partner's merger or consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of its assets, the sale of all of the ownership interests in our general partner, the pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or mortgage of the incentive distribution rights in favor of a person providing bona-fide debt financing to such holder as security or collateral for such debt financing and the transfer of incentive distribution rights in connection with exercise of any remedy of such person in connection therewith. After the expiration of this period, the incentive distribution rights may be freely transferred.
Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove NGL Energy Holdings LLC as our general partner or from otherwise changing our management. Please read "Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner" for a discussion of certain consequences of the removal of our general partner. If any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply in certain circumstances. Please read "Meetings; Voting."
Limited Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or beneficial owners thereof or to us, to acquire for cash all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests of the class held by unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by our general partner, on at least 10 days, but not more than 60 days', notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:
As a result of our general partner's right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have its limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower
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than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of its common units in the market. See "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax ConsequencesDisposition of Common Units."
Non-Citizen Assignees; Redemption
If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are subject to U.S. federal, state or local laws or regulations that, in the reasonable determination of our general partner, create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property that we have an interest in because of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of any limited partner, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
Non-Taxpaying Assignees; Redemption
If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines that our not being treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, coupled with the tax status (or lack of proof thereof) of one or more of our limited partners, has, or is reasonably likely to have, a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by us, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding certain persons or groups owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, record holders of units on the record date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our limited partners and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited.
Our general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of our unitholders will be called in the foreseeable future. Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting, if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units
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of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum, unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to its percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. See "Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests." However, if at any time any person or group, other than those specified in "Voting Rights", acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and its nominee provides otherwise.
Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record holders of common units under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Status as Limited Partner
By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Except as described under "Limited Liability," the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.
Indemnification
Under our partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages or similar events:
However, our partnership agreement provides that these persons will not be indemnified if there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that, with respect to the matter for which the person is seeking indemnification, the person acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the person's conduct was unlawful.
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Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Our general partner will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or lend funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under our partnership agreement.
Reimbursement of Expenses
Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for all expenses they incur or payments they make on our behalf. These expenses include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf and expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates. Our general partner is entitled to determine the expenses that are allocable to us and our subsidiaries.
Books and Reports
Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. These books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year. For fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year ends March 31st of each year.
We will furnish or make available to record holders of our common units, within 90 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report on those consolidated financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available summary financial information within 45 days after the close of each quarter. We will be deemed to have made any such report available if we file such report with the SEC or make the report available on a publicly available website which we maintain.
We will furnish each record holder with information reasonably required for federal and state tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to our unitholders will depend on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist it in determining its federal and state tax liability and in filing its federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether it supplies us with the necessary information.
Right to Inspect Our Books and Records
Our partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to its interest as a limited partner, the reasonableness of which having been determined by our general partner, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at such limited partner's own expense, have furnished to it:
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To the full extent permitted by law, our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes is not in our best interests or could damage us or our business or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
This section is a summary of material U.S. federal income tax considerations 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, is the opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP (counsel to our general partner and us) insofar as it relates to legal conclusions with respect to matters of U.S. federal income tax law. This section is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"), existing and proposed Treasury Regulations promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code (the "Treasury Regulations") and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Changes in these authorities, which could have retroactive effect, may cause the tax consequences to vary substantially from the consequences described below.
The following discussion does not comment on all U.S. federal income tax matters affecting us or our 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, entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, trusts, nonresident aliens, U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long term residents of the United States and generally does not address unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, government instrumentalities and agencies, foreign persons (including, without limitation, controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and foreign persons eligible for the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty with the United States), individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and other tax-qualified retirement plans, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), mutual funds, dealers in securities or currencies, traders in securities, persons whose "functional currency" is not the U.S. dollar, persons holding their units as part of a "straddle," "hedge," "conversion transaction" or other risk reduction transaction, persons deemed to sell their units under the constructive sale provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and, other than to the extent set forth below, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Any prospective unitholder that is an employee of ours or otherwise receives units in exchange for services may also be subject to different rules that are not described herein. This discussion also does not address the tax consequences to a shareholder, beneficiary or other owner of a unitholder.
This discussion only comments to a limited extent on state, local and foreign tax consequences. We strongly encourage each prospective unitholder to consult, and rely on, his tax advisor in analyzing the state, local, foreign tax, tax treaty and other consequences particular to him of the ownership or disposition of common units. Prospective unitholders should also consult their tax advisors regarding the federal income tax consequences (including those discussed herein) and the potential for changes in the relevant tax authority and tax laws governing the units.
Unless otherwise noted, all statements as to matters of U.S. federal income tax law and legal conclusions with respect thereto, but not as to factual matters or estimates, contained in this section are the opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP as of the date hereof. It must be emphasized that this opinion is based on various assumptions and representations as to factual matters (please read "Partnership Status"), including representations made by us in a factual certificate provided by one of our officers. In addition, this opinion is based upon our factual representations set forth in this document.
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An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel's best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or the courts. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein 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, principally legal, accounting and related fees, 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. 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, Winston & Strawn LLP has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following specific U.S. federal income tax issues: (i) 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 OwnershipTreatment of Short Sales"); (ii) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read "Disposition of Common UnitsAllocations Between Transferors and Transferees"); and (iii) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable (please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 754 Election," "Disposition of Common Units" and "Uniformity of Units").
Partnership Status
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a partnership is not a taxable entity and incurs no U.S. 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 U.S. federal income tax liability, regardless of whether cash or property distributions are made to him by the partnership. Distributions by a partnership to a partner are generally not taxable to the partnership or the partner unless the amount of money (including, in certain circumstances, marketable securities) distributed to him is in excess of the partner's adjusted tax basis in his partnership interest.
Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a publicly traded partnership will, as a general rule, be taxed as a corporation. However, an exception, referred to herein as the "Qualifying Income Exception," exists with respect to publicly traded partnerships 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, processing, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and products thereof, including the retail and wholesale marketing of propane, the transportation of propane and natural gas liquids, and certain related hedging activities. Other types of qualifying income include interest (other than interest income from a financial or insurance business and certain interest income based on the net income or profits of any person), dividends, gains from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less than 7% 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 our general partner and a review of the applicable legal authorities, Winston & Strawn LLP is of the opinion that at least 90% of our current gross income constitutes qualifying income. The portion of our income that is qualifying income may change from time to time.
No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS and the IRS has made no determination as to our status (or the status of our non-corporate subsidiaries) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Instead, we will rely on the opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP on such matters. It is the opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP that, based upon the Internal Revenue Code, its regulations, published revenue rulings and court decisions and the representations made by us, we are classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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In rendering its opinion, Winston & Strawn LLP has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Winston & Strawn LLP has relied include the following:
We believe that these representations have been true in the past and would expect that it is reasonable to believe that these representations will continue to be true in the future.
If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as 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 deemed 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 C corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, on May 5, 2015, the Department of Treasury and the IRS issued proposed regulations that, if finalized in their current form, would restrict the types of natural resource activities that generate qualifying income for publicly traded partnerships. We believe the income that we treat as qualifying income satisfies the requirements for qualifying income under the proposed regulations. However, the proposed regulations could be changed before they are finalized and could take a position that is contrary to our interpretation of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, from time to time, the President and members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted. However, it is possible that a change in law could affect us and may be applied retroactively. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.
If we were treated as an association taxable as a C 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 our unitholders, and our net income would be taxed to us at corporate rates. In addition, any distribution made by us to a unitholder would be treated as either taxable dividend income, to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, or, in the absence of earnings and profits, a nontaxable return of capital, to the extent of the unitholder's tax basis in his common units, or taxable capital gain, after the unitholder's tax basis in his common units is reduced to zero. Accordingly, taxation of us as a C corporation would result in a material reduction in our after-tax cash flow and a unitholder's after-tax return and thus would likely result in a substantial reduction of the value of the units.
The discussion below is based on Winston & Strawn LLP's opinion that we will be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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Limited Partner Status
We will treat unitholders who become limited partners of NGL Energy Partners LP as part of an offering as partners of NGL Energy Partners LP for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Also, beneficial owners of common units whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of their common units will be treated as partners of NGL Energy Partners LP for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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 U.S. federal income tax purposes. Please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipTreatment of Short Sales."
A unitholder who is not a partner for U.S. federal income tax purposes would not be entitled to pass-through taxation based upon his distributive share of the income, gain, deductions or losses of NGL Energy Partners LP, so that any cash distributions received by a unitholder who is not a partner for U.S. federal income tax purposes would therefore appear to be fully taxable as ordinary income. These holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of holding common units in NGL Energy Partners LP. The references to "unitholders" in the discussion that follows are to persons who are treated as partners in NGL Energy Partners LP for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Entity-Level Taxation
Even though NGL Energy Partners LP (as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax, certain of our business activities and operations are conducted through subsidiaries treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The taxable income, if any, of our subsidiaries that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes, which may reduce the cash available for distribution to us and, in turn, to our unitholders. Moreover, taxable distributions from such subsidiaries generally would be characterized as dividend income to us, and such character should flow through to unitholders. In the future, we may conduct additional operations through these subsidiaries or additional subsidiaries that are subject to corporate-level income taxes. Moreover, some of our subsidiaries and our operations may be subject to income tax and other taxes in the jurisdictions in which they are organized or from which they receive income. Such taxation will reduce the amount of cash we have available for distribution to our unitholders.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Flow-Through of Taxable Income. Subject to the discussion under "Entity-Level Taxation" above and "Entity-Level Collections" below, we generally will not pay any U.S. federal income tax. Instead, each unitholder will be required to report on his income tax return his distributive share of our income, gains, losses and deductions without regard to whether we make cash or property distributions to 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. Our taxable year ends on December 31.
Treatment of Distributions. Distributions by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder for U.S. federal income tax purposes, except to the extent the amount of any money (including, for this purpose, marketable securities) distributed exceeds his tax basis in his common units immediately before such distribution. Our cash distributions in excess of a unitholder's tax basis generally will be considered to be gain from the sale or exchange of the common units, taxable in
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accordance with the rules described under "Disposition of Common Units" below. Any reduction in a unitholder's share of our liabilities for which no partner, including the general partner, bears the economic risk of loss ("nonrecourse liabilities") will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. To the extent our distributions cause a unitholder's "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 unitholder's 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. This deemed distribution may constitute a non-pro rata distribution. 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 unitholder's share of our "unrealized receivables" (including depreciation recapture) and/or substantially appreciated "inventory items," each as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and collectively, "Section 751 Assets." To that extent, he will be treated as having been distributed his proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and then 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 unitholder's realization of ordinary income, which will equal the excess of (i) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (ii) the unitholder's tax basis (which may be zero) for the share of Section 751 Assets deemed relinquished in the exchange.
Basis of Common Units. A unitholder's 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 unitholder's 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 that is recourse to our general partner, but will have a share of our nonrecourse liabilities, generally based on his share of our profits. Please read "Disposition of Common UnitsRecognition 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, estate, trust, or a corporate unitholder (if more than 50% of the value of the corporate unitholder's stock is owned directly or indirectly by or for 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 common unitholder subject to these limitations 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 as a deduction to the extent that his at-risk amount is subsequently increased, provided such losses do not exceed such common unitholder's tax basis in his common units. 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 loss previously suspended by the at-risk limitation in excess of that gain would no longer be utilizable and would not be available to offset a unitholder's salary or active business income.
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 (i) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or other similar arrangement and (ii) 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 unitholder's at-risk amount should increase or decrease as
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the tax basis of the unitholder's units increases or decreases, other than tax basis increases or decreases attributable to increases or decreases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities.
In addition to the basis and at-risk limitations on the deductibility of losses, the Internal Revenue Code contains certain passive loss limitations, which generally provide that individuals, estates, trusts and some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations can deduct losses from passive activities, which are generally trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate, only to the extent of the taxpayer's income from those passive activities. The passive loss limitations are generally applied separately with respect to each publicly traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will only be available to offset 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 a unitholder's investments in other publicly traded partnerships, or salary or active business income. Passive losses that are not deductible because they exceed a unitholder's 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 loss limitations are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at-risk rules and the basis limitation.
A unitholder's share of our net income may be offset by any suspended passive losses from his investment in us, 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.
Limitations on Interest Deductions. The deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer's "investment interest expense" is generally limited to the amount of that taxpayer's "net investment income." Investment interest expense includes:
The computation of a unitholder's investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses, other than interest, directly connected with the production of investment income, but generally does not include gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment or (if applicable) qualified dividend income. The IRS has indicated that the net passive income earned by a publicly traded partnership will be treated as investment income to its unitholders. In addition, the unitholder's 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 our 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 unitholder 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 our 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 our 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 unitholder in which event the unitholder would be required to file a claim in order to obtain a credit or refund.
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Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction. In general, if we have a net profit, determined on a "book" basis for purposes of maintaining capital accounts, our general partner and the unitholders generally will be allocated a pro rata share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction 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 our general partner, gross income will be allocated to the recipients to the extent of these distributions. If we have a net loss, determined on a "book" basis for purposes of maintaining capital accounts, that loss will be allocated first to our general partner and the unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us to the extent of their positive capital accounts, as adjusted to take into account the unitholders' share of nonrecourse debt, and, second, to our general partner.
Each unitholder's distributive share of our taxable income or loss should be its allocated share of our net profit or loss, described above, as adjusted for his share of Section 704(c) allocations and reverse Section 704(c) allocations described below, and as further adjusted based upon any Section 743(b) adjustment for that unitholder, as described below.
Specified items of our taxable income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated to account for (i) any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time of an offering and (ii) any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of any property contributed to us by the general partner or its affiliates that exists at the time of such contribution, together, referred to in this discussion as the "Contributed Property." The effect of these allocations, referred to as Section 704(c) Allocations, to a unitholder purchasing common units from us in an offering will be essentially the same as if the tax bases of our assets were equal to their fair market values at the time of such purchase. In the event we issue additional common units or engage in certain other transactions in the future, "reverse Section 704(c) Allocations," similar to the Section 704(c) Allocations described above, will be made to the general partner and our other unitholders immediately prior to such issuance or other transactions to account for the difference between the "book" basis for purposes of maintaining capital accounts and the fair market value of all property held by us at the time of such issuance or future transaction. In addition, items of recapture income will be allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder 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 (subject to certain adjustments), if negative capital accounts (subject to certain adjustments) nevertheless result, items of our income and gain will be allocated in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate such 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 partner's "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 U.S. federal income tax purposes in determining a partner's share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has substantial economic effect. In any other case, a partner's 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:
Winston & Strawn LLP is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in "Section 754 Election" and "Disposition of Common UnitsAllocations Between Transferors and Transferees," allocations under our partnership agreement will be given effect for U.S. federal income tax purposes in determining a partner's share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction.
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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 treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition. As a result, during this period:
Because there is no direct or indirect controlling authority on the issue relating to partnership interests, Winston & Strawn LLP has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder whose common units are loaned to a short seller to effect 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 consult a tax advisor to discuss whether it is advisable to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and loaning their units. The IRS has previously announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please also read "Disposition of Common UnitsRecognition 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 (other than a married individual filing separately) is 26% of alternative minimum taxable income that doesn't exceed a statutory amount, as adjusted for inflation ($186,300 for 2016) and 28% on any additional alternative minimum taxable income. Prospective unitholders are urged to consult with their tax advisors as to the impact of an investment in units on their liability for the alternative minimum tax.
Tax Rates. Under current law, the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to ordinary income of individuals is 39.6% and the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains (generally, capital gains on certain assets held for more than twelve months) of individuals is 20%. However, these rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
Section 1411 of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder impose a 3.8% tax ("NIIT") on "net investment income" (within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code) earned by certain individuals, estates and trusts in excess of certain statutory threshold amounts. For these purposes, "net investment income" generally includes a unitholder's allocable share of our gross income and any net gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units, less certain allocable deductions. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholder's net investment income from all investments, and (ii) the amount by which the unitholder's modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing separately) or $200,000 (in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, and (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins for such taxable year. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS have issued guidance in the form of Treasury Regulations regarding the NIIT. Prospective unitholders should consult with their tax advisors as to the impact of the NIIT on an investment in our common units.
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 unless there is a constructive termination of the partnership. Please read "Disposition of Common
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UnitsConstructive Termination." The election will generally permit us to adjust a common unit purchaser's 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 with respect 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 unitholder's inside basis in our assets will be considered to have two components: (i) his share of our tax basis in our assets ("common basis") and (ii) his Section 743(b) adjustment to that basis.
We have adopted the remedial allocation method as to all our properties. Where the remedial allocation method is adopted, the Treasury Regulations under Section 743 of the Internal Revenue Code require a portion of the Section 743(b) adjustment that is attributable to recovery property that is subject to depreciation under Section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code and whose book basis is in excess of its tax basis to be depreciated over the remaining cost recovery period for the property's unamortized Book-Tax Disparity. Under Treasury Regulation Section 1.167(c)-1(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 and any other Treasury Regulations. Please read "Uniformity of Units."
Although Winston & Strawn LLP is unable to opine as to the validity of this approach because there is no direct or indirect controlling 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 property's unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, or treat that portion as non-amortizable to the extent attributable to property which is not amortizable. We believe this method is consistent with the methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships 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 "Uniformity of Units." A unitholder's tax basis for his common units is reduced by his share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual's income tax return) so that any position we take that understates deductions will overstate the common unitholder's basis in his common units, which may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read "Disposition of Common UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss." The IRS may challenge our position with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of the units. If such a challenge were sustained, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
A Section 754 election is advantageous if the transferee's tax basis in his units is higher than the units' share of the aggregate tax basis of our assets 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 deductions and less gain or more loss on a sale of our assets. Conversely, a Section 754 election is disadvantageous if the transferee's tax basis in his units is lower than those units' share of the aggregate
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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. A basis adjustment is required regardless of whether a Section 754 election is made in the case of a transfer of an interest in us if we have a substantial built-in loss immediately after the transfer, or if we distribute property and have a substantial basis reduction. Generally a built-in loss or a basis reduction is substantial if it exceeds $250,000.
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 nonamortizable or 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 U.S. 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 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 twelve months of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read "Disposition of Common UnitsAllocations 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 U.S. 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 generally will be borne by our general partner and other unitholders holding interests in us prior to any such offering. Please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipAllocation 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 subject to these allowances are placed in service. Please read "Uniformity of Units." 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 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 OwnershipAllocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction" and "Disposition of Common UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss."
The costs we incur 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
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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 U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values, and the tax 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 might 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 taxable sale of units equal to the difference between the amount realized and the unitholder's tax basis for the units sold. A unitholder's amount realized will be measured by the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property received by him plus his share of our nonrecourse liabilities. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder's 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 that in the aggregate were in excess of cumulative net taxable income for a common unit and, therefore, decreased a unitholder's tax basis in that common unit will, in effect, become taxable income if the common unit is sold at a price greater than the unitholder's 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 will generally be taxable as capital gain or loss. Capital gain recognized by an individual on the sale of units held for more than twelve months will generally be taxed at the U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains. However, a portion of this gain or loss, which will likely be substantial, 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 "unrealized receivables" (including potential recapture items such as depreciation recapture) or to "inventory items" we own. Ordinary income attributable to unrealized receivables or inventory items 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. 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. Both ordinary income and capital gain recognized on a sale of units may be subject to the NIIT in certain circumstances. Please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipTax Rates."
The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an "equitable apportionment" method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partner's tax basis in his entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partner's entire interest in the partnership. Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the 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 discussed above, 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
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Treasury Regulations, he 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. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of common units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult his tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.
Specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code affect the taxation of 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:
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, which we refer to in this disclosure as 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 recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.
The U.S. Department of Treasury and the IRS have issued Treasury Regulations that permit publicly traded partnerships to use a monthly simplifying convention that is similar to ours, but they do not specifically authorize all aspects of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Winston & Strawn LLP is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferor and transferee unitholders. If this method is not allowed under the Treasury Regulations, our taxable income or losses might be reallocated among the unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferor and transferee unitholders, as well as unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year.
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 through the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive that cash distribution.
Notification Requirements. A unitholder who sells any of his units is generally required to notify us in writing of that sale within 30 days after the sale (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the sale). A purchaser of units who purchases units from another unitholder is also generally required to notify us in writing of that purchase within 30 days after the purchase. Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a purchase may, in some cases, lead to the
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imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale or exchange through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.
Constructive Termination. We will be considered to have technically terminated for U.S. federal income tax purposes if there are sales or exchanges which, in the aggregate, constitute 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For purposes of measuring whether the 50% threshold is reached, multiple sales of the same interest are counted only once. A constructive termination results in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than a fiscal year ending December 31, the closing of our taxable year may result in more than twelve months of our taxable income or loss being includable in his taxable income for the year of termination. A constructive termination occurring on a date other than December 31 will result in us filing two tax returns (and unitholders receiving two Schedules K-1 if the relief discussed below is unavailable) for one fiscal year and the cost of the preparation of these returns will be borne by all common unitholders. 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. The IRS has announced a relief procedure whereby if a publicly traded partnership that has technically terminated requests and the IRS grants special relief, among other things, the partnership will not be required to provide more than a single Schedule K-1 to each unitholder for the tax years in which the termination occurs.
Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units, we must endeavor to 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 comply completely with a number of U.S. 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 OwnershipSection 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 property's unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, 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), which is not expected to directly apply to a material portion of our assets. Please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 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 common basis or a Section 743(b) adjustment, based upon the same applicable methods and lives as if they had purchased a direct interest in our assets. 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
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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. In either case, and as stated above, under "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipSection 754 Election," Winston and Strawn LLP has not rendered an opinion with respect to these methods. Moreover, 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 UnitsRecognition of Gain or Loss."
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans, other tax-exempt organizations, 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. If you are a tax-exempt entity or a non-U.S. person, you should consult your tax advisor before acquiring or investing in our common units.
Employee benefit plans and most other organizations exempt from U.S. federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to U.S. 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 consequently will be taxable to it.
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 such units. Furthermore, it is probable that they will be deemed to conduct such activities through a permanent establishment in the United States within the meaning of any applicable tax treaty. As a consequence, they will be required to file U.S. federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay U.S. federal income tax at regular rates on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to foreign unitholders generally will be subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each foreign unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes. 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 U.S. trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular U.S. federal income tax, on its share of our earnings and profits, as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation's "U.S. net equity," which is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. 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.
A foreign unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the foreign unitholder. Under a ruling published by the IRS, interpreting the scope of "effectively connected income," a foreign unitholder would be considered to be engaged in a trade or business in the United States by virtue of the U.S. activities of the partnership, and part or all of that unitholder's gain would be effectively connected with that unitholder's indirect U.S. trade or business. Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a foreign common unitholder (other than certain "qualified foreign pension funds" (or an
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entity all of the interests of which are held by such a qualified foreign pension fund), which generally are entities or arrangements that are established and regulated by foreign law to provide retirement or other pension benefits to employees, do not have a single participant or beneficiary that is entitled to more than 5% of the assets or income of the entity or arrangement and are subject to certain preferential tax treatment under the laws of the applicable foreign country) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a common unit if (i) he owned (directly or constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our common units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of all of our assets consisted of U.S. real property interests at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the common units or the five-year period ending on the date of disposition. Recent changes in law may affect certain foreign unitholders. Please read "Administrative MattersAdditional Withholding Requirements."
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 counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholder's share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure 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 Winston & Strawn LLP 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 U.S. federal income tax information returns. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior year's tax liability, and possibly may result in an audit of his return. Any audit of a unitholder's 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 U.S. 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. Our partnership agreement names NGL Energy Holdings LLC, 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 U.S. federal income tax return that is not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return. Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency requirement may subject a unitholder to substantial penalties.
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Pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us. Generally, we expect to elect to have our general partner and our unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election will be effective in all circumstances. If we are unable to have our general partner and our unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own common units in us during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties and interest, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced. These rules are not applicable to us for tax years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2017.
Additionally, pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the Internal Revenue Code will no longer require that we designate a Tax Matters Partner. Instead, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, we will be required to designate a partner, or other person, with a substantial presence in the United States as the partnership representative ("Partnership Representative"). The Partnership Representative will have the sole authority to act on our behalf for purposes of, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS. If we do not make such a designation, the IRS can select any person as the Partnership Representative. We currently anticipate that we will designate our general partner as our Partnership Representative. Further, any actions taken by us or by the Partnership Representative on our behalf with respect to, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, will be binding on us and all of our unitholders. These rules are not applicable to us for tax years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2017.
Additional Withholding Requirements. Withholding taxes may apply to certain types of payments made to "foreign financial institutions" (as specially defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and certain other foreign entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits and income from sources within the United States ("FDAP Income"), or gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of any property of a type that can produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States ("Gross Proceeds") paid to a foreign financial institution or to a "non-financial foreign entity" (as specially defined in the Internal Revenue Code), unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting, (ii) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner or (iii) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in clause (i) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to noncompliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing these requirements may be subject to different rules.
These rules generally apply to payments of FDAP Income currently and generally will apply to payments of relevant Gross Proceeds made on or after January 1, 2019. Thus, to the extent we have FDAP Income or have Gross Proceeds on or after January 1, 2019 that are not treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (please read "Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors"), unitholders who are foreign financial institutions or certain other foreign entities, or persons that hold their common units through such foreign entities, may be subject to withholding on
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distributions they receive from us, or their distributive share of our income, pursuant to the rules described above. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the potential application of these withholding provisions to their investment in our common units.
Nominee Reporting. Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty of $250 per failure, up to a maximum of $3,000,000 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.
For individuals, 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:
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 and to take other actions as may be appropriate to permit unitholders to avoid liability for this penalty. More stringent rules apply to "tax shelters," which we do not believe includes us, or any of our investments, plans or arrangements.
A substantial valuation misstatement exists if (a) the value of any property, or the adjusted basis of any property, claimed on a tax return is 150% or more of the amount determined to be the correct amount of the valuation or adjusted basis, (b) the price for any property or services (or for the use of
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property) claimed on any such return with respect to any transaction between persons described in Section 482 of the Internal Revenue Code is 200% or more (or 50% or less) of the amount determined under Section 482 to be the correct amount of such price, or (c) the net transfer price adjustment pursuant to Section 482 of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxable year exceeds the lesser of $5 million or 10% of the taxpayer's gross receipts.
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 200% or more than the correct valuation or certain other thresholds are met, the penalty imposed increases to 40%. We do not anticipate making any valuation misstatements.
In addition, the 20% accuracy-related penalty also applies to any portion of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to transactions lacking economic substance. To the extent that such transactions are not disclosed, the penalty imposed is increased to 40%. Additionally, there is no reasonable cause defense to the imposition of this penalty to such transactions.
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 for partnerships, individuals, S corporations, and trusts in excess of $2 million in any single year, or $4 million in any combination of six successive tax years. Our participation in a reportable transaction could increase the likelihood that our U.S. federal income tax information return (and possibly your tax return) would be audited by the IRS. Please read "Information Returns and Audit Procedures."
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 additional consequences:
We do not expect to engage in any "reportable transactions."
Recent Legislative Developments
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. We are unable to predict whether any legislative changes will ultimately be enacted. However, it is possible that a change in law could affect us and may, if enacted, be applied retroactively. Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof could make it more difficult or impossible to meet the exception for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Please read "Partnership Status." Any such changes could increase the taxable income allocable to our unitholders and could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units.
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State, Local, Foreign and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, you likely will be subject to other taxes, such as 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 you are 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 almost all states. Most of these states impose an income tax on individuals and an income or franchise tax on corporations and other entities. We may also own property or do business in other jurisdictions in the future. Although you may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because your income from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment requirement, you will be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in many of these jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. In some jurisdictions, tax losses may not produce a tax benefit in the year incurred and may not be available to offset income in subsequent taxable years. Some of the jurisdictions may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not a resident of the jurisdiction. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholder's income tax liability to the jurisdiction, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return. Amounts withheld will be treated as if distributed to unitholders for purposes of determining the amounts distributed by us. Please read "Tax Consequences of Unit OwnershipEntity-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.
It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences of an investment in us under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions and, therefore, each prospective unitholder is urged to consult, and depend upon, his 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 U.S. federal, tax returns that may be required of him. Winston & Strawn LLP has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, or foreign tax consequences of an investment in us. In addition, the Winston & Strawn LLP opinion only addresses the U.S. federal income tax consequences specifically discussed above, and is subject to all of the limitations set forth herein and does not discuss any of the tax consequences to persons who are subject to special treatment as disclosed herein.
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INVESTMENT IN NGL ENERGY PARTNERS LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
An investment in us by an employee benefit plan is subject to additional considerations because the investments of these plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, and the restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code and provisions under any federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or ERISA, or, collectively, the Similar Laws. For these purposes 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 individual retirement accounts or annuities, or IRAs, established or maintained by an employer or employee organization, and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include "plan assets" of such plans, accounts and arrangements. Among other things, consideration should be given to:
The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in us is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is a proper investment for the plan.
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibit employee benefit plans from engaging in specified transactions involving "plan assets" with parties that, with respect to the plan, are "parties in interest" under ERISA or "disqualified persons" under the Internal Revenue Code unless an exemption is available. A party in interest or disqualified person who engages in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, the fiduciary of the ERISA plan that engaged in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.
In addition to considering whether the purchase of common units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary should consider whether the plan will, by investing in us, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our general partner would also 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, ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws.
The Department of Labor regulations provide guidance with respect to whether, in certain circumstances, the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed "plan assets." Under these regulations, an entity's assets would not be considered to be "plan assets" if, among other things:
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each other, are freely transferable and are registered under certain provisions of the federal securities laws;
Our assets should not be considered "plan assets" under these regulations because it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements of the first two bullets above.
In light of the serious penalties imposed on persons who engage in prohibited transactions or other violations, plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of common units should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and other Similar Laws.
We may use this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus to sell common units from time to time in one or more transactions in and outside the United States as follows: (1) through agents, (2) through underwriters or broker-dealers, (3) directly to one or more purchasers, (4) pursuant to delayed delivery contracts or forward contracts, (5) through a combination of these methods or (6) through any other methods permitted by applicable law. The prospectus supplement will set forth the following information:
We will fix a price of our common units at:
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We may change the price of the common units offered from time to time.
We will pay or allow distributors' or sellers' commissions that will not exceed those customary in the types of transactions involved. Broker-dealers may act as agents or may purchase securities as principal and thereafter resell the common units from time to time:
Sales Through Agents
We may also sell the common units, from time to time, through agents designated by us. We will describe the terms of any such sales in the accompanying prospectus supplement. In the prospectus supplement, we will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the common units, and we will describe any commissions payable by us to the agent. Unless otherwise indicated in an accompanying prospectus supplement, the agents will agree to use their reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of their appointment.
Sales Through Underwriters or Dealers
If underwriters are used in the sale of the common units, the underwriters will acquire the common units for their own account. The underwriters may resell the common units from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of resale. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless we inform you otherwise in the accompanying prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the common units will be subject to certain conditions. The underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the offered common units if any of the offered common units are purchased. The underwriters may sell common units to or through dealers, and the dealers may receive compensation in the forms of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agent. The underwriters may change from time to time the public offering price and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers.
During and after an offering through underwriters, the underwriters may purchase and sell the common units in the open market. These transactions may include overallotment and stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover syndicate short positions created in connection with the offering. The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid, which means that selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other broker-dealers for the common units sold for their account may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the offered common units are repurchased by the syndicate in stabilizing or covering transactions. These activities may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the offered common units, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market. If commenced, these activities may be discontinued at any time.
If we utilize dealers in the sale of the common units, we may sell the common units to the dealers as principals. The dealers may then resell the common units to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The dealers participating in any sale of the common units may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those common units. We will include in any accompanying prospectus supplement the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.
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At-the-Market Offerings
To the extent that we make sales of the common units through one or more underwriters or agents in at-the-market offerings, we will do so pursuant to the terms of a sales agency financing agreement or other at-the-market offering arrangement between us and the underwriters or agents. If we engage in at-the-market sales of the common units pursuant to any such agreement, we will offer and sell the common units through one or more underwriters or agents, which may act on an agency basis or on a principal basis. During the term of any such agreement, we may sell common units on a daily basis in exchange transactions or otherwise as we agree with the underwriters or agents. The agreement will provide that any common units sold will be sold at prices related to the then-prevailing market prices for our common units. Therefore, exact figures regarding proceeds that will be raised or commissions to be paid cannot be determined at this time. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we also may agree to sell, and the relevant underwriters or agents may agree to solicit offers to purchase, blocks of common units. The terms of each such agreement will be set forth in more detail in the accompanying prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus.
Direct Sales
We may also sell the common units, from time to time, directly to investors. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may sell the common units directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those common units. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell the common units directly.
Delayed Delivery Contracts or Forward Contracts
If we so indicate in the accompanying prospectus supplement, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from selected types of institutions to purchase the common units from us at the public offering price set forth in accompanying prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts or forward contracts providing for payment or delivery on a specified date in the future at prices determined as described in the accompanying prospectus supplement. Such contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement, and such prospectus supplement will set forth the commission payable for solicitation of such contracts.
General Information
Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the common units may be underwriters as defined in the Securities Act and any discounts or commissions received by them from us and any profit on the resale of the common units by them may be treated as underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Any underwriters or agents will be identified and their compensation will be described in a prospectus supplement.
We may have agreements with the underwriters, dealers, agents and firms to indemnify them against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or to contribute with respect to payments which the underwriters, dealers, agents or firms may be required to make. Such underwriters, dealers, agents or firms or their affiliates may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for us or our affiliates in the ordinary course of their businesses.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules. Any compensation to be received by underwriters in connection with an offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed 8% of the gross proceeds of such offering.
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The consolidated financial statements and management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of NGL Energy Partners LP and subsidiaries included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The combined financial statements of Gavilon Energy (The Energy Business Units of Gavilon, LLC) as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related combined statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2012, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP ("KPMG"), independent auditors, incorporated by reference herein and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The Partnership has agreed to indemnify and hold KPMG harmless against and from any and all legal costs and expenses incurred by KPMG in successful defense of any legal action or proceeding that arises as a result of KPMG's consent to the incorporation by reference of its audit report on the past financial statements of Gavilon Energy (The Energy Business Units of Gavilon, LLC) incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
The validity of the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Winston & Strawn LLP. Winston & Strawn LLP will also render an opinion on the material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the common units. Certain legal matters may be passed upon for any agents or underwriters by counsel for such agents or underwriters identified in the applicable prospectus supplement.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC under the Exchange Act. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC's Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our filings with the SEC also are available from the SEC's internet site at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically. You may obtain a copy of these filings at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address: NGL Energy Partners LP, 6120 South Yale Avenue, Suite 805, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136; telephone number (918) 481-1119.
INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference" into this prospectus the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Any statement contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document which also is incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below:
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All documents that we file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (i) after the date of the initial registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the effectiveness of such registration statement and (ii) after the date of this prospectus and before all of the common units offered by this prospectus are sold are incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the date of filing of the documents, unless we specifically provide otherwise in each case, (excluding any information furnished and not filed with the SEC). Information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and may replace information previously filed with the SEC.
You may obtain, without charge, a copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents that are not specifically incorporated by reference into those documents, by writing or telephoning us at the following address: NGL Energy Partners LP, 6120 South Yale Avenue, Suite 805, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136; telephone number (918) 481-1119.
Information contained on our website, http://www.nglenergypartners.com, is not a prospectus and does not constitute part of this prospectus.
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NGL Energy Partners LP
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests
Having an Aggregate Offering Price of Up to
$200,000,000
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Wells Fargo Securities
Credit Suisse
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
The date of this prospectus supplement is August 24, 2016.