Amendment No. 2 to Form S-3
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2018

Registration Statement No. 333-214713

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Amendment No. 2

to

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

CrossAmerica Partners LP

CrossAmerica Finance Corp.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware

Delaware

 

45-4165414

35-2486871

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

(610) 625-8000

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Giovanna Rueda

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

(610) 625-8000

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

Gislar Donnenberg

DLA Piper LLP (US)

1000 Louisiana, Suite 2800

Houston, TX 77002

(713) 425-8400

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

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

 

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐


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Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6), the offering of the common units representing limited partner interests, debt securities and guarantees of debt securities covered by this registration statement that were previously covered by the registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-192035) will be deemed terminated as of the date of effectiveness of this registration statement.

 

 

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

* Includes certain subsidiaries of CrossAmerica Partners LP identified on the following pages that may guarantee the debt securities:

The following are co-registrants that may guarantee the debt securities:

ADDITIONAL REGISTRANT GUARANTORS

 

Exact Name of Registrant Guarantor

   State or Other
Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or
Organization
   I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
Number

Lehigh Gas Wholesale LLC

   Delaware    80-0783145

Lehigh Gas Wholesale Services, Inc.

   Delaware    90-0792945

LGP Realty Holdings LP

   Delaware    46-0785005

LGP Realty Holdings GP LLC

   Delaware    32-0384620

LGP Operations LLC

   Delaware    80-0955246

Express Lane, Inc.

   Florida    59-2380885

Minnesota Nice Holdings Inc.

   Delaware    47-2479684

Erickson Oil Products, Inc.

   Wisconsin    39-0962054

Freedom Valu Centers, Inc.

   Wisconsin    39-1416128

Petroleum Marketers, Inc.

   Virginia    54-0498046

PM Terminals, Inc.

   Virginia    54-0489648

PM Properties, Inc.

   Virginia    54-0434400

Stop In Food Stores, Inc.

   Virginia    54-1117536

CAP Operations, Inc.

   Delaware    47-4681784

NTI Drop Down One, LLC

   Delaware    47-4360728

NTI Drop Down Two, LLC

   Delaware    47-4360781

NTI Drop Down Three, LLC

   Delaware    47-4360842

M&J Operations, LLC

   West Virginia    45-0493980

CAP West Virginia Holdings, LLC

   Delaware    47-7356949

 

 

 


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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. Securities may not be sold pursuant to this prospectus until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to completion, dated May 11, 2018

PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

$500,000,000

CrossAmerica Partners LP

Common Units

Other Classes of Units Representing

Limited Partner Interests

CrossAmerica Partners LP

CrossAmerica Finance Corp.

Debt Securities

Guarantees of Debt Securities

 

 

We may from time to time offer up to $500,000,000 of the following securities under this prospectus:

 

    common units representing limited partner interests in CrossAmerica Partners LP;

 

    other classes of units representing limited partner interests in CrossAmerica Partners LP; and

 

    debt securities of CrossAmerica Partners LP and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., which may be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities.

If a series of debt securities is guaranteed, we expect that such series will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by subsidiaries of CrossAmerica Partners LP.

This prospectus describes the general terms of the securities and the general manner in which we will offer the securities. The specific terms of any securities we offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will also describe the specific manner in which we will offer the securities.

Our common units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CAPL.”

We will provide information in the prospectus supplement for the trading market, if any, for any debt securities or other classes of units representing limited partner interests we may offer.

 

 

Investing in our securities involves risks, including those associated with the inherent differences between limited partnerships and corporations. You should carefully consider the risks relating to investing in common units and each of the other risk factors described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 9 of this prospectus before you make an investment in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is                     , 2018.


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You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     1  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     4  

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     5  

ABOUT CROSSAMERICA PARTNERS LP

     7  

ABOUT CROSSAMERICA FINANCE CORP.

     8  

RISK FACTORS

     9  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     10  

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

     11  

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS

     12  

The Units

     12  

Transfer Agent and Registrar

     12  

Transfer of Common Units

     12  

DESCRIPTION OF THE OTHER CLASSES OF UNITS

     14  

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES

     15  

General

     15  

Specific Terms of Each Series of Debt Securities in the Prospectus Supplement

     15  

Guarantees

     16  

Consolidation, Merger or Asset Sale

     16  

No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

     17  

Modification of Indentures

     17  

Events of Default and Remedies

     18  

No Limit on Amount of Debt Securities

     19  

Registration of Notes

     19  

Minimum Denominations

     19  

No Personal Liability

     19  

Payment and Transfer

     19  

Exchange, Registration and Transfer

     19  

Provisions Relating only to the Senior Debt Securities

     20  

Provisions Relating only to the Subordinated Debt Securities

     20  

Book Entry, Delivery and Form

     20  

Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance

     21  

Governing Law

     22  

The Trustee

     22  

HOW WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS TO OUR PARTNERS

     24  

General

     24  

Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus

     24  

Capital Expenditures

     26  

 

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Distributions of Cash From Operating Surplus

     27  

General Partner Interest

     27  

Incentive Distribution Rights

     27  

Percentage Allocations of Cash Distributions From Operating Surplus

     28  

General Partner’s Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels

     28  

Distributions From Capital Surplus

     31  

Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels

     32  

Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation

     32  

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES

     35  

Conflicts of Interest

     35  

Fiduciary Duties

     43  

THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

     46  

Organization and Duration

     46  

Purpose

     46  

Distributions

     46  

Capital Contributions

     46  

Voting Rights

     46  

Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction

     47  

Limited Liability

     48  

Issuance of Additional Interests

     49  

Amendment of the Partnership Agreement

     49  

Merger, Consolidation, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets

     51  

Dissolution

     52  

Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds

     52  

Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner

     52  

Transfer of General Partner Interest

     53  

Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner

     54  

Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights

     54  

Change of Management Provisions

     54  

Call Right

     54  

Ineligible Holders; Redemption

     55  

Meetings; Voting

     55  

Voting Rights Incentive Distribution Rights

     56  

Status as Limited Partner

     56  

Indemnification

     56  

Reimbursement of Expenses

     57  

Books and Reports

     57  

Right to Inspect Our Books and Records

     57  

Registration Rights

     58  

MATERIAL UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

     59  

INVESTMENT BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

     75  

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     78  

LEGAL MATTERS

     80  

EXPERTS

     80  

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process or continuous offering process. Under this shelf registration process, we may sell up to $500,000,000 in aggregate offering price of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. Each time we sell securities with this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering and the securities being offered. That prospectus supplement may include additional risk factors or other special considerations applicable to those securities. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update, or change information in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in that prospectus supplement.

Additional information, including our financial statements and the notes thereto, is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our reports filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information.” You are urged to read this prospectus and our SEC reports in their entirety.

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

CrossAmerica Partners LP and subsidiaries:

 

CrossAmerica Partner LP    CrossAmerica, the Partnership, we, us, our
CrossAmerica Partners LP related and affiliated parties:
Circle K    Circle K Stores Inc., a Texas corporation, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Couche-Tard
Couche-Tard    Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX: ATD.A ATD.B)
Couche-Tard Board    the Board of Directors of Couche-Tard
CST    CST Brands, LLC and subsidiaries, indirectly owned by Circle K
DMI    Dunne Manning Inc., an entity affiliated with Joseph V. Topper, Jr., a member of the Board and a related party
DMS    Dunne Manning Stores LLC (formerly known as Lehigh Gas-Ohio, LLC), an entity associated with the family of Joseph V. Topper, Jr., a member of the Board and a related party. DMS is an operator of retail motor fuel stations. DMS leases retail sites from us in accordance with a master lease agreement with us and DMS purchases substantially all of its motor fuel for these sites from us on a wholesale basis under rack plus pricing. The financial results of DMS are not consolidated with ours.
General Partner    CrossAmerica GP LLC, the General Partner of CrossAmerica, a Delaware limited liability company.
CST Fuel Supply    CST Fuel Supply LP is the parent of CST Marketing and Supply. As of December 31, 2017, our total limited partner interest in CST Fuel Supply was 17.5%.

 

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CST Marketing and Supply    CST Marketing and Supply, LLC, CST’s wholesale motor fuel supply business, which provides wholesale fuel distribution to the majority of CST’s U.S. retail convenience stores on a fixed markup per gallon.
CST Services    CST Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K
Topper Group    Joseph V. Topper, Jr., collectively with those of his affiliates and family trusts that have ownership interests in our Predecessor Entities, including DMI
Other Defined Terms:   
Amended Omnibus Agreement    The Amended and Restated Omnibus Agreement, dated October 1, 2014, as amended on February 17, 2016 by and among CrossAmerica, the General Partner, DMI, DMS, CST Services and Joseph V. Topper, Jr., which amends and restates the original omnibus agreement that was executed in connection with CrossAmerica’s initial public offering on October 30, 2012. The terms of the Amended Omnibus Agreement were approved by the conflicts committee of the Board. Pursuant to the Amended Omnibus Agreement, CST Services agrees, among other things, to provide, or cause to be provided, to the Partnership certain management services.
Board    Board of Directors of our General Partner
Exchange Act    Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
FTC    U.S. Federal Trade Commission
GP Purchase    CST’s purchase from DMI (formerly known as Lehigh Gas Corporation) of 100% of the membership interests in the sole member of the General Partner
IDRs    Incentive Distribution Rights, which are interests in our common units that provide for special distributions associated with increasing partnership distributions. Circle K is the indirect owner of 100% of the outstanding IDRs of CrossAmerica.
IPO    Initial public offering of CrossAmerica Partners LP on October 30, 2012
Merger    The merger of Ultra Acquisition Corp. with CST, with CST surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K, which closed on June 28, 2017. See Merger Agreement below
Merger Agreement    CST’s Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) entered into on August 21, 2016 with Circle K and Ultra Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K (“Merger Sub”). Under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, on June 28, 2017, Merger Sub was merged with and into CST, with CST surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K.
Merger Sub    Ultra Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Circle K

 

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NYSE    New York Stock Exchange
Partnership Agreement    The First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of CrossAmerica Partners LP, dated as of October 1, 2014, as amended
SEC    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act    On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and other reports and other information with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information filed by us at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such materials can be obtained by mail at prescribed rates from the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. Our filings with the SEC are also available to the public from commercial document retrieval services and at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

We “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information superseded by information contained expressly in this prospectus, and the information we file later with the SEC will automatically supersede this information (other than information furnished and not filed with the SEC). You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is current as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus.

We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below:

 

    Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed February 27, 2018;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, filed May 8, 2018;

 

    Our Current Reports on Form 8-K and Form 8-K/A filed January 25, 2018, February 12, 2018, February 28, 2018 and April 30, 2018 (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 or corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit); and

 

    The description of the common units contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, initially filed on October 22, 2012, and any subsequent amendment thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description.

In addition, we incorporate by reference in this prospectus any future filings made by CrossAmerica Partners LP with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (excluding any information furnished and not filed with the SEC) after the date on which the registration statement that includes this prospectus was initially filed with the SEC (including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement) and until all offerings under this shelf registration statement are terminated.

You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any exhibit specifically incorporated by reference in those documents, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or phone number:

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

(610) 625-8000

Attn: Investor Relations

We also make available free of charge on our internet website at http://www.crossamericapartners.com our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and Section 16 reports, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this prospectus.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and oral statements made regarding the subjects of this prospectus may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, credit ratings, distribution growth, potential growth opportunities, potential operating performance improvements, potential improvements in return on capital employed, the effects of competition and the effects of future legislation or regulations. You can identify our forward-looking statements by the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “expect,” “objective,” “projection,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “effort,” “target” and similar expressions. Such statements are based on management’s current views and assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties that could affect expected results. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding:

 

    future retail and wholesale gross profits, including gasoline, diesel and convenience store merchandise gross profits;

 

    our anticipated level of capital investments, primarily through acquisitions, and the effect of these capital investments on our results of operations;

 

    anticipated trends in the demand for, and volumes sold of, gasoline and diesel in the regions where we operate;

 

    volatility in the equity and credit markets limiting access to capital markets;

 

    our ability to integrate acquired businesses and to transition retail sites to dealer operated sites;

 

    expectations regarding environmental, tax and other regulatory initiatives; and

 

    the effect of general economic and other conditions on our business.

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

 

    Couche-Tard’s business strategy and operations and Couche-Tard’s conflicts of interest with us;

 

    availability of cash flow to pay the current quarterly distributions on our common units;

 

    the availability and cost of competing motor fuels;

 

    motor fuel price volatility or a reduction in demand for motor fuels;

 

    competition in the industries and geographical areas in which we operate;

 

    the consummation of financing, acquisition or disposition transactions and the effect thereof on our business;

 

    our existing or future indebtedness;

 

    our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition;

 

    failure to comply with applicable tax and other regulations or governmental policies;

 

    future legislation and changes in regulations or governmental policies or changes in enforcement or interpretations thereof;

 

    future regulations and actions that could expand the non-exempt status of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act;

 

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    future income tax legislation;

 

    changes in energy policy;

 

    increases in energy conservation efforts;

 

    technological advances;

 

    the impact of worldwide economic and political conditions;

 

    the impact of wars and acts of terrorism;

 

    weather conditions or catastrophic weather-related damage;

 

    earthquakes and other natural disasters;

 

    hazards and risks associated with transporting and storing motor fuel;

 

    unexpected environmental liabilities;

 

    the outcome of pending or future litigation; and

 

    our ability to comply with federal and state regulations, including those related to environmental matters, the sale of alcohol, cigarettes and fresh foods, employment, health benefits including the Affordable Care Act, immigration, and international trade.

 

You should consider the areas of risk described above, as well as those set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included on page 9 of this prospectus, in connection with considering any forward-looking statements that may be made by us and our businesses generally. We cannot assure you that projected results or events reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus are made as of the date of this prospectus. We undertake no obligation to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events after the date of this prospectus.

 

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ABOUT CROSSAMERICA PARTNERS LP

CrossAmerica is a Delaware limited partnership primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of motor fuel and the ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuel. We also generate revenues from the operation of convenience stores.

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

As a result of the Merger, Circle K indirectly owns all of the membership interests in the sole member of our General Partner, all of the outstanding IDRs of the Partnership and, as of March 31, 2018, a 21.4% limited partner interest in the Partnership. Circle K, through its indirect ownership interest in the sole member of our General Partner, has the ability to appoint all of the members of the Board and to control and manage the operations and activities of the Partnership.

Our principal executive offices are located at 600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500, Allentown, PA 18101, and our phone number is (610) 625-8000.

 

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ABOUT CROSSAMERICA FINANCE CORP.

CrossAmerica Finance Corp. was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in October 2013, is wholly owned by CrossAmerica Partners LP and has no material assets or any liabilities other than as a co-issuer of debt securities. Its activities are limited to co-issuing debt securities and engaging in other activities incidental thereto.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a significant degree of risk. Before you invest in our securities, you should carefully consider those risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and any Current Reports on Form 8-K, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, and those risk factors that may be included in the applicable prospectus supplement together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference in evaluating an investment in our securities.

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. In that case, we may be unable to pay distributions to our unitholders or pay interest on, or principal of, any debt securities, the trading price of our common units could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Except as otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds we receive from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general partnership purposes, which may include, among other things, funding acquisitions of assets or businesses, working capital, capital expenditures and the repayment or refinancing of all or a portion of our debt. The actual application of proceeds we receive from the sale of any particular offering of securities using this prospectus will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to such offering.

 

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The table below sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated on a consolidated historical basis. For purposes of determining the ratio of earnings to fixed charges, earnings are defined as the total of pre-tax income from continuing operations before adjustment for income or loss from equity investees, plus fixed charges, plus amortization of capitalized interest, plus distributed income of equity investees plus pre-tax losses of equity investees for which charges arising from guarantees are included in fixed charges, less the total of interest capitalized, preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries and the noncontrolling interest in pre-tax income of subsidiaries that have not incurred fixed charges. Fixed charges are defined as the total of interest expensed and capitalized, plus amortized premiums, plus discounts and capitalized expenses related to indebtedness, plus an estimate of the interest within rental expense and preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries.

 

     For the Year Ended December 31,      Quarter Ended
March 31,
 
     2013      2014      2015      2016      2017      2018  

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

     2.15        0.55        1.35        1.46        1.18        0.90  

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS

The Units

The common units represent limited partner interests in us. The holders of units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our Partnership Agreement.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Duties

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC serves as registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units, except the following that must be paid by unitholders:

 

    surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates, taxes and other governmental charges;

 

    special charges for services requested by a holder of a common unit; and

 

    other similar fees or charges.

There will be no charge to unitholders for disbursements of our cash distributions. We will indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.

Resignation or Removal

The transfer agent may resign, by notice to us, or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If no successor is appointed, our General Partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.

Transfer of Common Units

Upon the transfer of a common unit in accordance with our Partnership Agreement, the transferee of the common unit shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:

 

    represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our Partnership Agreement;

 

    automatically becomes bound by the terms and conditions of our Partnership Agreement; and

 

    gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our Partnership Agreement.

Our General Partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.

We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of 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.

 

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Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the common unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE OTHER CLASSES OF UNITS

Our Partnership Agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional limited partner interests and other equity securities for the consideration and with the rights, preferences, and privileges established by our General Partner without the approval of any of our limited partners. A copy of our Partnership Agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. As of March 31, 2018, no other classes of units, representing limited partner interests, were outstanding other than the common units.

Should we offer other classes of units, representing limited partner interests, under this prospectus, a prospectus supplement relating to the particular class or series of units offered will include the specific terms of those units, including, among other things, the following:

 

    the designation, stated value, and liquidation preference of the units and the number of units to constitute the class or series;

 

    the number of units to be offered;

 

    the public offering price at which the units will be issued;

 

    any sinking fund provisions of the units;

 

    the voting rights, if any, of the units;

 

    the distribution rights of the units, if any;

 

    whether the units will be redeemable and, if so, the price and the terms and conditions on which the units may be redeemed, including the time during which the units may be redeemed and any accumulated distributions thereof, if any, that the holders of the units will be entitled to receive upon the redemption thereof;

 

    the terms and conditions, if any, on which the units will be convertible into, or exchangeable for, the units of any other class or series of units representing limited partner interests, including the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same;

 

    a discussion of any additional material federal income tax considerations (other than as discussed in this prospectus), if any, regarding the units; and

 

    any additional rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, and restrictions of the units.

The particular terms of any class or series of units will also be described in the amendment to our Partnership Agreement relating to that class or series of units, which will be filed as an exhibit to or incorporated by reference in this prospectus at or before the time of issuance of any such class or series of units.

The transfer agent, registrar, and distributions disbursement agent for the units will be designated in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES

General

The debt securities will be:

 

    our direct general obligations;

 

    either senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities; and

 

    issued under separate indentures among us, any subsidiary guarantors and a trustee.

CrossAmerica Partners LP may issue debt securities in one or more series, and CrossAmerica Finance Corp. may be a co-issuer of one or more series of debt securities. CrossAmerica Finance Corp. was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on October 23, 2013, is wholly owned by CrossAmerica Partners LP and has no material assets or liabilities other than as a co-issuer of debt securities. Its activities will be limited to co-issuing debt securities and engaging in other activities incidental thereto. When used in this section, “Description of the Debt Securities,” the terms “we,” “us,” “our” and “issuers” refer jointly to CrossAmerica Partners LP and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., and the terms “CrossAmerica Partners” and “CrossAmerica Finance Corp.” refer strictly to CrossAmerica Partners LP and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., respectively.

If we offer senior debt securities, we will issue them under a senior indenture. If we issue subordinated debt securities, we will issue them under a subordinated indenture. The trustee under each indenture (the “Trustee”) will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. A form of each indenture is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The following is a summary of the material provisions of each indenture. You should read the relevant indenture because it, and not this description, controls your rights as holders of the debt securities. Capitalized terms used in the summary have the meanings specified in the indentures.

Specific Terms of Each Series of Debt Securities in the Prospectus Supplement

A prospectus supplement and a supplemental indenture or authorizing resolutions relating to any series of debt securities being offered will include specific terms relating to the offering. These terms will include some or all of the following:

 

    whether CrossAmerica Finance Corp. will be a co-issuer of the debt securities and whether or not any of the other subsidiaries of CrossAmerica Partners will guarantee the debt securities;

 

    whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated debt securities;

 

    the title of the debt securities;

 

    the total principal amount of the debt securities;

 

    the assets, if any, that are pledged as security for the payment of the debt securities;

 

    whether we will issue the debt securities in individual certificates to each holder in registered form, or in the form of temporary or permanent global securities held by a depository on behalf of holders;

 

    the prices at which we will issue the debt securities;

 

    the portion of the principal amount that will be payable if the maturity of the debt securities is accelerated;

 

    the currency or currency unit in which the debt securities will be payable, if not U.S. dollars;

 

    the dates on which the principal of the debt securities will be payable;

 

    the interest rate that the debt securities will bear and the interest payment dates for the debt securities;

 

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    any conversion or exchange provisions;

 

    any optional redemption provisions;

 

    any sinking fund or other provisions that would obligate us to repurchase or otherwise redeem the debt securities;

 

    any changes to or additional events of default or covenants; and

 

    any other terms of the debt securities.

We may offer and sell debt securities, including original issue discount debt securities, at a substantial discount below their principal amount. The prospectus supplement will describe special U.S. federal income tax and any other considerations applicable to those securities. In addition, the prospectus supplement may describe certain special U.S. federal income tax or other considerations applicable to any debt securities that are denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars.

Guarantees

If specified in the prospectus supplement relating to a series of debt securities, the subsidiaries of CrossAmerica Partners LP specified in the prospectus supplement will unconditionally guarantee to each holder and the Trustee, on a joint and several basis, the full and prompt payment of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the debt securities of that series when and as the same become due and payable, whether at stated maturity, upon redemption or repurchase, by declaration of acceleration or otherwise. If a series of debt securities is guaranteed, such series will be guaranteed by substantially all of the wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries of CrossAmerica Partners LP. The prospectus supplement will describe any limitation on the maximum amount of any particular guarantee and the conditions under which guarantees may be released.

The guarantees will be general obligations of the guarantors. Guarantees of subordinated debt securities will be subordinated to the Senior Indebtedness (as defined below) of the guarantors on the same basis as the subordinated debt securities are subordinated to the Senior Indebtedness of CrossAmerica Partners LP.

Consolidation, Merger or Asset Sale

Each indenture will, in general, allow us to consolidate or merge with or into another domestic entity. It will also allow each issuer to sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets to another domestic entity. If this happens, the remaining or acquiring entity must assume all of the issuer’s responsibilities and liabilities under the indenture including the payment of all amounts due on the debt securities and performance of the issuer’s covenants in the indenture.

However, each indenture will impose certain requirements with respect to any consolidation or merger with or into an entity, or any sale, lease, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of an issuer’s assets, including:

 

    the remaining or acquiring entity must be organized under the laws of the United States, any state or the District of Columbia; provided that CrossAmerica Finance Corp. may not merge or consolidate with or into another entity other than a corporation satisfying such requirement for so long as CrossAmerica Partners LP is not a corporation;

 

    the remaining or acquiring entity must assume the issuer’s obligations under the indenture; and

 

    immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default (as defined under “—Events of Default and Remedies” below) may exist.

The remaining or acquiring entity will be substituted for the issuer in the indenture with the same effect as if it had been an original party to the indenture, and, except in the case of a lease of all or substantially all of its assets, the issuer will be relieved from any further obligations under the indenture.

 

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No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

Unless otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that protect the holders of the debt securities in the event of a change of control of us or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction, whether or not such transaction results in a change of control of us.

Modification of Indentures

We may supplement or amend an indenture if the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series issued under the indenture affected by the supplement or amendment consent to it. Further, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may waive past defaults under the indenture and compliance by us with our covenants with respect to the debt securities of that series only. Those holders may not, however, waive any default in any payment on any debt security of that series or compliance with a provision that cannot be supplemented or amended without the consent of each holder affected. Without the consent of each outstanding debt security affected, no modification of the indenture or waiver may:

 

    reduce the principal amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

 

    reduce the principal of or change the fixed maturity of any debt security;

 

    reduce or waive the premium payable upon redemption or alter or waive the provisions with respect to the redemption of the debt securities (except as may be permitted in the case of a particular series of debt securities);

 

    reduce the rate of or change the time for payment of interest on any debt security;

 

    waive a Default or an Event of Default in the payment of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities (except a rescission of acceleration of the debt securities by the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

 

    except as otherwise permitted under the indenture, release any security that may have been granted with respect to the debt securities;

 

    make any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt securities;

 

    in the case of any subordinated debt security, make any change in the subordination provisions that adversely affects the rights of any holder under those provisions;

 

    make any change in the provisions of the indenture relating to waivers of past Defaults or the rights of holders of debt securities to receive payments of principal of or premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities;

 

    waive a redemption payment with respect to any debt security (except as may be permitted in the case of a particular series of debt securities); or

 

    make any change in the preceding amendment, supplement and waiver provisions (except to increase any percentage set forth therein).

We may supplement or amend an indenture without the consent of any holders of the debt securities in certain circumstances, including:

 

    to establish the form or terms of any series of debt securities;

 

    to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

    to provide for uncertificated notes in addition to or in place of certificated notes;

 

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    to provide for the assumption of an issuer’s obligations to holders of debt securities in the case of a merger or consolidation or disposition of all or substantially all of such issuer’s assets;

 

    in the case of any subordinated debt security, to make any change in the subordination provisions that limits or terminates the benefits applicable to any holder of Senior Indebtedness of CrossAmerica Partners LP;

 

    to make any changes that would provide any additional rights or benefits to the holders of debt securities or that do not, taken as a whole, adversely affect the rights under the indenture of any holder of debt securities;

 

    to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act;

 

    to evidence or provide for the acceptance of appointment under the indenture of a successor Trustee;

 

    to add any additional Events of Default; or

 

    to secure the debt securities.

Events of Default and Remedies

“Event of Default,” when used in an indenture, will mean any of the following with respect to the debt securities of any series:

 

    failure to pay when due the principal of or any premium on any debt security of that series;

 

    failure to pay, within 30 days of the due date, interest on any debt security of that series;

 

    failure to pay when due any sinking fund payment with respect to any debt securities of that series;

 

    failure on the part of an issuer to comply with the covenant described under “—Consolidation, Merger or Asset Sale”;

 

    failure to perform any other covenant in the indenture that continues for 60 days after written notice is given to the issuers;

 

    certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of an issuer; or

 

    any other Event of Default provided under the terms of the debt securities of that series.

An Event of Default for a particular series of debt securities will not necessarily constitute an Event of Default for any other series of debt securities issued under an indenture. The Trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any default (except in the payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest) if it considers such withholding of notice to be in the best interests of the holders.

If an Event of Default described in the sixth bullet point above occurs, the entire principal of, premium, if any, and accrued interest on, all debt securities then outstanding will be due and payable immediately, without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any holders. If any other Event of Default for any series of debt securities occurs and continues, the Trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of the series may declare the entire principal of, and accrued interest on, all the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately. If this happens, subject to certain conditions, the holders of a majority in the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series can rescind the declaration.

Other than its duties in case of a default, a Trustee is not obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers under either indenture at the request, order or direction of any holders, unless the holders offer the Trustee reasonable security or indemnity. If they provide this reasonable security or indemnification, the holders of a

 

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majority in aggregate principal amount of any series of debt securities may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding or any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any power conferred upon the Trustee, for that series of debt securities.

No Limit on Amount of Debt Securities

Neither indenture will limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue, unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement. Each indenture will allow us to issue debt securities of any series up to the aggregate principal amount that we authorize.

Registration of Notes

We will issue debt securities of a series only in registered form, without coupons, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement.

Minimum Denominations

Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, the debt securities will be issued only in principal amounts of $1,000 each or integral multiples of $1,000.

No Personal Liability

None of the past, present or future partners, incorporators, managers, members, directors, officers, employees, unitholders or stockholders of either issuer or the general partner of CrossAmerica Partners LP will have any liability for the obligations of the issuers under either indenture or the debt securities or for any claim based on such obligations or their creation. Each holder of debt securities by accepting a debt security waives and releases all such liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issuance of the debt securities. The waiver may not be effective under federal securities laws, however, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.

Payment and Transfer

The Trustee will initially act as paying agent and registrar under each indenture. The issuers may change the paying agent or registrar without prior notice to the holders of debt securities, and the issuers or any of their subsidiaries may act as paying agent or registrar.

If a holder of debt securities has given wire transfer instructions to the issuers, the issuers will make all payments on the debt securities in accordance with those instructions. All other payments on the debt securities will be made at the corporate trust office of the Trustee, unless the issuers elect to make interest payments by check mailed to the holders at their addresses set forth in the debt security register.

The Trustee and any paying agent will repay to us upon request any funds held by them for payments on the debt securities that remain unclaimed for two years after the date upon which that payment has become due. After payment to us, holders entitled to the money must look to us for payment as general creditors.

Exchange, Registration and Transfer

Debt securities of any series will be exchangeable for other debt securities of the same series, the same total principal amount and the same terms but in different authorized denominations in accordance with the indenture. Holders may present debt securities for exchange or registration of transfer at the office of the registrar. The registrar will effect the transfer or exchange when it is satisfied with the documents of title and identity of the person making the request. We will not charge a service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange of the debt securities. We may, however, require the payment of any tax or other governmental charge payable for that registration.

 

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We will not be required:

 

    to issue, register the transfer of, or exchange debt securities of a series either during a period beginning 15 business days prior to the selection of debt securities of that series for redemption and ending on the close of business on the day of mailing of the relevant notice of redemption, or between a record date and the next succeeding interest payment date; or

 

    to register the transfer of or exchange any debt security called for redemption or repurchase, except the unredeemed portion of any debt security we are redeeming or repurchasing in part.

Provisions Relating only to the Senior Debt Securities

The senior debt securities will rank equally in right of payment with all of our other unsubordinated debt. The senior debt securities will be effectively subordinated, however, to all of our secured debt to the extent of the value of the collateral for that debt. We will disclose the amount of our secured debt in the prospectus supplement.

Provisions Relating only to the Subordinated Debt Securities

Subordinated Debt Securities Subordinated to Senior Indebtedness

The subordinated debt securities will rank junior in right of payment to all of the Senior Indebtedness of CrossAmerica Partners LP. “Senior Indebtedness” will be defined in a supplemental indenture or authorizing resolutions respecting any issuance of a series of subordinated debt securities, and the definition will be set forth in the prospectus supplement.

Payment Blockages

The subordinated indenture will provide that no payment of principal, interest and any premium on the subordinated debt securities may be made in the event:

 

    we or our property is involved in any voluntary or involuntary liquidation or bankruptcy;

 

    we fail to pay the principal, interest, any premium or any other amounts on any Senior Indebtedness of CrossAmerica Partners LP within any applicable grace period or the maturity of such Senior Indebtedness is accelerated following any other default, subject to certain limited exceptions set forth in the subordinated indenture; or

 

    any other default on any Senior Indebtedness of CrossAmerica Partners LP occurs that permits immediate acceleration of its maturity, in which case a payment blockage on the subordinated debt securities will be imposed for a maximum of 179 days at any one time.

No Limitation on Amount of Senior Debt

The subordinated indenture will not limit the amount of Senior Indebtedness that CrossAmerica Partners LP may incur, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement.

Book Entry, Delivery and Form

The debt securities of a particular series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global certificates that will be deposited with the Trustee as custodian for The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York (“DTC”). This means that we will not issue certificates to each holder. Instead, one or more global debt securities will be issued to DTC, who will keep a computerized record of its participants (for example, your broker) whose clients have purchased the debt securities. The participant will then keep a record of its clients who purchased the debt securities. Unless it is exchanged in whole or in part for a certificated debt security, a global debt security may not be transferred, except that DTC, its nominees and their successors may transfer a global debt security as a whole to one another.

 

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Beneficial interests in global debt securities will be shown on, and transfers of global debt securities will be made only through, records maintained by DTC and its participants.

DTC has provided us the following information: DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the United States Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing agency” registered under the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds securities that its participants (“Direct Participants”) deposit with DTC. DTC also records the settlement among Direct Participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through computerized records for Direct Participants’ accounts. This eliminates the need to exchange certificates. Direct Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations.

DTC’s book-entry system is also used by other organizations such as securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies and clearing corporations that work through a Direct Participant. The rules that apply to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries.

We will wire all payments on the global debt securities to DTC’s nominee. We and the Trustee will treat DTC’s nominee as the owner of the global debt securities for all purposes. Accordingly, we, the Trustee and any paying agent will have no direct responsibility or liability to pay amounts due on the global debt securities to owners of beneficial interests in the global debt securities.

It is DTC’s current practice, upon receipt of any payment on the global debt securities, to credit Direct Participants’ accounts on the payment date according to their respective holdings of beneficial interests in the global debt securities as shown on DTC’s records. In addition, it is DTC’s current practice to assign any consenting or voting rights to Direct Participants whose accounts are credited with debt securities on a record date, by using an omnibus proxy. Payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in the global debt securities, and voting by participants, will be governed by the customary practices between the participants and owners of beneficial interests, as is the case with debt securities held for the account of customers registered in “street name.” However, payments will be the responsibility of the participants and not of DTC, the Trustee or us.

Debt securities represented by a global debt security will be exchangeable for certificated debt securities with the same terms in authorized denominations only if:

 

    DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under applicable law and in either event a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 90 days; or

 

    an Event of Default occurs and DTC notifies the Trustee of its decision to exchange the global debt security for certificated debt securities.

Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance

Each indenture will be discharged and will cease to be of further effect as to all outstanding debt securities of any series issued thereunder, when:

(1) either:

(a) all outstanding debt securities of that series that have been authenticated (except lost, stolen or destroyed debt securities that have been replaced or paid and debt securities for whose payment money has theretofore been deposited in trust and thereafter repaid to us) have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or

 

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(b) all outstanding debt securities of that series that have not been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation have become due and payable by reason of the giving of a notice of redemption or otherwise or will become due and payable at their stated maturity within one year or are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee and in any case we have irrevocably deposited or caused to be irrevocably deposited with the Trustee as trust funds in trust cash in U.S. dollars, non-callable U.S. Government Obligations or a combination thereof, in such amounts as will be sufficient, without consideration of any reinvestment of interest, to pay and discharge the entire indebtedness of such debt securities not delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, for principal, premium, if any, and accrued interest to the date of such deposit (in the case of debt securities that have been due and payable) or the stated maturity or redemption date;

(2) we have paid or caused to be paid all other sums payable by us under the indenture; and

(3) we have delivered an officers’ certificate and an opinion of counsel to the Trustee stating that all conditions precedent to satisfaction and discharge have been satisfied.

The debt securities of a particular series will be subject to legal or covenant defeasance to the extent, and upon the terms and conditions, set forth in the prospectus supplement.

Governing Law

Each indenture and all of the debt securities will be governed by the laws of the State of New York.

The Trustee

We will enter into the indentures with a Trustee that is qualified to act under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”), and with any other trustees chosen by us and appointed in a supplemental indenture for a particular series of debt securities. We may maintain a banking relationship in the ordinary course of business with our trustee and one or more of its affiliates.

Resignation or Removal of Trustee

If the Trustee has or acquires a conflicting interest within the meaning of the Trust Indenture Act while a default is pending, the Trustee must either eliminate its conflicting interest or resign, to the extent and in the manner provided by, and subject to the provisions of, the Trust Indenture Act and the applicable indenture. Any resignation will require the appointment of a successor trustee under the applicable indenture in accordance with the terms and conditions of such indenture.

The Trustee may resign or be removed by us with respect to one or more series of debt securities and a successor Trustee may be appointed to act with respect to any such series. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of any series may remove the Trustee with respect to the debt securities of such series.

Limitations on Trustee if it is Our Creditor

Each indenture will contain certain limitations on the right of the Trustee, in the event that it becomes a creditor of an issuer, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise.

 

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Annual Trustee Report to Holders of Debt Securities

The Trustee is required to submit an annual report to the holders of the debt securities regarding, among other things, the Trustee’s eligibility to serve as such, the priority of the Trustee’s claims regarding certain advances made by it, and any action taken by the Trustee materially affecting the debt securities.

Certificates and Opinions to be Furnished to Trustee

Each indenture will provide that, in addition to other certificates or opinions that may be specifically required by other provisions of the indenture, every application by us for action by the Trustee shall be accompanied by a certificate of certain of our officers and an opinion of counsel (who may be our counsel) stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent to such action have been complied with by us.

 

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HOW WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS TO OUR PARTNERS

General

We intend to make cash distributions each quarter to unitholders of record on the applicable record date. We intend to distribute to the holders of common units on a quarterly basis at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4375 per unit, or $1.75 per unit per year, to the extent we have sufficient cash available for distribution. Our quarterly distribution for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $0.5250 per unit.

Our Partnership Agreement does not contain a requirement for us to pay distributions, whether in the form of cash or equity, to our unitholders. However, it does contain provisions intended to motivate our General Partner to make steady, increasing and sustainable distributions over time.

Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus

General

Any distributions we make will be characterized as made from “operating surplus” or “capital surplus.” Distributions from operating surplus are made differently than we would distribute cash from capital surplus. Operating surplus distributions will be made to our unitholders and, if we make quarterly distributions above the first target distribution level described below, to the holders of our incentive distribution rights. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus. In such an event, however, any capital surplus distribution would be made pro rata to all unitholders, but the holders of the incentive distribution rights would generally not participate in any capital surplus distributions with respect to those rights.

Operating Surplus

We define operating surplus as:

 

    $15 million (as described below); plus

 

    all of our cash receipts, excluding cash from interim capital transactions (as defined below) provided that cash receipts from the termination of a commodity hedge or interest rate hedge prior to its specified termination date shall be included in operating surplus in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such commodity hedge or interest rate hedge; plus

 

    working capital borrowings made after the end of a period but on or before the date of determination of operating surplus for the period; plus

 

    cash distributions paid in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to finance all or a portion of expansion capital expenditures in respect of the period from such financing until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; plus

 

    cash distributions paid in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on incentive distribution rights) to pay the construction period interest on debt incurred, or to pay construction period distributions on equity issued, to finance the expansion capital expenditures referred to above, in each case, in respect of the period from such financing until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset is placed in service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; less

 

    all of our operating expenditures (as defined below); less

 

    the amount of cash reserves established by our General Partner to provide funds for future operating expenditures; less

 

    all working capital borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred (or repaid with the proceeds of additional working capital borrowings); less

 

    any loss realized on disposition of an investment capital expenditure.

 

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Operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by our operations. For example, it includes a basket of $15 million that will enable us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus cash we receive in the future from non-operating sources such as asset sales, issuances of securities and long-term borrowings that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. In addition, the effect of including, as described above, certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions. As a result, we may also distribute as operating surplus up to the amount of any such cash that we receive from non-operating sources.

The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.

We define operating expenditures in our Partnership Agreement, and it generally means all of our cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, management fees paid to Couche-Tard, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to our General Partner or its affiliates, payments made under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge agreements (provided that (1) with respect to amounts paid in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract, such amounts will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (2) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to the expiration of its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract), officer compensation, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and maintenance capital expenditures, provided that operating expenditures will not include:

 

    repayment of working capital borrowings deducted from operating surplus pursuant to the penultimate bullet point of the definition of operating surplus above when such repayment actually occurs;

 

    payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties and the purchase price of indebtedness that is repurchased and cancelled) of principal of and premium on indebtedness, other than working capital borrowings;

 

    expansion capital expenditures;

 

    investment capital expenditures;

 

    payment of transaction expenses relating to interim capital transactions;

 

    distributions to our partners (including distributions in respect of our incentive distribution rights); or

 

    repurchases of equity interests except to fund obligations under employee benefit plans.

Capital Surplus

Capital surplus is defined in our Partnership Agreement as any distribution of cash in excess of our operating surplus. Accordingly, capital surplus would generally be generated only by the following which (we refer to as “interim capital transactions”):

 

    borrowings other than working capital borrowings;

 

    sales of our equity and debt securities; and

 

    sales or other dispositions of assets for cash, other than inventory, accounts receivable and other assets sold in the ordinary course of business or as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets.

 

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Characterization of Cash Distributions

Our Partnership Agreement requires that we treat all distributions as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all distributions since we began operations equals the operating surplus through the end of the quarter immediately preceding that distribution. Our Partnership Agreement requires that we treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. As described above, operating surplus includes up to $15 million, which does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders. Rather, it is a provision that will enable us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus up to this amount that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.

Capital Expenditures

Maintenance capital expenditures reduce operating surplus, but expansion capital expenditures and investment capital expenditures do not. Maintenance capital expenditures are those capital expenditures required to maintain our long-term operating income or operating capacity. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures include those made to maintain existing contract volumes, including payments to renew existing distribution contracts, or to maintain our sites in leasable condition, such as parking lot or roof replacement/renovations or to replace equipment required to operate our existing business. 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. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes will not be considered maintenance capital expenditures.

Expansion capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that we expect will increase our operating income or operating capacity over the long term. Examples of expansion capital expenditures include the acquisition of new sites or the construction or expansion of convenience stores or carwashes at our sites, to the extent such capital expenditures are expected to expand our long-term operating income or operating capacity. Expansion 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 of such capital improvement in respect of the period that commences when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes will not be considered expansion capital expenditures.

Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely 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, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, our operating income or operating capacity.

Neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures are 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 or improvement of a capital asset in respect of a period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of, such interest payments also do not reduce

 

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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 expenditures by our General Partner.

Adjusted Operating Surplus

Adjusted operating surplus is intended to reflect the cash generated from operations during a particular period and therefore excludes net increases in working capital borrowings and net drawdowns of reserves of cash generated in prior periods. Adjusted operating surplus consists of:

 

    operating surplus generated with respect to that period (excluding any amounts attributable to the items described in the first bullet point under “—Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus—Operating Surplus” above); less

 

    the amount of any net increase in working capital borrowings with respect to that period; less

 

    the amount of any net decrease in cash reserves for operating expenditures with respect to that period not relating to an operating expenditure made with respect to that period; plus

 

    the amount of any net decrease in working capital borrowings with respect to that period; plus

 

    the amount of any net increase in cash reserves for operating expenditures with respect to that period required by any debt instrument for the repayment of principal, interest or premium; plus

 

    the amount of any net decrease made in subsequent periods in cash reserves for operating expenditures initially established with respect to such period to the extent such decrease results in a reduction of adjusted operating surplus in subsequent periods pursuant to the third bullet point above.

Distributions of Cash From Operating Surplus

If we make a distribution from operating surplus for any quarter, our Partnership Agreement requires that we make the distribution in the following manner:

 

    first, 100.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, until we distribute for each common unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and

 

    thereafter, in the manner described in “Incentive Distribution Rights” below.

The preceding discussion is based on the assumption that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.

General Partner Interest

Our General Partner owns a non-economic general partner interest in us and thus will not be entitled to distributions that we make prior to our liquidation in respect of such interest.

Incentive Distribution Rights

Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an increasing percentage (15.0%, 25.0% and 50.0%) of quarterly distributions from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. All of our incentive distribution rights are held by a subsidiary of Couche-Tard. The holders of our incentive distribution rights may transfer these rights at any time.

 

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The following discussion assumes that there are no arrearages on common units.

If for any quarter:

 

    we have distributed cash from operating surplus to the common unitholders in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution; and

 

    we have distributed cash from operating surplus on outstanding common units in an amount necessary to eliminate any cumulative arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution;

then, our Partnership Agreement requires that any incremental distributions from operating surplus for that quarter will be made among the unitholders and the holders of the incentive distribution rights in the following manner:

 

    first, 100.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.5031 per unit for that quarter (the “first target distribution”);

 

    second, 85.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to the holders of incentive distribution rights until each unitholder receives a total of $0.5469 per unit for that quarter (the “second target distribution”);

 

    third, 75.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.6563 per unit for that quarter (the “third target distribution”); and

 

    thereafter, 50.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights.

Percentage Allocations of Cash Distributions From Operating Surplus

The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of the cash distributions from operating surplus between the unitholders and the holders of the incentive distribution rights based on the specified target distribution levels. The amounts set forth under “Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions” are the percentage interests of the holders of the incentive distribution rights and the unitholders in any cash distributions from operating surplus we distribute up to and including the corresponding amount in the column “Total Quarterly Distribution Per Common Unit,” until cash we distribute from operating surplus reaches the next target distribution level, if any. The percentage interests shown for the unitholders and the holders of the incentive distribution rights for the minimum quarterly distribution are also applicable to quarterly distribution amounts that are less than the minimum quarterly distribution.

 

    

Total Quarterly Distribution Per Common

Unit

   Marginal Percentage Interest in
Distribution
 
    

Target Amount

   Unitholders     Holders of
Incentive
Distribution
Rights
 

Minimum Quarterly Distribution

   $0.4375      100     0

First Target Distribution

   $0.4375 up to $0.5031      100     0

Second Target Distribution

   above $0.5031 up to $0.5469      85     15

Third Target Distribution

   above $0.5469 up to $0.6563      75     25

Thereafter

   above $0.6563      50     50

General Partner’s Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels

The holders of a majority of our incentive distribution rights have the right under our Partnership Agreement to elect to relinquish the right to receive incentive distribution payments based on the initial cash target distribution levels and to reset, at higher levels, the target distribution levels upon which the incentive distribution payments to the holders of the incentive distribution rights would be set. The right to reset the target distribution levels upon which the incentive distributions are based may be exercised, without approval of our

 

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unitholders or the conflicts committee of our General Partner, 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 target distribution levels will be higher than the target distribution levels prior to the reset such that there will be no incentive distributions paid under the reset target distribution levels until cash distributions per unit following this event increase as described below. We anticipate that this reset right would be exercised in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would otherwise not be sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit, taking into account the existing levels of incentive distribution payments being made to the holders of the incentive distribution rights.

In connection with the resetting of the target distribution levels and the corresponding relinquishment by the holders of the incentive distribution rights of incentive distribution payments based on the target cash distributions prior to the reset, the holders 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 cash distributions related to the incentive distribution rights received by the holders of the incentive distribution rights for the quarter prior to the reset event as compared to the average cash distributions per common unit during this period.

The number of common units that the holders of the incentive distribution rights 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 amount of cash distributions received by the holders of the incentive distribution rights for the most recent quarterly distribution by (y) the amount of cash distributed per common unit for such quarter. The holders of the incentive distribution rights would be entitled to receive distributions in respect of these common units pro rata in subsequent periods.

Following a reset election, quarterly baseline distribution amount will be calculated as an amount equal to the cash distribution amount per unit for the fiscal quarter 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 make distributions from operating surplus for each quarter thereafter as follows:

 

    first, 100.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 115.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter;

 

    second, 85.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to the holders of our incentive distribution rights, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 125.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter;

 

    third, 75.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to the holders of our incentive distribution rights, until each unitholder receives an amount per unit equal to 150.0% of the reset minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter; and

 

    thereafter, 50.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to the holders of our incentive distribution rights.

 

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The following table illustrates the percentage allocation of distributions from operating surplus between the unitholders and the holders of our incentive distribution rights at various cash distribution levels (1) pursuant to the cash distribution provisions of our Partnership Agreement, as well as (2) following a hypothetical reset of the target distribution levels based on the assumption that the quarterly cash distribution amount per common unit during the prior fiscal quarter immediately preceding the reset election was $0.7000.

 

        Marginal Percentage
Interest in Distribution
     
    Unitholders     Holders of the
Incentive
Distribution
Rights
   

Quarterly Distribution Per

Unit Following Hypothetical Reset

 

Quarterly Distribution Per

Unit Prior to Reset

     

Minimum Quarterly Distribution

  $0.4375     100     0   $0.7000

First Target Distribution

 

above $0.4375 up to $0.5031

    100     0  

above $0.7000 up to $0.8050(1)

Second Target Distribution

 

above $0.5031 up to $0.5469

    85     15  

above $0.8050 up to $0.8750(2)

Third Target Distribution

 

above $0.5469 up to $0.6563

    75     25  

above $0.8750 up to $1.0500(3)

Thereafter

 

above $0.6563

    50     50  

above $1.0500

 

(1) This amount is 115.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution.
(2) This amount is 125.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution.
(3) This amount is 150.0% of the hypothetical reset minimum quarterly distribution.

The following table illustrates the total amount of distributions from operating surplus that would be distributed to the unitholders and the holders of the incentive distribution rights, based on the amount distributed per quarter for the quarter immediately prior to the reset. The table assumes that immediately prior to the reset there would be 34,248,343 common units outstanding and the distribution to each common unit would be $0.7000 per quarter for the quarter prior to the reset.

 

    

Quarterly Distributions Per Unit

   Cash
Distributions
to Common
Unitholders
     Cash
Distributions
to Holders of
the Incentive
Distribution
Rights
     Total Cash
Distribution
 
           

Minimum Quarterly Distribution

   $0.4375    $ 14,983,650      $ —        $ 14,983,650  

First Target Distribution

  

above $0.4375 up to $0.5031

     2,246,691        —          2,246,691  

Second Target Distribution

  

above $0.5031 up to $0.5469

     1,500,077        264,719        1,764,796  

Third Target Distribution

  

above $0.5469 up to $0.6563

     3,746,769        1,248,923        4,995,693  
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Thereafter

  

above $0.6563

   $ 1,496,653      $ 1,496,653      $ 2,993,305  
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
      $ 23,973,840      $ 3,010,295      $ 26,984,135  
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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The following table illustrates the total amount of distributions from operating surplus that would be distributed to the unitholders and the holders of the incentive distribution rights, with respect to the quarter in which the reset occurs. The table reflects that as a result of the reset there would be 38,548,764 common units outstanding, and the distribution to each common unit would be $0.7000. The number of common units to be issued to the holders of the incentive distribution rights upon the reset is calculated by dividing (1) the amount received by the holders of the incentive distribution rights for the quarters prior to the reset as shown in the table above, or $3,010,295, by (2) the amount distributed on each common unit for the quarter prior to the reset as shown in the table above, or $0.7000.

 

        Cash Distributions  
   

Quarterly Distributions Per Unit

  Common
Unitholders
    New
Common
Units
    Incentive
Distribution
Rights
    Total  

Minimum Quarterly Distribution

  $0.7000   $ 23,973,840     $ 3,010,295       —       $ 26,984,135  

First Target Distribution

 

above $0.7000 up to $0.8050

    —         —         —         —    

Second Target Distribution

 

above $0.8050 up to $0.8750

    —         —         —         —    

Third Target Distribution

 

above $0.8750 up to $1.0500

    —         —         —         —    
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Thereafter

 

above $1.0500

  $ 23,973,840     $ 3,010,295       —       $ 26,984,135  
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Holders of incentive distribution rights will be entitled to cause the target distribution levels to be reset on more than one occasion, provided that the right may not be exercised except at a time when the holders have received incentive distributions for the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters based on the highest level of incentive distributions that the holders are entitled to receive under our Partnership Agreement.

Distributions From Capital Surplus

How Distributions From Capital Surplus Will Be Made

Our Partnership Agreement requires that we make distributions of cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner:

 

    first, 100.0% to all common unitholders, pro rata until the minimum quarterly distribution is reduced to zero, as described below;

 

    second, 100.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, until we distribute for each common unit, an amount of cash from capital surplus equal to any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units; and

 

    thereafter, we will make all distributions of cash from capital surplus as if they were from operating surplus.

Effect of a Distribution From Capital Surplus

Our Partnership Agreement treats a distribution of cash from capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from our initial public offering, which is a return of capital. Each time a distribution of cash from 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 relation to the fair market value of the common units prior to the announcement of the distribution. 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 minimum quarterly distribution is reduced to zero cannot be applied to the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution or any arrearages.

 

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If we reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels to zero, all future distributions from operating surplus will be made such that 50.0% is paid to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% is paid to the holders of the incentive distribution rights, pro rata.

Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels

In addition to adjusting the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels to reflect a distribution of capital surplus, if we combine our common units into fewer common units or subdivide our common units into a greater number of common units, our Partnership Agreement specifies that the following items will be proportionately adjusted:

 

    the minimum quarterly distribution;

 

    the target distribution levels;

 

    the unrecovered initial unit price; and

 

    the per-unit amount of any outstanding arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units.

For example, if a two-for-one split of the common units should occur, the minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50.0% of its initial level. Our Partnership Agreement provides that we do not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.

In addition, if 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 each distribution level by a fraction, the numerator of which is cash available for distribution 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) and the denominator of which is the sum of (1) cash available for distribution for that quarter, plus (2) 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 the holders of the incentive distribution rights in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of our assets in liquidation.

The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended to permit common unitholders to receive their unrecovered initial unit price plus the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which liquidation occurs. However, there may not be sufficient gain upon our liquidation to enable the common unitholders to fully recover all of these amounts. Any further net gain recognized upon liquidation will be allocated in a manner that takes into account the incentive distribution rights.

 

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Manner of Adjustments for Gain

The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in our Partnership Agreement. If our liquidation occurs, we will generally allocate any gain to the partners in the following manner:

 

    first, to our General Partner to the extent of certain prior losses specially allocated to our General Partner;

 

    second, 100.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital account for each common unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price; and (2) the amount of the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which our liquidation occurs.

 

    third, 100.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the first target distribution per unit over the minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of cash from operating surplus in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution per unit that we distributed to the unitholders, pro rata, for each quarter of our existence;

 

    fourth, 85.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:(1) the sum of the excess of the second target distribution per unit over the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of cash from operating surplus in excess of the first target distribution per unit that we distributed 85.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights for each quarter of our existence;

 

    fifth, 75.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the third target distribution per unit over the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of cash from operating surplus in excess of the second target distribution per unit that we distributed 75.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights for each quarter of our existence; and

 

    thereafter, 50.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to the holders of the incentive distribution rights.

Manner of Adjustments for Losses

If our liquidation occurs, we will generally allocate any loss to our General Partner and the unitholders in the following manner:

 

    first, 100.0% to the common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital accounts for each common unit has been reduced to zero;

 

    second, 100.0% to all unitholders, pro rata, until the allocation would cause the capital accounts for each unit to have a deficit balance; and

 

    thereafter, 100.0% to our General Partner.

Adjustments to Capital Accounts

Our Partnership Agreement requires that we make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In this regard, our Partnership Agreement specifies that we allocate any unrealized and, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, unrecognized gain resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the holders of our incentive distribution rights in the same manner as we allocate gain upon liquidation. In the event that we make positive adjustments to the capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units, our Partnership Agreement requires that we generally allocate any later negative adjustments to the capital accounts resulting from the issuance of additional units or upon our liquidation in a manner which results, to the extent possible, in

 

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the partners’ capital account balances equaling the amount which they would have been if no earlier positive adjustments to the capital accounts had been made. By contrast to the allocations of gain, and except as provided above, we generally will allocate any unrealized and unrecognized loss resulting from the adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units to the unitholders 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 that results, to the extent possible, in our unitholders’ capital account balances equaling the amounts they would have been if no earlier adjustments for loss had been made.

 

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES

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

As a result of the Merger, Circle K indirectly owns all of the membership interests in the sole member of our General Partner, all of the outstanding IDRs of the Partnership and, as of March 31, 2018, a 21.4% limited partner interest in the Partnership. Circle K, through its indirect ownership interest in the sole member of our General Partner, has the ability to appoint all of the members of the Board and to control and manage the operations and activities of the Partnership.

Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our General Partner and its affiliates, including Couche-Tard, on the one hand, and our Partnership and our unaffiliated limited partners, on the other hand. The directors and officers of our General Partner have fiduciary duties to manage our General Partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. At the same time, our General Partner has a duty to manage our Partnership in a manner it believes is in our best interests. Our Partnership Agreement specifically defines the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken that, without these defined liability standards, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under applicable Delaware law. The Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, which we refer to as the Delaware Act, provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, expand, restrict or eliminate the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by the general partner to the limited partners and the partnership.

Whenever a conflict arises between our General Partner or its affiliates, on the one hand, and us and our limited partners, on the other hand, the resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest shall be permitted and deemed approved by all our limited partners and shall not constitute a breach of our Partnership Agreement, of any agreement contemplated thereby or of any duty, if the resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest is:

 

    approved by the conflicts committee of our General Partner, although our General Partner is not obligated to seek such approval; or

 

    approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any such units owned by our General Partner or any of its affiliates.

Our General Partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolutions or courses of action from the conflicts committee of the Board or from the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units as described above. If our General Partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee or from holders of common units as described above and the Board approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the Board acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of us or any of our unitholders, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for in our Partnership Agreement, the Board or the conflicts committee of the Board may consider any factors they determine in good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. An independent third party is not required to evaluate the resolution. Under our Partnership Agreement, a determination, other action or failure to act by our general partner, the Board or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) will be deemed to be “in good faith” unless our General Partner, the Board or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) believed such determination, other action or failure to act was adverse to the interests of the Partnership.

Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.

 

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Couche-Tard controls us and may have conflicts of interest with us.

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

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

Couche-Tard owns and controls our General Partner and has the ability to appoint all of the directors of our General Partner. Although our General Partner has a legal duty to manage in good faith, the executive officers and directors of our General Partner have a fiduciary duty to manage our General Partner in a manner beneficial to its owner. Furthermore, certain officers of our General Partner are directors or officers of affiliates of our General Partner. Therefore, conflicts of interest may arise in the future between us and our unitholders, on the one hand, and our General Partner and Couche-Tard, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest, our General Partner may favor its own interests and the interests of Couche-Tard over our interests and the interests of our common unitholders. These conflicts include the following situations, among others:

 

    our General Partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us, such as Couche-Tard, in resolving conflicts of interest, which has the effect of limiting its fiduciary duty to our unitholders;

 

    neither our Partnership Agreement nor any other agreement requires Couche-Tard to pursue a business strategy that favors us;

 

    some officers of our General Partner who will provide services to us will devote time to affiliates of our General Partner and may be compensated for services rendered to such affiliate;

 

    our Partnership Agreement limits the liability of and reduces fiduciary duties owed by our General Partner and also restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions that, without the limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty;

 

    except in limited circumstances, our General Partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without unitholder approval;

 

    our General Partner determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, borrowings, issuances of additional partnership securities and the creation, reductions or increases of cash reserves, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is available for distribution to our unitholders, including distributions to the holders of the incentive distribution rights;

 

    our General Partner determines the amount and timing of any capital expenditures and whether a capital expenditure is classified as a maintenance capital expenditure, which reduces operating surplus. Such determination can affect the amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders, including distributions to the holders of the incentive distribution rights;

 

    our General Partner may cause us to borrow funds in order to permit the payment of cash distributions, even if the purpose or effect of the borrowing is to make incentive distributions;

 

    our Partnership Agreement permits us to distribute up to $15 million as operating surplus, even if it is generated from asset sales, non-working capital borrowings or other sources that would otherwise constitute capital surplus. This cash may be used to fund distributions on the incentive distribution rights;

 

    our Partnership Agreement does not restrict our General Partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or entering into additional contractual arrangements with its affiliates on our behalf;

 

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    our General Partner intends to limit its liability regarding our contractual and other obligations;

 

    our General Partner may exercise its right to call and purchase common units if it and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units;

 

    our General Partner controls the enforcement of obligations that it and its affiliates owe to us;

 

    our General Partner decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for us;

 

    the holders of our incentive distribution rights may transfer their incentive distribution rights without unitholder approval; and

 

    our General Partner may elect to cause us to issue common units to the holders of our incentive distribution rights in connection with a resetting of the target distribution levels related to the incentive distribution rights without the approval of the conflicts committee of the Board or the unitholders. This election may result in lower distributions to the common unitholders in certain situations.

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

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

Our Partnership Agreement does not require us to pay any distributions at all. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the permanence of such a policy in making an investment decision. Any modification or revocation of our cash distribution policy could substantially reduce or eliminate the amounts of distributions to our unitholders. The amount of distributions we make, if any, and the decision to make any distribution at all will be determined by the Board, whose interests may differ from those of our common unitholders. Our General Partner has limited duties to our unitholders, which may permit it to favor its own interests or the interests of Couche-Tard, to the detriment of our common unitholders.

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

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

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

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

 

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The liability of DMI and Couche-Tard is limited under our Amended Omnibus Agreement and we have agreed to indemnify DMI and Couche-Tard against certain liabilities, which may expose us to significant expenses.

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

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

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

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

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

In addition, if we distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution, our growth may not be as fast as that of businesses that reinvest their cash available for distribution to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures, the payment of distributions on those additional units may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per unit distribution level. There are no limitations in our Partnership Agreement or our credit facility on our ability to issue additional units, provided there is no default under the credit facility, including units ranking senior to the common units. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, may impact the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

There are no limitations in our Partnership Agreement on our ability to issue units ranking senior to the common units.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our Partnership Agreement, we may issue additional partnership interests that are senior to the common units in right of distribution, liquidation and voting. The issuance by us of units of senior rank may (i) reduce or eliminate the amount of cash available for distribution to our common unitholders; (ii) diminish the relative voting strength of the total common units outstanding as a class; or (iii) subordinate the claims of the common unitholders to our assets in the event of our liquidation.

Our Partnership Agreement replaces our General Partner’s fiduciary duties to holders of our units.

Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that eliminate and replace the fiduciary standards to which our General Partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our Partnership Agreement permits our General Partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in

 

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its capacity as our General Partner, or otherwise free of fiduciary duties to us and our unitholders. This entitles our General Partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires and relieves it of any duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or our limited partners. Examples of decisions that our General Partner may make in its individual capacity include:

 

    how to allocate business opportunities among us and its affiliates;

 

    whether to exercise its call right;

 

    whether to elect to reset target distribution levels; and

 

    whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership Agreement or amendment to the Partnership Agreement.

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

Our Partnership Agreement restricts the remedies available to holders of our units for actions taken by our General Partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.

Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our General Partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under state fiduciary duty law. For example, our Partnership Agreement:

 

    provides that whenever our General Partner makes a determination or takes, or declines to take, any other action in its capacity as our General Partner, our General Partner is required to make such determination, or take or decline to take such other action, in good faith, and will not be subject to any other or different standard imposed by our Partnership Agreement, Delaware law, or any other law, rule or regulation, or at equity;

 

    provides that our General Partner will not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as a General Partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning that it believed that the decision was in the best interest of our Partnership;

 

    provides that our General Partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners resulting from any act or omission unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our General Partner or its officers and directors, as the case may be, acted in bad faith or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the conduct was criminal; and

 

    provides that our General Partner will not be in breach of its obligations under the Partnership Agreement or its fiduciary duties to us or our limited partners if a transaction with an affiliate or the resolution of a conflict of interest is:

 

    approved by the conflicts committee of the Board, although our General Partner is not obligated to seek such approval; or

 

    approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our General Partner and its affiliates.

In connection with a situation involving a transaction with an affiliate or a conflict of interest, any determination by our General Partner must be made in good faith. If an affiliate transaction or the resolution of a conflict of interest is not approved by our common unitholders or the conflicts committee, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, taking any action or failing to act, the Board acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption.

 

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Our General Partner’s affiliates, including Couche-Tard, may compete with us.

Our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner will be restricted from engaging in any business activities other than acting as our General Partner and those activities incidental to its ownership interest in us. Except as provided in the Amended Omnibus Agreement, affiliates of our General Partner are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.

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

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

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

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

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

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions regarding our business. Unitholders will have no right on an annual or ongoing basis to elect our General Partner or its Board. The Board, including the independent directors, is chosen entirely by Couche-Tard, as a result of its ownership of our

 

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General Partner, and not by our unitholders. Unlike publicly traded corporations, we will not conduct annual meetings of our unitholders to elect directors or conduct other matters routinely conducted at annual meetings of stockholders of corporations. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished because of the absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.

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

If our unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our General Partner, they will have limited ability to remove our General Partner. The vote of the holders of at least 662/3% of all outstanding common units is required to remove our General Partner. As of March 31, 2018, Couche-Tard owned approximately 21.4% of our outstanding common units and the Topper Group, including DMI, owned approximately 22.3% of our outstanding common units. Pursuant to a voting agreement, dated October 1, 2014, the Topper Group agreed to vote such units in accordance with the recommendation of the Board, allowing Couche-Tard to effectively block the removal of the General Partner. The voting agreement will remain in effect so long as Mr. Topper is the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the outstanding common units of the Partnership.

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

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

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

If at any time our General Partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units, our General Partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price equal to the greater of (1) the average of the daily closing price of the common units over the 20 trading days preceding the date three days before notice of exercise of the call right is first mailed and (2) the highest per-unit price paid by our General Partner or any of its affiliates for common units during the 90-day period preceding the date such notice is first mailed. As a result, unitholders may be required to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return or a negative return on their investment. Unitholders may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of their units. Our General Partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the call right. There is no restriction in our Partnership Agreement that prevents our General Partner from issuing additional common units and exercising its call right. If our General Partner exercised its call right, the effect would be to take us private and, if the units were subsequently deregistered, we would no longer be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. As of March 31, 2018, Couche-Tard owned approximately 21.4% of our outstanding common units.

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

As of March 31, 2018, we had 34,248,343 common units outstanding. Sales by the Topper Group, DMI or other large holders such as Couche-Tard of a substantial number of our common units in the public markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common units

 

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or could impair our ability to obtain capital through an offering of equity securities. In addition, we agreed to provide registration rights to the Topper Group, including DMI. Under our Partnership Agreement and pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we have entered into, the Topper Group and DMI have registration rights relating to the offer and sale of any units that they hold, subject to certain limitations.

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

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

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

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

It may be determined that the right, or the exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group, to (i) remove or replace our General Partner, (ii) approve some amendments to our Partnership Agreement or (iii) take other action under our Partnership Agreement constitutes “participation in the control” of our business. A limited partner that participates in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act may be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our General Partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us under the reasonable belief that the limited partner is a General Partner. Neither our Partnership Agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our General Partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our General Partner.

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

Our common units are listed on the NYSE. Because we are a publicly traded partnership, the NYSE does not require us to have a majority of independent directors on our General Partner’s board of directors. Additionally, the NYSE does not require us as a publicly traded partnership to maintain a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee. Accordingly, unitholders will not have the same protections afforded to certain corporations that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

 

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Fiduciary Duties

Duties owed to unitholders by our General Partner are prescribed by law and in our Partnership Agreement. The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, expand, restrict or eliminate the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by the General Partner to limited partners and the Partnership.

Our Partnership Agreement contains various provisions modifying and restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our General Partner. We have adopted these provisions to allow our General Partner or its affiliates to engage in transactions with us that otherwise might be prohibited by state law fiduciary standards and to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because the Board has a duty to manage our Partnership in good faith and a duty to manage our General Partner in a manner beneficial to its owner. Without these modifications, our General Partner’s ability to make decisions involving conflicts of interest would be restricted. The modifications to the fiduciary standards benefit our General Partner by enabling it to take into consideration all parties involved in the proposed action. These modifications also strengthen the ability of our General Partner to attract and retain experienced and capable directors. These modifications represent a detriment to our public unitholders because they restrict the remedies available to our public unitholders for actions that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below, and permit our General Partner to take into account the interests of third parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interests. The following is a summary of the material restrictions of the fiduciary duties owed by our General Partner to the limited partners:

 

State law fiduciary duty standards    Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general partner to act for the partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require that any action taken or transaction engaged in be entirely fair to the Partnership.
Partnership Agreement modified standards    Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our General Partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues as to compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our Partnership Agreement provides that when our General Partner is acting in its capacity as our General Partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in “good faith” and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our General Partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our General Partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards replace the obligations to which our General Partner would otherwise be held.

 

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   If our General Partner does not obtain approval from the conflicts committee of the Board or our common unitholders, excluding any such units owned by our General Partner or its affiliates, and the Board approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, its Board, which may include board members affected by the conflict of interest, acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. These standards replace the obligations to which our General Partner would otherwise be held.
Rights and remedies of unitholders    The Delaware Act generally provides that a limited partner may institute legal action on behalf of the Partnership to recover damages from a third party where a General Partner has refused to institute the action or where an effort to cause a General Partner to do so is not likely to succeed. These actions include actions against a General Partner for breach of its duties or of our Partnership Agreement. In addition, the statutory or case law of some jurisdictions may permit a limited partner to institute legal action on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated limited partners to recover damages from a general partner for violations of its fiduciary duties to the limited partners.
Partnership agreement modified standards    The Delaware Act provides that, unless otherwise provided in a partnership agreement, a partner or other person shall not be liable to a limited partnership or to another partner or to another person that is a party to or is otherwise bound by a partnership agreement for breach of fiduciary duty for the partner’s or other person’s good faith reliance on the provisions of the Partnership Agreement. Under our Partnership Agreement, to the extent that, at law or in equity an indemnitee has duties (including fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating thereto to us or to our partners, our General Partner and any other indemnitee acting in connection with our business or affairs shall not be liable to us or to any partner for its good faith reliance on the provisions of our Partnership Agreement.

By purchasing our common units, each common unitholder automatically agrees to be bound by the provisions in our Partnership Agreement, including the provisions discussed above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner to sign a partnership agreement does not render the Partnership Agreement unenforceable against that person.

 

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Under our Partnership Agreement, we must indemnify our General Partner and its officers, directors, managers and certain other specified persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our General Partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith. We must also provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings unless our General Partner or these other persons acted with knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. Thus, our General Partner could be indemnified for its negligent acts if it meets the requirements set forth above. To the extent these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is contrary to public policy and, therefore, unenforceable. Please read “The Partnership Agreement—Indemnification.”

 

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THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The following is a summary of the material provisions of our Partnership Agreement. Our Partnership Agreement is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus constitutes a part. We will provide prospective investors with a copy of our Partnership Agreement upon request at no charge.

Organization and Duration

Our Partnership was organized on December 2, 2011, and will have a perpetual existence unless terminated pursuant to the terms of our Partnership Agreement.

Purpose

Our purpose, as set forth in our Partnership Agreement, is limited to any business activity that is approved by our General Partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law; provided that our General Partner shall not cause us to take any action that the General Partner determines would be reasonably likely to cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Although our General Partner has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the business of wholesale distribution of motor fuels and the ownership of sites, our General Partner may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in 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.

Distributions

Our Partnership Agreement specifies the manner in which we will make distributions, if any, to holders of our common units to holders of the incentive distribution rights.

Capital Contributions

Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under “—Limited Liability.”

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 outstanding common units, voting as a single class.

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.

 

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The incentive distribution rights may be entitled to vote in certain circumstances.

 

Issuance of additional units    No approval right.
Amendment of our Partnership Agreement    Certain amendments may be made by our General Partner without the approval of the unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a unit majority. Please read “—Amendment of the Partnership Agreement.”
Merger of our Partnership or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets    Unit majority in certain circumstances. Please read “—Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets.”
Dissolution of our Partnership    Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.”
Continuation of our business upon dissolution    Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.”
Withdrawal of our General Partner    Under most circumstances, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our General Partner and its affiliates, is required for the withdrawal of our General Partner prior to December 31, 2022 in a manner that would cause a dissolution of our Partnership. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”
Removal of our General Partner    Not less than 66 23% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, including units held by our General Partner and its affiliates. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”
Transfer of the general partner interest    No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.”
Transfer of incentive distribution rights    No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of incentive distribution rights.”
Transfer of ownership interests in the General Partner    No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of Ownership Interests in 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 to any person or group that acquires the units from our General Partner or its affiliates and any transferees of that person or group approved by our General Partner or to any person or group who acquires the units with the specific prior approval of our unitholders.

Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction

Our Partnership Agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:

 

    arising out of or relating in any way to the Partnership Agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of the Partnership Agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us);

 

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    brought in a derivative manner on our behalf;

 

    asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our General Partner, or owed by our General Partner, to us or the limited partners;

 

    asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Act; or

 

    asserting a claim relating to the “internal affairs” of the Partnership,

shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction), regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims. By purchasing a common unit, a limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, then such other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction) in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings. Although our Partnership Agreement includes this choice of forum provision, it is possible that a court could rule that this provision is inapplicable or unenforceable.

Limited Liability

Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act and that he otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of the Partnership Agreement, his liability under the Delaware Act will be limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital he is obligated to contribute to us for his common units plus his share of any undistributed profits and assets. However, if it were determined that the right, or exercise of the right, by a limited partner is an act constituting “participation in the control” of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our General Partner. This liability may be asserted by persons who transact business with us under the reasonable belief that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our Partnership Agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our General Partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our General Partner solely by reason of being or so acting as the General Partner. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no precedent for this type of a claim in Delaware case law.

Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the Partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware Act provides that a limited partner who receives a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years.

Our subsidiaries conduct business in eight states and we may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states or countries in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as owner of our operating subsidiaries may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating subsidiaries conduct business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.

Limitations on the liability of members or limited partners for the obligations of a limited liability company or limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our ownership

 

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interest in our subsidiaries or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any jurisdiction without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace our General Partner, to approve some amendments to our Partnership Agreement, or to take other action under our Partnership Agreement constituted “participation in the control” of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of that jurisdiction to the same extent as our General Partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our General Partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.

Issuance of Additional Interests

Our Partnership Agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our General Partner without the approval of our unitholders.

It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing common unitholders in our distributions. In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing common unitholders in our net assets.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our Partnership Agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our General Partner, may have rights to distributions or special voting rights to which the common unitholders are not entitled. In addition, our Partnership Agreement does not prohibit our subsidiaries from issuing equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.

Our General Partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign, in whole or in part, to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership interests whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue partnership interests to persons other than our General Partner and its affiliates (other than the issuance of common units upon exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional common units), to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of the General Partner and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. Our unitholders will not have preemptive rights under our Partnership Agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests.

Amendment of the Partnership Agreement

General

Amendments to our Partnership Agreement may be proposed only by our General Partner. However, our General Partner 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. In order to adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below, our General Partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or to call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a unit majority.

Prohibited Amendments

No amendment may be made that would:

 

    enlarge the obligations of any limited partner without its consent, unless approved by at least a majority of the type or class of limited partner interests so affected; or

 

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    enlarge the obligations of, restrict, change or modify in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to our General Partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of our General Partner, which consent may be given or withheld in its sole discretion.

The provision of our Partnership Agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in the clauses above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90.0% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class (including units owned by our General Partner and its affiliates). For additional information about the limited call right, please read “—Call Right.”

No Unitholder Approval

Our General Partner may generally make amendments to our Partnership Agreement without the approval of any limited partner to reflect:

 

    a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office;

 

    the admission, substitution, withdrawal, or removal of partners in accordance with our Partnership Agreement;

 

    a change that our General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue our qualification as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed);

 

    an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our General Partner or its directors, officers, trustees or agents from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or “plan asset” regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed;

 

    an amendment that our General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the creation, authorization or issuance of additional partnership interests or the right to acquire partnership interests;

 

    any amendment expressly permitted in our Partnership Agreement to be made by our General Partner acting alone;

 

    an amendment effected, necessitated, or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our Partnership Agreement;

 

    any amendment that our General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect and account for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our Partnership Agreement;

 

    a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes;

 

    conversions into, mergers with or conveyances to another limited liability entity that is newly formed and has no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of the conversion, merger or conveyance other than those it receives by way of the merger or conveyance; or

 

    any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described in the clauses above.

In addition, our General Partner may make amendments to our Partnership Agreement, without the approval of any limited partner, if our General Partner determines that those amendments:

 

    do not adversely affect, in any material respect the limited partners, considered as a whole, or any particular class of limited partners;

 

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    are necessary or appropriate to satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute;

 

    are necessary or appropriate to facilitate the trading of limited partner interests or to comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any securities exchange on which the limited partner interests are or will be listed for trading;

 

    are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by our General Partner relating to splits or combinations of units under the provisions of our Partnership Agreement; or

 

    are required to effect the intent expressed in this prospectus or the intent of the provisions of our Partnership Agreement or are otherwise contemplated by our Partnership Agreement.

Opinion of Counsel and Unitholder Approval

Any amendment that our General Partner determines adversely affects in any material respect one or more particular classes of limited partners will require the approval of at least a majority of the class or classes so affected, but no vote will be required by any class or classes of limited partners that our General Partner determines are not adversely affected in any material respect. Any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that would reduce the voting percentage required to take any action other than to remove the General Partner or call a meeting of unitholders is required to be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced. Any amendment that would increase the percentage of units required to remove the General Partner or call a meeting of unitholders must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the percentage sought to be increased. For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our General Partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will neither result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners nor result in our being treated as a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments. No other amendments to our Partnership Agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under applicable law of any of our limited partners.

Merger, Consolidation, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets

A merger or consolidation of us requires the prior consent of our General Partner. However, our General Partner will have no duty or obligation to consent to any merger or consolidation and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interest of us or the limited partners.

In addition, our Partnership Agreement generally prohibits our General Partner, without the prior approval of the holders of a unit majority, from causing us to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, including by way of merger, consolidation or other combination. Our General Partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without such approval. Our General Partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without such approval. Finally, our General Partner may consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our General Partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in a material amendment to the Partnership Agreement (other than an amendment that the General Partner could adopt without the consent of other partners), each of our units will be an identical unit of our Partnership following the transaction and the Partnership securities to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests (other than incentive distribution rights) immediately prior to the transaction.

 

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If the conditions specified in our Partnership Agreement are satisfied, our General Partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity, if the sole purpose of that conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, we have received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our General Partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our Partnership Agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters’ rights of appraisal under our Partnership Agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.

Dissolution

We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our Partnership Agreement. We will dissolve upon:

 

    the election of our General Partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority;

 

    there being no limited partners, unless we are continued without dissolution in accordance with applicable Delaware law;

 

    the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our Partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act; or

 

    the withdrawal or removal of our General Partner or any other event that results in its ceasing to be our General Partner other than by reason of a transfer of its general partner interest in accordance with our Partnership Agreement or its withdrawal or removal following the approval and admission of a successor.

Upon a dissolution under the last clause above, the holders of a unit majority may also elect, within specific time limitations, to continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our Partnership Agreement by appointing as a successor General Partner an entity approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority, subject to our receipt of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:

 

    the action would not result in the loss of limited liability under Delaware law of any limited partner; and

 

    neither our Partnership nor any of our subsidiaries would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of that right to continue (to the extent not already so treated or taxed).

Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds

Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our General Partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation. 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 December 31, 2022, without obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our General Partner and its affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after December 31, 2022, our General

 

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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 to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.”

Upon withdrawal of our General Partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by our General Partner of all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders of a unit majority may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. Please read “—Dissolution.”

Our General Partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 66 23% 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 the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units. The ownership of more than 33 13% of the outstanding units by our General Partner and its affiliates gives them the 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 and its affiliates for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where our General Partner withdraws or is removed by the limited partners, the departing general partner will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest and the incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner and its affiliates for fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. Or, if the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of them will determine the fair market value.

If the option described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partner’s general partner interest and all its and its affiliates’ incentive distribution rights will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.

In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred as a result of the termination of any employees employed for our benefit by the departing general partner or its affiliates.

Transfer of General Partner Interest

At any time, our General Partner may transfer all or any of its general partner interest to another person without the approval of our common 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.

 

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Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner

At any time, Couche-Tard and any successive owners of our General Partner may sell or transfer all or part of its ownership interests in our General Partner to an affiliate or third party without the approval of our unitholders.

Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights

By transfer of incentive distribution rights in accordance with our Partnership Agreement, each transferee incentive distribution rights will be admitted as a limited partner with respect to such interest transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:

 

    represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our Partnership Agreement;

 

    automatically becomes bound by the terms and conditions of our Partnership Agreement; and

 

    gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our Partnership Agreement.

Our General Partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.

We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder or incentive distribution rights 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.

Incentive distribution rights are securities and any transfers are subject to the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a limited partner for the transferred incentive distribution rights.

Until an incentive distribution right has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the unit or right as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.

Change of Management Provisions

Our Partnership Agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove the General Partner 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.”

Call Right

If at any time our General Partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our General Partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or beneficial owners or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests of the class held by unaffiliated persons, as of a record date to be selected by our General Partner, on at least 10, but not more than 60, days’ notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:

 

    the highest price paid by our General Partner or any of its affiliates for any limited partner interests of the class purchased within the 90 days preceding the date on which our General Partner first mails notice of its election to purchase those limited partner interests; and

 

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    the average of the daily closing prices of the Partnership securities of such class over the 20 consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date three days before the date the notice is first mailed.

As a result of our General Partner’s right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have his limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or at a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his common units in the market. Please read “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences—Disposition of Units.”

Ineligible Holders; Redemption

If our General Partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are subject to U.S. federal, state or local laws or regulations that, in the reasonable determination of our General Partner, create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property that we have an interest in because of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of any limited partner, then our General Partner may adopt such amendments to our Partnership Agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:

 

    obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and

 

    permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose nationality, citizenship or other related status creates substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by our General Partner to obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption.

In addition, any transfer of (and certain non-transfer events with respect to) our securities that would result in a violation of the DMS Ownership Limitation or the Non-DMS Tenant Ownership Limitation will be a Prohibited Event and the holder of such securities will be a Prohibited Owner. Such a Prohibited Event will be void ab initio, and the Prohibited Owner’s securities will be transferred to a third-party beneficiary in order to prevent a violation of the DMS Ownership Limitation or the Non-DMS Tenant Ownership Limitation. Please read “Material United States  Federal Income Tax Consequences—Taxation of the Partnership—Partnership Status.”

Meetings; Voting

Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, record holders of units on the record date 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 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.

 

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Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read “—Issuance of Additional Interests.” However, if at any time any person or group, other than our General Partner and its affiliates, or a direct or subsequently approved transferee of our General Partner or its affiliates and purchasers specifically approved by our General Partner, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise.

Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record common unitholders under our Partnership Agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.

Voting Rights Incentive Distribution Rights

If a majority of the incentive distribution rights are held by our General Partner and its affiliates, the holders of the incentive distribution rights will have no right to vote in respect of such rights on any matter, unless otherwise required by law, and the holders of the incentive distribution rights, in their capacity as such, shall be deemed to have approved any matter approved by our General Partner.

If less than a majority of the incentive distribution rights are held by our General Partner and its affiliates, the incentive distribution rights will be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of unitholders, other than amendments and other matters that our General Partner determines do not adversely affect the holders of the incentive distribution rights in any material respect. On any matter in which the holders of incentive distribution rights are entitled to vote, such holders will vote together with the common units as a single class, and such incentive distribution rights shall be treated in all respects as common units when sending notices of a meeting of our limited partners to vote on any matter (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our Partnership Agreement. The relative voting power of the holders of the incentive distribution rights and the common units will be set in the same proportion as cumulative cash distributions, if any, in respect of the incentive distribution rights for the four consecutive quarters prior to the record date for the vote bears to the cumulative cash distributions in respect of such class of units for such four quarters.

Status as Limited Partner

By transfer of common units in accordance with our Partnership Agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission are reflected in our books and records. Except as described under “—Limited Liability,” the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.

Indemnification

Under our Partnership Agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages or similar events:

 

    our General Partner;

 

    any departing general partner;

 

    any person who is or was an affiliate of our General Partner or any departing general partner;

 

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    any person who is or was a manager, managing member, general partner, director, officer, fiduciary or trustee of our Partnership, our subsidiaries, our General Partner, any departing general partner or any of their affiliates;

 

    any person who is or was serving as a director, officer manager, managing member, general partner, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of another person owing a fiduciary duty to us or our subsidiaries;

 

    any person who controls our General Partner or any departing general partner; and

 

    any person designated by our General Partner.

Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless our General Partner otherwise agrees, it will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or lend funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under our Partnership Agreement.

Reimbursement of Expenses

Except for otherwise set forth in the Amended Omnibus Agreement, our Partnership Agreement requires us to reimburse our General Partner for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf and all other expenses reasonably allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our General Partner in connection with operating our business. The Partnership Agreement does not limit the amount of expenses for which our General Partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed. 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 in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us.

Books and Reports

Our General Partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. These books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.

We will furnish or make available to record holders of our common units, within 105 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report on those consolidated financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available a report containing unaudited financial statements within 50 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 on EDGAR or make the report available on a publicly available website which we maintain.

We will furnish each record holder with information reasonably required for U.S. federal and state tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to our unitholders will depend on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his U.S. federal and state tax liability and in filing his U.S.  federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with the necessary information.

Right to Inspect Our Books and Records

Our Partnership Agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:

 

    a current list of the name and last known address of each record holder;

 

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    copies of our Partnership Agreement, our certificate of limited partnership, related amendments and powers of attorney under which they have been executed;

 

    information regarding the status of our business and financial condition (provided that obligation shall be satisfied to the extent the limited partner is furnished our most recent annual report and any subsequent quarterly or periodic reports required to be filed (or which would be required to be filed) with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act); and

 

    any other information regarding our affairs that our General Partner determines is just and reasonable.

Under our Partnership Agreement, however, each of our limited partners and other persons who acquire interests in our Partnership do not have rights to receive information from us or any of the persons we indemnify as described above under “—Indemnification” for the purpose of determining whether to pursue litigation or assist in pending litigation against us or those indemnified persons relating to our affairs, except pursuant to the applicable rules of discovery relating to the litigation commenced by the person seeking information.

Our General Partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our General Partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests, could damage us or our business or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.

Registration Rights

Under our Partnership Agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and applicable state securities laws any common units or other limited partner interests proposed to be sold by our General Partner or any of its affiliates or their assignees if an exemption from the registration requirements is not otherwise available. These registration rights continue for two years following any withdrawal or removal of our General Partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts.

In addition, in connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a registration rights agreement with the Topper Group, DMI and others, including John B. Reilly, III, who received units pursuant to the contribution agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, we will be required to file a registration statement to register the units issued to the Topper Group, DMI and such other persons upon request of the holders of such units. In addition, the registration rights agreement gives the Topper Group, DMI and such other persons piggyback registration rights under certain circumstances. The registration rights agreement also includes provisions dealing with indemnification and contribution and allocation of expenses. These registration rights are transferable to affiliates of Topper Group, DMI and such other persons, in certain circumstances, to third parties.

 

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MATERIAL UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

This section summarizes the material federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective unitholders and is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), existing and proposed Treasury regulations thereunder (the “Treasury Regulations”), and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Changes in these authorities may cause the federal income tax consequences to a prospective unitholder to vary substantially from those described below, possibly on a retroactive basis. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we” or “us” are references to CrossAmerica Partners LP and its operating subsidiaries (other than those operating subsidiaries that constitute taxable subchapter C corporations for United States federal income tax purposes).

Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Paul Hastings LLP and are based on the accuracy of representations made by us and by our general partner to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all federal income tax matters that affect us or our unitholders and does not describe the application of the alternative minimum tax that may be applicable to certain unitholders. Furthermore, this section focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States (for federal income tax purposes), who have the United States dollar as their functional currency, who use the calendar year as their taxable year, and who hold common units as capital assets (generally, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations, partnerships (including entities treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes), estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt institutions, non-United States persons, individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds. The U.S. federal income tax laws are complex, and their impact can vary based upon an individual’s particular circumstances. In addition, the discussion only comments, to a limited extent, on state, local, and non-United States tax consequences. Accordingly, we encourage each unitholder to consult the unitholder’s own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-United States tax consequences particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.

No ruling has been or will be requested from the IRS regarding the consequences of owning our units. Instead, we are relying on opinions and advice of Paul Hastings LLP with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for units and the prices at which our units trade. In addition, our costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our unitholders because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution. Furthermore, the tax consequences of an investment in us may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions, which may be retroactively applied.

For the reasons described below, Paul Hastings LLP has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following federal income tax issues: (1) the treatment of a unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans”); (2) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”); and (3) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” and “—Uniformity of Units”).

Taxation of the Partnership

Partnership Status

We expect to be treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes and, therefore, generally will not be liable for entity-level federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our

 

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unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder.

Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnership’s gross income for every taxable year it is publicly-traded consists of “qualifying income,” the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes (the “Qualifying Income Exception”). Qualifying income includes (i) income and gains derived from the transportation, storage, processing and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and products thereof (including gasoline and diesel), (ii) “rents” from the leasing of real property, (iii) interest (other than from a financial business), (iv) dividends, (v) gains from the sale of real property and (vi) gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income.

We expect that a significant amount of our qualifying income will be comprised of real property rents from DMS (formerly known as Lehigh Gas-Ohio, LLC) attributable to the approximately 147 sites that DMS leases from us. In general, any real property rents that we receive from a tenant or sub-tenant of ours in which we own, directly or indirectly (a) in the case where such tenant or sub-tenant is a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes (a “Corporate Tenant”), stock of such tenant or sub-tenant possessing ten percent (10%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or ten percent (10%) or more of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of such tenant or sub-tenant, and (b) in the case where such tenant or sub-tenant is not a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes (a “Non-Corporate Tenant”), an interest of ten percent (10%) or more in the assets or net profits of such tenant or sub-tenant (in each case, the “Related Tenant Test”), would not constitute qualifying income. In determining such ownership, we are required to apply certain constructive ownership rules, including one that would treat us as owning any stock of a Corporate Tenant or interest in the assets or net profits of a Non-Corporate Tenant that is actually or constructively owned by any person that owns, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more (by value) of our interests. If we were to constructively own, directly or indirectly, an interest of ten percent (10%) or more in the assets or net profits of DMS (which is a Non-Corporate Tenant of ours) under the Related Tenant Test, then the real property rents that we receive from DMS would not constitute qualifying income and, thus, we would likely no longer qualify to be treated as a “partnership” (and instead would be treated as a corporation) for United States federal income tax purposes.

Each of Joseph V. Topper, Jr. and John B. Reilly, III actually or constructively owns five percent (5%) or more (by value) of our interests, and Joseph V. Topper, Jr. owns an interest of five percent (5%) of the assets and net profits of DMS. Accordingly, for purposes of the Related Tenant Test, we will be deemed to own an interest of five percent (5%) of the assets and net profits of DMS. In order to minimize the risk of our failing the Related Tenant Test with respect to Dunne Manning Stores Holdings LLC (formerly Lehigh Gas-Ohio Holdings LLC and referred to as “DMS Holdings”) or any of our other tenants or sub-tenants, our partnership agreement and DMS Holdings’ operating agreement contain provisions that expressly prohibit our units and the interests in the assets and net profits of DMS Holdings from being actually or constructively owned by any person if it would result in our actually or constructively owning (a) in the case of DMS, more than the five percent (5%) interest in DMS Holdings’ assets and net profits that we are deemed to currently own (the “DMS Ownership Limitation”), and (b) (1) in the case of a Corporate Tenant of ours, stock of such tenant or sub-tenant possessing ten percent (10%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or ten percent (10%) or more of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of such tenant or sub-tenant, and (2) in the case of a Non-Corporate Tenant of ours (other than DMS), an interest of ten percent (10%) or more in such tenant’s or sub-tenant’s assets or net profits (“Non-DMS Tenant Ownership Limitation”).

Any transfer of (or certain non-transfer events with respect to) units or interests in the assets or net profits of DMS Holdings that would result in a violation of the DMS Ownership Limitation or the Non-DMS Tenant Ownership Limitation (any such transfer or non-transfer event, a “Prohibited Event” and the holder of such units

 

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or interest, a “Prohibited Owner”) will be void ab initio. Furthermore, any such units and, in the case of a violation of the DMS Ownership Limitation, the breaching DMS Holdings member’s entire interest in DMS Holdings would automatically and by operation of law be transferred to a trust (“Trust”), the beneficiary or beneficiaries of which will be one or more organizations exempt from United States federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code and the trustee of which will be such person(s) unaffiliated with us that our general partner or the manager of DMS Holdings, as applicable, shall designate. If there should be a Prohibited Event prior to our becoming aware of such event having occurred and, as a result, we make distributions and allocations of our income, gain, losses, deductions and credits following the transfer of the applicable units to the Prohibited Owner rather than to the Trust, then we will take all reasonable measures that we determine reasonably necessary to recover the amount of any such distributions and to effectuate the re-allocation of such income, gain, losses, deductions and credits from the Prohibited Owner to the Trust (including, if not foreclosed by an applicable statute of limitations, by filing one or more amended tax returns).

DMS Holdings’ operating agreement also requires that, by the seventy-fifth (75th) day following the end of each calendar year, each DMS Holdings member shall furnish to both the DMS Holdings manager and a representative of ours a certification stating to the effect that there was no Prohibited Event during such calendar year. Our partnership agreement further requires each actual or constructive owner of units constituting 4.9% or more (by value) of our interests to provide a certification to us stating such owner’s name and address, the number and class of units owned or constructively owned by such owner, a description of how such units are held and such other information that we may request in order to allow us to monitor compliance with the Related Tenant Test. Our general partner may permit ownership of units that cause a violation of the Related Tenant Test if it would not result in less than ninety-five percent (95%) of our gross income constituting 7704 qualifying income.

We estimate that less than 6% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.

Based upon the factual representations made by us and our general partner, Paul Hastings LLP is of the opinion that, based upon the Code, its regulations, published revenue rulings and court decisions, we will be treated as a partnership and our partnership and limited liability company subsidiaries will be characterized as a partnership or will be disregarded as entities separate from us or one of our partnership subsidiaries for federal income tax purposes. The representations made by us and by our general partner upon which Paul Hastings LLP has relied in rendering its opinion include, without limitation:

(a) Neither we nor any of our partnership or limited liability company subsidiaries has elected or will elect to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes; and

(b) For each taxable year since and including the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of a character that Paul Hastings LLP has opined is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code.

We believe that these representations are true and will be true in the future.

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

If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to

 

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meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income by our unitholders or us so long as our liabilities do not exceed the tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.

The present federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the United States Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. One such legislative proposal would have eliminated the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted. However, it is possible that a change in law could affect us and may be applied retroactively. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our liability for federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our unitholders, and our net income would be taxed to us at corporate rates. Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholder’s tax basis in its units, and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain. Accordingly, taxation as a corporation would result in a material reduction in a unitholder’s cash flow and after-tax return and thus would likely result in a substantial reduction of the value of the common units.

The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Paul Hastings LLP that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.

Tax Treatment of Income Earned Through C Corporation Subsidiaries

A portion of our taxable income is earned through one or more direct and indirect subsidiaries that are treated as C corporations for federal income tax purposes. Such C corporations are subject to federal income tax on their taxable income at the corporate tax rate, and will likely pay state (and possibly local) income tax at varying rates, on their taxable income. Any such entity level taxes will reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders. The U.S. federal corporate income tax rate is currently 21% (changed from 35% under the recently enacted tax reform law).

Distributions from any such C corporations will generally be taxed again to unitholders as dividend income to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits of such C corporations. The maximum federal income tax rate applicable to such dividend income which is allocable to individuals is generally 20%. An individual unitholder’s share of dividend and interest income from C corporation subsidiaries would constitute portfolio income that could not be offset by the unitholder’s share of our other losses or deductions.

Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership

Limited Partner Status

Unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership, as well as unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of units, will be treated as partners of the partnership for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans.” Unitholders who are not treated as partners in us as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under their particular circumstances.

 

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Flow-Through of Taxable Income

Subject to the discussion below under “—Entity-Level Collections” with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our unitholders, we will not pay any federal income tax. Rather, each unitholder will be required to report on its federal income tax return each year its share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within its taxable year. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.

Basis of Units

A unitholder’s tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid for those units increased by the unitholder’s initial allocable share of our nonrecourse liabilities. That basis generally will be (i) increased by the unitholder’s share of our income and any increases in such unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions to the unitholder, the unitholder’s share of our losses, and any decreases in the unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities and its share of our expenditures that are neither deductible nor required to be capitalized. The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests.

Treatment of Distributions

Distributions by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder, unless such distributions exceed the unitholder’s tax basis in its common units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under “—Disposition of Units.”

Any reduction in a unitholder’s share of our “nonrecourse liabilities” (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. 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 units may decrease the unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities generally will be based upon that unitholder’s share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess liabilities allocated based on the unitholder’s share of our profits. Please read “—Disposition of Units.”

A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of the reallocation of our liabilities described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income, if the distribution reduces the unitholder’s share of our “unrealized receivables,” including depreciation recapture and substantially appreciated “inventory items,” both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (“Section 751 Assets”). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive its proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange generally will result in the unitholder’s recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (1) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (2) the unitholder’s tax basis (generally zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.

Limitations on Deductibility of Losses

A unitholder may not be entitled to deduct the full amount of loss we allocate to it because its share of our losses will be limited to the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s tax basis in its units, and (ii) in the case of a unitholder that is an individual, estate, trust or certain types of closely-held corporations, the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be “at risk” with respect to our activities. In general, a unitholder will be at risk to the extent of its tax basis in its units, reduced by (1) any portion of that basis attributable to the unitholder’s share of

 

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our liabilities, (2) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or similar arrangement and (3) any amount of money the unitholder borrows to acquire or hold its units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to another unitholder or can look only to the units for repayment. A unitholder subject to the at risk limitation must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions (including distributions deemed to result from a reduction in a unitholder’s share of nonrecourse liabilities) cause the unitholder’s at risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year.

Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of the basis or at risk limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction in a later year to the extent that the unitholder’s tax basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is subsequently increased. Upon a taxable disposition of units, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but not losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at risk limitation in excess of that gain can no longer be used, and will not be available to offset a unitholder’s salary or active business income.

In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, a passive activity loss limitation generally limits the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations from “passive activities” (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly-traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us. Passive losses that exceed a unitholder’s share of passive income we generate may be deducted in full when the unitholder disposes of all of its units in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive loss rules generally are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at risk and basis limitations.

Limitations on Interest Deductions

The deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer’s “investment interest expense” generally is limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:

 

    interest on indebtedness allocable to property held for investment;

 

    interest expense allocated against portfolio income; and

 

    the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent allocable against portfolio income.

The computation of a unitholder’s investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses other than interest directly connected with the production of investment income. Net investment income generally does not include qualified dividend income or gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment. A unitholder’s share of a publicly-traded partnership’s portfolio income and, according to the IRS, net passive income will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest expense limitation.

Furthermore, certain net interest expense deductions of certain business entities, including us, are limited to 30% of such entity’s “adjusted taxable income,” which is generally taxable income, computed without regard to business interest expense, business interest income, and with certain other modifications. The computation of a unitholder’s allocable share of our net interest expense deduction will take into account such limitation. The limitation is generally calculated and applied separately for each entity. Disallowed interest expense allocated to a unitholder can be carried forward indefinitely, to a year in which the unitholder’s share of our interest expense does not exceed 30% of the unitholder’s share of our adjusted taxable income. The disallowed interest expense immediately reduces the unitholder’s basis in its interest in its common units, but any amounts that remain unused upon disposition of the interest are restored to basis immediately prior to disposition.

 

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Entity-Level Collections

If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or non-United States tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all unitholders or we cannot determine the specific unitholder on whose behalf the tax is payable, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of a unitholder, in which event the unitholder may be entitled to claim a refund of the overpayment amount. Unitholders are urged to consult their tax advisors to determine the consequences to them of any tax payment we make on their behalf.

Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction

Our items of income, gain, loss and deduction generally will be allocated among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. At any time that we make incentive distributions to the holders of our IDRs, gross income will be allocated to the recipients to the extent of these distributions.

Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code) to account for any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a “Book-Tax Disparity”). As a result, the federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering generally will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders. Finally, although we do not expect that our operations will result in the creation of negative capital accounts, if negative capital accounts nevertheless result, items of our income and gain will be allocated in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate the negative balance as quickly as possible.

An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will generally be given effect for 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 the partner’s interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) the partner’s relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interest of all the partners in cash flow and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation. Paul Hastings LLP is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in “—Section 754 Election” and “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees,” allocations of income, gain, loss or deduction under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes.

Treatment of Securities Loans

A unitholder whose units are loaned (for example, a loan to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of units) may be treated as having disposed of those units. If so, such unitholder would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition. As a result, during this period (i) any of our income, gain, loss or deduction allocated to those units would not be reportable by the lending unitholder and (ii) any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units may be treated as ordinary taxable income.

Due to a lack of controlling authority, Paul Hastings LLP has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder that enters into a securities loan with respect to its units. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of income recognition from a loan of their units are urged to modify any

 

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applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and lending their units. The IRS has announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

Tax Rates

Under current law, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 37% and 20%, respectively. Furthermore, unitholders are allowed a deduction generally equal to 20% of a unitholder’s share of our domestic trade or business income through 2025. Any unrecaptured Section 1250 gain is subject to a maximum United States federal income tax rate of 25%. These rates, and the deduction, are subject to change by new legislation at any time.

In addition, a 3.8% net investment income tax (“NIIT”) applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholder’s allocable share of our income and gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units (without taking into account the 20% deduction discussed above). In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the unitholder’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if married filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.

Section 754 Election

We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax bases in our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to each purchaser of common units based upon the values and bases of our assets at the time of the relevant purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us.

Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury Regulations governing a 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Paul Hastings LLP has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read “—Uniformity of Units.”

The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of units due to lack of controlling authority. Because a unitholder’s tax basis for its units is reduced by its share of our items of deduction or loss, any position we take that understates deductions will overstate a unitholder’s basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.” If a challenge to such treatment were sustained, the gain from the sale of units may be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.

The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and are made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or nondepreciable assets.

 

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Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.

Tax Treatment of Operations

Accounting Method and Taxable Year

We use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in its tax return its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for each taxable year ending within or with its taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of its units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of its taxable year must include its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for its taxable year, with the result that it will be required to include in income for its taxable year its share of more than twelve months of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees.”

Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization

The tax basis of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of those assets. The federal income tax burden associated with the difference between the fair market value of our assets and our tax bases immediately prior to an offering will be borne by unitholders holding interests in us prior to any such offering. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.” If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain, determined by reference to the amount of depreciation deductions previously taken, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a unitholder who has taken cost recovery or depreciation deductions with respect to property we own will likely be required to recapture some or all of those deductions as ordinary income upon a sale of its interest in us. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.”

The costs we incur in offering and selling our units (called “syndication expenses”) must be capitalized and cannot be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. While there are uncertainties regarding the classification of costs as organization expenses, which may be amortized by us, and as syndication expenses, which may not be amortized by us, the underwriting discounts and commissions we incur will be treated as syndication expenses. Please read “Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

Valuation and Tax Basis of Our Properties

The federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the tax bases of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by unitholders could change, and unitholders could be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.

 

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Disposition of Units

Recognition of Gain or Loss

A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale of units equal to the difference between the unitholder’s amount realized and tax basis in the units sold. A unitholder’s amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our nonrecourse liabilities with respect to the units sold. 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 unit and, therefore, decreased a unitholder’s tax basis in that unit will, in effect, become taxable income if the unit is sold at a price greater than the unitholder’s tax basis in that unit, even if the price received is less than his original cost.

Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder on the sale or exchange of a unit held for more than one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or loss. However, gain or loss recognized on the disposition of units will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Code to the extent attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our “inventory items,” regardless of whether such inventory item is substantially appreciated in value. Ordinary income attributable to Section 751 Assets may exceed net taxable gain realized on the sale of a unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale of a unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital gain or loss upon a sale of units. Net capital loss may offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.

For purposes of calculating gain or loss on the sale of units, the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis will be adjusted by its allocable share of our income or loss in respect of its units for the year of the sale. Furthermore, as described above, the IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that 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 its entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partner’s entire interest in the partnership.

Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed in the paragraph above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis units to sell as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, it may designate specific units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of the units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of units transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult its tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.

Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an “appreciated” financial position, including a partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:

 

    a short sale;

 

    an offsetting notional principal contract; or

 

    a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property.

 

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Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue Treasury Regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position.

Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees

In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis and will be subsequently apportioned among the unitholders in proportion to the number of units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month (the “Allocation Date”). However, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets or, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss or deduction will be allocated among the unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which such income, gain, loss or deduction is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.

Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be permitted under existing Treasury Regulations. The Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued Treasury Regulations that provide a safe harbor pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may use a similar monthly simplifying convention; however, such final regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Paul Hastings LLP is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If the IRS were to successfully challenge our proration method, our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among the transferee and transferor unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under these Treasury Regulations.

A unitholder who disposes of units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.

Notification Requirements

A unitholder who sells or purchases any of its units is generally required to notify us in writing of that transaction within 30 days after the transaction (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the transaction in the case of a seller). Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a transfer of units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.

Uniformity of Units

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units and other reasons, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the units to a purchaser of these units. In the absence of uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of federal income tax requirements. Any non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of the units. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election.”

 

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Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to take positions in filing our tax returns that preserve the uniformity of our units. These positions may include reducing the depreciation, amortization or loss deductions to which a unitholder would otherwise be entitled or reporting a slower amortization of Section 743(b) adjustments for some unitholders than that to which they would otherwise be entitled. Paul Hastings LLP is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions.

A unitholder’s basis in units is reduced by its share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholder’s basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “—Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss” above and “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” above. The IRS may challenge one or more of any positions we take to preserve the uniformity of units. If such a challenge were sustained, the uniformity of units might be affected, and, under some circumstances, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.

Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors

Ownership of units by employee benefit plans and other tax-exempt organizations as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-United States corporations and other non-United States persons (collectively, “non-U.S. unitholders”) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or non-U.S. unitholders should consult their tax advisors before investing in our units. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.

Non-U.S. unitholders are taxed by the United States on income effectively connected with the conduct of a United States trade or business (“effectively connected income”) and on certain types of United States-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of their ownership of our units. Furthermore, it is probable that they will be deemed to conduct such activities through permanent establishments in the United States within the meaning of applicable tax treaties. Consequently, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax on their share of our net income or gain in a manner similar to a taxable United States unitholder. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each non-U.S. unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.

In addition, because a non-U.S. unitholder classified as a corporation will be treated as engaged in a United States trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the United States branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular federal income tax, on its share of our income and gain as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “United States net equity” to the extent reflected in the corporation’s effectively connected earnings and profits. That tax may be reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a “qualified resident.” In addition, this type of unitholder is subject to special information reporting requirements under Section 6038C of the Code.

A non-U.S. unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a United States trade or business of the non-U.S. unitholder. Such gain or loss will be treated as effectively connected with a unitholder’s indirect United States trade or business to the extent that the sale of all our assets would have produced effectively connected gain or loss.

 

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

Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a non-U.S. unitholder generally will be subject to federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a unit if (i) it owned (directly or indirectly constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests and our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business consisted of United States real property interests (which include United States real estate (including land, improvements, and certain associated personal property) and interests in certain entities holding United States real estate) at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the units or the 5-year period ending on the date of disposition. More than 50% of our assets may consist of United States real property interests. Therefore, non-U.S. unitholders may be subject to federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.

Administrative Matters

Information Returns

We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholder’s share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.

Entity-level Audits and Adjustments

The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Paul Hastings LLP can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of the units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior year’s tax liability and may result in an audit of the unitholder’s own return. Any audit of a unitholder’s return could result in adjustments unrelated to our returns.

Pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us, unless we elect to have our general partner and unitholders take any audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit. Similarly, for such taxable years, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to income tax returns filed by an entity in which we are a member or partner, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from such entity. Generally, we expect to elect to have our general partner and unitholders take any material audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election, if made, will be effective in all circumstances. With respect to audit adjustments as to an entity in which we are a member or partner, we may not be able to have our general partner and our unitholders take such audit

 

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adjustment into account. 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 taxable year under audit, our then current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own our units during the taxable year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties, or interest, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced.

In the event the IRS makes an audit adjustment to our income tax returns and we do not or cannot shift the liability to our unitholders in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, we will generally have the ability to request that the IRS reduce the determined underpayment by reducing the suspended passive loss carryovers of our unitholders (without any compensation from us to such unitholders), to the extent such underpayment is attributable to a net decrease in passive activity losses allocable to certain partners. Such reduction, if approved by the IRS, will be binding on any affected unitholders.

Additionally, pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the Code will no longer require that we designate a Tax Matters Partner. Instead, for taxable 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 the 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 the unitholders.

A unitholder must file a statement with the IRS identifying the treatment of any item on its federal income tax return that is not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return. Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency requirement may subject a unitholder to substantial penalties.

Additional Withholding Requirements

Withholding taxes may apply to certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” (as specially defined in the Code) and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on 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 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 will apply to payments of FDAP Income made on or after July 1, 2014 and to payments of relevant Gross Proceeds made on or after January 1, 2019. Thus, to the extent we have FDAP Income or Gross Proceeds after these dates 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

 

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institutions or certain other non-US entities may be subject to withholding on 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 units.

Nominee Reporting

Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:

(1) the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee;

(2) a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is:

(a) a non-United States person;

(b) a non-United States government, an international organization or any wholly-owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or

(c) a tax-exempt entity;

(3) the amount and description of units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and

(4) specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from sales.

Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are United States 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 million per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.

Accuracy-Related Penalties

Certain penalties may be imposed as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income tax and substantial valuation misstatements. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion. We do not anticipate that any accuracy-related penalties will be assessed against us.

State, Local, Non-United States and Other Tax Considerations

In addition to federal income taxes, unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future or in which the unitholder is a resident. We currently own property and/or do business in many states, most of which impose a personal income tax on individuals. In addition, we may also own property or do business in other states in the future that impose income or similar taxes on nonresident individuals. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective unitholder should consider their potential impact on its investment in us.

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returns and to pay income taxes in many of the jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. 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 Ownership—Entity-Level Collections.” Based on current law and our estimate of our future operations, we anticipate 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, under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions, of its investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend on, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all state, local, and non-United States, as well as United States federal tax returns that may be required of it. Paul Hastings LLP has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, alternative minimum tax or non-United States tax consequences of an investment in us.

 

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INVESTMENT BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The following is a summary of certain considerations associated with the acquisition and holding of our common units or other classes of units representing limited partner interests or debt securities by (i) an employee benefit plan subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended “ERISA”), (ii) by plans, individual retirement accounts and other arrangements that are subject to Section 4975 of the Code or the provisions under any other applicable federal, state, local, non-U.S., or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Code or ERISA (collectively, “Similar Laws”), and (iii) by entities whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of any such employee benefit plan, account or arrangements pursuant to Section 3(42) of ERISA and the regulations promulgated under ERISA by the Department of Labor (each, an “ERISA Plan”). Employee benefit plans that are governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA), church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA) and foreign plans (as described in Section 4(b)(4) of ERISA) (collectively with the ERISA Plans, a “Plan”) are not subject to the requirements of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, but may be subject to the provisions of applicable Similar Laws that affect their ability to invest in our securities.

As further described below, consideration should be given to each of the following factors listed below, prior to investing in our common units, limited partner interests or debt securities:

 

    whether the investment is prudent under Section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws;

 

    whether, in making the investment, that plan will satisfy the diversification requirements of Section 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA and any other applicable Similar Laws;

 

    whether the investment in our common units or other classes of units will result in recognition of unrelated business taxable income by the plan and, if so, the potential after-tax investment return (please read “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors”);

 

    whether making such an investment will comply with the delegation of control and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code, and any other applicable Similar Laws (see discussion below);

 

    whether the investment is made solely in the interests of the plan participants; and

 

    whether the investment would create any problems for the plan’s need for liquidity.

General Fiduciary Matters

ERISA and the Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries of an ERISA Plan subject to Part 4 of Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code and prohibit certain transactions involving the assets of an ERISA Plan and its fiduciaries or other interested parties. Under ERISA, any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over the administration of an ERISA Plan or the management or disposition of the assets of an ERISA Plan, or who renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation with respect to the assets of an ERISA Plan, is generally considered to be a fiduciary of such ERISA Plan.

In considering an investment in our securities, a fiduciary should determine whether an investment in our common units or other classes of units representing limited partner interests or debt securities is authorized by the appropriate documents and instruments governing the Plan, is a proper investment for the Plan, and complies with the applicable provisions of the ERISA, the Code and any applicable Similar Laws. In addition, a fiduciary of a Plan may not deal with the Plan’s assets in his own interest, represent a person whose interests are adverse to the Plan in a transaction involving plan assets, or receive any consideration from a third party in connection with a transaction involving plan assets. A violation of ERISA’s fiduciary requirements could result in liability for breach, disqualification from future fiduciary service, excise taxes, and other adverse consequences to the

 

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fiduciaries of the Plan. A fiduciary of a Plan should consider the Plan’s particular circumstances and all of the facts and circumstances of the investment, including, without limitation, the prudence, diversification, delegation of control and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.

Prohibited Transaction Issues

Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code prohibit ERISA Plans, and Section 4975 of the Code also prohibits IRAs that are not considered part of a Plan, from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with persons or entities that are “parties in interest” (as defined under ERISA) or that are “disqualified persons” (as defined under the Code) with respect to the Plan, 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, the Code, and other applicable Similar Laws. In addition, the fiduciary of the Plan that engaged in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to penalties and liabilities under ERISA, the Code, and other applicable Similar Laws, unless the investment is acquired and held in accordance with an applicable statutory, class or individual prohibited transaction exemption.

In this regard, the United States Department of Labor has issued prohibited transaction class exemptions (“PTCEs”) that may apply to provide exemptive relief for direct or indirect prohibited transactions arising in connection with the acquisition and holding of securities. These potentially applicable class exemptions include, without limitation, PTCE 75-1, respecting certain transactions involving ERISA Plans and broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks, PTCE 84-14, as amended, respecting transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers, PTCE 90-1, respecting investments by insurance company pooled separate accounts, PTCE 91-38, respecting investments by bank collective investment funds, PTCE 95-60, respecting life insurance company general accounts and PTCE 96-23, respecting transactions determined by in-house asset managers.

Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Code also provide relief from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code for certain transactions, provided that (i) neither the issuer of the securities nor any of its affiliates (directly or indirectly) have or exercise any discretionary authority or control or render any investment advice with respect to the assets of any ERISA Plan involved in the transaction and (ii) the ERISA Plan receives no less and pays no more than adequate consideration in connection with the transaction. Each of these statutory exemptions and PTCEs contain conditions and limitations on their application, and do not provide relief from the self-dealing prohibitions under ERISA and the Code. It should also be noted that even if the conditions specified in one or more of these exemptions are met, the scope of relief provided by these exemptions may not necessarily cover all acts that might be construed as prohibited transactions. Accordingly, the fiduciary of a Plan that is considering acquiring and/or holding the notes in reliance on any of these, or any other exemptions, should carefully review the exemption with its counsel to confirm that it is applicable. There can be no, and we do not provide any, assurance that any of these exemptions or any other exemption will be available with respect to the acquisition or holding of any of our common units, limited partner interests or debt securities, or that all of the conditions of any such exemptions will be satisfied.

Because of the foregoing, the notes should not be purchased or held by any person investing “plan assets” of any Plan, unless such purchase and holding will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA and the Code or a similar violation of any applicable Similar Laws. In addition to considering whether the purchase of our securities is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of a Plan 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 operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Code or any other applicable Similar Laws.

 

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In addition, the Department of Labor regulations provide guidance with respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed “plan assets” under some circumstances. Under these regulations, an entity’s assets would not be considered to be “plan assets” if, among other things:

 

    the equity interests acquired by employee benefit plans are publicly offered securities—i.e., the equity interests are widely held by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and each other, freely transferable and registered under some provisions of the federal securities laws;

 

    the entity is an “operating company,” meaning it is primarily engaged in the production or sale of a product or service other than the investment of capital either directly or through a majority-owned subsidiary or subsidiaries; or

 

    there is no significant investment by benefit plan investors, which is defined to mean that less than 25% of the value of each class of equity interest, disregarding some interests held by the General Partner, its affiliates, and some other persons, is held by the employee benefit plans referred to above, IRAs and other employee benefit plans not subject to ERISA, including governmental plans.

Our assets should not be considered “plan assets” under these regulations because it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in the first bullet. However, although we do not intend for our assets to be deemed “plan assets” under these regulations, we cannot provide assurances regarding this issue to any investor.

Representation

The foregoing discussion of issues arising for investments of assets of a Plan subject to ERISA, the Code, and applicable Similar Laws is general in nature and is not intended to be all-inclusive, nor should it be construed as legal advice. In light of the complexity of these rules and the excise taxes, penalties, and liabilities that may be imposed on persons involved in non-exempt prohibited transactions or other violations, the fiduciaries of Plans (or other persons considering purchasing the securities on behalf of, or with the assets of, any employee benefit plan) should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA, the Code and other Similar Laws. Purchasers and subsequent transferees have exclusive responsibility for ensuring that their purchase and holding of our securities do not violate the fiduciary responsibility or prohibited transaction rules of ERISA, the Code or any applicable Similar Laws. The sale of the securities to a Plan is in no respect a representation by us or any of our affiliates or representatives that such an investment meets all relevant legal requirements with respect to investments by any such Plan generally or by any particular Plan, or that such investment is appropriate for any such Plan generally or by any particular Plan.

Accordingly, by acceptance of our securities, each buyer and subsequent transferee of the securities will be deemed to have represented and warranted that (A) either (i) no portion of the assets used by the buyer or transferee to acquire and hold the securities constitutes assets of any Plan, or (ii) the purchase and holding (and any conversion, if applicable) of the securities by such buyer or transferee will not constitute or result in a non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Code or a similar violation of any applicable Similar Laws, and (B) that it will not sell or otherwise transfer such notes other than to a purchaser that is deemed to make these same representations and agreements.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell securities described in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement through underwriters, through broker-dealers, through agents or directly to one or more investors.

We will prepare a prospectus supplement for each offering that will disclose the terms of the offering, including the name or names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds to us from the sale, any underwriting discounts and other items constituting compensation to underwriters, dealers or agents.

We will fix a price or prices of our securities at:

 

    market prices prevailing at the time of any sale under this registration statement;

 

    prices related to market prices; or

 

    negotiated prices.

We may change the price of the securities offered from time to time.

If we use underwriters or dealers in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account, and they may resell these securities 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 sale. The securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more of such firms. Unless otherwise disclosed in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement if any of the securities are purchased. Any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.

We may sell the securities through agents designated by us from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of the securities for which this prospectus is delivered, and disclose any commissions payable by us to the agent or the method by which the commissions can be determined, in the prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment.

Offers to purchase securities may be solicited directly by us and the sale thereof may be made by us directly to institutional investors or others, who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any resale thereof. The terms of any such sales will be described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell offered securities directly.

We may offer our common units into an existing trading market on the terms described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. Underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in any at-the-market offerings will be described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto.

We may agree to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of securities against certain liabilities to which they may become subject in connection with the sale of the securities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.

Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may be customers of, may engage in transactions with and may perform services for us or our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

A prospectus and accompanying prospectus supplement in electronic form may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriters. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of securities for sale

 

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to their online brokerage account holders. Such allocations of securities for internet distributions will be made on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, securities may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell securities to online brokerage account holders.

The aggregate maximum compensation the underwriters will receive in connection with the sale of any securities under this prospectus and the registration statement of which it forms a part will not exceed 10% of the gross proceeds from the sale.

Because 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 FINRA Rule 2310.

To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. The place and time of delivery for the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

In connection with offerings of securities under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and in compliance with applicable law, underwriters, brokers or dealers may engage in transactions that stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market. Specifically, underwriters, brokers or dealers may over-allot in connection with offerings, creating a short position in the securities for their own accounts. For the purpose of covering a syndicate short position or stabilizing the price of the securities, the underwriters, brokers or dealers may place bids for the securities or effect purchases of the securities in the open market. Finally, the underwriters may impose a penalty whereby selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other brokers or dealers for distribution of the securities in offerings may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the syndicate repurchases previously distributed securities in transactions to cover short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. These activities may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the securities, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market, and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

DLA Piper LLP (US), Houston, Texas, will pass upon the validity of the securities covered by this prospectus. Paul Hastings LLP, Houston, Texas, will also render an opinion on the material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the securities. Certain matters relating to Florida law will be passed upon for us by Rogers Towers P.A. Certain matters relating to Virginia law will be passed upon for us by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Certain matters relating to West Virginia law will be passed upon for us by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. Certain matters relating to Wisconsin law will be passed upon for us by DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. If certain legal matters in connection with an offering of the securities covered by this prospectus and a related prospectus supplement are passed upon by counsel for the underwriters, if any, of such offering, that counsel will be named in the related prospectus supplement for such offering.

EXPERTS

The audited financial statements of CrossAmerica Partners LP 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 audited financial statements of Jet-Pep, Inc. and affiliated companies as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 and the compiled financial statements of Jet-Pep, Inc. and affiliated companies as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 and for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement from our Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated February 12, 2018 have been incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, Moore, P.C., independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

Set forth below are the expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) expected to be incurred by CrossAmerica Partners LP in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities registered hereby.

 

Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee

   $ 44,945.70  

NYSE listing fee

     *  

Transfer agent and registrar fees

     *  

Trustee fees and expenses

     *  

Legal fees and expenses

     *  

Accounting fees and expenses

     *  

Printing expenses

     *  

Miscellaneous

     *  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *  
  

 

 

 

 

* These fees and expenses depend upon the number of issuances and the amount of securities offered and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

 

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

CrossAmerica Partners LP

The section of the prospectus entitled “The Partnership Agreement—Indemnification” is incorporated herein by reference. Subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions set forth in the Partnership Agreement, Section 17-108 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever.

CrossAmerica Finance Corp.

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, among other things, empowers a Delaware corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. Similar indemnity is authorized for such persons against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such persons in connection with the defense or settlement of any such threatened, pending, or completed action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and provided further that (unless a court of competent jurisdiction otherwise provides) such person shall not have been adjudged liable to the corporation. Any such indemnification may be made only as authorized in each specific case upon a determination by the stockholders or disinterested directors or by independent legal counsel in a written opinion that indemnification is proper because the indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct.

Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request

 

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of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify him under Section 145.

 

Item 16. Exhibits.

 

Exhibit

Number

 

Description

    **1.1   Form of Underwriting Agreement
        3.1   Certificate of Limited Partnership of Lehigh Gas Partners LP (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2012)
        3.2   Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Limited Partnership of Lehigh Gas Partners LP (incorporated by referenced to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 3, 2014)
        3.3   First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Lehigh Gas Partners LP, dated October 30, 2012, by and among Lehigh Gas Partners LP, Lehigh Gas GP LLC and Lehigh Gas Corporation (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 30, 2012)
        3.4   First Amendment to First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Lehigh Gas Partners LP, dated as of October 1, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 3, 2014)
        3.5   Second Amendment to First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of CrossAmerica Partners LP, dated as of December 3, 2014 (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2014)
        3.6   Limited Liability Company Agreement of Lehigh Gas GP LLC, dated as of December 2, 2011
        3.7   First Amendment to Limited Liability Company Agreement of Lehigh Gas GP LLC, dated as of October 1, 2014
        3.8   Third Amendment to First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of CrossAmerica Partners LP, effective as of January 1, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for CrossAmerica Partners LP, filed on May 8, 2018)
      *4.1   Form of Senior Indenture
      *4.2   Form of Subordinated Indenture
        5.1   Opinion of DLA Piper LLP (US) as to the legality of the securities
        5.2   Opinion of Rogers Towers P.A. as to certain matters of Florida law
        5.3   Opinion of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as to certain matters of Virginia law
        5.4   Opinion of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP as to certain matters of West Virginia law
        5.5   Opinion of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. as to certain matters of Wisconsin law
        8.1   Opinion of Paul Hastings LLP as to tax matters
      12.1   Statement of Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
      23.1   Consent of Grant Thornton LLP
      23.2   Consent of Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, Moore, P.C.

 

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Exhibit

Number

 

Description

      23.3   Consent of DLA Piper LLP (US) (contained in Exhibit 5.1)
      23.4   Consent of Paul Hastings LLP (contained in Exhibit 8.1)
      23.5   Consent of Rogers Towers P.A. (contained in Exhibit 5.2)
      23.6   Consent of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.3)
      23.7   Consent of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.4)
      23.8   Consent of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. (contained in Exhibit 5.5)
    *24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature pages of this amendment to registration statement)
***25.1   Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 of the Trustee under the Senior Indenture
***25.2   Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 of the Trustee under the Subordinated Indenture

 

* Previously filed.
** To be filed by amendment or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K of the registrant.
*** To be filed pursuant to Sections 305(b)(2) and 310(a) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.

 

Item 17. Undertakings.

Each of the undersigned registrants hereby undertake:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(a) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”);

(b) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(c) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(a), (1)(b) and (1)(c) above do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement;

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

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(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:

(a) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(b) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

(a) The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to the registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the an undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b) Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of any registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or

 

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paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(6) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

(7) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(8) To file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee under either the Senior Indenture or the Subordinated Indenture to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (“Act”) in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the Act.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Allentown, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on May 11, 2018.

 

CROSSAMERICA PARTNERS LP

By:   CROSSAMERICA GP LLC
  its General Partner
By:   /s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron
 

Name: Jeremy L. Bergeron

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

*

Timothy A. Miller

   Chairman of the Board of Directors  

May 11, 2018

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

Jeremy L. Bergeron

  

Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

*

Gerardo Valencia

   President and Director  

May 11, 2018

*

Evan W. Smith

  

Vice President and

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

*

Jean Bernier

   Director  

May 11, 2018

*

Claude Tessier

   Director   May 11, 2018

*

Justin A. Gannon

   Director  

May 11, 2018

*

Mickey Kim

   Director   May 11, 2018

 

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Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

*

Joseph V. Topper, Jr.

   Director  

May 11, 2018

*

John B. Reilly, III

   Director  

May 11, 2018

 

*By:   /s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron
  Attorney-In-Fact

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this amendment to registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Allentown, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on May 11, 2018.

 

CrossAmerica Finance Corp.

Lehigh Gas Wholesale Services, Inc.

Express Lane, Inc.

Minnesota Nice Holdings Inc.

Erickson Oil Products, Inc.

Freedom Valu Centers, Inc.

Petroleum Marketers, Inc.

PM Terminals, Inc.

PM Properties, Inc.

Stop In Food Stores, Inc.

CAP Operations, Inc.

 

By:

  

 

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

   Name:   Jeremy L. Bergeron
   Title:     Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this amendment to registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

Jeremy L. Bergeron

  

Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

/s/ Gerardo Valencia

Gerardo Valencia

  

President and Director

  May 11, 2018

/s/ Evan W. Smith

Evan W. Smith

  

Vice President, Treasurer and

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

/s/ George Wilkins

George Wilkins

   Vice President, Operations and Director  

May 11, 2018

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this amendment to registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Allentown, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on May 11, 2018.

 

LGP Realty Holdings LP   
By:   

LGP Realty Holdings GP LLC

its general partner

  
By:   

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

   Name:   Jeremy L. Bergeron   
   Title:     Chief Executive Officer   

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this amendment to registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

Jeremy L. Bergeron

  

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

/s/ Evan W. Smith

Evan W. Smith

  

Vice President, Treasurer

and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

  May 11, 2018

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this amendment to registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Allentown, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on May 11, 2018.

 

LGP Realty Holdings GP LLC

Lehigh Gas Wholesale LLC

LGP Operations LLC

NTI Drop Down One, LLC

NTI Drop Down Two, LLC

NTI Drop Down Three, LLC

M&J Operations, LLC

CAP West Virginia Holdings, LLC

  
By:   

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

   Name:   Jeremy L. Bergeron   
   Title:     Chief Executive Officer   

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this amendment to registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

/s/ Jeremy L. Bergeron

Jeremy L. Bergeron

  

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

/s/ Evan W. Smith

Evan W. Smith

  

Vice President, Treasurer and

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

May 11, 2018

 

II-10

EX-5.1

Exhibit 5.1

 

LOGO    DLA Piper LLP (US)

1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 2800                

Houston, Texas 77002-5005

www.dlapiper.com

May 11, 2018

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), as well as Lehigh Gas Wholesale LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Lehigh Gas Wholesale Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation, LGP Realty Holdings LP, a Delaware limited partnership, LGP Realty Holdings GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, LGP Operations LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Minnesota Nice Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, CAP Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation, NTI Drop Down One, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, NTI Drop Down Two, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, NTI Drop Down Three, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, CAP West Virginia Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Delaware Guarantors”), Erickson Oil Products, Inc. and Freedom Value Centers, Inc., each a Wisconsin corporation (collectively, the “Wisconsin Guarantors”), M & J Operations, LLC, a West Virginia limited liability company (the “West Virginia Guarantor”), Express Lane, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Florida Guarantor”) and Petroleum Marketers, Incorporated, PM Terminals, Inc., PM Properties, Inc. and Stop in Food Stores, Inc., each a Virginia corporation (collectively, the “Virginia Guarantors” and, together with the Wisconsin Guarantors, the West Virginia Guarantor and the Florida Guarantor, collectively the “Non-Delaware Guarantors”, and together with the Delaware Guarantors, the “Guarantors”) in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-214713 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including the preliminary prospectus included therein (the “Prospectus”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors, as applicable, from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of up to an aggregate of $500,000,000 of securities consisting of:

(1) common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Common Units”);

(2) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Other Units”);

(3) senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness of the Partnership (collectively, the “Debt Securities”) which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., in one or more series, under the senior indenture (the “Senior Indenture”) or the subordinated indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture,” and together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into between the Partnership and Finance Corp. and a trustee (the “Trustee”), the forms of which are filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement; and

(4) guarantees (the “Guarantees”) of the Debt Securities by the Guarantors.

The Common Units, the Other Units, the Debt Securities and the Guarantees are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.” The Registration Statement provides that the Offered Securities may be offered from time to time in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).


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In rendering the opinions set forth below, we have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of:

 

  (i) the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus;

 

  (ii) the form of the Senior Indenture;

 

  (iii) the form of the Subordinated Indenture;

 

  (iv) resolutions of CrossAmerica GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the Partnership (the “General Partner”), of Finance Corp. and of each of the Delaware Guarantors on October 24, 2016 relating to the registration of the Offered Securities and related matters;

 

  (v) the Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as of a recent date and the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as amended to date (the “Partnership Agreement”);

 

  (vi) the Certificate of Incorporation of Finance Corp, certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as of a recent date and the bylaws of Finance Corp, as amended to date;

 

  (vii) the certificate of limited partnership, certificate of incorporation or certificate of formation, as applicable, of each of the Delaware Guarantors, each as certified by the respective Secretary of State, and the bylaws, partnership agreement or limited liability company agreement, as applicable, of each of the Delaware Guarantors, as amended to date;

 

  (viii) certificates of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as to the incorporation or formation and good standing of each of the Partnership, Finance Corp. and each of the Delaware Guarantors under the laws of the State of Delaware, each dated as of a recent date;

 

  (ix) the Secretary’s Certificate, dated as of the date hereof, of each of the Partnership, Finance Corp and each of the Delaware Guarantors, certifying as to, among other things, the partnership agreement, bylaws, and limited liability company agreement, as applicable, of the Partnership, Finance Corp. and each of the Delaware Guarantors, as in effect as of the date hereof;

 

  (x) the opinion of Rogers Towers P.A., special counsel to the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Florida Guarantor with respect to certain matters relating to Florida law; (b) the opinion of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, special counsel to the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Virginia Guarantors with respect to certain matters relating to Virginia law; (c) Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, special counsel to the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the West Virginia Guarantor regarding certain matters relating to West Virginia law; (d) and the opinion of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., special counsel to the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Wisconsin Guarantors with respect to certain matters relating to Wisconsin law; and


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  (xi) such other certificates, statutes and other instruments and documents as we considered appropriate for purposes of the opinions hereafter expressed.

In making our examination, we have assumed and not verified that (i) the Registration Statement, and any amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), will have become effective and will comply with all applicable laws, (ii) each certificate from governmental officials reviewed by us is accurate, complete and authentic, and all official public records are accurate and complete; (iii) a prospectus supplement will have been prepared and filed with the SEC describing the Offered Securities offered thereby; (iv) the Indentures relating to the Debt Securities will each be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto; (v) each Non-Delaware Guarantor is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its respective jurisdiction of incorporation or formation; (vi) all Offered Securities will be issued and sold in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and in the manner stated in the Registration Statement and the appropriate prospectus supplement; (vii) a definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement with respect to any Offered Securities offered will have been duly authorized and validly executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto; and (viii) any Offered Securities issuable upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any Offered Security being offered will be duly authorized, created and, if appropriate, reserved for issuance upon such conversion, exchange or exercise.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, qualifications, exceptions and limitations set forth herein, and having due regard for such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:

 

  (i) With respect to the Common Units or Other Units, when (a) the Partnership has taken all necessary action to approve the issuance of such Common Units or Other Units, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters and (b) the Common Units or Other Units have been issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the Partnership upon payment of the consideration thereof or provided for therein, then the Common Units or Other Units will be validly issued and non-assessable limited partner interests in the Partnership. We note, however, that purchasers of such Common Units or Other Units may be obligated to repay any funds wrongfully distributed to such purchasers by the Partnership.

 

  (ii)

With respect to the Debt Securities and the Guarantees, when (1) the Indentures have been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended; (2) the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Delaware Guarantors, as applicable, have taken all necessary action to approve the issuance and terms of the Debt Securities and the Guarantees, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters; and (3) the Debt Securities and Guarantees have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture and the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Delaware Guarantors, as applicable, upon payment of the consideration thereof or provided for therein, the Debt Securities and the Guarantees will be legally issued and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Delaware Guarantors, as applicable, enforceable against the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Delaware Guarantors, as applicable, in accordance with their terms, except as such enforcement may be subject to any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency (including, without limitation, all laws relating to fraudulent transfers), reorganization, moratorium and


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  similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general equitable principles (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law).

 

  (iii) With respect to the Guarantees, assuming (1) the due authorization of the issuance and terms of the Guarantees and related matters by each Non-Delaware Guarantor, (2) the due execution, authentication, issuance and delivery of the Debt Securities underlying such Guarantees, upon payment of the consideration therefor provided for in the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the Partnership and Finance Corp., as applicable, and otherwise in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture and such agreement and (3) the due issuance of such Guarantees, such Guarantees will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Non-Delaware Guarantors enforceable against the Non-Delaware Guarantors in accordance with their terms, except as such enforcement may be subject to any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency (including, without limitation, all laws relating to fraudulent transfers), reorganization, moratorium and similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general equitable principles (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding in equity or at law).

We express no opinion other than as to the federal laws of the United States of America, the internal laws of the State of New York, DRULPA, the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, and the Delaware General Corporation Law. Where the laws of other jurisdictions as to the Non-Delaware Guarantors are relevant to such opinions, we have, to the extent necessary in connection with the opinions contained herein, relied upon the following opinions, dated the date hereof, that have been filed with the Commission as exhibits to the Registration Statement: (i) Rogers Towers P.A. with respect to the Florida Guarantor regarding certain matters relating to Florida law (Exhibit 5.2); (ii) Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP with respect to the Virginia Guarantors regarding certain matters relating to Virginia law (Exhibit 5.3); (iii) Dinsmore & Shohl LLP with respect to the West Virginia Guarantor regarding certain matters relating to West Virginia law (Exhibit 5.4); (iv) and DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. with respect to the Wisconsin Guarantors regarding certain matters relating to Wisconsin law (Exhibit 5.5).

We express no opinions concerning (i) the validity or enforceability of any provisions contained in the Indentures that purport to waive or not give effect to the rights to notices, defenses, subrogation or other rights or benefits that cannot be effectively waived under applicable law, or (ii) the enforceability of indemnification provisions to the extent they purport to relate to liabilities resulting from or based upon negligence or any violation of federal or state securities or blue sky laws.


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We hereby consent to the filing by you of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and we further consent to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the related prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder. We disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes of the facts stated or assumed herein or any subsequent changes in applicable law after the effective date of the Registration Statement.

Very truly yours,

/s/ DLA Piper LLP (US)

EX-5.2

Exhibit 5.2

 

 

LOGO

   1301 Riverplace Boulevard • Suite 1500

Jacksonville, Florida 32207

 

904.398.3911 Main

904.396.0663 Fax

www.rtlaw.com

May 11, 2018

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

 

  RE: CrossAmerica Partners LP; Registration Statement on Form S-3

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special Florida counsel for CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), and Express Lane, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Florida Guarantor”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-214713 (the “Registration Statement”), including the preliminary prospectus included therein (the “Prospectus”), to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the guarantors named therein, including the Florida Guarantor (the “Guarantors”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors, as applicable, from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of up to $500,000,000 of securities consisting of:

1. Common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Common Units”);


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2. Other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Other Units”);

3. Senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness of the Partnership (collectively, the “Debt Securities”) which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., in one or more series, under the senior indenture (the “Senior Indenture”) or the subordinated indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture,” and together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into between the Partnership, Finance Corp., the Guarantors and a trustee (the “Trustee”), the forms of which are filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement; and

4. Guarantees of the Debt Securities by the Guarantors (the “Guarantees”), including the guarantee of such Debt Securities issued by the Florida Guarantor (the “Florida Guarantee” and, together with the Guarantees, the Registration Statement, Prospectus, Indentures, any supplemental indentures establishing the terms of the Offered Securities pursuant thereto and any applicable underwriting or purchase agreements, the “Transaction Documents”).

The Common Units, Other Units, Debt Securities and Guarantees are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.” The Registration Statement provides that the Offered Securities may be offered from time to time in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).

In rendering the opinion set forth below, we have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of:

 

  (i) the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus;

 

  (ii) the form of the Senior Indenture;

 

  (iii) the form of the Subordinated Indenture;

 

  (iv) resolutions of CrossAmerica GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the Partnership (the “General Partner”) relating to the registration of the Offered Securities and related matters;

 

  (v) the Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership and the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as amended to date (the “Partnership Agreement”);


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  (vi) the articles of incorporation of the Florida Guarantor, as certified by the Florida Secretary of State, and the bylaws of the Florida Guarantor, as amended to date;

 

  (vii) a certificate of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida as to the good standing of the Florida Guarantor under the laws of the State of Florida, dated as of May 9, 2018; and

 

  (viii) the Secretary’s Certificate, dated as of May 4, 2018, of the Florida Guarantor, certifying as to, among other things, the bylaws of the Florida Guarantor, as in effect as of May 4, 2018.

In addition, we have examined such other agreements, instruments and documents, and such questions of law as we have deemed necessary or appropriate to enable us to render the opinion expressed below. We have also examined originals or copies, certified to our satisfaction, of such certificates of public officials and officers and representatives of the Partnership, Finance Corp., the General Partner and their respective subsidiaries as we have deemed relevant or necessary as the basis for the opinion set forth herein. As to any facts material to the opinion and beliefs expressed herein that were not independently established or verified, we have relied as we have deemed relevant, appropriate or necessary upon oral or written statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Partnership, Finance Corp., the General Partner, the Florida Guarantor and others.

In rendering the opinion expressed below, we have, with your consent, assumed and not verified (i) the accuracy and completeness of all information, certificates and other statements, documents, records, and papers reviewed by us, and the accuracy of all representations, warranties, schedules and exhibits in all documents reviewed by us; (ii) except with respect to the Florida Guarantor, all parties to the documents reviewed by us, including the Partnership, Finance Corp., the General Partners and the Guarantors are duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization and under the laws of all jurisdictions where they are conducting their businesses or otherwise required to be so qualified; (iii) the legal capacity of all natural persons executing all documents; (iv) that the signature of persons signing all documents in connection with which this opinion letter is rendered are genuine; (v) that all documents submitted to us as originals or duplicate originals are authentic and complete and that all documents submitted to us as copies, whether certified or not, conform to authentic original documents; and (vi) each certificate from governmental officials reviewed by us is accurate, complete and authentic, and all official public records are accurate and complete.

The opinion expressed below also assumes that all of the following (collectively, the “General Conditions”) will have occurred prior to the issuance of the Offered Securities: (i) the Registration Statement, and any amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), will have become effective and will comply with all applicable laws; (ii) a Prospectus Supplement will have been prepared and filed with the Commission describing the Offered Securities offered thereby; (iii) all Offered Securities will be issued and sold in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and in the manner stated in the Registration Statement and the applicable Prospectus Supplement; (iv) the Partnership, the General Partner, Finance Corp., the


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Guarantors and all other parties to the documents reviewed by us will have taken all necessary action to approve the terms of the Transaction Documents, the issuance of the Offered Securities and all related matters, and all parties to such documents will have full power and authority to execute, deliver and perform under such documents and all such documents will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such parties; (v) any securities issuable upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any Offered Security will be duly authorized, created and, if appropriate, reserved for issuance upon such conversion, exchange or exercise; and (vi) the terms of the Transaction Documents and the issuance of the Offered Securities will have been duly established in conformity with the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, partnership agreement, operating agreement or other governing documents of the parties thereto (the “Governing Documents”) so as not to violate any applicable Governing Document.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:

a. The Florida Guarantor is a corporation validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Florida.

b. The Florida Guarantor has the corporate power and authority to guarantee the payment of the principal and premium, if any, of any interest on any Debt Securities issued under the Indentures.

c. With respect to the Florida Guarantee, assuming the taking of all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the Florida Guarantee and related matters by the shareholders, board of directors (or a duly constituted and acting committee of such board), and/or the duly authorized officers of the Florida Guarantor, in conformity with the articles, bylaws and other governing documents of the Florida Guarantor, each as amended through the time of the taking of such action, the execution and delivery by the Florida Guarantor of the applicable Indenture and the performance of its obligations thereunder, including guaranteeing the Debt Securities in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture, shall have been duly authorized by the Florida Guarantor.

The opinion expressed herein are qualified in the following respects:

1. Our opinion is limited in all respects to the laws of the State of Florida. We are expressing no opinion as to the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction, domestic or foreign;

2. We express no opinion as to provisions of the Guarantees that (a) bind the Florida Guarantor as principal obligor or (b) preserve the obligations of Florida Guarantor despite (i) any modification of the principal obligations in a manner prejudicial to Florida Guarantor without its consent or (ii) the illegality, invalidity or unenforceability of the principal obligations against the principal obligors for reasons other than their bankruptcy or incapacity;


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3. We express no opinion concerning any waiver of the right of subrogation contained in the Guarantees as well as certain other waivers contained therein that cannot be effectively waived under applicable law. We express no opinion as to the effectiveness of any provisions in the Guarantees purporting to automatically reinstate any indebtedness that is subject to avoidance as a preference or fraudulent conveyance in any bankruptcy action;

4. We express no opinion as to the enforceability of cumulative remedies to the extent such cumulative remedies purport to or would have the effect of compensating the party entitled to the benefits thereof in amounts in excess of the actual loss suffered by such party;

5. Requirements in the Transaction Documents specifying that provisions thereof may only be waived in writing may not be valid, binding or enforceable to the extent that an oral agreement or an implied agreement by trade practice or course of conduct has been created modifying any provision of such documents;

6. We express no opinion with respect to the validity, binding effect or enforceability of any purported waiver, release or disclaimer under any of the Transaction Documents relating to statutory or equitable rights and defenses of the parties thereto that are not subject to waiver, release or disclaimer;

7. Certain other rights, remedies and waivers contained in the Transaction Documents may be rendered ineffective, or limited by, applicable laws, rules, regulations, constitutional requirements or judicial decisions governing such provisions, but such laws, rules, regulations, constitutional requirements and judicial decisions do not, in our opinion, make the Transaction Documents inadequate for the practical realization of the benefits provided by such Transaction Documents, although they may result in a delay thereof (and we express no opinion with respect to the economic consequences of any such delay);

8. We express no opinion with respect to any provisions of the Transaction Documents purporting to appoint the Trustee as attorney-in-fact or agent for the Partnership, Finance Corp. or any of the Guarantors;

9. The enforcement of provisions imposing liquidated damages, penalties or an increase in interest rate upon the occurrence of certain events may be limited in certain circumstances;

10. Any rights to indemnity or contribution may be limited by applicable federal and state securities laws and by public policy considerations;

11. We assume that the Senior Indenture and Subordinated Indenture will be executed in substantially the form reviewed by us;

12. We express no opinion as to the severability of any provision of any of the Transaction Documents; and


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13. We express no opinion with respect to the validity, binding effect or enforceability of any provision of the Transaction Documents purporting to establish evidentiary standards or a consent to jurisdiction and venue or waiving service of process or demand or notice and hearing or constitutional rights (including a jury trial).

We hereby consent to the references to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus and to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. By giving such consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission issued thereunder.

Our opinion set forth in this letter is based upon the facts in existence and laws in effect on the date hereof and we expressly disclaim any obligation to update our opinion herein, regardless of whether changes in such facts or laws come to our attention after the delivery hereof.

This opinion letter may not be disclosed, quoted, filed with a governmental agency or otherwise referred to without our prior written consent pursuant to judicial process, government order or requirement of applicable law or regulation; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, this opinion letter may be furnished to and relied upon by (i) the Commission; (ii) any prospective successors or assigns or any prospective holder of an Offered Security, and (iii) your legal and other advisers, including, with respect to the Florida Guarantor and certain matters relating to Florida law, DLA Piper LLP (US). No attorney-client relationship exists or has existed by reason of our preparation, execution and delivery of this opinion letter to any addressee or other person or entity except for the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Florida Guarantor.

Sincerely,

/s/ Rogers Towers P.A.

EX-5.3

Exhibit 5.3

 

LOGO

May 11, 2018

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special Virginia counsel for CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), as well as Petroleum Marketers, Incorporated, PM Terminals, Inc., PM Properties, Inc. and Stop In Food Stores, Inc., each a Virginia corporation (collectively, the “Virginia Guarantors”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-214713 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the guarantors named therein, including the Virginia Guarantors (collectively, the “Guarantors”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including the prospectus included therein (the “Prospectus”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors, as applicable, from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of up to $500,000,000 of securities consisting of: (i) common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Common Units”); (ii) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Other Units”); (iii) senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness of the Partnership (collectively, the “Debt Securities”) which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., in one or more series, under the senior indenture (the “Senior Indenture”) or the subordinated indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture,” and, together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into between the Partnership, Finance Corp., the Guarantors and a trustee (the “Trustee”), the forms of which are filed as Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2 to the Registration Statement; and (iv) guarantees of the Debt Securities by the Guarantors (the “Guarantees”) issued under, or in connection with an issuance of Debt Securities under, or pursuant to, the Indentures, including guarantees of such Debt Securities issued by the Virginia Guarantors (the “Virginia Guarantees”).

The Common Units, the Other Units, the Debt Securities and the Guarantees are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.” The Registration Statement provides that the Offered Securities may be offered from time to time in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).

We have examined the Registration Statement in the form in which it will be filed with the Commission. We have also reviewed such matters of law, made such other investigations and examined original, certified, conformed, photographic or electronic copies of such other documents, records, agreements and certificates as we have deemed necessary as a basis for the opinions hereinafter expressed. The documents so reviewed have included the originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the articles of incorporation and bylaws (collectively, the “Organizational Documents”) of each of the Virginia Guarantors. As to any facts material to this opinion which we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements, certificates and representations of the Partnership, Finance Corp. and their respective subsidiaries, officers and other representatives and of public officials, including the facts and conclusions set forth therein, and we have assumed that the facts and circumstances contained in such statements, certificates and representations are true and complete and have not changed since the dates thereof.

For purposes of the opinions expressed herein, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies, the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents and the absence of duress, fraud or mutual mistake of material facts on the part of the parties to any agreement with respect to which an opinion is expressed herein.


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The opinions expressed herein are limited in all respects to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and no opinion is expressed with respect to (i) the laws of any other jurisdiction (including the federal laws of the United States of America), or the local laws, ordinances or rules of any municipality, county or political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or any effect which such laws may have on the opinions expressed herein, (ii) the bylaws, rules or regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. or (iii) the securities or “blue sky” laws of any jurisdiction. The opinions expressed herein are limited to the matters stated herein, and no opinions are implied or may be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated herein.

With regard to our opinion in paragraph 1 below with respect to the Virginia Guarantors’ existence and good standing, we have based our opinions solely upon examination of certificates of good standing issued by the State Corporation Commission of the Commonwealth of Virginia as of a recent date.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions, limitations and exceptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:

1. Each of the Virginia Guarantors is a corporation validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

2. Each of the Virginia Guarantors has the corporate power and authority to guarantee the payment of the principal and premium, if any, of and interest on any Debt Securities issued under the Indentures.

3. With respect to the Virginia Guarantees, assuming the taking of all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the Virginia Guarantees to be issued by the Virginia Guarantors and related matters by the shareholders, the board of directors (or a duly constituted and acting committee of such board), or the duly authorized officers of each Virginia Guarantor, in conformity with the Organizational Documents of each applicable Virginia Guarantor, each as amended through such time, the execution and delivery by each of the Virginia Guarantors of the applicable Indenture and the performance of its obligations thereunder, including guaranteeing the Debt Securities in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture, shall have been duly authorized by each of the Virginia Guarantors.

The opinions expressed herein are given as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to advise you after the date hereof of facts or circumstances that come to our attention or changes in law that occur which could affect the opinions contained herein.

Our opinions are furnished solely with regard to the Registration Statement pursuant to Item 16 of Form S-3 and Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K, may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon them pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act but, except as set forth in the next paragraph, may not otherwise be used, quoted or referred to by or filed with any other person or entity without our prior written permission.

We hereby consent to reliance on this opinion letter and the opinions provided herein by the law firm DLA Piper LLP (US) in connection with the legal opinion provided by that law firm that is in included as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We also hereby consent to the references to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus and the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an Exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

Yours very truly

/s/ Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

EX-5.4

Exhibit 5.4

[Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP Letterhead]

May 11, 2018

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special West Virginia counsel to M & J Operations, LLC, a West Virginia limited liability company (the “West Virginia Guarantor”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-214713 (the “Registration Statement”), including the preliminary prospectus included therein (the “Prospectus”), filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), by the following: CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), as well as Lehigh Gas Wholesale LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Lehigh Gas Wholesale Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation, LGP Realty Holdings LP, a Delaware limited partnership, LGP Realty Holdings GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, LGP Operations LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Minnesota Nice Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, CAP Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation, NTI Drop Down One, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, NTI Drop Down Two, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, NTI Drop Down Three, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, CAP West Virginia Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Delaware Guarantors”), Erickson Oil Products, Inc. and Freedom Value Centers, Inc., each a Wisconsin corporation (collectively, the “Wisconsin Guarantors”), the West Virginia Guarantor , Express Lane, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Florida Guarantor”) and Petroleum Marketers, Incorporated, PM Terminals, Inc., PM Properties, Inc. and Stop in Food Stores, Inc., each a Virginia corporation (collectively, the “Virginia Guarantors” and, together with the Delaware Guarantors, the Wisconsin Guarantors, the West Virginia Guarantor and the Florida Guarantor, collectively the “Guarantors”). The Registration Statement relates to the offer and sale by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors, as applicable, from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of up to $500,000,000 of securities consisting of:

(1) common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Common Units”);

(2) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Other Units”);

(3) senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness of the Partnership (collectively, the “Debt Securities”) which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., in one or more series, under the senior indenture (the “Senior Indenture”) or the subordinated indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture,” and together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into between the Partnership and Finance Corp. and a trustee (the “Trustee”), the forms of which are filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement; and

(4) guarantees of the Debt Securities by the Delaware Guarantors (the “Delaware Guarantees”), the Wisconsin Guarantors (the “Wisconsin Guarantees”), the West Virginia Guarantor (the “West Virginia Guarantee”), the Florida Guarantor (the “Florida Guarantee”), and the Virginia Guarantors (the “Virginia Guarantees” and, together with the Delaware Guarantees and the Florida Guarantee, the “Guarantees”).

The Common Units, Other Units, Debt Securities and Guarantees are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.” The Registration Statement provides that the Offered Securities may be offered from time to time in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).


CrossAmerica Partners LP

May 11, 2018

Page 2

 

In rendering the opinions set forth below, we have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of:

 

  (i) the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus;

 

  (ii) the form of the Senior Indenture;

 

  (iii) the form of the Subordinated Indenture;

 

  (iv) resolutions of CrossAmerica GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the Partnership (the “General Partner”), Finance Corp. and the West Virginia Guarantor on October 24, 2016, 2016 relating to the registration of the Offered Securities and related matters;

 

  (v) the Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as of May 9, 2018 and the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, as amended to date (the “Partnership Agreement”);

 

  (vi) the articles of organization of the West Virginia Guarantor, as certified by the West Virginia Secretary of State, and the limited liability agreement of the West Virginia Guarantors, as amended to date;

 

  (vii) a certificate of the Secretary of State of the State of West Virginia as to the formation and good standing of the West Virginia Guarantor under the laws of the State of West Virginia, dated as of May 9, 2018; and

 

  (viii) the Secretary’s Certificate, dated as of May 11, 2018, of the West Virginia Guarantor, certifying as to, among other things, the limited liability company agreement of the West Virginia Guarantor, as in effect as of such date; and

 

  (ix) such other certificates, statutes and other instruments and documents as we considered appropriate for purposes of the opinions hereafter expressed.

In making our examination, we have assumed and not verified that (i) all information contained in all documents reviewed by us is true and correct; (ii) all signatures on all documents examined by us are genuine; (iii) all documents submitted to us as originals are authentic and complete and all documents submitted to us as copies conform to the originals of those documents; (iv) each natural person signing any document reviewed by us had the legal capacity to do so; (v) the Registration Statement, and any amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), will have become effective and will comply with all applicable laws, (vi) each certificate from governmental officials reviewed by us is accurate, complete and authentic, and all official public records are accurate and complete; (vii) a prospectus supplement will have been prepared and filed with the SEC describing the Offered Securities offered thereby; (viii) the Indentures relating to the Debt Securities will each be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto; (ix) each of the Partnership, Finance Corp., the Delaware Guarantors, the Wisconsin Guarantors, the and the Virginia Guarantors is duly organized or incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, the State of Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of Virginia, respectively; (x) the Florida Guarantor is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Florida; (xi) each Virginia Guarantor is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia; (xii) each Wisconsin Guarantor is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Wisconsin; (xiii) all Offered Securities will be issued and sold in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and in the manner stated in the Registration Statement and the appropriate prospectus supplement; (xiv) a definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement with respect to any Offered Securities offered will have been duly authorized and


CrossAmerica Partners LP

May 11, 2018

Page 3

 

validly executed and delivered by the Partnership and the other parties thereto; and (xv) any Offered Securities issuable upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any Offered Security being offered will be duly authorized, created and, if appropriate, reserved for issuance upon such conversion, exchange or exercise. Additionally, we have, with your consent, assumed and not verified that each of LGP Realty Holdings, LP (“LGPRH”), a Delaware limited partnership and the 100% owner of the West Virginia Guarantor, LGP Operations, LLC (“LGPO”), a Delaware limited liability company and the 99% owner of LGPRH, LGP Realty Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the 1% owner of LGPRH, the Partnership and Finance Corp., have each taken all actions, and signed all documents and instruments, in a manner consistent with and permitted by each of their respective organizational, charter, governing and/or constitutional documents, which we have not reviewed or inspected in any manner, necessary to (a) authorize and approve the execution, filing and performance, as applicable, of the Registration Statement, Prospectus, the forms of Indenture, and all other documents, instruments or filings contemplated by and necessary to effect the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement, and (b) permit and authorize the West Virginia Guarantor to do the same. In making the assumption set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, we have relied on the accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties set forth in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, forms of Indenture and other documents and instruments contemplated thereby and therein.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions, limitations and exceptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:

1. The West Virginia Guarantor is a limited liability company validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of West Virginia.

2. The West Virginia Guarantor has the limited liability company power and authority to guarantee the payment of the principal and premium, if any, of and interest on any Debt Securities issued under the Indentures.

3. With respect to the West Virginia Guarantee, assuming the taking of all necessary limited liability company action to approve the issuance and terms of the West Virginia Guarantee to be issued by the West Virginia Guarantor and related matters by the members, the manager or managers or the duly authorized officers of the West Virginia Guarantor, in conformity with the Organizational Documents of the West Virginia Guarantor, each as amended through such time, the execution and delivery by the West Virginia Guarantor of the applicable Indenture and the performance of its obligations thereunder, including guaranteeing the Debt Securities in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture, shall have been duly authorized by the West Virginia Guarantor.

The opinions expressed herein are qualified in the following respects:

1. This opinion is limited in all respects to the laws of the State of West Virginia. We are expressing no opinion as to the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction, domestic or foreign.

2. We express no opinion as to the enforceability of provisions of the Guarantees that (a) bind the West Virginia Guarantor as principal obligor or (b) preserve the obligations of the West Virginia Guarantor despite any modification of the principal obligations in a manner prejudicial to the West Virginia Guarantor without its consent or the illegality, invalidity or unenforceability of the principal obligations against the principal obligors for reasons other than their bankruptcy or incapacity.

3. With respect to the opinion stated herein, we have relied upon representations made to us in the certificates from officers of the Partnership and the West Virginia Guarantor.

4. We express no opinion concerning any waiver of the right of subrogation contained in the Guarantees as well as certain other waivers contained therein that cannot be effectively waived under applicable law. We express no opinion as to the effectiveness of any provisions in the Guarantees purporting to automatically reinstate any indebtedness that is subject to avoidance as a preference or fraudulent conveyance in any bankruptcy action.


CrossAmerica Partners LP

May 11, 2018

Page 4

 

5. We express no opinion as to the effect, due execution, delivery or enforceability of the documents described herein, or any provision contained within any such document. Furthermore, no opinion whatsoever is expressed herein as to compliance by any party, person or entity with any state blue sky laws or with antifraud or other provisions of any federal or state securities laws.

6. The foregoing opinion is rendered as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update such opinion to reflect facts or circumstances which may hereafter come to our attention or changes in the law which may hereafter occur.

We hereby consent to the references to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus and to the filing of this opinion as an Exhibit to the Registration Statement. By giving such consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued thereunder. DLA Piper LLP (US) is authorized to rely upon this opinion letter in connection with the Registration Statement as if such opinion letter were addressed and delivered to it on the date hereof.

Sincerely,

/s/ Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP

EX-5.5

Exhibit 5.5

 

LOGO   
May 11, 2018   

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton Street, Suite 500

Allentown, PA 18101

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special Wisconsin counsel for CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), and CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), as well as Erickson Oil Products, Inc. and Freedom Valu Centers, Inc., each a Wisconsin corporation (collectively, the “Wisconsin Guarantors”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-214713 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the guarantors named therein, including the Wisconsin Guarantors (collectively, the “Guarantors”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including the prospectus included therein (the “Prospectus”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors, as applicable, from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of up to $500,000,000 of securities consisting of: (i) common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Common Units”); (ii) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Other Units”); (iii) senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness of the Partnership (collectively, the “Debt Securities”) which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., in one or more series, under the senior indenture (the “Senior Indenture”) or the subordinated indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture,” and, together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into between the Partnership, Finance Corp., the Guarantors and a trustee (the “Trustee”), the forms of which are filed as Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2 to the Registration Statement; and (iv) guarantees of the Debt Securities by the Guarantors (the “Guarantees”) issued under, or in connection with an issuance of Debt Securities under, or pursuant to, the Indentures, including guarantees of such Debt Securities issued by the Wisconsin Guarantors (the “Wisconsin Guarantees”).

The Common Units, the Other Units, the Debt Securities and the Guarantees are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.” The Registration Statement provides that the Offered Securities may be offered from time to time in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).

We have examined the Registration Statement in the form in which it will be filed with the Commission. We have also reviewed such matters of law, made such other investigations and examined original, certified, conformed, photographic or electronic copies of such other documents, records, agreements and certificates as we have deemed necessary as a basis for the opinions hereinafter expressed. The documents so reviewed have included the originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the articles of incorporation and bylaws (collectively, the “Organizational Documents”) of each of the Wisconsin Guarantors. As to any facts material to this opinion which we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements, certificates and representations of the Partnership, Finance Corp and their respective subsidiaries, officers and other representatives and of public officials, including the facts and conclusions set forth therein, and we have assumed that the facts and circumstances contained in such statements, certificates and representations are true and complete and have not changed since the dates thereof.

For purposes of the opinions expressed herein, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies, the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents and the absence of duress, fraud or mutual mistake of material facts on the part of the parties to any agreement with respect to which an opinion is expressed herein.

 

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LOGO

CrossAmerica Partners LP

May 11, 2018

Page 2

 

The opinions expressed herein are limited in all respects to the laws of the State of Wisconsin, and no opinion is expressed with respect to (i) the laws of any other jurisdiction or any effect which such laws may have on the opinions expressed herein, (ii) the bylaws, rules or regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. or (iii) the securities or “blue sky” laws of any jurisdiction. The opinions expressed herein are limited to the matters stated herein, and no opinions are implied or may be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated herein.

With regard to our opinion in paragraph 1 below with respect to the Wisconsin Guarantors’ existence and good standing, we have based our opinions solely upon examination of a certificate issued by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions as of a recent date.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions, limitations and exceptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:

 

1. Each of the Wisconsin Guarantors is a corporation validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Wisconsin.

 

2. Each of the Wisconsin Guarantors has the corporate power and authority to guarantee the payment of the principal and premium, if any, of and interest on any Debt Securities issued under the Indentures.

 

3. With respect to the Wisconsin Guarantees, assuming the taking of all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the Wisconsin Guarantees to be issued by the Wisconsin Guarantors and related matters by the shareholders, the board of directors (or a duly constituted and acting committee of such board), or the duly authorized officers of each Wisconsin Guarantor, in conformity with the Organizational Documents of each applicable Wisconsin Guarantor, each as amended through such time, the execution and delivery by each of the Wisconsin Guarantors of the applicable Indenture and the performance of its obligations thereunder, including guaranteeing the Debt Securities in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture, shall have been duly authorized by each of the Wisconsin Guarantors.

The opinions expressed herein are given as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to advise you after the date hereof of facts or circumstances that come to our attention or changes in law that occur which could affect the opinions contained herein.

Our opinions are furnished solely with regard to the Registration Statement pursuant to Item 16 of Form S-3 and Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K, may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon them pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act but, except as set forth in the next paragraph, may not otherwise be used, quoted or referred to by or filed with any other person or entity without our prior written permission. DLA Piper LLP (US) is authorized to rely upon this opinion letter in connection with the Registration Statement as if such opinion letter were addressed and delivered to it on the date hereof.

We hereby consent to the references to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus and the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an Exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

Very truly yours,

/s/ DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C.

EX-8.1

LOGO

Exhibit 8.1

May 11, 2018

CrossAmerica Partners LP

600 West Hamilton St., Suite 500

Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to CrossAmerica Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), CrossAmerica Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Finance Corp.”), and certain other subsidiaries of the Partnership (the “Guarantors”), with respect to certain legal matters in connection with the preparation of a prospectus (the “Prospectus”) forming part of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-214713) (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by the Partnership, Finance Corp. and the Guarantors under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the registration under the Securities Act of the offer and sale from time to time by the Partnership of:

 

  (1) common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership;

 

  (2) other classes of units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership;

 

  (3) debt securities of the Partnership, which may be co-issued by Finance Corp., consisting of senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities (the “Debt Securities”); and

 

  (4) guarantees of the Debt Securities by the Guarantors.

In connection with this opinion, we prepared the discussion (the “Discussion”) set forth under the caption “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the Prospectus.

We are opining herein as to the effect on the subject transaction only of the federal income tax laws of the United States and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability thereto, or the effect thereon, of other federal laws, foreign laws, the laws of any state or any other jurisdiction or as to any matters of municipal law or the laws of any other local agencies within any state. No opinion is expressed as to any matter not discussed herein.

In providing this opinion, we have examined and are relying upon the truth and accuracy at all relevant times of (i) the Partnership’s and its general partner’s statements, covenants, and representations contained in the Prospectus, (ii) certain other filings made by the Partnership with the Commission; (iii) a representation letter provided to us by the Partnership and certain of its affiliates in support of this opinion, and (iv) other information provided to us by the representatives of the Partnership.

We hereby confirm that all statements of legal conclusions contained in the Discussion constitute the opinion of Paul Hastings LLP with respect to the matters set forth therein as of the effective date of the Registration Statement, subject to the assumptions, qualifications, and limitations set forth therein.

This opinion is rendered to you as of the effective date of the Registration Statement, and we undertake no obligation to update this opinion subsequent to the date hereof. This opinion is based on various statutory provisions, regulations promulgated thereunder and interpretations thereof by the Internal Revenue Service and the courts having jurisdiction over such matters, all of which are subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Also, any variation or difference in the facts from those set forth in the representations described above, including in the Prospectus, and the representation letter, may affect the conclusions stated herein.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 8.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm and this opinion in the Discussion and under the caption “Legal Matters” and “Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Sincerely,

/s/ Paul Hastings LLP

EX-12.1

Exhibit 12.1

CrossAmerica Partners LP

Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

(in thousands)

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Quarter Ended
March 31,
 
     2013      2014     2015     2016     2017     2018  

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes

     16,354        (7,525     7,920       10,262       4,939       (534

Plus Fixed Charges:

             

Interest expense

     14,182        16,631       18,493       22,757       27,919       8,052  

Capitalized Interest

     —          —         —         —         —         —    

Portion of rent expense representative of interest expense

     —          —         —         —         —         —    

Less income from equity investees

     —          —         (10,528     (16,048     (14,906     3,805  

Plus distributions received from equity investees

     —          —         9,166       16,180       14,928       3,566  

Plus amortization of capitalized interest

     —          —         —         —         —         —    

Less capitalized interest

     —          —         —          
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted earnings

     30,536        9,106       25,051       33,151       32,880       7,279  

Fixed charges

     14,182        16,631       18,493       22,757       27,919       8,052  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

     2.15        0.55 (a)      1.35       1.46       1.18       0.90 (b) 
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deficiency of earnings to cover fixed charges

     —          7,525       —         —         —         773  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) As a result of the acquisition by CST of our General Partner on October 1, 2014, we recognized one-time termination benefits and accelerated equity compensation charges totaling $7.0 million. The deficit of earnings to cover fixed charges amounted to $7.5 million for 2014.
(b) Due to the location of many of the sites to which we distribute fuel being in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, the results for the first quarter are affected by seasonality.

General Note: The Partnership and its Predecessor have not historically capitalized interest as amounts would not be material.

EX-23.1

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We have issued our reports dated February 26, 2018, with respect to the consolidated financial statements and internal control over financial reporting included in the Annual Report of CrossAmerica Partners LP on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. We consent to the incorporation by reference of the aforementioned reports in this Registration Statement, and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption “Experts.”

/s/ Grant Thornton LLP

Arlington, Virginia

May 11, 2018

EX-23.2

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

The Board of Directors

General Partner and Limited Partners of CrossAmerica Partners, LP

We hereby consent to the incorporation in this Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 of our reports dated December 22, 2017 with respect to the audited financial statements of Jet-Pep, Inc. and Affiliated Companies as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 and the compiled financial statements of Jet-Pep, Inc. and Affiliated Companies as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 and for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, which are included in the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed on February 12, 2018.

/s/ Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, Moore, P.C.

Birmingham, Alabama

May 11, 2018