UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Amendment No. 1
to
FORM 8-A
FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
SUNOCO LOGISTICS PARTNERS L.P.
Delaware | 23-3096839 | |
(State of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Ten Penn Center | ||
1801 Market Street | ||
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1699 | ||
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) |
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Units representing limited partner interests
If this form relates to the registration of a class of securities pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is effective pursuant to General Instruction A.(c), check the following box. þ
If this form relates to the registration of a class of securities pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and is effective pursuant to General Instruction A.(d), check the following box. o
Securities Act registration file number to which this form relates:
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Item 1. Description of Registrants Securities to be Registered. | ||||||||
Item 2. Exhibits |
EXPLANATORY NOTE
On July 20, 2004, Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (the Partnership) amended and restated its First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended (as so amended and restated, the Partnership Agreement). The Partnership hereby amends the description of its common units found in Item 1 of the Partnerships Form 8-A, filed January 28, 2002, to read in its entirety as follows:
Item 1. Description of Registrants Securities to be Registered.
A description of common units representing limited partner interests (the Common Units) in Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (the Partnership) is incorporated by reference to the description of the Common Units set forth under the captions Description of the Common UnitsVoting, Listing, Transfer Agent and Registrar, Cash Distributions, and Material Tax Considerations in the prospectus dated March 14, 2003 (the Prospectus), filed by the Partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), which prospectus constitutes a part of the Partnerships Registration Statement on Form S-3, as amended (Registration No. 333-103710), initially filed with the SEC on March 10, 2003, and is set forth in the description of our partnership agreement below.
The Partnership Agreement
Organization and Duration
We were organized on October 15, 2001 and will continue in existence until we are dissolved pursuant to the Partnership Agreement and our Certificate of Limited Partnership is cancelled.
Purpose
Our purpose under the partnership agreement is limited to serving as the limited partner of the operating partnership and engaging in any business activities that may be engaged in by the operating partnership or that are approved by our general partner. The partnership agreement of the operating partnership provides that the operating partnership may, directly or indirectly, engage in:
(1) | its operations as conducted immediately before our initial public offering; | |||
(2) | any other activity approved by the general partner but only to the extent that the general partner reasonably determines that, as of the date of the acquisition or commencement of the activity, the activity generates qualifying income as this term is defined in Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code; or | |||
(3) | any activity that enhances the operations of an activity that is described in (1) or (2) above. |
The general partner is authorized in general to perform all acts deemed necessary to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.
Power of Attorney
Each limited partner, and each person who acquires a unit from a unitholder and executes and delivers a transfer application, grants to our general partner and, if appointed, a liquidator, a power of attorney to, among other things, execute and file documents required for our qualification, continuance, or dissolution. The power of attorney also grants the general partner the authority to amend, and to make consents and waivers under, the partnership agreement.
Capital Contributions
Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under Limited Liability.
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Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (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. If it were determined, however, that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:
| to remove or replace the general partner; | |||
| to approve some amendments to the partnership agreement; or | |||
| to take other action under the partnership agreement; |
constituted participation in the control of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as the general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us who reasonably believe that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither the partnership agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against the general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of 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; provided, however, that no limited partner shall have liability for the amount of the distribution after the expiration of three years from the date of the distribution. Under the Delaware Act, an assignee who becomes a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of his assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except the assignee is not obligated for liabilities unknown to him at the time he became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from the partnership agreement.
Our subsidiaries conduct business in 19 states and Canada. Maintenance of our limited liability as a limited partner of the operating partnership may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating partnership conducts business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there. Limitations on the liability of limited partners for the obligations of a limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our limited partner interest in the operating partnership or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace the general partner, to approve some amendments to the partnership agreement, or to take other action under the 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 the general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that the general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.
Issuance of Additional Securities
The partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership securities and rights to buy partnership securities for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by the general partner in its sole discretion without the approval of the unitholders.
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During the subordination period, we may issue an unlimited number of common units and units on parity with common units without limited partner approval as follows:
| if we do not issue an aggregate of more than 5,691,820 of such units; | |||
| in connection with an acquisition or capital improvement (or within 365 days of an acquisition or capital improvement) where the net proceeds from such issuance are used to repay debt incurred in connection with, or to replenish cash reserves to the extent drawn down in connection with, such acquisition or capital improvement, if such acquisition or capital improvement involves assets that, if acquired or put into commercial service one year prior to the first day of the fiscal quarter in which such acquisition was made or capital improvement put into commercial service, would have resulted in an increase in adjusted operating surplus, on an estimated pro forma basis; | |||
| if the net proceeds of such issuance are used to redeem an equal number of common units at a price per unit equal to the net proceeds per unit, before expenses, that we receive from such issuance; | |||
| in connection with acquisitions that have not been completed or capital improvements that have not commenced commercial services, or both, so long as the number of issued common units does not cause us to exceed, in the aggregate, the 5,691,820 common units and units on a parity with the common units, combined, that we can issue without limited partner approval; and | |||
| if the proceeds from such issuance are used exclusively to repay up to $40.0 million of certain of our indebtedness. |
During the subordination period, we may issue an unlimited number of equity interests in us that are subordinate to the common units or units on parity with the common units without limited partner approval .
During the subordination period, we may issue equity interests in us that are senior to the common units or units on parity with the common units with the approval of a majority of the holders of the common units and the subordinated units, voting separately as a class.
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other equity securities. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing holders of common units in our distributions of available cash. In addition, the issuance of additional partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets.
In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership securities interests that have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled.
Upon issuance of additional partnership securities, the general partner will be required to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us; provided, however, that the capital contributions required of the general partner will be offset to the extent contributions received by the partnership in exchange for the issuance of additional partnership securities are used by the partnership concurrently with such contributions to redeem or repurchase from any person outstanding partnership securities of the same class as the partnership securities that were issued. Moreover, the general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units, subordinated units or other equity securities whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those securities to persons other than the general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain its percentage interest, including its interest represented by common units and subordinated units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The holders of common units will not have preemptive rights to acquire additional common units or other partnership securities.
Amendment of the Partnership Agreement
General
Amendments to the partnership agreement may be proposed only by the general partner, except as discussed below. In order to adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below, the general partner must seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as we describe below, an amendment must be approved:
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| during the subordination period, by a majority of the common units, excluding those common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and a majority of the subordinated units, voting as separate classes; and | |||
| after the subordination period, by a majority of the common units. |
We refer to the voting provisions described above as a unit majority.
Prohibited Amendments
No amendment may be made that would:
(1) | 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; | |||
(2) | enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to the general partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of the general partner, which may be given or withheld at its option; | |||
(3) | change the term of our partnership; | |||
(4) | change the provisions of the partnership agreement providing for the dissolution of the partnership upon an election to dissolve our partnership by the general partner that is approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units voting as separate classes; or | |||
(5) | give any person the right to dissolve our partnership other than the general partners right to dissolve our partnership with the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units voting as separate classes. |
The provision of the partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in clauses (1) through (5) above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units voting together as a single class.
No Unitholder Approval
The general partner may generally make amendments to the partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee to reflect:
(1) | a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office; | |||
(2) | the admission, substitution, withdrawal, or removal of partners in accordance with the partnership agreement; | |||
(3) | a change that the general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for us to qualify or to 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, the operating partnership, nor its subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes; | |||
(4) | an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our general partner or its directors, officers, agents, or trustees from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, or plan asset regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed; | |||
(5) | subject to the limitations on the issuance of additional partnership securities described above, an amendment that the general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the authorization of additional partnership securities or rights to acquire partnership securities; | |||
(6) | any amendment expressly permitted in the partnership agreement to be made by the general partner acting alone; | |||
(7) | an amendment effected, necessitated, or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of the partnership agreement; | |||
(8) | any amendment that the general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership, or other entity, as otherwise permitted by the partnership agreement; |
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(9) | a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes; or | |||
(10) | any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described in (1) through (9) above. |
In addition, the general partner may make amendments to the partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee if those amendments, as determined by the general partner:
(1) | do not adversely affect the limited partners (or any particular class of limited partners) in any material respect; | |||
(2) | 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; | |||
(3) | 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; | |||
(4) | are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by the general partner relating to splits or combinations of units under the provisions of the partnership agreement; or | |||
(5) | are required to effect the intent expressed in this prospectus or the intent of the provisions of the partnership agreement or are otherwise contemplated by the partnership agreement. |
Opinion of Counsel and Unitholder Approval
Our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will not result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners or result in our being treated as an entity for federal income tax purposes if one of the amendments described above under "No Unitholder Approval should occur. No other amendments to the partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the units unless we 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 or cause us, the operating partnership, or its subsidiaries to be taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes (to the extent not previously taxed as such).
In addition to the above restrictions, any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that reduces the voting percentage required to take any action must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners constituting not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced.
Action Relating to the Operating Partnership
Without the approval of the holders of units representing a unit majority, our general partner is prohibited from consenting on our behalf, as the limited partner of the operating partnership, to any amendment to the partnership agreement of the operating partnership or taking any action on our behalf permitted to be taken by a limited partner of the operating partnership in each case that would adversely affect our limited partners (or any particular class of limited partners) in any material respect.
Merger, Sale, or Other Disposition of Assets
The partnership agreement generally prohibits the general partner, without the prior approval of the holders of units representing a unit majority, from causing us to, among other things, 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, or approving on our behalf the sale, exchange, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of our subsidiaries. The general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without that approval. The general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without that approval.
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If conditions specified in the partnership agreement are satisfied, the general partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a limited liability entity, merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey some or all of our assets to, a newly formed entity if the sole purpose of that merger or conveyance is to change our legal form into another limited liability entity. The unitholders are not entitled to dissenters rights of appraisal under the partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets, or any other transaction or event.
Termination and Dissolution
We will continue as a limited partnership until terminated under the partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:
(1) | the election of our general partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority; | |||
(2) | the sale, exchange, or other disposition of all or substantially all of our assets and properties and our subsidiaries; | |||
(3) | the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution to dissolve us; or | |||
(4) | the withdrawal or removal of our general partner or any other event that results in its ceasing to be the general partner other than by reason of a transfer of its general partner interest in accordance with the partnership agreement or withdrawal or removal following approval and admission of a successor. |
Upon a dissolution under clause (4), the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes, may also elect, within specific time limitations, to reconstitute us and continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in the partnership agreement by forming a new limited partnership on terms identical to those in the partnership agreement and having as 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:
(1) | the action would not result in the loss of limited liability of any limited partner; and | |||
(2) | neither we, the reconstituted limited partnership, nor the operating partnership would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of that right to continue. |
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless we are reconstituted and continued as a new limited partnership, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the necessary and appropriate powers of the general partner, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as provided in Cash DistributionsDistributions of Cash Upon Liquidation in the Prospectus. The liquidator may defer liquidation of our assets for a reasonable period or distribute assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to the partners.
Withdrawal or Removal of the General Partner
Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to December 31, 2011 without obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by the general partner and its affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after December 31, 2011, our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of the partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without unitholder approval upon 90 days notice to the limited partners if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and its affiliates other than the general partner and its affiliates. In addition, the partnership agreement permits our general partner in some instances to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders. Please read Transfer of General Partner Interests and Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights below.
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Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by the general partner of all or a part of its general partner interest in us, the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes, may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up, and liquidated, unless within 180 days after that withdrawal, the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes, agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. Please read Termination and Dissolution.
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, voting together as a single class, including units held by the general partner and its affiliates, and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes. The ownership of more than 33 1/3% of the outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates would give it the practical ability to prevent its removal.
Our partnership agreement also provides that if Sunoco Partners LLC is removed as our general partner under circumstances where cause does not exist and units held by the general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal:
| the subordination period will end and all outstanding subordinated units will immediately convert into common units on a one-for-one basis; | |||
| any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and | |||
| the general partner will have the right to convert its general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests. |
In the event of removal of the general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of the general partner where that withdrawal violates the partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest and incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where the general partner withdraws or is removed by the limited partners, the departing general partner will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner and its incentive distribution rights for the fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. Or, if the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of them will determine the fair market value.
If the option described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partners general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred for the termination of any employees employed by the departing general partner or its affiliates for our benefit.
Transfer of General Partner Interests
Except for transfer by our general partner of all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in us to:
| an affiliate of the general partner (other than an individual); or |
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| another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of the general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by the general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to another entity, |
our general partner may not transfer all or any part of its general partner interest in us to another person prior to December 31, 2011 without the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by the general partner and its affiliates. As a condition of this transfer, the transferee must, among other things, assume the rights and duties of the general partner, agree to be bound by the provisions of the partnership agreement, and furnish an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Our general partner and its affiliates may at any time transfer units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval, except that they may not transfer subordinated units to us.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in General Partner
At any time, the members of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part of their membership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or a third party without the approval of our unitholders.
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights
Our general partner or its affiliates or a subsequent holder may transfer its incentive distribution rights to an affiliate or another person as part of its merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, or sale of all or substantially all of its equity interests to, that person without the prior approval of the unitholders; but, in each case, the transferee must agree to be bound by the provisions of the partnership agreement. Prior to December 31, 2011, other transfers of the incentive distribution rights will require the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, voting as separate classes. On or after December 31, 2011, the incentive distribution rights will be freely transferable.
Change of Management Provisions
The partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove Sunoco Partners LLC as our general partner or otherwise change management. If any person or group other than the general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply to any person or group that acquires the units from our general partner or its affiliates and any transferees of that person or group approved by our general partner or to any person or group who acquires the units with the prior approval of the board of directors.
The partnership agreement also provides that if the general partner is removed under circumstances where cause does not exist and units held by the general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal:
(1) | the subordination period will end and all outstanding subordinated units will immediately convert into common units on a one-for-one basis; | |||
(2) | any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and | |||
(3) | the general partner will have the right to convert its general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests. |
Limited Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates hold more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding partnership securities of any class, the general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the remaining partnership securities of the class held by unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by the general partner, on at least ten but not more than 60 days notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:
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(1) | the highest cash price paid by either of the general partner or any of its affiliates for any partnership securities of the class purchased within the 90 days preceding the date on which the general partner first mails notice of its election to purchase those partnership securities; and | |||
(2) | the current market price as of the date three days before the date the notice is mailed. |
As a result of the general partners right to purchase outstanding partnership securities, a holder of partnership securities may have his partnership securities purchased at an undesirable time or price. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his common units in the market. Please read Material Tax ConsiderationsDisposition of Common Units in the Prospectus.
Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, unitholders or assignees who are 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. Common units that are owned by an assignee who is a record holder, but who has not yet been admitted as a limited partner, will be voted by the general partner at the written direction of the record holder.
Absent direction of this kind, the common units will not be voted, except that, in the case of common units held by the general partner on behalf of non-citizen assignees, the general partner will distribute the votes on those common units in the same ratios as the votes of limited partners on other units are cast.
The general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of 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 the general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read "Issuance of Additional Securities. However, if at any time any person or group, other than the general partner and its affiliates, or a direct or subsequently approved transferee of the general partner or its affiliates, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum, or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise. Except as the partnership agreement otherwise provides, subordinated units will vote together with common units as a single class.
Any notice, demand, request, report, or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record holders of common units under the partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Status as Limited Partner or Assignee
Except as described above under Limited Liability, the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.
An assignee of a common unit, after executing and delivering a transfer application, but pending its admission as a substituted limited partner, is entitled to an interest equivalent to that of a limited partner for the right
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to share in allocations and distributions from us, including liquidating distributions. The general partner will vote and exercise other powers attributable to common units owned by an assignee that has not become a substituted limited partner at the written direction of the assignee. Please read Meetings; Voting. Transferees that do not execute and deliver a transfer application will not be treated as assignees or as record holders of common units, and will not receive cash distributions, federal income tax allocations, or reports furnished to holders of common units.
Non-citizen Assignees; Redemption
If we are or become subject to federal, state, or local laws or regulations that, in the reasonable determination of the 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 or assignee, we may redeem the units held by the limited partner or assignee at their current market price. In order to avoid any cancellation or forfeiture, the general partner may require each limited partner or assignee to furnish information about his nationality, citizenship, or related status. If a limited partner or assignee fails to furnish information about his nationality, citizenship, or other related status within 30 days after a request for the information or the general partner determines after receipt of the information that the limited partner or assignee is not an eligible citizen, the limited partner or assignee may be treated as a non-citizen assignee. In addition to other limitations on the rights of an assignee that is not a substituted limited partner, a non-citizen assignee does not have the right to direct the voting of his units and may not receive distributions in kind upon our liquidation.
Indemnification
Under the partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages or similar events:
| the general partner; | |||
| any departing general partner; | |||
| any person who is or was an affiliate of a general partner or any departing general partner; | |||
| any person who is or was a member, partner, officer, director, fiduciary or trustee of us or any of our subsidiaries, including the operating partnership and any of its subsidiaries, the general partner or any departing general partner or any affiliate of a general partner or any departing general partner; | |||
| any person who is or was serving at the request of a general partner or any departing general partner or any affiliate of a general partner or any departing general partner as an officer, director, member, partner, fiduciary or trustee of another person; or | |||
| any person that the general partner designates as an indemnitee for purposes of the partnership agreement. |
Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless it otherwise agrees in its sole discretion, the general partner will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or loan funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under the partnership agreement.
This indemnification is required unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence. Indemnification is also required 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 met the requirements set forth in Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Responsibilities below. In the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, indemnification provisions that purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act are contrary to public policy and are, therefore, unenforceable.
Books and Reports
The general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. The books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.
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We will furnish or make available to record holders of common units, within 120 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited financial statements and a report on those financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available summary financial information within 90 days after the close of each quarter.
We will furnish each record holder of a unit with information reasonably required for tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to unitholders will depend on the cooperation of unitholders in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his federal and state tax liability and filing his federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with information.
Right to Inspect Our Books and Records
The partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:
| a current list of the name and last known address of each partner; | |||
| a copy of our tax returns; | |||
| information as to the amount of cash, and a description and statement of the agreed value of any other property or services, contributed or to be contributed by each partner and the date on which each became a partner; | |||
| copies of the partnership agreement, the certificate of limited partnership of the partnership, related amendments, and powers of attorney under which they have been executed; | |||
| information regarding the status of our business and financial condition; and | |||
| any other information regarding our affairs as is just and reasonable. |
The general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which the general partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
Registration Rights
Under the partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any common units, subordinated units, or other partnership securities proposed to be sold by the 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 Sunoco Partners LLC as our general partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.
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 Sunoco, Inc., on the one hand, and our partnership and our limited partners, on the other hand. The directors and officers of our general partner have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. At the same time, our general partner has a fiduciary duty to manage our partnership in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders.
Whenever a conflict arises between our general partner or its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or any other partner, on the other hand, our general partner will resolve that conflict. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that modify and limit our general partners fiduciary duties to the unitholders. Our partnership agreement also restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under the partnership agreement or its duties to us or our unitholders if the resolution of the conflict is:
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| approved by the conflicts committee, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; | |||
| approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our general partner or any of its affiliates; | |||
| on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or | |||
| fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships among the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us. |
As indicated above, our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of its board of directors. If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee and its board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the third and fourth bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for in our partnership agreement, our general partner or the conflicts committee may consider any factors it determines in good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. When our partnership agreement requires someone to act in good faith, it requires that person to reasonably believe that he is acting in the best interests of the partnership, unless the context otherwise requires.
Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.
Actions taken by our general partner may affect the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders or accelerate the right to convert subordinated units.
The amount of cash that is available for distribution to unitholders is affected by decisions of our general partner regarding such matters as:
| amount and timing of asset purchases and sales; | |||
| cash expenditures; | |||
| borrowings; | |||
| the issuance of additional units; and | |||
| the creation, reduction or increase of reserves in any quarter. |
In addition, borrowings by us and our affiliates do not constitute a breach of any duty owed by our general partner to our unitholders, including borrowings that have the purpose or effect of:
| enabling our general partner to receive distributions on any subordinated units held by our general partner or the incentive distribution rights; or | |||
| hastening the expiration of the subordination period. |
For example, in the event we have not generated sufficient cash from our operations to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units and subordinated units, our partnership agreement permits us to borrow funds, which may enable us to make this distribution on all outstanding units. Please read Cash DistributionsSubordination Period in the Prospectus.
Our partnership agreement provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates. Our general partner and its affiliates may not borrow funds from us, the operating partnership or its operating subsidiaries, other than as provided in the treasury services agreement between us and Sunoco, Inc.
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We do not have any officers or employees and rely solely on officers and employees of our general partner and its affiliates.
Affiliates of our general partner conduct businesses and activities of their own in which we have no economic interest. If these separate activities are significantly greater than our activities, there could be material competition for the time and effort of certain of the officers and employees who provide services to our general partner. Generally, the officers of our general partner spend substantially all of their time managing our business and affairs. However, our general partners treasurer currently is required to devote time to the affairs of Sunoco, Inc. or its affiliates and is compensated by them for the services rendered to them.
We will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for expenses.
We will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for costs incurred in managing and operating us, including costs incurred in rendering staff and support services to us. The partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine the expenses that are allocable to us in good faith.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability under contractual arrangements so that the other party has recourse only to our assets, and not against our general partner or its assets. The partnership agreement provides that any action taken by our general partner to limit its liability or our liability is not a breach of our general partners fiduciary duties, even if we could have obtained more favorable terms without the limitation on liability.
Common unitholders will have no right to enforce obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.
Any agreements between us on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our favor.
Contracts between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not be the result of arms-length negotiations.
Our partnership agreement allows our general partner to determine, in good faith, any amounts to pay itself or its affiliates for any services rendered to us. Our general partner may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any of its affiliates on our behalf. Neither our partnership agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts and arrangements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, are or will be the result of arms-length negotiations.
Our general partner will determine, in good faith, the terms of any of these transactions entered into after the sale of the common units offered in this offering.
Our general partner and its affiliates will have no obligation to permit us to use any facilities or assets of our general partner and its affiliates, except as may be provided in contracts entered into specifically dealing with that use. There will not be any obligation of our general partner and its affiliates to enter into any contracts of this kind.
Common units are subject to our general partners limited call right.
If, at any time, our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units then outstanding, our general partner has 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 remaining common units at a price not less than the then-current market price of the common units. Our general partner may exercise its right to call and purchase common units as provided in the partnership agreement or assign this right to any of its affiliates or to us. Our general partner may exercise this right at its option, free of any fiduciary duty or obligation to us or our unitholders. As a result, a unitholder may have his common units purchased from him at an undesirable time or price. For a description of this right, please read Limited Call Right above.
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We may not choose to retain separate counsel for ourselves or for the holders of common units.
The attorneys, independent auditors and others who have performed services for us regarding the offering have been retained by our general partner and may continue to be retained by our general partner, its affiliates and us after the offering. Attorneys, independent auditors and others who will perform services for us in the future will be selected by our general partner or the conflicts committee and may also perform services for our general partner and its affiliates. We may, but are not required to, retain separate counsel for ourselves or the holders of common units in the event of a conflict of interest arising between our general partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the holders of common units, on the other, after the sale of the common units offered in this prospectus, depending on the nature of the conflict. Such conflicts may arise out of extraordinary transactions between us and Sunoco, Inc. or its affiliates, such as transfers of material assets or mergers or material amendments to our agreements with Sunoco, Inc. and its affiliates. We do not intend to retain separate counsel in most cases.
Our general partners affiliates may compete with us.
Our partnership agreement provides that the general partner will be restricted from engaging in any business activities other than those incidental to its ownership of interests in us and certain services the employees of our general partner provide to Sunoco, Inc. and its affiliates. Except as provided in our partnership agreement and in the Omnibus Agreement with Sunoco Inc. and its affiliates, Sunoco, Inc. and its affiliates, other than the general partner, are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.
Fiduciary Responsibilities
Our general partner is accountable to us and our unitholders as a fiduciary. Fiduciary duties owed to unitholders by our general partner are prescribed by law and the partnership agreement. The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, restrict, eliminate or otherwise modify the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by a general partner to limited partners and the partnership.
Our partnership agreement contains various provisions modifying and restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our general partner. These modifications, among other things, restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below. The following is a summary of the material restrictions of the fiduciary duties owed by our general partner to the limited partners:
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 prohibit a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership from taking any action or engaging in any transaction where a conflict of interest is present. | |
Partnership agreement modified standards |
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our general partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues about compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in good faith and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our general partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. | |
Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not involving |
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a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner must be: | ||||
| on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or | |||
| fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us). | |||
If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee and its board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held. | ||||
In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the obligations of our general partner, our partnership agreement further provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us, our limited partners or assignees for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that the general partner or its officers and directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence. | ||||
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 fiduciary duties or of the 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. |
In order to become one of our limited partners, a common unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in the partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner or assignee to sign a partnership agreement does not render the partnership agreement unenforceable against that person.
Item 2. Exhibits
Exhibit 3.1
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Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement, file No. 333-71968, filed October 22, 2001). | |
Exhibit 3.2
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Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, dated as of July 20, 2004 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Form 10-Q, file No. 1-31219, filed August 5, 2004). | |
Exhibit 10.1
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Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 8, 2002, among Sunoco Logistics Partners Operations L.P., Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., Sunoco Pipeline L.P., Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P., and the following Initial Purchasers: Lehman Brothers, Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, Banc of America Securities LLC, Salomon Smith Barney Inc., UBS Warburg LLC and First Union Securities, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Form 10-K, file No. 1-31219, filed April 1, 2002) |
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Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
SUNOCO LOGISTICS PARTNERS L.P. | ||||
By: | SUNOCO PARTNERS LLC, its General Partner |
|||
Dated: | May 13, 2005 | |||
By: | /s/ Deborah M. Fretz | |||
Name: | Deborah M. Fretz | |||
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
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Exhibit Index
Exhibit 3.1
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Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement, file No. 333-71968, filed October 22, 2001). | |
Exhibit 3.2
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Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, dated as of July 20, 2004 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Form 10-Q, file No. 1-31219, filed August 5, 2004). | |
Exhibit 10.1
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Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 8, 2002, among Sunoco Logistics Partners Operations L.P., Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., Sunoco Pipeline L.P., Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P., and the following Initial Purchasers: Lehman Brothers, Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, Banc of America Securities LLC, Salomon Smith Barney Inc., UBS Warburg LLC and First Union Securities, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of Form 10-K, file No. 1-31219, filed April 1, 2002) |
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