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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-188654

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus are part of an effective registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus are not offers to sell these securities, and we are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities, in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is prohibited.

 

Subject to Completion, dated March 9, 2015

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus dated May 16, 2013)

 

 

 

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.

6,000,000 Common Units

Representing Limited Partner Interests

 

 

We are offering 6,000,000 common units representing limited partner interests.

Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CLMT.” The last reported sale price of our common units on March 6, 2015 was $28.37 per common unit.

Investing in our common units involves risks. See “Risk Factors” on page S-8 of this prospectus supplement and on page 5 of the accompanying prospectus.

 

		Per Common Unit				Total
Public offering price		$				$
Underwriting discounts		$				$
Proceeds to Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (before expenses)		$				$

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 common units from us on the same terms and conditions as set forth above if the underwriters sell more than 6,900,000 common units in this offering.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the common units on or about March     , 2015.

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Barclays		Wells Fargo Securities		J.P. Morgan
BofA Merrill Lynch		RBC Capital Markets		Goldman, Sachs & Co.

 

 

Co-Managers

 

Credit Suisse		Deutsche Bank Securities
Raymond James		Scotia Howard Weil

Prospectus Supplement dated March     , 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement

 

SUMMARY			S-1
RISK FACTORS			S-8
USE OF PROCEEDS			S-9
CAPITALIZATION			S-10
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON UNITS AND DISTRIBUTIONS			S-11
MATERIAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS			S-12
UNDERWRITING			S-13
VALIDITY OF THE COMMON UNITS			S-16
EXPERTS			S-16
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			S-16
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE			S-16
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			S-17

Prospectus

 

GUIDE TO READING THIS PROSPECTUS			1
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			2
INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			3
CALUMET SPECIALTY PRODUCTS PARTNERS, L.P.			4
RISK FACTORS			5
USE OF PROCEEDS			6
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES			7
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS			8
THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT			10
OUR CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS			23
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES			30
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES			39
TAX CONSEQUENCES OF OWNERSHIP OF DEBT SECURITIES			51
INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON UNITS OR DEBT SECURITIES BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS			52
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			55
LEGAL MATTERS			56
EXPERTS			56

This document is in two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering of common units. The second part is the accompanying base prospectus, which gives more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering of common units. Generally, when we refer only to the “prospectus,” we are referring to both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus combined. If information varies between this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.

Any statement made in this prospectus or in a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in any other subsequently issued free writing prospectuses or filed document that is also incorporated by reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus. Please read “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” on page S-16 of this prospectus supplement.

 

 

 

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You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us relating to this offering of common units. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with additional, different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where an offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the dates on the front of these documents or that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since such dates.

Please read “Forward-Looking Statements” on page S-17 of this prospectus supplement.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common units involves risks. Limited partner interests are inherently different from capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business. You should carefully read the risk factors included under the caption “Risk Factors” on page 5 of the accompanying base prospectus, the risk factors described under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common units could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We expect to receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $         million, including our general partner’s proportionate capital contribution of approximately $         million to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest in us and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering (and the net proceeds from any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units) to repay approximately $         million of borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility with the remaining net proceeds from this offering to be used for general partnership purposes, including capital expenditures, working capital and potentially the redemption or repurchase of outstanding notes.

Affiliates of certain of the underwriters participating in this offering are lenders under our revolving credit facility and will receive a substantial portion of the net proceeds from this offering through the repayment of indebtedness under our revolving credit facility. Please read “Underwriting.”

As of March 6, 2015, we had borrowings of approximately $235.0 million outstanding under our revolving credit facility, excluding approximately $81.2 million of outstanding standby letters of credit. Our revolving credit facility matures in July 2019. The outstanding indebtedness under our revolving credit facility was primarily incurred to finance our acquisitions, working capital and capital expenditures made in connection with our internal growth projects. Borrowings under our revolving credit facility bear interest at our option at either (i) prime plus a margin varying from 0.5% to 1.0% or (ii) LIBOR plus a margin varying from 1.5% to 2.0% depending on our average availability for additional borrowings under the revolving credit facility in the preceding calendar quarter. Amounts repaid under our revolving credit facility may be reborrowed from time to time for general partnership purposes, including the repayment of indebtedness, capital expenditures, working capital and potentially the redemption or repurchase of outstanding notes.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization as of December 31, 2014:

 

•

on a consolidated historical basis; and

 

•

as adjusted to reflect the sale of 6,000,000 common units in this offering for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $         million and the sale of 122,449 general partner units (for our general partner to maintain its 2.0% general partner interest in us) for a capital contribution of approximately $         million and the application of such proceeds, as further described in “Use of Proceeds.”

We derived this table from, and it should be read in conjunction with and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our historical consolidated financial statements and the notes related thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. You should also read this table in conjunction with the “Use of Proceeds” section of this prospectus supplement.

 

		As of December 31, 2014
		Historical				As Adjusted
		(In millions)
Cash and cash equivalents		$	8.5			$
Long-term debt:
Revolving credit facility (1)		$	150.8			$	—
9.625% Senior Notes due 2020			275.0				275.0
6.50% Senior Notes due 2021			900.0				900.0
7.625% Senior Notes due 2022 (2)			352.5				352.5
Capital lease obligation			43.6				43.6
Less unamortized discounts			(8.4	)			(8.4	)
Total long-term debt		$	1,713.5			$	1,562.7
Partners’ capital:
Limited partners’ interest			765.9
General partner’s interest			30.6
Accumulated other comprehensive income			13.7				13.7
Total partners’ capital			810.2
Total capitalization		$	2,523.7			$

 

(1)

As of March 6, 2015, we had approximately $235.0 million of borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility, excluding approximately $81.2 million of outstanding standby letters of credit. The $84.2 million of additional borrowings under our revolving credit facility since December 31, 2014 were used primarily for capital expenditures including internal growth projects and for general partnership purposes.

(2)	Includes a fair value interest rate hedge adjustment of $2.5 million.

 

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON UNITS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CLMT.” As of March 6, 2015, we had 69,760,218 common units outstanding, and there were approximately 39 holders of record of our common units.

The following table shows the low and high sales prices per common unit, as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market, for the periods indicated. Cash distributions presented below represent amounts declared subsequent to each respective quarter end based on the results of that quarter. For each period declared, an identical cash distribution was paid on all outstanding units, with the minimum quarterly distribution being met for such period. The last reported sales price of the common units on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on March 6, 2015 was $28.37.

 

		Price Ranges								Cash   Distribution Per   Unit (1)
		Low				High
2013:
First quarter		$	31.05			$	40.25			$	0.68
Second quarter			31.60				38.10				0.685
Third quarter			26.67				36.91				0.685
Fourth quarter			24.84				31.83				0.685
2014:
First quarter		$	24.23			$	30.60			$	0.685
Second quarter			25.74				32.81				0.685
Third quarter			26.60				33.30				0.685
Fourth quarter			18.66				29.70				0.685
2015:
First quarter (through March 6, 2015)		$	20.65			$	29.14			$	N/A	(2)

 

(1)	We also paid cash distributions to our general partner with respect to its 2.0% general partner interest.

(2)	We expect to declare and pay a cash distribution for the first quarter of 2015 within 45 days following March 31, 2015.

 

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MATERIAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The tax consequences to you of an investment in our common units will depend in part on your own tax circumstances. Although this section updates information related to certain tax considerations, it should be read in conjunction with “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying base prospectus discussing the principal federal income tax considerations associated with our operations and the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common units and “Risk Factors — Tax Risks to Common Unitholders” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor about the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences peculiar to your circumstances.

Ratio of Taxable Income to Distributions

We estimate that if you purchase common units in this offering and own them through the record date for the distribution for the period ending December 31, 2017, then you will be allocated, on a cumulative basis, a net amount of federal taxable income for that period that will be 25% or less of the cash distributed to you with respect to that period. Thereafter, we anticipate that the ratio of allocable taxable income to cash distributions to the unitholders will increase. These estimates are based upon the assumption that our available cash for distribution will be sufficient for us to make the current quarterly distributions to the holders of our common units, and other assumptions with respect to capital expenditures, cash flow and anticipated cash distributions. These estimates and assumptions are subject to, among other things, numerous business, economic, regulatory, competitive and political uncertainties beyond our control. Further, the estimates are based on current tax law and certain tax reporting positions that we have adopted with which the Internal Revenue Service could disagree. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that the estimates will correspond with actual results. The actual ratio of taxable income to distributions could be higher or lower, and any differences could be material and could materially affect the value of the common units. For example, the ratio of taxable income to distributions to a purchaser of common units in this offering will be higher, and perhaps substantially higher, than our estimate with respect to the period described above if:

 

•

gross income from operations exceeds the amount required to make quarterly distributions at the current level on all units, yet we only distribute the current quarterly distribution amount on all units; or

 

•

we make a future offering of common units and use the proceeds of the offering in a manner that does not produce substantial additional deductions during the period described above, such as to repay indebtedness outstanding at the time of this offering or to acquire property that is not eligible for deprecation or amortization for federal income tax purposes or that is depreciable or amortizable at a rate significantly slower than the rate applicable to our assets at the time of this offering.

Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership” in the accompanying base prospectus.

Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors

Ownership of common units by tax-exempt entities, regulated investment companies and non-U.S. investors raises issues unique to such persons. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors” in the accompanying base prospectus.

 

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UNDERWRITING

We and the underwriters named below have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the common units being offered. Subject to certain conditions, each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase the number of common units indicated in the following table. Barclays Capital Inc., Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are the representatives of the underwriters and joint book-running managers of this offering.

 

Underwriters		Number of Common Units
Barclays Capital Inc.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.
Total			6,000,000

The underwriters are committed to take and pay for all of the common units being offered, if any are taken, other than the common units covered by the option described below unless and until this option is exercised.

If the underwriters sell more common units than the total number set forth in the table above, the underwriters have an option to buy up to an additional 900,000 common units from us. They may exercise that option for 30 days. If any common units are purchased pursuant to this option, the underwriters will severally purchase common units in approximately the same proportion as set forth in the table above.

The following table shows the per common unit and total underwriting discount to be paid to the underwriters by us. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 900,000 additional common units.

 

Paid by the Partnership		No Exercise				Full Exercise
Per Common Unit		$				$
Total		$				$

Common units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus supplement. Any common units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $         per common unit from the initial offering price. If all the common units are not sold at the initial offering price, the representatives may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The offering of the common units by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

We, Calumet, Inc., The Heritage Group, our general partner and the directors and executive officers of our general partner, have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, hedge, contract to sell, pledge, grant an option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of any of their common units or securities convertible into or exchangeable for common units during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date that is 45 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Barclays Capital Inc. or pursuant to our long-term incentive plan.

 

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Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CLMT.”

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may engage in passive market making transactions in the common units on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, during the period before the commencement of offers or sales of common units and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bids at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of the security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid that bid must be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded.

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell common units in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of common units than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units from us in the offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional common units or purchasing common units in the open market. In determining the source of common units to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of common units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase additional common units pursuant to the option granted to them. “Naked” short sales are any sales in excess of such option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing common units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of common units made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.

The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the underwriters have repurchased common units sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Purchases to cover a short position and stabilizing transactions may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common units, and, together with the imposition of the penalty bid, may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the common units. As a result, the price of the common units may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. If these activities are commenced, they may be discontinued at any time. These transactions may be effected on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. views the common units offered under this prospectus as interests in a direct participation program, the offering is being made in compliance with Rule 2310 of FINRA Rules. Investor suitability with respect to the common units should be judged similarly to the suitability with respect to other securities that are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market or another national securities exchange.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the website maintained by the representatives and may also be made available on websites maintained by other underwriters. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of common units to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representative to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

We estimate that the total expenses of the offering, excluding the underwriting discount, will be approximately $0.3 million.

 

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We and our general partner have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. Affiliates of Barclays Capital Inc., Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are lenders under our revolving credit facility. We have also entered into, in the ordinary course of business, various derivative financial instrument transactions related to our crude oil and natural gas purchases, sales of finished fuel products, including diesel and gasoline crack spread hedges and interest rates, with certain of the underwriters or their affiliates. We may enter into similar arrangements with these entities or their affiliates in the future.

Certain of the underwriters or their affiliates that have a lending relationship with us routinely hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, such underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities, including potentially the common units offered hereby. Any such short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the common units offered hereby.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments, including serving as counterparties to certain derivative and hedging arrangements, and actively traded securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with the issuer. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.

 

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VALIDITY OF THE COMMON UNITS

The validity of the common units will be passed upon for us by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas. Certain legal matters in connection with the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for the underwriters by Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston, Texas.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. appearing in Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and the effectiveness of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014 (excluding the internal control over financial reporting of Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc. and Anchor Oilfield Services), have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in its reports thereon, which as to the report on the effectiveness of Calumet Specialty Products Partners L.P.’s internal control over financial reporting contains an explanatory paragraph describing the above referenced exclusion of Anchor Drilling Fluids USA, Inc. and Anchor Oilfield Services from the scope of such firm’s audit of internal control over financial reporting, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such materials can be obtained by mail at prescribed rates from the Public Reference Room. Please call 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information about the operation of the Public Reference Room. Materials also may be obtained from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding companies that file electronically with the SEC.

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

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

We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any documents subsequently filed with the SEC by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K, or corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit), from the date of this prospectus supplement until we have sold all of the common units to which this prospectus supplement relates or the offering is otherwise terminated:

 

•

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014; and

 

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•

The description of our common units contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed on January 18, 2006 (File No. 000-51734) and any subsequent amendment thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description.

You may request a copy of these filings at no cost, by making written or telephone requests for such copies to:

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.

Attention: Investor Relations

2780 Waterfront Parkway East Drive, Suite 200

Indianapolis, Indiana 46214

(317) 328-5660

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information in this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference includes certain “forward-looking statements.” These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “intend,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or other similar words. The statements discussed in this prospectus supplement and in the documents we incorporate by reference that are not purely historical data are forward-looking statements. These statements discuss future expectations or state other “forward-looking” information and involve risks and uncertainties. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements included in this prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference. Please read “Risk Factors” on page S-8 of this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference herein. The risk factors and other factors noted throughout this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

Our forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future performance may differ materially from those suggested in any forward-looking statement. We will not update these statements unless securities laws require us to do so.

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus supplement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

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PROSPECTUS

CALUMET SPECIALTY PRODUCTS PARTNERS, L.P.

CALUMET FINANCE CORP.

 

 

Common Units

Debt Securities

 

 

We may offer, from time to time, in one or more series:

 

•

common units representing limited partnership interests in Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.; and

 

•

debt securities, which may be either senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities.

Calumet Finance Corp. may act as co-issuer of the debt securities, and all other direct or indirect subsidiaries of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. may guarantee the debt securities.

The securities we may offer:

 

•

will be offered at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more accompanying prospectus supplements; and

 

•

may be offered separately or together, or in separate series.

Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CLMT.” We will provide information in one or more prospectus supplements for the trading market, if any, for any debt securities we may offer.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer to sell securities we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about those securities and the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. This prospectus may be used to offer and sell securities only if accompanied by a prospectus supplement. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement carefully before you invest. You should also read the documents we refer to in the “Where You Can Find More Information” section of this prospectus for information on us and our financial statements.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully consider each of the factors referred to under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus and contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before you make an investment in our securities.

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

The date of this prospectus is May 16, 2013.

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GUIDE TO READING THIS PROSPECTUS			1
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			2
INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			3
CALUMET SPECIALTY PRODUCTS PARTNERS, L.P.			4
Overview			4
The Subsidiary Guarantors			4
RISK FACTORS			5
USE OF PROCEEDS			6
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES			7
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS			8
The Units			8
Number of Units			8
Transfer Agent and Registrar			8
Transfer of Common Units			8
THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT			10
Organization and Duration			10
Purpose			10
Power of Attorney			10
Capital Contributions			10
Voting Rights			10
Limited Liability			12
Issuance of Additional Securities			13
Amendment of the Partnership Agreement			13
Merger, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets			15
Termination and Dissolution			16
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds			16
Withdrawal or Removal of the General Partner			16
Transfer of General Partner Interest			18
Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner			18
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights			18
Change of Management Provisions			18
Limited Call Right			19
Meetings; Voting			19
Status as Limited Partner			20
Non-Citizen Transferees			20
Indemnification			20
Reimbursement of Expenses			21
Books and Reports			21
Right to Inspect Our Books and Records			21
Registration Rights			21
OUR CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS			23
General			23
Distributions of Available Cash			24
Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus			24
Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus			25
Incentive Distribution Rights			26
Percentage Allocations of Available Cash from Operating Surplus			26
Distributions from Capital Surplus			27
Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels			27
Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation			28

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES			30
General			30
Specific Terms of Each Series of Debt Securities in the Prospectus Supplement			30
Guarantees			31
Consolidation, Merger or Asset Sale			31
No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control			32
Modification of Indentures			32
Events of Default and Remedies			33
No Limit on Amount of Debt Securities			34
Registration of Notes			34
Minimum Denominations			34
No Personal Liability			34
Payment and Transfer			34
Exchange, Registration and Transfer			34
Provisions Relating only to the Senior Debt Securities			35
Provisions Relating only to the Subordinated Debt Securities			35
Book Entry, Delivery and Form			35
Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance			37
Governing Law			37
The Trustee			37
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES			39
Taxation of the Partnership			39
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership			41
Tax Treatment of Operations			44
Disposition of Units			45
Uniformity of Units			47
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors			47
Administrative Matters			48
State, Local and Other Tax Considerations			49
TAX CONSEQUENCES OF OWNERSHIP OF DEBT SECURITIES			51
INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON UNITS OR DEBT SECURITIES BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS			52
General Fiduciary Matters			52
Prohibited Transaction Issues			52
Representation			53
Plan Asset Issues			53
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			55
LEGAL MATTERS			56
EXPERTS			56

In making your investment decision, you should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any other information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not offering these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted.

You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of those documents. You should not assume that the information contained in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

 

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GUIDE TO READING THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. Each time we offer securities with this prospectus, we will provide you with this prospectus and a prospectus supplement that will describe, among other things, the specific amounts, types and prices of the securities being offered and the terms of the offering, including, in the case of debt securities, the specific terms of the securities.

Any prospectus supplement may include additional risk factors or other special considerations applicable to those securities and 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. Before you invest in our securities, you should carefully read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement and the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Throughout this prospectus, and unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to “Calumet,” “the Partnership,” “we,” “our,” “us” or like terms refer to Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. and its subsidiaries, including the co-issuer of the notes, Calumet Finance Corp. References in this prospectus to “our general partner” refer to Calumet GP, LLC.

We have not authorized any dealer, salesman or other person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and the accompanying supplement to this prospectus. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement. This prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement is delivered or securities are sold on a later date.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information superseded by information contained expressly in this prospectus, and the information we file later with the SEC will automatically supersede this information. 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.

Any information filed by us under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of this prospectus, and that is deemed “filed,” with the SEC will be incorporated by reference and automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below:

 

•

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012;

 

•

Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2013;

 

•

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K and/or 8-K/A (excluding Items 2.02 and 7.01 and related exhibits) filed on June 21, 2012, December 4, 2012, January 10, 2013, March 28, 2013 and May 16, 2013; and

 

•

The description of our common units contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed on January 18, 2006 (File No. 000-51734) and any subsequent amendment thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description.

In addition, all documents filed by us pursuant to the Exchange Act after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, and that is deemed “filed” with the SEC, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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:

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.

Attention: Investor Relations

2780 Waterfront Pkwy E. Drive, Suite 200

Indianapolis, Indiana 46214

(317) 328-5660

Additionally, you may read and copy any documents filed by us at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference 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 also make available free of charge on our internet website at http://www.calumetspecialty.com all of the documents that we file with the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this prospectus.

 

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INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference includes certain “forward-looking statements.” These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “intend,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or other similar words. The statements discussed in this prospectus and in the documents we incorporate by reference that are not purely historical data are forward-looking statements. These statements discuss future expectations or state other “forward-looking” information and involve risks and uncertainties. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements included in this prospectus and the documents we incorporate by reference. Please read “Risk Factors” on page 4 of this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein. The risk factors and other factors noted throughout this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

Our forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future performance may differ materially from those suggested in any forward-looking statement. We will not update these statements unless securities laws require us to do so.

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

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CALUMET SPECIALTY PRODUCTS PARTNERS, L.P.

Overview

We are a leading independent producer of high-quality, specialty hydrocarbon products and fuel products in North America. We are headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and own facilities primarily located in Louisiana, Wisconsin, Montana, Texas and Pennsylvania. We own and lease additional blending and storage facilities, primarily related to production and distribution of specialty products throughout the U.S. Our business is organized into two segments: specialty products and fuel products. In our specialty products segment, we process crude oil and other feedstocks into a wide variety of customized lubricating oils, white mineral oils, solvents, petrolatums, waxes and asphalt. Our specialty products are sold to domestic and international customers who purchase them primarily as raw material components for basic industrial, consumer and automotive goods. We also blend and market specialty products through our Royal Purple brand. In our fuel products segment, we process crude oil into a variety of fuel and fuel-related products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heavy fuel oils as well as reselling purchased crude oil to third party customers.

Calumet Finance Corp. is wholly-owned by Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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.

Our principal executive office is located at 2780 Waterfront Parkway East Drive, Suite 200, Indianapolis, Indiana 46214. Our telephone number is (317) 328-5660.

For additional information on our business, properties and financial condition, please refer to the documents cited in “Where You Can Find More Information.”

The Subsidiary Guarantors

One or more of our subsidiaries may fully and unconditionally guarantee our payment obligations under any series of debt securities offered by this prospectus. The prospectus supplement relating to any such series will identify any subsidiary guarantors. Financial information concerning our subsidiary guarantors and any non-guarantor subsidiaries will be included in our consolidated financial statements filed as part of our periodic reports filed pursuant to the Exchange Act to the extent required by the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Additional information concerning our subsidiaries and us is included in reports and other documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Please read “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

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RISK FACTORS

Our business is subject to uncertainties and risks. Before you invest in our securities you should carefully consider those risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any Current Reports on Form 8-K, which are incorporated herein by reference, and those risk factors that may be included in any 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. Please read “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise indicated to the contrary in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general partnership purposes, which may include debt repayment, future acquisitions, capital expenditures, additions to working capital and potentially the redemption or repurchase of outstanding notes.

Any specific allocation of the net proceeds of an offering of securities to a specific purpose will be determined at the time of the offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement.

 

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the periods presented. For purposes of determining the ratio of earnings to fixed charges, earnings are defined as pre-tax income from continuing operations plus (a) fixed charges, and (b) amortization of capitalized interest, less interest capitalized. Fixed charges consist of interest expensed and capitalized plus (a) amortized discounts and capitalized expenses related to indebtedness, and (b) an estimate of the interest within rental expense.

 

Year Ended December 31,

Three Months Ended March 31, 2013

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

1.72x

2.35x

1.40x

1.71x

3.03x

2.55x

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS

The Units

The common units represent limited partner interests in us. The holders of our common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units in and to partnership distributions, please read this section and “Our Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.” For a description of the rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please see “The Partnership Agreement.”

Our outstanding common units are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CLMT.” Any additional common units we issue will also be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Number of Units

As of March 31, 2013, we had outstanding 63,279,778 common units.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Duties. Computershare Shareowner Services 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 common unitholder; and

 

•

other similar fees or charges.

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

Transfer of Common Units

By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission 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 agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of, and is deemed to have executed, our partnership agreement; and

 

•

gives the consents and approvals contained in our partnership agreement, such as the approval of all transactions and agreements that we are entering into in connection with our formation and this offering.

A transferee will become a substituted limited partner of our partnership for the transferred common units automatically upon the recording of the transfer on our books and records. Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.

 

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We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holders’ rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.

Common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfers of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units.

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

 

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THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The following is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. We will provide prospective investors with a copy of this agreement upon request at no charge.

We summarize the following provisions of our partnership agreement elsewhere in this prospectus:

 

•

with regard to distributions of available cash, please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions”;

 

•

with regard to the transfer of common units, please read “Description of the Common Units — Transfer of Common Units”; and

 

•

with regard to allocations of taxable income and taxable loss, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”

Organization and Duration

We were organized on September 27, 2005 and have a perpetual existence.

Purpose

Our purpose under the partnership agreement is limited to any business activities that are approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law; provided, that our general partner shall not cause us to engage, directly or indirectly, in any business activity that the general partner determines would cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes.

Although our general partner has the ability to cause us, our operating company or its subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the refining and marketing of fuel products and specialty hydrocarbon products, our general partner has no current plans to do so and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. Our general partner is authorized in general to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate 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, by accepting the common unit, automatically 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 our general partner the authority to amend, and to make consents and waivers under, our partnership agreement.

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 the matters specified below. Various matters requiring the approval of a “unit majority” require the approval of a majority of the common units.

 

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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 and our limited partners. For any action that is to be approved at a meeting of unitholders, 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. Please read “— Meetings; Voting.”

 

Issuance of additional units

No approval right.

 

Amendment of our partnership

agreement Certain amendments may be made by the general partner without the approval of the unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a unit majority. 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, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets.”

 

Dissolution of our partnership

Unit majority. Please read “— Termination and Dissolution.”

 

Continuation of the business of our partnership upon dissolution

Unit majority. Please read “— Termination and 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, 2015 in a manner that would cause a dissolution of our partnership. Please read “— Withdrawal or Removal of the General Partner.”

 

Removal of our general partner

Not less than 662/3% of the outstanding units, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates. Please read “— Withdrawal or Removal of the General Partner.”

 

Transfer of the general partner interest

Our general partner may transfer all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in us without a vote of our unitholders to an affiliate or another person in connection with its merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, such person. The approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required in other circumstances for a transfer of the general partner interest to a third party prior to December 31, 2015. Please read “— Transfer of General Partner Interest.”

 

Transfer of incentive distribution rights

Except for transfers to an affiliate or another person as part of our general partner’s merger or consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of its assets or the sale of all of the ownership interests in such holder, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding common units held by the general partner and its affiliates, is required in most circumstances for a transfer of the incentive distribution rights to a third party prior to December 31, 2015. Please read “— Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights.”

 

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Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner

No approval required at any time. Please read “— Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner.”

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 our general partner;

 

•

to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement; or

 

•

to take other action under our partnership agreement;

constituted “participation in the control” of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our 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 our 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 for three years. Under the Delaware Act, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of his assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except that such person 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 44 states. Maintenance of our limited liability as a member of our operating company may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which our operating company conducts business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.

Limitations on the liability of limited partners for the obligations of a limited partner have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our membership interest in our operating company or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace the general partner, to approve some amendments to our 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 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.

 

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Issuance of Additional Securities

Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership securities for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of the unitholders.

We may issue an unlimited number of common units without the approval of the unitholders as follows:

 

•

upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units;

 

•

under employee benefits plans;

 

•

upon conversion of the general partner interest and incentive distribution rights as a result of a withdrawal or removal of our general partner;

 

•

upon conversion of units of equal rank with the common units into common units or other parity units under certain circumstances;

 

•

in the event of a combination or subdivision of common units;

 

•

in connection with an acquisition or an expansion capital improvement that increases cash flow from operations per unit on an estimated pro forma basis;

 

•

if the proceeds of the issuance are used to repay indebtedness, the cost of which to service is greater than the distribution obligations associated with the units issued in connection with its retirement; or

 

•

in connection with the redemption of common units or other equity interests of equal rank with the common units from the net proceeds of an issuance of common units or parity units, but only if the redemption price equals the net proceeds per unit, before expenses, to us.

It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership 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 common units or other partnership securities 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 that, as determined by our general partner, may have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiaries of equity securities, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.

Upon issuance of additional partnership securities, our general partner will be entitled, but not required, to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us. The general partner’s 2% interest in us will be reduced if we issue additional units in the future and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 2% general partner interest. Moreover, our general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership securities whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those securities to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of the general partner and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. Otherwise, under our partnership agreement, 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 our partnership agreement may be proposed only by or with the consent of our general partner. However, our general partner will have no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and

 

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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 call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a unit majority.

Prohibited Amendments. No amendment may be made that would:

 

•

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

 

•

enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to our general partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of our general partner, which consent may be given or withheld at its option.

The provision of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in any of the clauses above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units voting together as a single class (including units owned by our general partner and its affiliates). Currently, our general partner and its affiliates own approximately 26.2% of the outstanding units.

No Unitholder Approval. Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee to reflect:

 

•

a change in our name, the location of our principal place of our 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 the operating company nor any of its subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes;

 

•

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;

 

•

an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the authorization of additional partnership securities or rights to acquire partnership securities;

 

•

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 for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement;

 

•

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

 

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•

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 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 bullet points above.

In addition, our general partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee in connection with a merger or consolidation approved in connection with our partnership agreement, or if our general partner determines that those amendments:

 

•

do not adversely affect the limited partners (or any particular class of limited partners) in any material respect;

 

•

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

 

•

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

 

•

are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by our general partner relating to splits or combinations of units under the provisions of our partnership agreement; or

 

•

are required to effect the intent expressed in 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. 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 in connection with any of the amendments described under “— No Unitholder Approval.” 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.

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 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.

Merger, 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, 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. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without that approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those

 

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encumbrances without that 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, the transaction would not result in a material amendment to our partnership agreement, each of our units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction, and the units to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding units immediately prior to the transaction.

If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity if the sole purpose of that merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity. The 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 transaction or event.

Termination and Dissolution

We will continue as a limited partnership until terminated 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; 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 withdrawal or removal following 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 of any limited partner; and

 

•

neither our partnership, our operating company nor any of our other subsidiaries 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 our business is continued as described above, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate to liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as provided in “Our Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions — Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation.” The liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time or distribute assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to our partners.

Withdrawal or Removal of the General Partner

Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to December 31, 2015 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

 

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of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after December 31, 2015, our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days’ written notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without unitholder approval upon 90 days’ notice to the limited partners if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and its affiliates other than 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 Interest” and “— Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights.”

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, voting as separate classes, may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period 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 “— 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 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 33-1/3% of the outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates would give them the practical ability to prevent our general partner’s removal. Currently, our general partner and its affiliates own an aggregate of 26.2% of the outstanding units.

Our partnership agreement also provides that if our general partner is removed as our general partner under circumstances where cause does not exist and units held by the general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal:

 

•

any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and

 

•

our general partner will have the right to convert its general partner interest and its incentive distribution rights into common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests based on the fair market value of those interests at that time.

In the event of removal of a general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of a general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest and incentive distribution rights of the departing general partner for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where a 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 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 its incentive distribution rights will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an

 

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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 Interest

Except for transfer by our general partner of all, but not less than all, of its general partner interest in our partnership to:

 

•

an affiliate of our general partner (other than an individual); or

 

•

another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of our general partner with or into another entity or the transfer by our general partner of all or substantially all of its assets to another entity,

our general partner may not transfer all or any part of its general partner interest in our partnership to another person prior to December 31, 2015 without the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. As a condition of this transfer, the transferee must assume, among other things, 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. On or after December 31, 2015, our general partner interest will be freely transferable.

Our general partner and its affiliates may, at any time, transfer units to one or more persons, without unitholder approval.

Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our 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 third party without the approval of our unitholders.

Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights

Our general partner or its affiliates or a subsequent holder may transfer its incentive distribution rights to an affiliate of the holder (other than an individual) or another entity as part of the merger or consolidation of such holder with or into another entity, the sale of all of the ownership interest of the holder or the sale of all or substantially all of its assets to, that entity without the prior approval of the unitholders. Prior to December 31, 2015, other transfers of incentive distribution rights will require the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. On or after December 31, 2015, the incentive distribution rights will be freely transferable.

Change of Management Provisions

Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove Calumet GP, LLC as our general partner or otherwise change our management. 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 prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner.

 

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Our partnership agreement also provides that if our general partner is removed under circumstances where cause does not exist and units held by our general partner and its affiliates are not voted in favor of that removal:

 

•

any existing arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units will be extinguished; and

 

•

our 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 own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which right may be assigned 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 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 cash price paid by either of our general partner or any of its affiliates for any partnership securities 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 partnership securities; and

 

•

the current market price as of the date three days before the date the notice is mailed.

As a result of our general partner’s 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 U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Disposition of Common Units.”

Meetings; Voting

Except as described below regarding a person or group owning 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, unitholders 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.

Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called represented in person or by proxy will constitute a quorum unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.

Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read “— Issuance of Additional Securities.” 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, 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

 

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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 holders of common units under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.

Status as Limited Partner

Except as described under “— Limited Liability,” the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions. 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 is reflected in our books and records.

Non-Citizen Transferees

If we are or become subject to 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, we may redeem the units held by the limited partner at their current market price. In order to avoid any cancellation or forfeiture, our general partner may require each limited partner to furnish information about his nationality, citizenship or related status. If a limited partner fails to furnish information about his nationality, citizenship or other related status within 30 days after a request for the information or our general partner determines after receipt of the information that the limited partner is not an eligible citizen, the limited partner may be treated as a non-citizen transferee. A non-citizen transferee is entitled to an interest equivalent to that of a limited partner for the right to share in allocations and distributions from us, including liquidating distributions. A non-citizen transferee does not have the right to vote his units and may not receive distributions in kind upon our liquidation.

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 a general partner or any departing general partner;

 

•

any person who is or was a director, officer, member, partner, fiduciary or trustee of any entity set forth in the preceding three bullet points;

 

•

any person who is or was serving as director, officer, member, partner, fiduciary or trustee of another person at the request of our general partner or any departing general partner or any of their affiliates (other than persons acting on a fee-for-services basis); and

 

•

any person designated by our general partner.

Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless it otherwise agrees, our 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 our partnership agreement.

 

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Reimbursement of Expenses

Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf and all other expenses allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our general partner in connection with operating our business. 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. The 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. 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.

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 our 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

Our partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable 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 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 partner became a partner;

 

•

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; and

 

•

any other information regarding our affairs as is just and reasonable.

Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our 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 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 partnership

 

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securities proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates or their transferees if an exemption from the registration requirements is not available. We have also agreed to include on any registration statement we file any partnership securities proposed to be sold by our general partner or its affiliates or their transferees. These registration rights continue for two years following any withdrawal or removal of Calumet GP, LLC as our general partner. In connection with any registration of this kind, we will indemnify each unitholder participating in the registration and its officers, directors and controlling persons from and against any liabilities under the Securities Act or any state securities laws arising from the registration statement or prospectus. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

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OUR CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS

General

Rationale for Our Cash Distribution Policy. Our cash distribution policy reflects a basic judgment that our unitholders will be better served by our distributing our available cash rather than retaining it. Because we are not subject to a partnership-level federal income tax, we have more cash to distribute to you than would be the case were we subject to partnership level federal income tax. Our cash distribution policy is consistent with the terms of our partnership agreement, which requires that we distribute available cash to our unitholders quarterly. Our determination of available cash takes into account the need to maintain certain cash reserves to preserve our distribution levels across seasonal and cyclical fluctuations in our business.

Limitations on Cash Distributions and Our Ability to Change Our Cash Distribution Policy. There is no guarantee that unitholders will receive quarterly distributions from us. Our distribution policy is subject to certain restrictions and may be changed at any time, including:

 

•

Our distribution policy will be subject to restrictions on distributions under our new credit facilities. Specifically, our credit facilities contain consolidated leverage and available liquidity tests that we must satisfy in order to make distributions to unitholders. Should we be unable to satisfy these restrictions under our credit facilities, we would be prohibited from making cash distributions to you notwithstanding our stated cash distribution policy.

 

•

Our board of directors will have the authority to establish reserves for the prudent conduct of our business or for future distributions to unitholders, and the establishment of those reserves could result in a reduction in cash distributions to you from levels we currently anticipate pursuant to our stated distribution policy.

 

•

Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions we pay under our cash distribution policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our general partner, taking into consideration the terms of our partnership agreement.

 

•

Under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act, we may not make a distribution to you if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets.

 

•

We may lack sufficient cash to pay distributions to our unitholders due to a number of factors, including increases in our general and administrative expense, principal and interest payments on our outstanding debt, tax expenses, working capital requirements, anticipated cash needs and seasonality.

 

•

While our partnership agreement requires us to distribute our available cash, our partnership agreement may be amended. Our partnership agreement can be amended with the approval of a majority of our outstanding common units.

Our Cash Distribution Policy May Limit Our Ability to Grow. Because we intend to distribute the majority of the cash generated from our business to our unitholders, our growth may not be as fast as businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations.

Our Ability to Grow is Dependent on Our Ability to Access External Expansion Capital. We will distribute our available cash from operations to our unitholders. As a result, we expect that we will rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund our acquisitions and major expansion capital expenditures. As a result, to the extent we are unable to finance growth externally, our cash distribution policy will significantly impair our ability to grow. In addition, to the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures, the payments of distributions on those additional units may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per unit distribution level, which in turn may reduce the available cash that we have to distribute on each unit. We are able to issue additional units without the approval of our unitholders in a number of circumstances. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Issuance of Additional Securities.” The incurrence of

 

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additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which in turn may reduce the available cash that we have to distribute to our unitholders.

Distributions of Available Cash

General. Within 45 days after the end of each quarter, we will distribute our available cash to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.

Definition of Available Cash. Available cash generally means, for any quarter, all cash on hand at the end of the quarter:

 

•

less the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to:

 

•

provide for the proper conduct of our business;

 

•

comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements; or

 

•

provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and to our general partner for any one or more of the next four quarters;

 

•

plus all cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter for which the determination is being made. Working capital borrowings are generally borrowings that will be made under our revolving credit facility and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners.

Intent to Distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution. We will distribute to the holders of common units on a quarterly basis at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.45 per unit, or $1.80 per year, to the extent we have sufficient cash from our operations after establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner. However, there is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the units in any quarter. Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under our policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our general partner, taking into consideration the terms of our partnership agreement. We are prohibited from making any distributions to unitholders if it would cause an event of default, or an event of default is existing, under our credit agreements.

General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights. As of the date of this offering, our general partner is entitled to 2% of all quarterly distributions since inception that we make prior to our liquidation. This general partner interest is represented by 1,414,638 general partner units. Our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its current general partner interest. The general partner’s initial 2% interest in these distributions may be reduced if we issue additional units in the future and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its 2% general partner interest. Our general partner also currently holds incentive distribution rights that entitle it to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 50%, of the cash we distribute from operating surplus (as defined below) in excess of $0.45 per unit. The maximum distribution of 50% includes distributions paid to our general partner on its 2% general partner interest, and assumes that our general partner maintains its general partner interest at 2%. The maximum distribution of 50% does not include any distributions that our general partner may receive on units that it owns. Please read “— Incentive Distribution Rights” for additional information.

Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus

General. All cash distributed to unitholders is characterized as either “operating surplus” or “capital surplus.” Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus.

 

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Operating Surplus. Operating surplus generally consists of:

 

•

our cash balance on the closing date of this offering; plus

 

•

$10.0 million (as described below); plus

 

•

all of our cash receipts after the closing of this offering, excluding cash from (1) borrowings that are not working capital borrowings, (2) sales of equity and debt securities and (3) sales or other dispositions of assets outside the ordinary course of business; plus

 

•

working capital borrowings made after the end of a quarter but before the date of determination of operating surplus for the quarter; less

 

•

all of our operating expenditures after the closing of this offering (including the repayment of working capital borrowings, but not the repayment of other borrowings) and maintenance capital expenditures; less

 

•

the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner for future operating expenditures.

Maintenance capital expenditures represent capital expenditures made to replace partially or fully depreciated assets, to maintain the existing operating capacity of our assets and to extend their useful lives, or other capital expenditures that are incurred in maintaining existing system volumes and related cash flows. Expansion capital expenditures represent capital expenditures made to expand the existing operating capacity of our assets or to expand the operating capacity or revenues of existing or new assets, whether through construction or acquisition. Costs for repairs and minor renewals to maintain facilities in operating condition and that do not extend the useful life of existing assets are treated as operations and maintenance expenses as we incur them. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner determines how to allocate a capital expenditure for the acquisition or expansion of our assets between maintenance capital expenditures and expansion capital expenditures.

Capital Surplus. Capital surplus consists of:

 

•

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 current assets sold in the ordinary course of business or as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets.

Characterization of Cash Distributions. We treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since we began operations equals the operating surplus as of the most recent date of determination of available cash. We treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. As reflected above, operating surplus includes $10.0 million. This amount 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 of cash we receive in the future from non-operating sources, such as asset sales, issuances of securities and borrowings, that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.

Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus

We will make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter in the following manner:

 

•

first, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until we distribute for each outstanding unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and

 

•

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

The preceding discussion is based on the assumptions that our general partner maintains its 2% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity securities.

 

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Incentive Distribution Rights

Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an increasing percentage of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. Our general partner currently holds the incentive distribution rights, but may transfer these rights separately from its general partner interest, subject to restrictions in the partnership agreement.

If for any quarter:

 

•

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

 

•

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

then, we will distribute any additional available cash from operating surplus for that quarter among the unitholders and the general partner in the following manner:

 

•

first, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.495 per unit for that quarter (the “first target distribution”);

 

•

second, 85% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15% to the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.563 per unit for that quarter (the “second target distribution”);

 

•

third, 75% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25% to the general partner, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.675 per unit for that quarter (the “third target distribution”); and

 

•

thereafter, 50% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50% to the general partner.

In each case, the amount of the target distribution set forth above is exclusive of any distributions to common unitholders to eliminate any cumulative arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution. The preceding discussion is based on the assumptions that our general partner maintains its 2% general partner interest and that we do not issue additional classes of equity securities.

Percentage Allocations of Available Cash from Operating Surplus

The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of the additional available cash from operating surplus between the unitholders and our general partner up to the various target distribution levels. The amounts set forth under “Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions” are the percentage interests of our general partner and the unitholders in any available cash from operating surplus we distribute up to and including the corresponding amount in the column “Total Quarterly Distribution Target Amount,” until available cash from operating surplus we distribute reaches the next target distribution level, if any. The percentage interests shown for the unitholders and the general partner for the minimum quarterly distribution are also applicable to quarterly distribution amounts that are less than the minimum quarterly distribution. The percentage interests set forth below for our general partner include its 2% general partner interest and assume our general partner has contributed any additional capital to maintain its 2% general partner interest and has not transferred its incentive distribution rights.

 

		Total Quarterly Distribution Target Amount		Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions
				Unitholders				General Partner
Minimum Quarterly Distribution		$0.45			98	%			2	%
First Target Distribution		up to $0.495			98	%			2	%
Second Target Distribution		above $0.495 up to $0.563			85	%			15	%
Third Target Distribution		above $0.563 up to $0.675			75	%			25	%
Thereafter		above $0.675			50	%			50	%

 

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Distributions from Capital Surplus

How Distributions from Capital Surplus Will Be Made. We will make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner:

 

•

first, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until we distribute for each common unit that was issued in this offering, an amount of available cash from capital surplus equal to the initial public offering price;

 

•

second, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until we distribute for each common unit, an amount of available cash from capital surplus equal to any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units; and

 

•

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

Effect of a Distribution from Capital Surplus. Our partnership agreement treats a distribution of capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from the initial public offering, which is a return of capital. The initial public offering price less any distributions of capital surplus per unit is referred to as the “unrecovered initial unit price.” Each time a distribution of capital surplus is made, the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced in the same proportion as the corresponding reduction in the unrecovered initial unit price. Because distributions of capital surplus will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution, after any of these distributions are made, it may be easier for the general partner to receive incentive distributions. However, any distribution of capital surplus before the unrecovered initial unit price is reduced to zero cannot be applied to the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution or any arrearages.

Once we distribute capital surplus on a unit issued in this offering in an amount equal to the initial unit price, our partnership agreement specifies that the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced to zero. Our partnership agreement specifies that we then make all future distributions from operating surplus, with 50% being paid to the holders of units and 50% to the general partner. The percentage interests shown for our general partner include its 2% general partner interest and assume the general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights.

Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels

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

 

•

the minimum quarterly distribution;

 

•

target distribution levels; and

 

•

the unrecovered initial unit price.

For example, if a two-for-one split of the common units should occur, the minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50% of its initial level. Our partnership agreement provides that we not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.

In addition, if legislation is enacted or if existing law is modified or interpreted by a governmental taxing authority, so that we become taxable as a corporation or otherwise subject to taxation as an entity for federal, state or local income tax purposes, our partnership agreement specifies that the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels for each quarter will be reduced by multiplying each distribution level by a

 

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fraction, the numerator of which is available cash for that quarter and the denominator of which is the sum of available cash for that quarter plus the general partner’s estimate of our aggregate liability for the quarter for such income taxes payable by reason of such legislation or interpretation. To the extent that the actual tax liability differs from the estimated tax liability for any quarter, the difference will be accounted for in subsequent quarters.

Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation

General. If we dissolve in accordance with the partnership agreement, we will sell or otherwise dispose of our assets in a process called liquidation. We will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of our creditors. We will distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders and the general partner, in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of our assets in liquidation.

The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended, to the extent possible, to entitle the holders of outstanding common units to receive their unrecovered initial unit price plus the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which liquidation occurs plus any unpaid arrearages in payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units. However, there may not be sufficient gain upon our liquidation to enable the holders of common units to fully recover all of these amounts. Any further net gain recognized upon liquidation will be allocated in a manner that takes into account the incentive distribution rights of the general partner.

Manner of Adjustments for Gain. The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in the partnership agreement. If we liquidate, we will allocate any gain to the partners in the following manner:

 

•

first, to the general partner and the holders of units who have negative balances in their capital accounts to the extent of and in proportion to those negative balances;

 

•

second, 98% to the common unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until the capital account for each common unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price; and (2) the amount of the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which our liquidation occurs;

 

•

third, 98% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the first target distribution per unit over the minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution per unit that we distributed 98% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 2% to the general partner, for each quarter of our existence;

 

•

fourth, 85% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 15% to the general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the second target distribution per unit over the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the first target distribution per unit that we distributed 85% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 15% to the general partner for each quarter of our existence;

 

•

fifth, 75% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 25% to the general partner, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to: (1) the sum of the excess of the third target distribution per unit over the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less (2) the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the second target distribution per unit that we distributed 75% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 25% to the general partner for each quarter of our existence; and

 

•

thereafter, 50% to all unitholders, pro rata, and 50% to the general partner.

The percentage interests set forth above for our general partner include its 2% general partner interest and assume the general partner has not transferred the incentive distribution rights.

 

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Manner of Adjustments for Losses. If we liquidate, we will generally allocate any loss to the general partner and the unitholders in the following manner:

 

•

first, 98% to the holders of common units in proportion to the positive balances in their capital accounts and 2% to the general partner, until the capital accounts of the common unitholders have been reduced to zero; and

 

•

thereafter, 100% to the 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 tax purposes, unrecognized gain or loss resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the general partner in the same manner as we allocate gain or loss upon liquidation. In the event that we make positive adjustments to the capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units, our partnership agreement requires that we allocate any later negative adjustments to the capital accounts resulting from the issuance of additional units or upon our liquidation in a manner which results, to the extent possible, in the general partner’s capital account balances equaling the amount which they would have been if no earlier positive adjustments to the capital accounts had been made.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF 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 and a trustee.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. may issue debt securities in one or more series, and Calumet Finance Corp. may be a co-issuer of one or more series of debt securities. Calumet Finance Corp. was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in August 2007, is wholly-owned by Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P., 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 Debt Securities,” the terms “we,” “us,” “our” and “issuers” refer jointly to Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. and Calumet Finance Corp., and the terms “Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.” and “Calumet Finance” refer strictly to Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. and Calumet 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. We have not restated either indenture in its entirety in this description. 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 Calumet Finance will be a co-issuer of the debt securities;

 

•

the guarantors of the debt securities, if any;

 

•

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 respecting a series of debt securities, the subsidiaries of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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 fixed 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 all subsidiaries. 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 of the guarantors on the same basis as the subordinated debt securities are subordinated to the Senior Indebtedness of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.

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 Calumet Finance may not merge, amalgamate or consolidate with or into another entity other than a corporation satisfying such requirement for so long as Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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 at least 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);

 

•

except as otherwise permitted in the indenture, release any guarantor from its obligations under its guarantee or the indenture or change any guarantee in any manner that would adversely affect the rights of holders; 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 of terms of any series of debt securities;

 

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•

to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

•

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

 

•

to provide for the assumption of an issuer’s or guarantor’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 or guarantor’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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.;

 

•

to add or release guarantors pursuant to the terms of the indenture;

 

•

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 and/or the guarantees.

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 the issuers 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.

 

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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 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, the general partner of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. or any guarantor will have any liability for the obligations of the issuers or any guarantors 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.

 

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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.

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 repurchase, 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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. “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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. 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,

 

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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.

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

 

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

 

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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:

(a) either:

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

(2) all outstanding debt securities of that series that have not been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation have become due and payable 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;

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

(c) 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, 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, 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.

 

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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 or a guarantor, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise.

Annual Trustee Report to Holders of Debt Securities

The Trustee 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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MATERIAL U.S. 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. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we” or “us” are references to Calumet and its subsidiaries.

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

We are relying on opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for 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, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following federal income tax issues: (1) the treatment of a unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) (please read “— Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership — Treatment of Securities Loans”); (2) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “— Disposition of Units — Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”); and (3) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership —Section 754 Election” and “— Uniformity of Units”).

Taxation of the Partnership

Partnership Status. We expect to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, generally will not be liable for entity-level federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder. Distributions we make to a unitholder generally will not give rise to income or gain taxable to such unitholder, unless the amount of cash distributed exceeds the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in its units.

 

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Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly-traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a 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 income and gains derived from the refining, transportation, storage, processing and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and products thereof, as well as other types of qualifying income such as interest (other than from a financial business) and dividends. We estimate that less than 4% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.

Based upon factual representations made by us and our general partner regarding the composition of our income and the other representations set forth below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that we will be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes for the current year. In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied include, without limitation:

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

(b) For each taxable year since the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been income of a character that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Internal Revenue Code; and

(c) Each hedging transaction that we treat as resulting in qualifying income has been appropriately identified as a hedging transaction pursuant to applicable Treasury Regulations, and has been associated with crude oil, natural gas, or products thereof that are held or to be held by us in activities that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined result in qualifying income.

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

If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income by our unitholders or us so long as our liabilities do not exceed the tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.

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

If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our liability for federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our unitholders. Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the 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.

 

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The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.

Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership

Limited Partner Status. Unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership, as well as unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of units, will be treated as partners of the partnership for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “— 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 the circumstances.

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

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 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 “liabilities” will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. 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 liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) 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 and depletion 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.

Basis of Units. A unitholder’s tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid for those units plus the unitholder’s share of our 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 liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions, the unitholder’s share of our losses, and any decreases in its share of our liabilities.

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

 

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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 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” is generally limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:

 

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interest on indebtedness properly allocable to property held for investment;

 

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our interest expense attributed to portfolio income; and

 

•

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

The computation of a 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.

Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes. If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all 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.

 

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Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction. Our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated among the general partner and our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. At any time that distributions are made to the general partner, gross income will be allocated to the recipients to the extent of such 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.

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. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in “— Section 754 Election” and “— Disposition of Units — Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees,” allocations under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partner’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction.

Treatment of Securities Loans. A unitholder whose units are loaned (for example, a loan to “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, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder that enters into a securities loan with respect to its units. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of income recognition from a loan of their units are urged to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and lending their units. The IRS has announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please read “— Disposition of Units — Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

Tax Rates. Beginning January 1, 2013, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 39.6% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.

In addition, a 3.8% Medicare tax on certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts applies for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012. 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. 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

 

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trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.

Section 754 Election. We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax bases in our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to each purchaser of units based upon the values and bases of our assets at the time of the relevant purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us.

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

The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of units due to lack of controlling authority. Because a 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 will be made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or nondepreciable assets. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally nonamortizable or amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.

Tax Treatment of Operations

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

Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization. The tax basis of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of these assets. If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain,

 

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determined by reference to the amount of depreciation and depletion 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.

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

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 or the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our liabilities with respect to such units. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale.

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

The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an “equitable apportionment” method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the 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 above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis units to sell as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, it may designate specific units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the

 

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actual holding period of units transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult its tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.

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

 

•

a short sale;

 

•

an offsetting notional principal contract; or

 

•

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

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

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

Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be permitted under existing Treasury Regulations. Recently, however, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued proposed Treasury Regulations that provide a safe harbor pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may use a similar monthly simplifying convention to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee unitholders, although such tax items must be prorated on a daily basis. Nonetheless, the proposed regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If this method is not allowed under the final Treasury Regulations, or only applies to transfers of less than all of the unitholder’s interest, our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among our unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under future Treasury Regulations.

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

Notification Requirements. A unitholder who sells or purchases any of its units is generally required to notify us in writing of that transaction within 30 days after the transaction (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the transaction in the case of a seller). Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of

 

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a transfer of units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.

Constructive Termination. We will be considered to have “constructively” terminated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes upon the sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For such purposes, multiple sales of the same unit are counted only once. A constructive termination results in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than the calendar year, the closing of our taxable year may result in more than twelve months of our taxable income or loss being includable in such unitholder’s taxable income for the year of termination.

A constructive termination occurring on a date other than December 31 generally would require that we file two tax returns for one fiscal year and the cost of the preparation of these returns will be borne by all unitholders. However, pursuant to an IRS relief procedure the IRS may allow a constructively terminated partnership to provide a single Schedule K-1 for the calendar year in which a termination occurs. Following a constructive termination, we would be required to make new tax elections, including a new election under Section 754 of the Code, and the termination would result in a deferral of our deductions for depreciation. A termination could also result in penalties if we were unable to determine that the termination had occurred. Moreover, a termination may either accelerate the application of, or subject us to, any tax legislation enacted before the termination that would not otherwise have been applied to us as a continuing as opposed to a terminating partnership.

Uniformity of Units

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

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

A 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, other tax-exempt organizations, non-resident aliens, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or non-U.S. persons should consult their tax advisors before investing in our units. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on

 

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unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.

Non-resident aliens and foreign corporations, trusts or estates that own units will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of their ownership of our units. Consequently, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax at regular rates on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each non-U.S. unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.

In addition, because a foreign corporation that owns units will be treated as engaged in a United States trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular federal income tax, on its share of our income and gain to the extent reflected in earnings and profits, and as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “U.S. net equity.” 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 U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. unitholder. Under a ruling published by the IRS interpreting the scope of “effectively connected income,” part or all of a non-U.S. unitholder’s gain may be treated as effectively connected with that unitholder’s indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by its investment in us. Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a non-U.S. unitholder generally will be subject to federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a unit if (i) it owned (directly or constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of all of our assets consisted of U.S. real property interests at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the units or the 5-year period ending on the date of disposition. More than 50% of our assets may consist of U.S. real property interests. Therefore, non-U.S. unitholders may be subject to federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.

Administrative Matters

Information Returns and Audit Procedures. We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each 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.

The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of the units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior 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.

Publicly traded partnerships generally are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a

 

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partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings of the partners. The Code requires that one partner be designated as the “Tax Matters Partner” for these purposes, and our partnership agreement designates our general partner.

The Tax Matters Partner can extend the statute of limitations for assessment of tax deficiencies against unitholders for items in our returns. The Tax Matters Partner may bind a unitholder with less than a 1% profits interest in us to a settlement with the IRS unless that unitholder elects, by filing a statement with the IRS, not to give that authority to the Tax Matters Partner. The Tax Matters Partner may seek judicial review, by which all the unitholders are bound, of a final partnership administrative adjustment and, if the Tax Matters Partner fails to seek judicial review, judicial review may be sought by any unitholder having at least a 1% interest in profits or by any group of unitholders having in the aggregate at least a 5% interest in profits. However, only one action for judicial review may go forward, and each unitholder with an interest in the outcome may participate in that action.

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

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

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

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

(a) a non-U.S. person;

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

(c) a tax-exempt entity;

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

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

Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty of $100 per failure, up to a maximum of $1.5 million per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.

Accuracy-Related Penalties. An additional tax equal to 20% of the amount of any portion of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income tax and substantial valuation misstatements, is imposed by the Code. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion.

State, Local and Other Tax Considerations

In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, unitholders will 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 owns property or in which the unitholder is a resident.

 

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We currently conduct business or own property in several states, most of which impose personal income taxes on individuals. Most of these states also impose an income tax on corporations and other entities. Moreover, 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. A unitholder may be required to file state income tax returns and to pay state income taxes in any state in which we do business or own property, and such unitholder may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.

It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent states and localities, of its investment in us. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend on, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all tax returns that may be required of it.

 

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TAX CONSEQUENCES OF OWNERSHIP OF DEBT SECURITIES

A description of the material federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of debt securities will be set forth on the prospectus supplement relating to the offering of debt securities.

 

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INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON UNITS OR DEBT SECURITIES BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The following is a summary of certain considerations associated with an investment in our common units or debt securities by employee benefit plans that are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), the restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any successor thereto (the “Code”) or provisions under any federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of ERISA or the Code (collectively, “Similar Laws”). As used herein, the term “employee benefit plan” includes, without limitation, qualified pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, Keogh plans, simplified employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities, IRAs and other arrangements established or maintained by an employer or employee organization, and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of such plans, accounts and arrangements.

This summary is based on the provisions of ERISA and the Code (and related regulations and administrative and judicial interpretations) as of the date of this prospectus. This summary does not purport to be complete and future legislation, court decisions, administrative regulations, rulings or administrative pronouncements could significantly modify the requirements summarized below. Any of these changes may be retroactive and may thereby apply to transactions entered into prior to the date of their enactment or release.

General Fiduciary Matters

ERISA and the Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries of an employee benefit plan that is subject to Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code (each, an “ERISA Plan”) and prohibit certain transactions involving the assets of an ERISA Plan and its fiduciaries or other interested parties. Under ERISA and the Code, 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 to an ERISA Plan, is generally considered to be a fiduciary of the ERISA Plan. In considering an investment of a portion of the assets of any employee benefit plan in our common units or debt securities, among other things, consideration should be given to:

 

•

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

 

•

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

 

•

whether the investment will result in recognition of unrelated business taxable income by the plan and, if so, the potential after-tax investment return. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors.”

The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan should determine whether an investment in our common units or debt securities is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is a proper investment for the Plan.

Prohibited Transaction Issues

Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code prohibit employee benefit plans, and IRAs that are not considered part of an employee benefit plan, from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with parties that, with respect to the plan, are “parties in interest” under ERISA or “disqualified persons” under the Code, unless an exemption is available. A party in interest or disqualified person who engages in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. In addition, the fiduciary of an ERISA Plan that engages in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes, penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code.

 

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The acquisition and/or holding of debt securities by an ERISA Plan with respect to which we or the initial purchasers are considered a party in interest or a disqualified person, may constitute or result in a direct or indirect prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA and/or Section 4975 of the Code, unless the debt securities are 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, holding and/or disposition (to the extent relevant) of the exchange notes. Included among these prohibited transaction class exemptions are: PTCE 75-1 (regarding specified transactions involving employee benefit plans and broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks); PTCE 84-14 (regarding transactions directed by an independent qualified professional asset manager); PTCE 90-1 (regarding investments by insurance company pooled separate accounts); PTCE 91-38 (regarding investments by bank collective investment funds), PTCE 95-60 (regarding investments by insurance company general accounts); and PTCE 96-23 (regarding transactions directed by a qualified in-house asset manager). In addition to the class exemptions listed above, Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Code each provide statutory exemptions for prohibited transactions between an ERISA Plan and a person or entity that is a party in interest to such ERISA Plan solely by reason of providing services to such ERISA Plan (other than a party in interest that is a fiduciary, or its affiliate, that has or exercises discretionary authority or control or renders investment advice with respect to the assets of the ERISA Plan involved in the transaction), provided that there is adequate consideration for the transaction. Each of these PTCEs contains conditions and limitations on its application. Thus, the fiduciaries of an employee benefit plan that is considering acquiring and/or holding the notes in reliance on any of these, or any other, PTCEs should carefully review the PTCE and consult with their counsel to confirm that it is applicable. There can be no, and we do not provide any, assurance that all of the conditions of any such exemptions will be satisfied.

Because of the foregoing, our common units or debt securities may not be purchased or held (or converted to equity securities, in the case of any convertible debt) by any person investing “plan assets” of any employee benefit plan, unless such purchase and holding (or conversion, if any) will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Code or similar violation of any applicable Similar Laws.

Representation

Accordingly, by acceptance of our common units or debt securities, or any interest therein, each purchaser and subsequent transferee of the common units or debt securities will be deemed to have represented and warranted that either (i) no portion of the assets used by such purchaser or transferee to acquire and hold the common units or debt securities constitutes assets of any employee benefit plan or (ii) the acquisition and holding (and any conversion, if applicable) of the common units or debt securities by such purchaser or transferee will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code or similar violation under any applicable Similar Laws.

Plan Asset Issues

In addition to considering whether the purchase of our common units or debt securities is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the plan will, by investing in our common units or debt securities, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our general partner also would be a fiduciary of the plan and our operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.

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

 

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(a) the equity interests acquired by the employee benefit plan are publicly offered securities — i.e., the equity interests are widely held by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and each other, are freely transferable and are registered pursuant to certain provisions of the federal securities laws;

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

(c) there is no significant investment by benefit plan investors, which is defined to mean that less than 25% of the value of each class of equity interest, disregarding certain interests held by our general partner, its affiliates, and certain other persons, is held by employee benefit plans that are subject to part 4 of Title I of ERISA (which excludes governmental plans and non-electing church plans) and/or Section 4975 of the Code and IRAs.

With respect to an investment in our common units, we believe that our assets should not be considered “plan assets” under these regulations because it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in (a) and (b) above and may also satisfy the requirement in (c) above (although we do not monitor the level of benefit plan investors as required for compliance with (c)). With respect to an investment in our debt securities, our assets should not be considered “plan assets” under these regulations because such securities are not equity securities or, even if they are considered equity securities under the Department of Labor regulations, it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in (a) above and may satisfy the requirements in (b) above.

The foregoing discussion of issues arising for employee benefit plan investments under ERISA, the Code and 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, plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of our common units or debt securities should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA, the Code and Similar Laws.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell securities described in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement in and outside the United States (1) through underwriters, brokers or dealers; (2) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates and unitholders; (3) through agents, (4) at prevailing market prices by us directly or through a designated agent, including sales made directly or through the facilities of The NASDAQ Global Select Market or any other securities exchange or quotation or trading service on which such securities may be listed, quoted or traded at the time of sale or (5) through a combination of any of these methods.

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 are purchased. Any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.

If a prospectus supplement so indicates, the underwriters may, pursuant to Regulation M under the Exchange Act, engage in transactions, including stabilization bids or the imposition of penalty bids, that may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market.

We may sell the securities directly or 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.

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 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.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. will pass upon the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus and will also render an opinion on the material federal income tax consequences regarding the securities. If certain legal matters in connection with an offering of the securities made by this prospectus and a related prospectus supplement are passed on by counsel for the underwriters of such offering, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement related to that offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. appearing in Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2012, and the effectiveness of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012 (excluding the internal control over financial reporting of Calumet Missouri, LLC, TruSouth Oil, LLC, Royal Purple, LLC and Calumet Montana Refining, LLC), have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, which as to the report on the effectiveness of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s internal control over financial reporting contains an explanatory paragraph describing the above referenced exclusion of Calumet Missouri, LLC, TruSouth Oil, LLC, Royal Purple, LLC and Calumet Montana Refining, LLC from the scope of such firm’s audit of internal control over financial reporting, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements are, and audited financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated herein in reliance upon the reports of Ernst & Young LLP pertaining to such financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the respective dates (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

Briggs & Veselka Co., independent auditors, has audited the financial statements of Royal Purple, Inc. at December 31, 2011 and 2010 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011 as set forth in their report, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in this registration statement from the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated June 21, 2012. The financial statements of Royal Purple, Inc. are incorporated by reference in reliance on Briggs & Veselka Co.’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The combined financial statements of Montana Refining Company, Inc. and Great Divide Pipeline Corporation as of and for the year ended December 31, 2011, incorporated in this prospectus by reference from Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated December 4, 2012 have been audited by Deloitte LLP, independent auditors, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.

6,000,000 Common Units

Representing Limited Partner Interests

 

 

Prospectus Supplement

March     , 2015

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

Barclays

Wells Fargo Securities

J.P. Morgan

BofA Merrill Lynch

RBC Capital Markets

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

 

 

Co-Managers

Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank Securities

Raymond James

Scotia Howard Weil