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PARTNERS' EQUITY
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
PARTNERS' EQUITY  
PARTNERS' EQUITY

 

NOTE 7PARTNERS’ EQUITY

 

ATM equity issuance program

 

During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, we issued 2,270,150 common units under our ATM Program generating net proceeds of approximately $116 million, plus approximately $2 million from the General Partner to maintain its effective two percent general partner interest. The commissions to our sales agents in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 were approximately $1.2 million. The net proceeds were used to repay a portion of the borrowings under the Senior Credit Facility for the PNGTS Acquisition and for general partnership purposes.

 

On August 5, 2016, the Partnership entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement ($400 Million EDA) with six financial institutions (the Managers). Pursuant to the terms of the $400 Million EDA, the Partnership may sell from time to time through the Managers, as the Partnership’s sales agents, the Partnership’s common units at an aggregate offering price up to $400,000,000. Sales of the common units will be made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions through the NYSE at market prices, in block transactions or as otherwise agreed by the Partnership and one or more of the Managers. The common units will be issued pursuant to the Partnership’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-211907), which was declared effective by the SEC on August 4, 2016.

 

Common unit issuance subject to rescission

 

On July 17, 2014, the SEC declared effective a registration statement (the Registration Statement) that we had filed to cover sales of Common Units under our ATM program. On February 26, 2016, at the time of the filing of the 2015 Form 10-K, we believed that the Partnership continued to be eligible to use the effective Registration Statement to sell Common Units under our ATM program. However, we have been advised by the SEC on June 23, 2016 that as a result of the untimely filing of an employee-related Form 8-K on October 28, 2015, which was not filed via EDGAR until 6:02 p.m. Eastern Time (32 minutes after the 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time cutoff), the Partnership was ineligible to use the Registration Statement after the filing of the 2015 Form 10-K.

 

Because the Partnership was ineligible to continue using the Registration Statement following the filing of the 2015 Form 10-K, it is possible that the sales of an aggregate 1,619,631 Common Units under the Registration Statement (the ATM Common Units), which were sold between March 8, 2016 and May 19, 2016 at per Common Unit prices ranging from $47.00 to $54.95, may be deemed to have been unregistered sales of securities. If it is determined that persons who purchased the ATM Common Units from the Partnership after February 26, 2016, purchased such Common Units in an offering deemed to be unregistered, then to the extent there may have been a violation of federal securities laws such persons may be entitled to rescission rights, pursuant to which they could be entitled to recover the amount paid for such ATM Common Units, plus interest (based on the statutory rate under applicable state law), less the amount of any distributions. If such investor has sold any of the ATM Common Units purchased by the investor, then the investor would be entitled to recover the difference between the amount paid for such ATM Common Units and the amount at which such ATM Common Units were sold, assuming the investor’s ATM Common Units were sold at a loss, plus interest and less the amount of any distributions. If all of the investors who purchased the ATM Common Units from the Partnership after February 26, 2016 continue to own all of the ATM Common Units and were to demand rescission of their purchases, and such investors were in fact found to be entitled to such rescission, then we would be obligated to repay approximately $82,334,015, plus interest, less the amount of any distributions. The Securities Act generally requires that any claim brought for a violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act be brought within one year of the violation. No unitholder has claimed or attempted to exercise any rescission rights to date.

 

At September 30, 2016, the Partnership classified all the 1.6 million common units issued under its ATM program after February 26, 2016 up to and including May 19, 2016, which may be subject to rescission rights, outside of equity given the potential redemption feature which is not within the control of the Partnership. These units are treated as outstanding for financial reporting purposes.

 

The total amount transferred outside of equity was approximately $83 million which includes interest,  less distributions paid, and includes our General Partner’s share to maintain its effective two percent interest.

 

Class B units issued to TransCanada

 

The Class B Units we issued on April 1, 2015 to finance a portion of the 2015 GTN Acquisition represent a limited partner interest in us and entitle TransCanada to an annual distribution based on 30 percent of GTN’s annual distributions as follows: (i) 100 percent of distributions above $20 million through March 31, 2020; and (ii) 25 percent of distributions above $20 million thereafter.

 

For the year ending December 31, 2016, the Class B units’ equity account will be increased by the excess of 30 percent of GTN’s distributions over the annual threshold of $20 million until such amount is declared for distribution and paid in the first quarter of 2017. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, 30 percent of GTN’s total distributable cash flow was $32 million. As a result of exceeding the $20 million threshold, the Class B units’ equity account was increased by $12 million (Refer to Note 8).

 

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Class B distribution was $12 million and was declared and paid in the first quarter of 2016.