Amounts received by MG SPV from its direct sale of Class B Units to Tensile-Myrtle Grove Acquisition Corporation (“Tensile-MG”), an affiliate of Tensile Capital Partners Master Fund LP, an investment fund based in San Francisco, California (“Tensile”) may only be used for additional investments in the Company’s former Belle Chasse, Louisiana, re-refining complex (the “MG Refinery”) or for day-to-day operations at the MG Refinery. At December 31, 2021, $30,000 reported as cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet is restricted to MG Refinery investments or operating expenses.

The Class B Unit holders may force MG SPV to redeem the outstanding Class B Units at any time on or after the earlier of (a) the fifth anniversary of July 26, 2019 (the "MG Closing Date") and (ii) the occurrence of a Triggering Event (defined below)(an “MG Redemption”). The cash purchase price for such redeemed Class B Units is the greater of (y) the fair market value of such units (without discount for illiquidity, minority status or otherwise) as determined by a qualified third party agreed to in writing by a majority of the holders seeking an MG Redemption and Vertex Operating (provided that Vertex Operating still owns Class A Units on such date) and (z) the original per-unit price for such Class B Units plus any unpaid Class B preference. The preference is defined as the greater of (A) the aggregate unpaid “Class B Yield” (equal to an annual

return of 22.5% per annum) and (B) an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate capital invested by the Class B Unit holders. MG SPV did not pay the preferential yield during the year ended December 31, 2021. “Triggering Events” mean (a) any dissolution, winding up or liquidation of the Company, (b) any sale, lease, license or disposition of any material assets of the Company, (c) any transaction or series of related transactions (whether by merger, exchange, contribution, recapitalization, consolidation, reorganization, combination or otherwise) involving the Company, the result of which is that the holders of the voting securities of the relevant entity as of the Closing Date are no longer the beneficial owners, in the aggregate, after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the entity, subject to certain other requirements set forth in the MG Company Agreement, (d) the failure to consummate the Heartland Closing (defined below) by June 30, 2020 (a “Failure to Close”), provided that such Heartland Closing was consummated by June 30, 2020, (e) the failure of the Company to operate MG SPV in good faith with appropriate resources, or (f) the material failure of the Company and its affiliates to comply with the terms of the contribution agreement, whereby the Company contributed assets and operations to MG SPV. No triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2021.

As a result of the Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement (the “MG Share Purchase”), Tensile, through Tensile-Myrtle Grove Acquisition Corporation, acquired an approximate 15.58% ownership interest in Vertex Refining Myrtle Grove LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which entity was formed as a special purpose vehicle in connection with the transactions. This is considered a redeemable noncontrolling equity interest, as it is redeemable in the future and not solely within our control.

After initial recognition, in accordance with ASC 480-10-S99-3A, the Company applied a two-step approach to measure noncontrolling interests associated with MG SPV at the balance sheet date. First, the Company applied the measurement guidance in ASC 810-10 by attributing a portion of the subsidiary's net loss of $653,121 to the noncontrolling interest. Second, the Company applied the subsequent measurement guidance in ASC 480-10-S99-3A, which indicates that the noncontrolling interest’s carrying amount is the higher of (1) the cumulative amount that would result from applying the measurement guidance in ASC 810-10 in the first step or (2) the redemption value. Pursuant to ASC 480-10-S99-3A, for a security that is probable of becoming redeemable in the future, the Company adjusted the carrying amount of the redeemable noncontrolling interests to what would be the redemption value assuming the security was redeemable at the balance sheet date. This adjustment of $1,992,360 increased the carrying amount of redeemable noncontrolling interests to the redemption value as of December 31, 2021, of $6,812,080. Adjustments to the carrying amount of redeemable noncontrolling interests to redemption value are reflected in accumulated deficit.


	2021		2020		2019
Beginning balance	$	5,472,841	$	4,396,894	$	—
Capital contribution from non-controlling interest	—		—		3,150,000
Initial adjustment of carrying amount of non-controlling interest	—		—		(970,809)
Net loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interest	(653,121)		(176,774)		(61,668)
Change in ownership	—		71,171		—
Accretion of non-controlling interest to redemption value	1,992,360		1,181,550		2,279,371
Ending balance	$	6,812,080	$	5,472,841	$	4,396,894

On January 17, 2020 (the “Heartland Closing Date”), Vertex Operating, Tensile-Heartland Acquisition Corporation (“Tensile-Heartland”), an affiliate of Tensile, and solely for the purposes of a separate guaranty (defined below), the Company, and HPRM LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which entity was formed as a special purpose vehicle in connection with the transactions, described in greater detail below (“Heartland SPV”), entered into a Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement (the “Heartland Share Purchase”).

Prior to entering into the Heartland Share Purchase, the Company transferred 100% of the ownership of Vertex Refining OH, LLC, its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary (“Vertex OH”) to Heartland SPV in consideration for 13,500 Class A Units, 13,500 Class A-1 Preferred Units and 11,300 Class B Units of Heartland SPV and immediately thereafter contributed 248 Class B Units to the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Vertex Splitter Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Vertex Splitter”), as a contribution to capital.

Pursuant to the Heartland Share Purchase, Vertex Operating sold Tensile-Heartland the 13,500 Class A Units and 13,500 Class A-1 Preferred Units of Heartland SPV in consideration for $13.5 million. Also, on the Heartland Closing Date, Tensile-Heartland purchased 7,500 Class A Units and 7,500 Class A-1 Units in consideration for $7.5 million (less the expenses of Tensile-Heartland in connection with the transaction) directly from Heartland SPV.

The Heartland SPV is currently owned 35% by Vertex Operating and 65% by Tensile-Heartland. Heartland SPV is managed by a five-member Board of Managers, of which three members are appointed by Tensile-Heartland and two are appointed by the Company. The Class A Units held by Tensile-Heartland are convertible into Class B Units as provided in the Limited Liability Company Agreement of Heartland SPV (the “Heartland Company Agreement”), based on a conversion price (initially one-for-one) which may be reduced from time to time if new Units of Heartland SPV are issued and will automatically convert into Series B Units upon certain events described in the Heartland Company Agreement.

Additionally, the Class A Unit holders (common and preferred) may force Heartland SPV to redeem the outstanding Class A Units at any time on or after the earlier of (a) the fifth anniversary of the Heartland Closing Date and (ii) the occurrence of a Heartland Triggering Event (defined below)(a “Heartland Redemption”). The cash purchase price for such redeemed Class A Unit will be the greater of (y) the fair market value of such units (without discount for illiquidity, minority status or otherwise) as determined by a qualified third party agreed to in writing by a majority of the holders seeking Heartland Redemption and Vertex Operating (provided that Vertex Operating still owns Class B Units on such date) and (z) the original per-unit price for such Class A Units plus any unpaid Class A preference. The Class A preference is defined as the greater of (A) the aggregate unpaid Class A yield and (B) an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate capital invested by the Class A Unit holders through such Heartland Redemption date. “Heartland Triggering Events” include (a) any termination of an Administrative Services Agreement entered into with Tensile, pursuant to its terms and/or any material breach by us of the environmental remediation and indemnity agreement entered into with Tensile, (b) any dissolution, winding up or liquidation of the Company, (c) any sale, lease, license or disposition of any material assets of the Company, or (d) any transaction or series of related transactions (whether by merger, exchange, contribution, recapitalization, consolidation, reorganization, combination or otherwise) involving the Company, the result of which is that the holders of the voting securities of the relevant entity as of the Heartland Closing Date are no longer the beneficial owners, in the aggregate, after giving effect to such transaction or series of transactions, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the entity, subject to certain other requirements set forth in the Heartland Company Agreement.

In the event that Heartland SPV fails to redeem such Class A Units within 180 days after a redemption is triggered, the Class A Yield is increased to 25% until such time as such redemption is completed (with such increase being effective back to the original date of a notice of redemption). In addition, in such event, the Class A Unit holders may cause Heartland SPV to initiate a process intended to result in a sale of Heartland SPV.

Distributions of available cash of Heartland SPV pursuant to the Heartland Company Agreement (including pursuant to liquidations of Heartland SPV), subject to certain exceptions set forth therein, are to be made (a) first, to the holders of the Class A Preferred Units, in an amount equal to the Class A preference; (b) second, the Class A Preferred Unit holders, together as a separate and distinct class, are entitled to receive an amount equal to the aggregate Heartland Invested Capital; (c) third, the Class B Unitholders (other than Class B Unitholders which received Class B Units upon conversion of Class A Preferred Units), together as a separate and distinct class, are entitled to receive all or a portion of any distribution equal to the sum of all distributions made under sections (a) and (b) above; and (d) fourth, to the holders of Units who are eligible to receive such distributions in proportion to the number of Units held by such holders.

The Company has assessed the Heartland SPV under the variable interest guidance in ASC 810. The Company determined that the Class A Units are not at risk due to a 22.5% preferred return and a redemption provision that, if elected, would require Heartland SPV to repurchase the Class A Units at their original cost plus the preferred return. The Company further determined that as a minority shareholder, holding only 35% of the voting rights, the Company does not have the ability to direct the activities of Heartland SPV that most significantly impact the entity’s performance. Based on this assessment, the Company concluded that Heartland SPV is a variable interest entity.

In assessing if the Company is the primary beneficiary of Heartland SPV, the Company determined that certain provisions of the Heartland Company Agreement prohibiting the transfer of its Class B Units result in the Class A Unit holders being related parties under the de facto agents criteria in ASC 810. The Company and the Class A Unit holders, as a group, have the power to direct the significant activities of Heartland SPV and the obligations to absorb the losses and the right to receive the benefits that could potentially be significant to Heartland SPV. The Company concluded that substantially all of the activities of Heartland SPV are conducted on its behalf, and not on behalf of the Class A Unit holders, the decision maker, thus the Company is the primary beneficiary and required to consolidate Heartland SPV in accordance with ASC 810.

The Company's consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities and results of operations of Heartland SPV for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. The other equity holders’ interests are reflected in net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interest in the consolidated statements of income and redeemable noncontrolling interests in the consolidated balance sheets.


	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Cash and cash equivalents	$	13,322,507	$	7,890,886
Accounts receivable, net	7,078,559		3,591,468
Inventory	1,654,706		629,667
Prepaid expense and other current assets	9,298,734		926,203
Total current assets	31,354,506		13,038,224

Fixed assets, net	6,184,531		6,549,139
Finance lease right-of-use assets	436,039		1,031,353
Operating lease right-of-use assets	—		299,758
Intangible assets, net	813,713		1,064,624
Other assets	106,643		108,643
Total assets	$	38,895,432	$	22,091,741

Accounts payable	$	2,051,721	$	1,753,160
Accrued expenses	1,658,427		307,340
Finance lease liability-current	295,935		346,029
Operating lease liability-current	175,121		251,037
Total current liabilities	4,181,204		2,657,566

Finance lease liability-long term	—		643,446
Operating lease liability-long term	—		48,721
Total liabilities	$	4,181,204	$	3,349,733

As a result of the Heartland Share Purchase (as defined and discussed above), Tensile, through Tensile-Heartland, acquired an approximate 65.00% ownership interest in Heartland SPV, a Delaware limited liability company, which entity was formed as a special purpose vehicle in connection with the transactions. This is considered a redeemable noncontrolling equity interest, as it is redeemable in the future and not solely within our control.

The initial carrying amount that is recognized in temporary equity for redeemable noncontrolling interests is the initial carrying amount determined in accordance with the accounting requirements for noncontrolling interests in ASC 810-10. In accordance with ASC 810-10-45-23, changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its controlling financial interest in its subsidiary are accounted for as equity transactions. Therefore, the Company recognized no gain or loss in consolidated net income and the carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest was adjusted to reflect the change in our ownership interest of the subsidiary. The difference of $9,091,068 between the fair value of the consideration received of $21,000,000 and the carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest determined in accordance with ASC 810-10 of $11,908,932, was recognized in additional paid in capital.

After initial recognition, in accordance with ASC 480-10-S99-3A, the Company applied a two-step approach to measure noncontrolling interests associated with Heartland SPV at the balance sheet date. First, the Company applied the measurement guidance in ASC 810-10 by attributing a portion of the subsidiary's net income of $10,495,771 to the noncontrolling interest. Second, the Company applied the subsequent measurement guidance in ASC 480-10-S99-3A, which indicates that the noncontrolling interest’s carrying amount is the higher of (1) the cumulative amount that would result from applying the measurement guidance in ASC 810-10 in the first step or (2) the redemption value. At December 31, 2021, the cumulative amount resulting from the application of the measurement guidance in ASC 810-10 exceeded the redemption value of $4,099,435.

The amount of accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value of $1,992,360 and $15,135,242 for 2021 and 2020, respectively, presented as an adjustment to net income attributable to Vertex Energy, Inc., to arrive at net income available to common shareholders on the consolidated statements of operations which represent the MG SPV and Heartland SPV accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value combined for the years ended December 2021 and 2020 respectively.

On July 1, 2021, the Operating Agreement of MG SPV was amended to provide that from the date of such agreement until December 31, 2021, the Company (through Vertex Operating), is required to fund the working capital requirements of MG SPV, which advances are initially characterized as debt, but that Tensile MG may convert such debt into additional Class A Units of MG SPV (after December 31, 2021), at $1,000 per unit (the “MG SPV Amendment”).

On July 1, 2021, Heartland SPV loaned Vertex Operating $7,000,000, which was evidenced by a Promissory Note (the “Heartland Note”). The Heartland Note accrues interest at the applicable federal rate of interest from time to time, increasing to 12% upon an event of default. Amounts borrowed under the Heartland Note are due on June 30, 2022 or within five (5) days of the closing of the Sale Agreement described below (whichever is earlier), and may be prepaid at any time without penalty. In the event the Heartland Note is not paid on or before the applicable due date, we agreed to use our best efforts to raise the funds necessary to repay the note as soon as possible.

On June 1, 2020, the Company entered into and closed a Member Interest Purchase Agreement with Crystal Energy, LLC ("Crystal") pursuant to which the Company agreed to buy all of the outstanding membership interests of Crystal for aggregate cash consideration of $1,822,690. This resulted in the recognition of $1,939,364 in accounts receivable, $976,512 in inventory, $14,484 in other current assets, and $1,107,670 in current liabilities. Upon the closing of the acquisition, Crystal became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination.

Crystal is an Alabama limited liability company that was organized on September 7, 2016, for the purpose of purchasing, storing, selling, and distributing refined motor fuels. These activities include the wholesale distribution of gasoline, blended gasoline, and diesel for use as engine fuel to operate automobiles, trucks, locomotives, and construction equipment. Crystal markets its products to third-party customers, and customers will typically resell these products to retailers, end use consumers, and others. These assets are used in our Refining segment.