UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): December 13, 2017

 

 

Buckeye Partners, L.P.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		1-9356		23-2432497
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
One Greenway Plaza Suite 600 Houston, Texas				77046
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)				(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (832) 615-8600

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

 

 

 

---

Item 5.03

Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.

On December 13, 2017, Buckeye GP LLC, the general partner (the “General Partner”) of Buckeye Partners, L.P. (the “Partnership”), entered into Amendment No. 5 (the “Amendment”) to the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Buckeye Partners, L.P. (the “Partnership Agreement”), which Amendment became effective on December 13, 2017. The Amendment makes certain revisions in response to changes to the Internal Revenue Code enacted by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 relating to changes in partnership audit and adjustment procedures.

The Amendment also makes certain revisions to provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction) shall be the sole and exclusive forum for claims, suits, actions or proceedings (A) arising out of or relating in any way to the Partnership Agreement, (B) brought in a derivative manner on behalf of the Partnership, (C) asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or other employee of the Partnership or the General Partner, or owed by the General Partner, to the Partnership or the partners, (D) asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, or (E) asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, and that each of the partners irrevocably waives the right to trial by jury in any such claim, suit, action or proceeding, among other revisions.

In connection with its approval of the Amendment, the Board of Directors of the General Partner made a good-faith determination that (A) the Amendment reflects a change to satisfy requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in an order, rule or regulation of a federal or state agency or contained in a federal or state statute or (B) the changes to the Partnership Agreement made thereby would not adversely affect the limited partners of the Partnership in any material respect, as applicable.

The foregoing description of the Amendment does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Amendment, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 3.1 to this Current Report and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 9.01.

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d)

Exhibits.

 

3.1		Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Buckeye Partners, L.P., dated as of December 13, 2017

 

2

---

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Dated December 18, 2017

 

3

Exhibit 3.1

AMENDMENT NO. 5 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED

AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF

BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.

THIS AMENDMENT NO. 5, dated as of December 13, 2017, to the AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P. (this “Amendment”), dated as of November 19, 2010 (the “Partnership Agreement”), is entered into and effectuated by Buckeye GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, as the General Partner, pursuant to authority granted to it in Section 15.1 of the Partnership Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein are used as defined in the Partnership Agreement.

WHEREAS, Section 15.1(d)(i) of the Partnership Agreement provides that the General Partner, without the consent of any Limited Partner, may amend any provision of the Partnership Agreement to reflect a change to satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any order, rule or regulation of any federal or state agency or contained in any federal or state statute;

WHEREAS Section 15.1(g) of the Partnership Agreement provides that the General Partner, without the consent of any Limited Partner, may amend any provision of the Partnership Agreement to reflect a change that in the good faith opinion of the General Partner does not adversely affect the Limited Partners in any material respect;

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the General Partner has determined that the standard set forth in Sections 15.1(d)(i) and 15.1(g) is satisfied; and

WHEREAS, the General Partner deems it in the best interest of the Partnership to effect this Amendment in order to (i) include exclusive forum, venue and jurisdiction provisions, (ii) include provisions waiving trial by jury and (iii) amend provisions to comply with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed as follows:

A.    Amendments. The Partnership Agreement is hereby amended as follows:

 

1.

Section 6.4 is hereby amended as follows:

Section 6.4 Tax Controversies

(a)    Subject to the provisions hereof, the Board of Directors shall designate one officer of the Partnership who is a Partner or the General Partner (or its designee) as the Tax Matters Partner (as defined in Section 6231(a)(7) of the Code as in effect prior to the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015), and the Partnership Representative (as defined in Section 6223 of the Code following the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 or under any applicable state or local law providing for an analogous capacity). The Tax Matters Partner or Partnership Representative, as applicable, is authorized and required to represent the Partnership (at the Partnership’s expense) in connection with all examinations of the Partnership’s affairs by tax authorities, including resulting administrative and judicial proceedings, and to expend Partnership funds for

---

professional services and costs associated therewith. In its capacity as Partnership Representative, the Partnership Representative shall exercise any and all authority of the Partnership Representative, including, without limitation, (i) binding the Partnership and its Partners with respect to tax matters and (ii) determining whether to make any available election under Section 6226 of the Code or an analogous election under state or local law, which election permits the Partnership to pass any partnership adjustment through to the Persons who were Partners of the Partnership in the year to which the adjustment relates and irrespective of whether such Persons are Partners of the Partnership at the time such election is made. Each Partner agrees to cooperate with the Tax Matters Partner or the Partnership Representative, as applicable, and to do or refrain from doing any or all things reasonably required by the Tax Matters Partner or the Partnership Representative, as applicable, in their capacity, as such. For Partners that are not tax-exempt entities (as defined in Section 168(h)(2) of the Code) and subject to the Partnership Representative’s discretion to seek modifications of an imputed underpayment, this cooperation includes (i) filing amended federal, state or local tax returns, paying any additional tax (including interest, penalties and other additions to tax), and providing the Partnership Representative with an affidavit swearing to those facts (all within the requisite time periods), and (ii) providing any other information requested by the Partnership Representative in order to seek modifications of an imputed underpayment. For Partners that are tax-exempt entities (as defined in Section 168(h)(2) of the Code) and subject to the Partnership Representative’s discretion to seek modifications of an imputed underpayment, this cooperation includes providing the Partnership Representative with information necessary to establish the Partner’s tax-exempt status. This agreement to cooperate applies irrespective of whether such Persons are Partners of the Partnership at the time of the requested cooperation.

(b)    Each Partner agrees that notice of or updates regarding tax controversies shall be deemed conclusively to have been given or made by the Tax Matters Partner or the Partnership Representative, as applicable, if the Partnership has either (i) filed the information for which notice is required with the Commission via its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system and such information is publicly available on such system or (ii) made the information for which notice is required available on any publicly available website maintained by the Partnership, whether or not such Partner remains a Partner in the Partnership at the time such information is made publicly available. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, nothing in this provision shall obligate the Partnership Representative to provide notice to the Partners other than as required by the Code.

(c)    The General Partner may amend the provisions of this Agreement as it determines appropriate to satisfy any requirements, conditions, or guidelines set forth in any amendment to the provisions of Subchapter C of Chapter 63 of Subtitle F of the Code, any analogous provisions of the laws of any state or locality, or the promulgation of regulations or publication of other administrative guidance thereunder.

 

2.

Section 6.5 is hereby amended as follows:

Section 6.5 Withholding and Other Tax Payments by the Partnership

---

(a)    The General Partner may treat taxes paid by the Partnership on behalf of all or less than all of the Partners as a distribution of cash to such Partners, as a general expense of the Partnership, or as indemnifiable payments made by the Partnership on behalf of the Partners or former Partners (as provided in Section 9.4(c)), as determined appropriate under the circumstances by the General Partner.

(b)    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the General Partner is authorized to take any action that may be required to cause the Partnership and other Group Members to comply with any withholding requirements established under the Code or any other federal, state or local law including, without limitation, pursuant to Sections 1441, 1442, 1445 and 1446 of the Code. To the extent that the Partnership is required or elects to withhold and pay over to any taxing authority any amount resulting from the allocation or distribution of income or from a distribution to any Partner or Assignee (including, without limitation, by reason of Section 1446 of the Code), the General Partner may treat the amount withheld as a distribution of cash pursuant to Section 5.2 or Section 14.3 in the amount of such withholding from such Partner.

(c)    If the Partnership pays an imputed underpayment under Section 6225 of the Code and/or any analogous provision of the laws of any state or locality, the General Partner may require that some or all of the Partners of the Partnership in the year to which the underpayment relates indemnify the Partnership for their allocable share of that underpayment (including interest, penalties and other additions to tax). This indemnification obligation shall not apply to a Partner to the extent that (i) the Partnership received a modification of the imputed underpayment under Section 6225(c)(2) of the Code (or any analogous provision of state or local law) due to the Partner’s filing of amended tax returns and payment of any resulting tax (including interest, penalties and other additions to tax), (ii) the Partner is a tax-exempt entity (as defined in Section 168(h)(2) of the Code) and either the Partnership received a modification of the imputed underpayment under Section 6225(c)(3) of the Code (or any analogous provision of state or local law) because of such Partner’s status as a tax-exempt entity or the Partnership did not make a good faith effort to obtain a modification of the imputed underpayment due to such Partner’s status as a tax-exempt entity, or (iii) the Partnership received a modification of the imputed underpayment under Section 6225(c)(4)-(6) of the Code (or any analogous provision of state or local law) as a result of other information that was either provided by the Partner or otherwise available to the Partnership with respect to the Partner. This indemnification obligation imposed on Partners, including former Partners, applies irrespective of whether such Persons are Partners of the Partnership at the time the Partnership pays the imputed underpayment.

 

3.

Article XIX is hereby amended to add a new Section 19.11 as follows:

Section 19.11 Forum; Venue and Jurisdiction; Waiver of Trial by Jury.

---

Each of the Partners and each Person holding any beneficial interest in the Partnership (whether through a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation or an agent of any of the foregoing or otherwise):

(i) irrevocably agrees that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings (A) arising out of or relating in any way to this Agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of this Agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among Partners or of Partners to the Partnership, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the Partners or the Partnership), (B) brought in a derivative manner on behalf of the Partnership, (C) asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary or other duty owed by any director, officer, or other employee of the Partnership or the General Partner, or owed by the General Partner, to the Partnership or the Partners, (D) asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Act or (E) asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction), in each case regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims;

(ii) irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction) in connection with any such claim, suit, action or proceeding;

(iii) agrees not to, and waives any right to, assert in any such claim, suit, action or proceeding that (A) it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or of any other court to which proceedings in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware may be appealed, (B) such claim, suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, or (C) the venue of such claim, suit, action or proceeding is improper;

(iv) expressly waives any requirement for the posting of a bond by a party bringing such claim, suit, action or proceeding;

(v) consents to process being served in any such claim, suit, action or proceeding by mailing, certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy thereof to such party at the address in effect for notices hereunder, and agrees that such services shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof; provided, nothing in this clause (v) shall affect or limit any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law; and

(vi) IRREVOCABLY WAIVES THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUCH CLAIM, SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING.

B.    Agreement in Effect. Except as hereby amended, the Partnership Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

---

C.    Applicable Law. This Amendment shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws.

D.     Severability. Each provision of this Amendment shall be considered severable and if for any reason any provision or provisions herein are determined to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal under any existing or future law, such invalidity, unenforceability or illegality shall not impair the operation of or affect those portions of this Amendment that are valid, enforceable and legal.

[Signature on following page]

---

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amendment has been executed as of the date first written above.

 

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO

AMENDMENT NO. 5 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED

AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF

BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.

SEC Filings