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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-205432

 

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED JULY 13, 2015

 

Viper Energy Partners LP

7,000,000 Common Units

Representing Limited Partner Interests

 

 

We are offering 7,000,000 common units representing limited partner interests in Viper Energy Partners LP. Our common units are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VNOM.” On July 26, 2016, the last reported sales price of our common units was $17.06.

In this offering, Diamondback Energy, Inc. has agreed to purchase from the underwriters 2,000,000 common units at $15.60 per common unit, which is the price per common unit paid by the underwriters to us.

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,050,000 common units on the same terms and conditions as set forth below.

Investing in our common units involves risks. Limited partnership interests are inherently different from corporations. Read “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement and beginning on page 2 of the accompanying base prospectus.

 

		Per Common Unit		Total
Public offering price(1)		$16.00		$111,200,000
Underwriting discount(1)(2)		$0.40		$2,000,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$15.60		$109,200,000

 

(1)	Reflects the purchase by Diamondback Energy, Inc. of 2,000,000 common units in this offering at $15.60 per common unit, for which the underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions.

(2)	We refer you to “Underwriting” beginning on page S-15 of this prospectus supplement for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

We expect that delivery of the common units will be made on or about August 1, 2016 through the book-entry facilities of the Depositary Trust Company.

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

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Credit Suisse
Barclays				Well Fargo Securities

 

Senior Co-Managers

 

Raymond James		Simmons & Company International Energy Specialists of Piper Jaffray		Stifel

 

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.		Wunderlich

Co-Managers

 

Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.		Northland Capital Markets		Scotia Howard Weil

The date of this prospectus supplement is July 26, 2016.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT			S-ii
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD -LOOKING STATEMENTS			S-iii
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY			S-1
RISK FACTORS			S-7
USE OF PROCEEDS			S-8
CAPITALIZATION			S-9
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON UNITS AND DISTRIBUTIONS			S-10
MATERIAL TAX CONSEQUENCES			S-11
UNDERWRITING			S-15
LEGAL MATTERS			S-19
EXPERTS			S-19
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			S-19

 

PROSPECTUS
		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS			i
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			ii
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD -LOOKING STATEMENTS			iii
ABOUT VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP			1
RISK FACTORS			2
USE OF PROCEEDS			3
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS			4
THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT			6
CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS			25
HOW WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS			27
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES			28
INVESTMENT IN VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS			42
SELLING UNITHOLDERS			43
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			45
LEGAL MATTERS			48
EXPERTS			48

 

 

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

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

You should rely only on the information contained 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, or to which we have referred you. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with information different from that contained 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. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. You should read this entire 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, as well as the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein that are described under “Where You Can Find More Information” in the accompanying base prospectus and “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement. We and the underwriters are only offering to sell, and only seeking offers to buy, our common units in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted.

The information contained 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, or in any document incorporated herein or therein is accurate and complete only as of the date hereof or thereof, respectively, regardless of the time of delivery of 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, or of any sale of our common units by us or the underwriters. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. Neither we nor the underwriters, nor any affiliate of any of us, is making any representation to you regarding the legality of an investment in our common units by you under applicable laws. You should consult your own legal, tax and business advisors regarding an investment in our common units. Information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus is not legal, tax or business advice to any prospective investor.

Industry and Market Data

This prospectus supplement includes industry and market data and forecasts that we obtained from internal company surveys, publicly available information and industry publications and surveys. Our internal research and forecasts are based on management’s understanding of industry conditions, and such information has not been verified by independent sources. Industry publications and surveys generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Various statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus that express a belief, expectation, or intention, or that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, the words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. In particular, the factors discussed in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein, including those detailed under “Risk Factors,” could affect our actual results and cause our actual results to differ materially from expectations, estimates or assumptions expressed, forecasted or implied in such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include statements about:

 

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our ability to execute our business strategies;

 

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the volatility of realized oil and natural gas prices;

 

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the level of production on our properties;

 

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regional supply and demand factors, delays or interruptions of production;

 

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our ability to replace our oil and natural gas reserves;

 

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our ability to identify, complete and integrate acquisitions of properties or businesses, including our recent and pending acquisitions;

 

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general economic, business or industry conditions;

 

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competition in the oil and natural gas industry;

 

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the ability of our operators to obtain capital or financing needed for development and exploration operations;

 

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title defects in the properties in which we invest;

 

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uncertainties with respect to identified drilling locations and estimates of reserves;

 

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the availability or cost of rigs, equipment, raw materials, supplies, oilfield services or personnel;

 

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restrictions on the use of water;

 

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the availability of transportation facilities;

 

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the ability of our operators to comply with applicable governmental laws and regulations and to obtain permits and governmental approvals;

 

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federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing;

 

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future operating results;

 

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exploration and development drilling prospects, inventories, projects and programs;

 

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operating hazards faced by our operators; and

 

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the ability of our operators to keep pace with technological advancements.

 

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All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus or, if earlier, as of the date they were made. We do not intend to, and disclaim any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements unless required by securities laws. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements we make in this prospectus are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common units involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk described below, as well as the information contained under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 2 of the accompanying base prospectus and the information contained under “Where You Can Find More Information,” including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common units. This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference also contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please read “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks described in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference. If any of these risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operation could be materially and adversely affected. The risks incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or which we currently consider immaterial also may adversely affect us.

The Pending Acquisition may not be completed, and even if the Pending Acquisition is completed, we may fail to realize the benefits anticipated as a result of the Pending Acquisition.

The Pending Acquisition is expected to close in August 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. If these conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Pending Acquisition will not be consummated. There can be no assurances that the Pending Acquisition will be consummated or that the expected benefits of such acquisitions will be realized. The closing of this offering is not conditioned on, nor is it a condition to, the consummation of the Pending Acquisition. If the Pending Acquisition is delayed, not consummated or consummated in a manner different than described herein, the price of our common units may decline. In addition, if the Pending Acquisition is not consummated, our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering intended to fund the purchase price of the Pending Acquisition. Accordingly, if you decide to purchase common units in this offering, you should be willing to do so whether or not we complete the Pending Acquisition.

If we are able to consummate the Pending Acquisition, such consummation would involve potential risks, including, without limitation, inefficiencies and unexpected costs and liabilities. If we consummate the Pending Acquisition and if these risks or other expected costs and liabilities were to materialize, any desired benefits of the Pending Acquisition may not be fully realized, if at all, and our future financial performance and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We expect to receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $109.0 million, or $125.4 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional common units in full, in each case after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. We intend to use these net proceeds of this offering, including any net proceeds from the underwriters’ exercise of their option to purchase additional common units, to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility and to fund the purchase price of the Pending Acquisition. If the Pending Acquisition is not consummated in its entirety or at all, we intend to use any net proceeds that otherwise would have been used to fund the purchase price of the Pending Acquisition for general corporate purposes, which may include future acquisitions.

An affiliate of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is a lender under our revolving credit facility and, accordingly, will receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering. Please read “Underwriting.”

As of July 22, 2016, we had $132.5 million in borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility, with a variable interest rate of 3.95%. Our revolving credit facility matures on July 8, 2019. The outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility were used to fund acquisitions.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of March 31, 2016:

 

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on an actual basis;

 

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on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the acquisitions we have completed since the first quarter of 2016 as described above under “Prospectus Supplement Summary—Recent Developments—Recent Acquisitions,” as if such transactions had occurred on March 31, 2016; and

 

•

on an as further adjusted basis to give effect to the issuance and sale of 7,000,000 common units in this offering and our receipt of an estimated $109.0 million of net proceeds from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, and the application of such net proceeds as described in “Use of Proceeds.”

You should read the following table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds” in this prospectus supplement and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, each of which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, for additional information.

 

		As of March 31, 2016
		Actual				As adjusted				As further adjusted
Cash and cash equivalents		$	4,663			$	4,663			$	4,663
Long-term debt(1)		$	43,000			$	132,500			$	54,500
Unitholders’ equity
General partner			—				—				—
Common units			454,604				454,604				563,604
Total unitholders’ equity		$	454,604			$	454,604			$	563,604
Total capitalization		$	497,604			$	587,104			$	618,104

 

(1)	As of July 22, 2016, we had $132.5 million outstanding under our revolving credit facility.

This table does not reflect the issuance of up to an additional 1,050,000 common units that may be sold to the underwriters upon exercise of their option to purchase additional common units.

 

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON UNITS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Our common units are listed and traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VNOM.” As reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market, the following table shows the low and high sales prices per common unit for the periods indicated. Distributions are shown in the quarter for which they were paid.

 

		Common Unit Price Range								Cash Distributions
		High				Low
2016
3rd Quarter (through July 26, 2016)		$	19.60			$	16.85			$	—	(1)
2nd Quarter		$	20.25			$	16.07			$	0.1890	(2)
1st Quarter		$	17.50			$	12.69			$	0.1490
2015
4th Quarter		$	17.45			$	13.31			$	0.2280
3rd Quarter		$	21.50			$	13.40			$	0.2000
2nd Quarter		$	22.10			$	17.43			$	0.2200
1st Quarter		$	19.87			$	16.25			$	0.1900
2014
4th Quarter		$	24.26			$	13.79			$	0.2500
3rd Quarter		$	34.50			$	22.85			$	0.2500
2nd Quarter (beginning June 18, 2014)		$	36.00			$	31.00				—

 

(1)	Distributions with respect to the third quarter of 2016 have not been declared or paid.

(2)	Distributions with respect to the second quarter of 2016 were declared on July 21, 2016 and will be paid on August 22, 2016 to unitholders of record at the close of business on August 15, 2016.

The last reported sale price of our common units on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on July 26, 2016 was $17.06. As of June 30, 2016, there were three holders of record of our common units.

 

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MATERIAL TAX CONSEQUENCES

The tax consequences to you of an investment in our common units will depend in part on your own tax circumstances. For a discussion of the principal federal income tax considerations associated with our operations and the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common units, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” beginning on page 28 of the accompanying base prospectus. Please also read “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Tax Risks to Common Unitholders” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 for a discussion of the tax risks related to purchasing and owning our common units. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor about the federal, state, local, and foreign tax consequences peculiar to your circumstances.

Partnership Status

The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. We have not requested a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service with respect to our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. In order for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, 90% or more of our gross income in each tax year must be “qualifying income” under Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code (the “Qualifying Income Exception”). Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the exploration, production and marketing of certain natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas and products thereof, as well as other types of income such as interest (other than from a financial business) and dividends. We estimate that less than 3% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, on May 6, 2015, issued proposed regulations concerning which activities give rise to qualifying income within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations provide an exclusive list of industry-specific rules regarding the Qualifying Income Exception, including whether an activity constitutes the exploration, development, production and marketing of natural resources. Income earned from a royalty interest is not specifically enumerated as a qualifying income activity in the Proposed Regulations. However, we believe, based on the advice of our counsel, that royalty income is qualifying income for purposes of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code since it is “derived” from the exploration, development, production and marketing of natural resources. Further, the Proposed Regulations are proposed only to apply to income earned in a taxable year beginning on or after the date that the Proposed Regulations are published as final regulations. Therefore, prior to being published as final regulations, the Proposed Regulations are generally not applicable to any income that we earn. The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS may clarify in the final regulations that royalty income is qualifying income for purposes of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code; however, there are no assurances that the Proposed Regulations, when published as final regulations, will not take a position that is contrary to our interpretation of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code.

For a more complete description of this qualifying income requirement and the potential consequences of our failing to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes as a result of a failure to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, or otherwise, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Taxation of the Partnership—Partnership Status” in the accompanying base prospectus.

Tax Treatment of Operations

Administrative Expenses

Expenses of the partnership will include administrative expenses, the deductibility of which may be subject to limitation. As long as we only own royalty interests, under applicable rules, administrative expenses

 

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attributable to common units will be considered miscellaneous itemized deductions that generally will have to be aggregated with an individual unitholder’s other miscellaneous itemized deductions. These rules disallow itemized deductions that are less than 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, and the amount of otherwise allowable itemized deductions will be reduced by the lesser of (i) 3% of (A) adjusted gross income over (B) $311,300 if married filing jointly ($155,650 if married filing separately or $259,400 if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case) and (ii) 80% of the amount of itemized deductions that are otherwise allowable, or both. It is anticipated that the amount of such administrative expenses will not be significant in relation to the partnership’s income.

Recent Legislative Developments

The Obama administration’s budget proposals for fiscal year 2017 includes proposals that would, among other things, eliminate or reduce certain key U.S. federal income tax incentives currently available to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. These changes include, but are not limited to, (i) the repeal of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties, (ii) the elimination of current deductions for intangible drilling and development costs, (iii) the elimination of the deduction for certain domestic production activities, (iv) an extension of the amortization period for certain geological and geophysical expenditures, and (v) the imposition of a new $10.25 per barrel fee on certain oil production, to be paid by certain oil companies (without precise details regarding the implementation of such fee). It is unclear whether these proposals will be introduced into law and, if so, how soon any resulting changes could become effective. The passage of any legislation as a result of these proposals or any other similar changes in U.S. federal income tax laws could eliminate or postpone certain tax deductions that are currently available with respect to oil and natural gas exploration and development, and any such change could increase the taxable income allocable to our unitholders and negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

Disposition of Common Units

Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees

In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined quarterly, 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 Internal Revenue Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be permitted under existing Treasury regulations. The Department of the Treasury and the IRS recently adopted final Treasury regulations allowing a similar monthly simplifying convention for taxable years beginning on or after August 3, 2015. However, such regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. If the IRS were to challenge our proration method or new Treasury regulations were issued, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among our unitholders. Accordingly, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If the IRS takes the position that this method is not allowed under the final Treasury regulations, or that it 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.

 

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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 Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.

The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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 partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings of the partners. The Internal Revenue 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.

In addition, pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us. Generally, we may elect to have our general partner and our unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election will be effective in all circumstances and the manner in which the election is made and implemented has yet to be determined. If we are unable to have our general partner and our unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own units in us during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties and interest, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced. Pursuant to this new legislation, we will designate a person (our general partner) to act as the partnership representative who shall have the sole authority to act on behalf of the partnership with respect to dealings with the IRS under these new audit procedures. These rules are not applicable to us for tax years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2017.

 

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Nominee Reporting

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

 

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

 

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a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is:

 

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a person that is not a U.S. person;

 

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a foreign government, an international organization or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or

 

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a tax-exempt entity;

 

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

 

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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 $250 per failure, up to a maximum of $3,000,000 per calendar year, is imposed by the Internal Revenue 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.

FATCA Withholding Requirements

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a withholding agent may be required to withhold 30% of any interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits and income from sources within the United States (“FDAP Income”) or gross proceeds from the sale of any property of a type which can produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States paid to (i) a foreign financial institution (which includes foreign broker-dealers, clearing organizations, investment companies, hedge funds and certain other investment entities) unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. account holders and meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a non-financial foreign entity that is a beneficial owner of the payment unless such entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements or otherwise qualifies for an exemption from this withholding.

The withholding provisions described above are scheduled to apply to payments of FDAP Income currently and to payments of relevant gross proceeds made on or after January 1, 2019. Each prospective unitholder should consult its own tax advisor regarding these withholding provisions.

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” beginning on page 38 of the accompanying base prospectus.

 

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UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated July 26, 2016, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as representative, the following respective numbers of common units:

 

Underwriters		Number of Firm Units
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC			2,100,000
Barclays Capital Inc.			1,400,000
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC			1,400,000
Piper Jaffray & Co.			315,000
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated			315,000
Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities, Inc.			315,000
Wunderlich Securities, Inc.			315,000
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.			315,000
Northland Securities, Inc.			175,000
Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.			175,000
Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.			175,000
Total			7,000,000

The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the common units in the offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the option described below.

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,050,000 additional common units at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

The underwriters have advised us that they initially propose to offer the common units to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to selected dealers at such offering price less a selling concession not in excess of $0.24 per common unit. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed. The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses that we will pay:

 

		Per Common Unit				Without Exercise				With Exercise
Public offering price		$	16.00			$	111,200,000			$	128,000,000
Underwriting discount		$	0.40			$	2,000,000			$	2,420,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$	15.60			$	109,200,000			$	125,580,000

In this offering, Diamondback Energy, Inc. has agreed to purchase from the underwriters 2,000,000 common units at $15.60 per common unit, which is the price per common unit paid by the underwriters to us. The “Public offering price” and “Underwriting discount” in the table immediately above reflect this purchase.

We estimate that our out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $200,000. We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain of their expenses in an amount up to $20,000 as set forth in the underwriting agreement.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has informed us that it does not expect sales to accounts over which it has discretionary authority to exceed 5% of the common units being offered.

In connection with this offering, we agreed that, subject to certain exceptions, we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the SEC a registration statement

 

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under the Securities Act relating to, any common units or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any common units, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for a period of 45 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.

We, our general partner, Diamondback and the directors and executive officers of our general partner have agreed that, for a period of 45 days after the date of this prospectus, we and they will not directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any common units (including, without limitation, common units that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by us or them in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and common units that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common units, or sell or grant options, rights or warrants with respect to any common units or securities convertible into or exchangeable for common units, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of common units, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of common units or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or file or cause to be filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any common units or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into common units or any of our other securities, or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, in its sole discretion, may release the common units and other securities subject to the lock-up agreements described above in whole or in part at any time. When determining whether or not to release common units and other securities from lock-up agreements, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC will consider, among other factors, the holder’s reasons for requesting the release, the number of common units and other securities for which the release is being requested and market conditions at the time.

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.

Our common units are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VNOM.” On July 26, 2016, the closing price of our common units was $17.06.

The underwriters and their affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and their affiliates have from time to time performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory, commercial banking and investment banking services for us and for our affiliates in the ordinary course of business for which they have received and would receive customary compensation. In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the issuer. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments. An affiliate of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is a lender under our revolving credit facility and, accordingly, will receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering.

 

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In connection with the offering the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions, penalty bids and passive market making in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

 

•

Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

 

•

Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of common units in excess of the number of common units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of common units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of common units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of common units involved is greater than the number of common units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing common units in the open market.

 

•

Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the common units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of common units to close out the 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 common units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more common units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying common units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could 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.

 

•

Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a broker/dealer when the common units originally sold by such broker/dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions.

 

•

In passive market making a market maker in the common units who is an underwriter or prospective underwriter may, subject to limitations, make bids for or purchases of our common units until the time, if any, at which a stabilizing bid is made.

These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common units. As a result the price of our common units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on the NASDAQ Global Select Market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

A prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of common units to selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

Selling Restrictions

Hong Kong

The Units may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong

 

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Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the Units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to common unites which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the Units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, or the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the Units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, common units, debentures and units of Units and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the Units under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan, or the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP. Certain legal matters with respect to the common units offered hereby will be passed upon for the underwriters by Latham & Watkins LLP.

EXPERTS

The audited financial statements of Viper Energy Partners LP incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and elsewhere in the registration statement, have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

Information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement regarding our estimated quantities of oil and gas reserves and the discounted present value of future net cash flows therefrom is based upon estimates of such reserves and present values prepared by Ryder Scott Company, L.P., an independent petroleum engineering firm, as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013. This information is included or incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the authority of said firm as experts in these matters.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and other reports with and furnish other information to the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file with or furnish to the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-732-0330 for further information on its public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Our website is located at http://www.viperenergy.com, and we make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC available, free of charge, through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports and other information are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into, and does not constitute a part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You may also request a copy of these filings at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address: 500 West Texas Avenue, Suite 1200, Midland, Texas 79701; telephone: (432) 221-7400.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” certain information we file with the SEC. This means we can disclose important information to you without actually including the specific information in this prospectus by referring to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. If information in an incorporated document conflicts with information in another incorporated document, you should rely on the most recent incorporated document.

We incorporate by reference the documents listed below (excluding information deemed to be furnished and not filed with the SEC):

 

•

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015;

 

•

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016;

 

•

Current Reports on Form 8-K filed June 27, 2016 and July 8, 2016; and

 

•

The description of our common units contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on June 17, 2014 (File No. 001-36505), and including any other amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

In addition, we incorporate by reference in this prospectus supplement any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (excluding any information deemed to be furnished and not filed with the SEC), after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered by this prospectus.

 

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Prospectus

 

Viper Energy Partners LP

Common Units

 

 

This prospectus relates to:

 

•

up to $1,000,000,000 maximum offering price of common units representing limited partner interests in Viper Energy Partners LP to be offered on a primary basis; and

 

•

up to 70,950,000 currently issued and outstanding common units representing limited partner interests in Viper Energy Partners LP to be offered on a secondary basis by the selling unitholders named in this prospectus or in any supplement to this prospectus.

We or the selling unitholders may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell these securities through ordinary brokerage transactions, directly to market makers or through any other means described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Plan of Distribution,” including through sales to underwriters or dealers (in which case this prospectus will be accompanied by a prospectus supplement listing any underwriters, the compensation to be received by the underwriters, and the total amount of money that we or the selling unitholders will receive in such sale after expenses of the offering are paid).

We or the selling unitholders may elect to sell all, a portion or none of the securities offered hereby. We or the selling unitholders will determine the prices and terms of the sales at the time of each offering made by us or it. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders pursuant to this prospectus.

This prospectus describes only the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities. The specific terms of any securities we or the selling unitholders offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will describe the specific manner in which we or the selling unitholders will offer the securities and also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. In making offers and sales pursuant to this prospectus, the selling unitholders are deemed to be acting as an underwriter, and their offers and sales are deemed to be made indirectly on our behalf. For a more detailed discussion of the selling unitholder, please read “Selling Unitholders.”

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

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 risks. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully consider the Risk Factors beginning on page 2 of this prospectus and contained in any 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 July 13, 2015.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS			i
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			ii
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			iii
ABOUT VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP			1
RISK FACTORS			2
USE OF PROCEEDS			3
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS			4
THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT			6
CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS			25
HOW WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS			27
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES			28
INVESTMENT IN VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS			42
SELLING UNITHOLDERS			43
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			45
LEGAL MATTERS			48
EXPERTS			48

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We and the selling unitholders have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of each such document, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus, including any information incorporated by reference herein, is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, offer and sell, in one or more offerings, up to $1,000,000,000 in total aggregate offering price of common units of Viper Energy Partners LP or the selling unitholders may, from time to time, offer and sell, in one or more offerings, up to 70,950,000 common units of Viper Energy Partners LP. This prospectus provides you with a general description of us and the securities offered under this prospectus.

Each time we or the selling unitholders sell securities with this prospectus, to the extent required, we will provide you with a prospectus supplement containing specific information about the terms of a particular offering. A prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement carefully before you invest. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement. You should read carefully this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by reference to the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed or will be filed or incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to (i) “Viper Energy Partners LP,” “the partnership,” “we,” “our,” “us” or like terms refer collectively to Viper Energy Partners LP and its subsidiaries, (ii) our “general partner” refers to Viper Energy Partners GP LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc., (iii) “Diamondback” refers collectively to Diamondback Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries other than the partnership and its subsidiaries and (iv) “Wexford Capital” refers to Wexford Capital LP, which is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based SEC-registered investment advisor.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed a registration statement with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, that registers the securities covered by this prospectus. The registration statement, including the exhibits attached thereto and incorporated by reference therein, contains additional relevant information about us. In addition, we file annual, quarterly and other reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy documents we file 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 information on the operation of the SEC’s public reference room. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we have filed with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you without actually including the specific information in this prospectus by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. Information that we later provide to the SEC, and which is deemed to be “filed” with the SEC, will automatically update information previously filed with the SEC, and may replace information in this prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.

We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act (excluding information deemed to be furnished and not filed with the SEC), after the date on which such registration statement was initially filed with the SEC until all offerings under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part are completed or terminated:

 

•

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

 

•

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015; and

 

•

the description of our common units in our registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36505) filed on June 17, 2014, and any subsequent amendment thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description.

These reports contain important information about us, our financial condition and our results of operations.

We make available free of charge on or through our website, www.viperenergy.com, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We make our website content available for information purposes only. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus.

You may obtain copies of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the SEC through the SEC’s website at the address provided above. You also may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus (including exhibits to those documents specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus), at no cost, by visiting our website at www. viperenergy.com, or by writing or calling us at the following address.

Investor Relations

Viper Energy Partners LP

500 West Texas Avenue, Suite 1200

Midland, Texas 79701

(432) 221-7430

ir@viperenergy.com

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Various statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus that express a belief, expectation, or intention, or that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, the words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. In particular, the factors discussed in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein, including those detailed under “Risk Factors,” could affect our actual results and cause our actual results to differ materially from expectations, estimates or assumptions expressed, forecasted or implied in such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include statements about:

 

•

our ability to execute our business strategies;

 

•

the volatility of realized oil and natural gas prices;

 

•

the level of production on our properties;

 

•

regional supply and demand factors, delays or interruptions of production;

 

•

our ability to replace our oil and natural gas reserves;

 

•

our ability to identify, complete and integrate acquisitions of properties or businesses;

 

•

general economic, business or industry conditions;

 

•

competition in the oil and natural gas industry;

 

•

the ability of our operators to obtain capital or financing needed for development and exploration operations;

 

•

title defects in the properties in which we invest;

 

•

uncertainties with respect to identified drilling locations and estimates of reserves;

 

•

the availability or cost of rigs, equipment, raw materials, supplies, oilfield services or personnel;

 

•

restrictions on the use of water;

 

•

the availability of transportation facilities;

 

•

the ability of our operators to comply with applicable governmental laws and regulations and to obtain permits and governmental approvals;

 

•

federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing;

 

•

future operating results;

 

•

exploration and development drilling prospects, inventories, projects and programs;

 

•

operating hazards faced by our operators; and

 

•

the ability of our operators to keep pace with technological advancements.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,

 

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uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements we make in this prospectus are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

 

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ABOUT VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP

We are a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership formed by Diamondback on February 27, 2014 to, among other things, own, acquire and exploit oil and natural gas properties in North America. Our assets consist primarily of mineral interests underlying oil and natural gas properties principally located in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

We are managed and operated by the board of directors and executive officers of our general partner. Diamondback owns and controls our general partner and, as of June 25, 2015, owned approximately 88.4% of our outstanding common units.

Our principal executive offices are located at 500 West Texas Avenue, Suite 1200, Midland, Texas 79701, and our telephone number is (432) 221-7400. Our website is located at www.viperenergy.com. We make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC available, free of charge, through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports and other information are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information on, or connected to, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Limited partner interests are inherently different from the 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. Before you invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that are incorporated herein by reference and those that may be included in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference herein or therein.

If any of the risks discussed in the foregoing documents were actually to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flow could be materially adversely affected. In that case, our ability to make distributions to our unitholders may be reduced, the trading price of our securities could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Except as otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds we receive from the sale of common units for general partnership purposes, which may include repayment of indebtedness, future acquisitions, other capital expenditures and additions to working capital.

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

We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS

Our Common Units

The common units offered hereby represent limited partner interests in us. The holders of common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights and privileges provided to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and privileges of holders of our common units to partnership distributions, please read “How We Make Distributions.” For a description of the rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read “The Partnership Agreement.” As of June 25, 2015, 79,713,332 common units were outstanding.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Computershare Trust Company, N.A. 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, which must be paid by unitholders:

 

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surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates, taxes and other governmental charges;

 

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special charges for services requested by a holder of a common unit; and

 

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other similar fees or charges.

There is no charge to our unitholders for disbursements of our quarterly 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.

The transfer agent may resign, by notice to us, or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If a successor has not been appointed or has not accepted its appointment within 30 days after notice of the resignation or removal, our general partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.

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 are reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:

 

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represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement;

 

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automatically agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of, and is deemed to have executed, our partnership agreement; and

 

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gives the consents and approvals contained in our partnership agreement, such as the approval of all transactions and agreements entered into in connection with our formation.

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 from time to time as necessary to accurately reflect the transfers.

We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s 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.

 

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Common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a 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 common unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.

Listing

Our common units are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VNOM.”

 

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THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The following is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. Our partnership agreement is an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We will provide investors and prospective investors with a copy of our partnership agreement upon request at no charge.

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

 

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

 

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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 in February 2014 and will have a perpetual existence unless terminated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement.

Purpose

Our purpose, as set forth in our partnership agreement, is limited to any business activity that is 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 take any action that the general partner determines would be reasonably likely to 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 and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the business of acquiring and exploiting oil and natural gas properties, our general partner may decline to do so free of any 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 generally authorized to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.

Capital Contributions

Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under “—Limited Liability.”

Adjustments to Capital Accounts Upon Issuance of Additional Common Units

We will make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional common units. In doing so, we will generally allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes, unrecognized gain or loss resulting from the adjustments to our unitholders prior to such issuance on a pro rata basis, so that after such issuance, the capital account balances attributable to all common units are equal.

Voting Rights

The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for approval of the matters specified below. Matters that call for the approval of a “unit majority” require the approval of a majority of the common units.

Diamondback has the ability to ensure passage of, as well as the ability to ensure the defeat of, any amendment which requires a unit majority by virtue of its 88.4% ownership of our common units.

 

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In voting their common units, our general partner and its affiliates will have no duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in the best interests of us or the limited partners. The holders of a majority of the common units (including common units deemed owned by our general partner) represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of such common unitholders, unless any such action requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of such units in which case the quorum shall be such greater percentage.

The following is a summary of the vote requirements specified for certain matters under our partnership agreement.

 

Issuance of additional units

No approval right.

 

Amendment of the partnership agreement

Certain amendments may be made by our 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, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets.”

 

Dissolution of our partnership

Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.”

 

Continuation of our business upon dissolution

Unit majority. Please read “—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 June 30, 2024 in a manner that would cause a dissolution of our partnership. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”

 

Removal of our general partner

Not less than 66  2⁄3% of the outstanding common units, including common units held by our general partner and its affiliates. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”

 

Transfer of our general partner interest

No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.”

 

Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner

No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner.”

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 specific prior approval of our general partner.

 

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Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction

Our partnership agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:

 

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arising out of or relating in any way to the partnership agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of the partnership agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us);

 

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brought in a derivative manner on our behalf;

 

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asserting a claim of breach of a duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our general partner, or owed by our general partner, to us or the limited partners;

 

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asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, which we refer to as the Delaware Act; or

 

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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), 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 and irrevocably waives the right to trial by jury.

If any person brings any of the aforementioned claims, suits, actions or proceedings and such person does not obtain a judgment on the merits that substantially achieves, in substance and amount, the full remedy sought, then such person shall be obligated to reimburse us and our affiliates for all fees, costs and expenses of every kind and description, including but not limited to all reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation expenses, that the parties may incur in connection with such claim, suit, action or proceeding.

By purchasing a common unit, a limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or such other court) in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings.

Limited Liability

Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of 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. However, if it were determined that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:

 

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to remove or replace our general partner;

 

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to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement; or

 

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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 under the reasonable belief that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our partnership agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our 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.

 

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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.

We may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states or countries in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as owner of our operating subsidiaries may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating subsidiaries conduct business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.

Limitations on the liability of members or limited partners for the obligations of a limited liability company or limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our ownership interest in our subsidiaries or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any jurisdiction 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 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 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.

Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests

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

It is likely that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing common unitholders in our distributions. In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing common unitholders in our net assets.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, may have rights to distributions or special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit our subsidiaries from issuing equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.

Our general partner has the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units, whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of our general partner and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The common unitholders do not have preemptive rights under our partnership agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests.

 

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Amendment of the Partnership Agreement

General

Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in a manner not adverse to 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 to 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:

 

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

 

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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 in its sole discretion.

The provision of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in the clauses above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class (including units owned by our general partner and its affiliates). An affiliate of our general partner owns approximately 88.4% of our outstanding common units.

No Unitholder Approval

Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner to reflect:

 

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a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office;

 

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the admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement;

 

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a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue our qualification as a limited partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed);

 

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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 Advisers 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;

 

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an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the creation, authorization or issuance of additional partnership interests or the right to acquire partnership interests;

 

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any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone;

 

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an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our partnership agreement;

 

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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;

 

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

 

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conversions into, 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 conversion, merger or conveyance other than those it receives by way of the conversion, merger or conveyance; or

 

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any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described in the clauses above.

In addition, our general partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement, without the approval of any limited partner, if our general partner determines that those amendments:

 

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do not adversely affect the limited partners (including any particular class of partnership interests as compared to other classes of partnership interests) in any material respect;

 

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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;

 

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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;

 

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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

 

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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

Any amendment that our general partner determines adversely affects in any material respect one or more particular classes of limited partners, and is not permitted to be adopted by our general partner without limited partner approval, will require the approval of at least a majority of the class or classes so affected, but no vote will be required by any class or classes of limited partners that our general partner determines are not adversely affected in any material respect. Any such 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 such amendment that would reduce the voting percentage required to take any action other than to remove the general partner or call a meeting of unitholders 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. Any such amendment that would increase the percentage of units required to remove the general partner or call a meeting of unitholders must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the percentage sought to be increased. For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will neither result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners nor result in our being treated as a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments. 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.

 

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Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets

A merger, consolidation or conversion of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to consent to any merger, consolidation or conversion and may decline to do so free of any duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act 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 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. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without such approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without such 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, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in a material amendment to the partnership agreement (other than an amendment that the general partner could adopt without the consent of other partners), each of our units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the partnership interests to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests 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 conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, we have received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as contained in our partnership agreement. Our 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 similar transaction or event.

Dissolution

We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:

 

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the election of our general partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority;

 

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there being no limited partners, unless we are continued without dissolution in accordance with applicable Delaware law;

 

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the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our partnership; or

 

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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 its withdrawal or removal following the 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:

 

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the action would not result in the loss of limited liability under Delaware law of any limited partner; and

 

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neither our partnership nor any of our 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 (to the extent not already so treated or taxed).

Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds

Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as set forth in our partnership agreement. 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 Our General Partner

Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner prior to June 30, 2024 without obtaining 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, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. On or after June 30, 2024, 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 our general partner and its affiliates. In addition, our 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.”

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 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 “—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 common 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 gives them the ability to prevent our general partner’s removal. An affiliate of our general partner owns 88.4% of our outstanding common units.

In the event of the removal of our general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of our general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner and its affiliates for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where our 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 affiliates 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.

 

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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 will automatically convert into common units equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.

In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred as a result of the termination of any employees employed for our benefit by the departing general partner or its affiliates.

Transfer of General Partner Interest

At any time, our general partner may transfer all or any of its general partner interest to another person without the approval of our common unitholders. As a condition of this transfer, the transferee must, among other things, assume 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.

Transfer of Ownership Interests in the General Partner

At any time, the owner of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part of its ownership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or third party without the approval of our unitholders.

Change of Management Provisions

Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove Viper Energy Partners GP LLC as our general partner or from otherwise changing our management. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner” for a discussion of certain consequences of the removal of our general partner. 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 in certain circumstances. Please read “—Meetings; Voting.”

Limited Call Right

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 97% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests 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. If our general partner and its affiliates (including Diamondback) reduce their ownership to below 75% of the outstanding common units, the ownership threshold to exercise the call right will be permanently reduced to 80%. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:

 

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the highest price paid by our general partner or any of its affiliates for any limited partner interests 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 limited partner interests; and

 

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the average of the daily closing prices of the partnership securities of such class over the 20 trading days preceding the date that is three days before the date the notice is mailed.

As a result of our general partner’s right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have his limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or at a price that may be lower than market prices at various times prior to such purchase or lower than a unitholder may anticipate the market price to be in the future. 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 Units.”

 

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Non-Taxpaying Holders; Redemption

To avoid any adverse effect on our ability to operate our assets or generate revenues from our assets, our partnership agreement provides our general partner the power to amend our partnership agreement. If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines that our not being treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes, coupled with the tax status (or lack of proof thereof) of one or more of our limited partners (or their owners, to the extent relevant), has, or is reasonably likely to have, a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our assets or generate revenues from our assets, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:

 

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obtain proof of the federal income tax status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and

 

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permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose tax status has or is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our assets or generate revenues from our assets or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by our general partner to obtain proof of such person’s federal income tax status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption.

Non-Citizen Assignees; Redemption

If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are 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 (or its owners, to the extent relevant), then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:

 

•

obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of our limited partners (or their owners, to the extent relevant); and

 

•

permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose nationality, citizenship or other related status creates substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by the general partner to obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption.

Meetings; Voting

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

Our general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of our unitholders will be called in the foreseeable future. Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by 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. Our general partner may postpone any meeting of unitholders one or more times for any reason by giving notice to the unitholders entitled

 

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to vote at such meeting. Our general partner may also adjourn any meeting of unitholders one or more times for any reason, including the absence of a quorum, without a vote of the unitholders.

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 Partnership Interests.” 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 and purchasers specifically approved by our general partner, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units and the units may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise.

Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record common unitholders under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.

Status as Limited Partner

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

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 our general partner or any departing general partner;

 

•

any person who is or was a manager, managing member, general partner, director, officer, fiduciary or trustee of our partnership, our subsidiaries, our general partner, any departing general partner or any of their affiliates;

 

•

any person who is or was serving as a manager, managing member, general partners, director, officer, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of another person owing a fiduciary duty to us or our subsidiaries;

 

•

any person who controls our general partner or any departing general partner; and

 

•

any person designated by our general partner.

Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless our general partner otherwise agrees, it will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or lend 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. Our partnership agreement does not set a limit on the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed. 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. Our general partner is entitled to determine the expenses that are allocable to us.

We and our general partner have entered into an advisory services agreement with Wexford Capital pursuant to which Wexford Capital provides general finance and advisory services in exchange for a fee and certain expense reimbursement.

Books and Reports

Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. These 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 our common units, within 105 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report on those consolidated financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available summary financial information within 50 days after the close of each quarter. We will be deemed to have made any such report available if we file such report with the SEC on EDGAR or make the report available on a publicly available website that we maintain.

We will furnish each record holder with information reasonably required for federal and state 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 our unitholders will depend on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his federal and state tax liability and in filing his federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with the necessary 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 written 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 record holder;

 

•

copies of our partnership agreement, our certificate of limited partnership, related amendments and powers of attorney under which they have been executed; and

 

•

such other information regarding our affairs as our general partner determines is just and reasonable.

Under our partnership agreement, however, each of our limited partners and other persons who acquire interests in our partnership interests, do not have rights to receive information from us or any of the persons we indemnify as described above under “—Indemnification” for the purpose of determining whether to pursue litigation or assist in pending litigation against us or those indemnified persons relating to our affairs, except pursuant to the applicable rules of discovery relating to the litigation commenced by the person seeking information.

 

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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 determines is not in our best interests or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential. Our partnership agreement limits the rights to information that a limited partner would otherwise have under Delaware law.

Registration Rights

Under our partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any common units proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates or their assignees if an exemption from the registration requirements is not otherwise available. These registration rights continue for two years following any withdrawal or removal of our general partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts.

Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties

The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, expand, restrict or eliminate the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by the general partner to the limited partners and the partnership. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that eliminate and replace the fiduciary standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. Our partnership agreement also specifically defines the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken that, without these defined liability standards, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under applicable Delaware law.

When our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in “good faith,” meaning it must not act in a manner that it believes is adverse to our interest. This duty to act in good faith is the default standard set forth under our partnership agreement and our general partner will not be subject to any higher standard.

Our partnership agreement specifies decisions that our general partner may make in its individual capacity, and permits our general partner to make these decisions free of any contractual or other duty to us or our unitholders. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Examples include the exercise of its call right, its voting rights with respect to any units it owns, its registration rights and its determination whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation or amendment of the partnership agreement.

When the directors and officers of our general partner cause our general partner to manage and operate our business, the directors and officers must cause our general partner to act in a manner consistent with our general partner’s applicable duties. However, the directors and officers of our general partner have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner, including when it is acting in its capacity as our general partner, in a manner beneficial to Diamondback.

Conflicts may arise as a result of the duties of our general partner and its directors and officers to act for the benefit of its owners, which may conflict with our interests and the interests of our public unitholders. Where the directors and officers of our general partner are causing our general partner to act in its capacity as our general partner, the directors and officers must cause the general partner to act in good faith, meaning they cannot cause the general partner to take an action that they believe is adverse to our interest. However, where a decision by our general partner in its capacity as our general partner is not clearly not adverse to our interest, the directors of our general partner may determine to submit the determination to the conflicts committee for review or to seek approval by the unitholders, as described below.

 

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Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our general partner and its directors, executive officers and owners (including Diamondback), on the one hand, and us and our limited partners, on the other hand.

Whenever a conflict arises between our general partner or its owners, on the one hand, and us or our limited partners, on the other hand, the resolution, course of action or transaction in respect of such conflict of interest shall be conclusively deemed approved by us and all our limited partners and shall not constitute a breach of our partnership agreement, of any agreement contemplated thereby or of any duty, if the resolution or course of action or transaction in respect of such conflict of interest is:

 

•

approved by the conflicts committee of our general partner; or

 

•

approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any such units owned by our general partner or any of its affiliates.

Our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolutions or courses of action from the conflicts committee of its board of directors or from the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units as described above. If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee or from holders of common units as described above and the board of directors of our general partner approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors of our general partner acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of us or any of our unitholders, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption and proving that such decision was not in good faith. Unless the resolution of a conflict is specifically provided for in our partnership agreement, the board of directors of our general partner or the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner may consider any factors they determine in good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. An independent third party is not required to evaluate the resolution. Under our partnership agreement, all determinations, other actions or failures to act by our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) will be presumed to be “in good faith,” and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of us or any of our unitholders, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption and proving that such decision was not in good faith.

Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others:

Actions taken by our general partner may affect the amount of cash available to pay distributions to unitholders.

The amount of cash that is available for distribution to unitholders is affected by decisions of our general partner regarding such matters as:

 

•

amount and timing of asset purchases and sales;

 

•

cash expenditures;

 

•

borrowings;

 

•

entry into and repayment of current and future indebtedness;

 

•

issuance of additional units; and

 

•

the creation, reduction or increase of reserves.

Our partnership agreement permits us to borrow funds to make a distribution, and further provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates.

 

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The directors and executive officers of our general partner who are also officers and directors of Diamondback have a fiduciary duty to make decisions in the best interests of the owners of Diamondback, which may be contrary to our interests.

The executive officers and certain directors of our general partner are also officers and directors of Diamondback. These officers and directors have fiduciary duties to Diamondback that may cause them to pursue business strategies that disproportionately benefit Diamondback or which otherwise are not in our best interests.

Our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us, such as Diamondback, in exercising certain rights under our partnership agreement.

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that replace the standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Examples include the exercise of its call right, its voting rights with respect to any units it owns, its registration rights and its determination whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership or amendment of the partnership agreement.

Our partnership agreement restricts the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that, without the limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.

In addition to the provisions described above, our partnership agreement contains provisions that have the effect of restricting the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. For example, our partnership agreement provides that:

 

•

our general partner will not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as a general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it did not believe that the decision was adverse to the interests of the partnership;

 

•

our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages or otherwise to us or our limited partners for any losses sustained or liabilities incurred as a result of the general partner’s, officer’s or director’s determinations, acts or omissions in their capacities as general partner, officers or directors, unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that such losses or liabilities were the result of the conduct of our general partner or such officer or director engaged by it in bad faith, willful misconduct or fraud or, with respect to any criminal conduct, with knowledge that such conduct was unlawful; and

 

•

in resolving conflicts of interest, it will be presumed that in making its decision our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner or the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or us, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption and proving that such decision was not in good faith.

By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder will agree to become bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. Please read “—Fiduciary Duties.”

Common unitholders have no right to enforce obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.

Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our favor.

 

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Contracts between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, are not and will not be the result of arm’s-length negotiations.

Neither our partnership agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts and arrangements between us and our general partner and its affiliates are or will be the result of arm’s-length negotiations. Our general partner will determine, in good faith, the terms of any of such future transactions.

Except in limited circumstances, our general partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without unitholder approval.

Under our partnership agreement, our general partner has full power and authority to do all things, other than those items that require unitholder approval, necessary or appropriate to conduct our business including, but not limited to, the following actions:

 

•

expending, lending, or borrowing money, assuming, guaranteeing, or otherwise contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities, issuing evidences of indebtedness, including indebtedness that is convertible into our securities, and incurring any other obligations;

 

•

preparing and transmitting tax, regulatory and other filings, periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over our business or assets;

 

•

acquiring, disposing, mortgaging, pledging, encumbering, hypothecating, or exchanging our assets or merging or otherwise combining us with or into another person;

 

•

negotiating, executing and performing contracts, conveyance or other instruments;

 

•

distributing cash;

 

•

selecting or dismissing employees and agents, outside attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors and determining their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring;

 

•

maintaining insurance for our benefit;

 

•

forming, acquiring an interest in, and contributing property and loaning money to, any further limited partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, limited liability companies or other entities;

 

•

controlling all matters affecting our rights and obligations, including bringing and defending actions at law or in equity or otherwise litigating, arbitrating or mediating, and incurring legal expense and settling claims and litigation;

 

•

indemnifying any person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law;

 

•

purchasing, selling or otherwise acquiring or disposing of our partnership interests, or issuing additional options, rights, warrants, appreciation rights, phantom or tracking interests relating to our partnership interests; and

 

•

entering into agreements with any of its affiliates to render services to us or to itself in the discharge of its duties as our general partner.

Please read “—Meetings; Voting” for information regarding the voting rights of unitholders.

Our general partner determines which of the costs it incurs on our behalf are reimbursable by us.

We reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for the costs incurred in managing and operating us, including costs incurred in rendering corporate staff and support services to us. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine such other expenses that are allocable to us, and neither the partnership agreement nor the advisory services agreement limits the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed.

 

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Common units are subject to our general partner’s call right.

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates (including Diamondback) own more than 97% of the common units, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at the market price calculated in accordance with the terms of our partnership agreement. If our general partner and its affiliates (including Diamondback) reduce their ownership to below 75% of the outstanding common units, the ownership threshold to exercise the call right will be permanently reduced to 80%. As a result, you may be required to sell your common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on your investment. You may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of your units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the call right. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement that prevents our general partner from issuing additional common units and exercising its call right. Our general partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right. As a result, a common unitholder may have his common units purchased from him at an undesirable time or price. Please read “—Limited Call Right.”

We may choose to not retain separate counsel for ourselves or for the holders of common units.

The attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us have been retained by our general partner. Attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us are selected by our general partner or the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner and may perform services for our general partner and its affiliates. We may retain separate counsel for ourselves or the conflict committee in the event of a conflict of interest between our general partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the holders of common units, on the other, depending on the nature of the conflict, although we may choose not to do so.

Our general partner’s affiliates may compete with us, and neither our general partner nor its affiliates have any obligation to present business opportunities to us.

Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner is restricted from engaging in any business activities other than acting as our general partner, engaging in activities incidental to its ownership interest in us and providing management, advisory, and administrative services to its affiliates or to other persons. However, affiliates of our general partner, including Diamondback and Wexford Capital, are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us. In addition, Diamondback and Wexford Capital may compete with us for investment opportunities and may own an interest in entities that compete with us. Pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, does not apply to our general partner or any of its affiliates, including its executive officers and directors and Diamondback and Wexford Capital. Any such person or entity that becomes aware of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for us will not have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to us. Any such person or entity will not be liable to us or to any limited partner for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursues or acquires such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another person or entity or does not communicate such opportunity or information to us.

Fiduciary Duties

Duties owed to unitholders by our general partner are prescribed by law and in our partnership agreement. The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, expand, restrict or eliminate the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by the general partner to limited partners and the partnership.

Our partnership agreement contains various provisions eliminating the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our general partner and replacing them with contractual standards of conduct. We have adopted these

 

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provisions to allow our general partner or its affiliates to engage in transactions with us that otherwise might be prohibited by state law fiduciary standards and to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because the board of directors of our general partner has a duty to manage our partnership in good faith and a duty to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to its owner. Without these modifications, our general partner’s ability to make decisions involving conflicts of interest would be restricted. The provisions eliminating and replacing the default fiduciary standards benefit our general partner by enabling it to take into consideration all parties involved in the proposed action. These provisions also strengthen the ability of our general partner to attract and retain experienced and capable directors. These provisions represent a detriment to our public unitholders because they restrict the remedies available to our public unitholders for actions that, without those provisions, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below, and permit our general partner to take into account the interests of third parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interests. The following is a summary of:

 

•

the default fiduciary duties under by the Delaware Act;

 

•

the standards contained in our partnership agreement that replace the default fiduciary duties; and

 

•

certain rights and remedies of limited partners contained in the Delaware Act.

 

State law fiduciary duty standards

Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general partner to act for the partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require that any action taken or transaction engaged in be entirely fair to the partnership.

 

Partnership agreement modified standards

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our general partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues as to compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in “good faith,” meaning that it believed its actions or omissions were not adverse to the interests of the partnership, and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our general partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These contractual standards replace the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held.

 

If our general partner does not obtain approval from the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner or our common unitholders, excluding any such units owned by our general partner or its affiliates, and the board of directors of our general partner approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, its board, which may include board members affected by the conflict of interest, acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person

 

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bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption and proving that such decision was not in good faith. These standards replace the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held.

 

Rights and remedies of limited partners

The Delaware Act generally provides that a limited partner may institute legal action on behalf of the partnership to recover damages from a third party where a general partner has refused to institute the action or where an effort to cause a general partner to do so is not likely to succeed. These actions include actions against a general partner for breach of its duties or of our partnership agreement. In addition, the statutory or case law of some jurisdictions may permit a limited partner to institute legal action on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated limited partners to recover damages from a general partner for violations of its fiduciary duties to the limited partners.

 

Partnership agreement modified standards

The Delaware Act provides that, unless otherwise provided in a partnership agreement, a partner or other person shall not be liable to a limited partnership or to another partner or to another person that is a party to or is otherwise bound by a partnership agreement for breach of fiduciary duty for the partner’s or other person’s good faith reliance on the provisions of the partnership agreement. Under our partnership agreement, to the extent that, at law or in equity an indemnitee has duties (including fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating thereto to us or to our partners, our general partner and any other indemnitee acting in connection with our business or affairs shall not be liable to us or to any partner for its reliance on the provisions of our partnership agreement.

By purchasing our common units, each common unitholder automatically agrees to be bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner to sign a partnership agreement does not render the partnership agreement unenforceable against that person.

Under our partnership agreement, we must indemnify our general partner and its officers, directors, managers and certain other specified persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our general partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that such losses or liabilities were the result of conduct of our general partner or such officer or director engaged by it in bad faith, willful misconduct or fraud or, with respect to any criminal conduct, with the knowledge that its conduct was unlawful. Thus, our general partner could be indemnified for its negligent acts if it meets the requirements set forth above. To the extent these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is contrary to public policy and, therefore, unenforceable. Please read “—Indemnification.”

 

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CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTIONS

Cash Distribution Policy

The board of directors of our general partner has adopted a policy pursuant to which we distribute all of the available cash we generate each quarter. We expect to pay our distributions within 60 days of the end of each quarter. Available cash for each quarter will be determined by the board of directors of our general partner following the end of such quarter. We expect that available cash for each quarter will generally equal our Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, less cash needed for debt service and other contractual obligations and fixed charges and reserves for future operating or capital needs that the board of directors may determine is appropriate. We do not intend to maintain excess distribution coverage for the purpose of maintaining stability or growth in our quarterly distribution or otherwise to reserve cash for distributions, nor do we intend to incur debt to pay quarterly distributions. Further, it is our intent, subject to market conditions, to finance growth capital externally. The board of directors of our general partner may change the foregoing distribution policy at any time and from time to time. Our partnership agreement does not require us to pay cash distributions on a quarterly or other basis.

Unlike a number of other master limited partnerships, we do not expect to initially retain cash from our operations for replacement capital expenditures primarily due to our expectation that existing development and the discovery of new pay horizons will lead to inclining production and revenues for at least the next several years. Replacement capital expenditures are those expenditures necessary to replace our existing oil and gas reserves or otherwise maintain our asset base over the long term. We expect to seek additional acquisitions of reserves and may restrict distributions to acquire or fund such acquisitions in whole or in part. If we do not retain cash for replacement capital expenditures in amounts necessary to maintain our asset base, eventually our cash available for distribution will decrease. The board of directors of our general partner may in the future decide to withhold replacement capital expenditures from cash available for distribution which may have an adverse impact on the cash available for distribution in the quarter(s) in which any such amounts are withheld. To the extent that we do not withhold replacement capital expenditures in the future, a portion of our future cash available for distribution will represent a return of your capital.

Because our policy is to distribute all available cash we generate each quarter, without reserving cash for future distributions or borrowing to pay distributions during periods of low revenue, our unitholders have direct exposure to fluctuations in the amount of cash generated by our business. Our quarterly cash distributions, if any, will not be stable and will vary from quarter to quarter as a direct result of variations in the performance of our operators and revenue caused by fluctuations in the prices of oil and natural gas. Such variations may be significant.

Limitations on Cash Distributions and Our Ability to Change Our Cash Distribution Policy

There is no guarantee that we will make cash distributions to our unitholders. Our cash distribution policy may be changed at any time and is subject to certain restrictions, including the following:

 

•

Our unitholders have no contractual or other legal right to receive cash distributions from us on a quarterly or other basis. The board of directors of our general partner will adopt a policy pursuant to which we will distribute to our unitholders each quarter all of the available cash we generate each quarter, as determined quarterly by the board of directors, but it may change this policy at any time.

 

•

Our cash distribution policy is subject to restrictions on distributions under our credit agreement. Specifically, our credit agreement contains material financial tests and covenants that we must satisfy. Should we be unable to satisfy these restrictions under our credit agreements, we would be prohibited from making cash distributions to you notwithstanding our cash distribution policy.

 

•

Our business performance may be volatile, and our cash flows may be less stable, than the business performance and cash flows of most publicly traded partnerships. As a result, our quarterly cash distributions may be volatile and may vary quarterly and annually.

 

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We do not have a minimum quarterly distribution or employ structures intended to maintain or increase quarterly distributions over time. Furthermore, none of our limited partner interests, including those held by Diamondback, will be subordinate in right of distribution payment to any common units sold pursuant to this prospectus.

 

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Our general partner has the authority to establish cash reserves for the prudent conduct of our business, and the establishment of, or increase in, those reserves could result in a reduction in cash distributions to our unitholders. Our partnership agreement does not set a limit on the amount of cash reserves that our general partner may establish. Any decision to establish cash reserves made by our general partner will be binding on our unitholders.

 

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Prior to making any distributions on our units, we will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for all direct and indirect expenses they incur on our behalf. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine the expenses that are allocable to us, but does not limit the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed. The reimbursement of expenses and payment of fees, if any, to our general partner and its affiliates will reduce the amount of cash to pay distributions to our unitholders.

 

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

 

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We may lack sufficient cash to pay distributions to our unitholders due to cash flow shortfalls attributable to a number of operational, commercial or other factors as well as increases in our operating or general and administrative expenses, principal and interest payments on our outstanding debt, tax expenses, working capital requirements and anticipated cash needs.

We expect to generally distribute a significant percentage of our cash from operations to our unitholders on a quarterly basis, after, among other things, the establishment of cash reserves and payment of our expenses. To fund growth, we will eventually need capital in excess of the amounts we may retain in our business, but we expect that our growth will depend at least initially on our operators’ ability to access external expansion capital. As a result, our growth will depend initially on our operators’ ability, and perhaps our ability in the future, to raise debt and equity capital from third parties in sufficient amounts and on favorable terms when needed. To the extent efforts to access capital externally are unsuccessful, our ability to grow will be significantly impaired.

 

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HOW WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS

General

Within 60 days after the end of each quarter, we expect to make distributions, as determined by the board of directors of our general partner, to unitholders of record on the applicable record date. We do not have a legal obligation to pay distributions, and the amount of distributions, if any, declared and paid under our distribution policy is determined by the board of directors of our general partner. See “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.”

Method of Distributions

We intend to distribute available cash to our unitholders, pro rata. Our partnership agreement permits us to borrow to make distributions, but we are not required to, and do not intend to, borrow to pay quarterly distributions. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that we will pay any distribution on the units in any quarter.

Common Units

As of June 25, 2015, we had 79,713,332 common units outstanding. Each common unit is entitled to receive cash distributions to the extent we distribute available cash. Common units do not accrue arrearages. Our partnership agreement allows us to issue an unlimited number of additional equity interests of equal or senior rank.

General Partner Interest

Our general partner owns a non-economic general partner interest and therefore is not entitled to receive cash distributions. However, it may acquire common units and other equity interests in the future and will be entitled to receive pro rata distributions in respect of those equity interests.

 

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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, possibly on a retroactive basis. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we” or “us” are references to Viper Energy Partners LP and its subsidiaries.

Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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, who use the calendar year as their taxable year, 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, 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 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind 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, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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.

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

 

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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 exploration, production and marketing of certain natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas and products thereof, as well as other types of income such as interest (other than from a financial business) and dividends. We estimate that less than 3% 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, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is of the opinion that we will be treated as a partnership and our partnership and limited liability company subsidiary will be disregarded as separate from us for federal income tax purposes. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has relied in rendering its opinion 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 federal income tax purposes; and

(b) For each taxable year since and including the year of our IPO, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of a character that Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has opined is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code.

We believe that these representations are true and 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 or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, the Obama administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 recommends that certain publicly traded partnerships earning income from activities related to fossil fuel be taxed as corporations beginning in 2021. From time to time, members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider such substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. If successful, the Obama administration’s proposal or other similar proposals could eliminate the Qualifying Income Exception to the treatment of all publicly traded partnerships as corporations upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any of these changes or these proposals 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.

The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.

 

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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 their particular 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.

Basis of Units

A unitholder’s tax basis in its units initially will be the amount paid for those units increased by the unitholder’s initial allocable 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 to the unitholder, the unitholder’s share of our losses, and any decreases in the unitholder’s share of our liabilities. 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 of those interests.

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.

 

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

 

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interest on indebtedness allocable to property held for investment;

 

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interest expense allocated against portfolio income; and

 

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the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent allocable against 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.

 

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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.

Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction

Our items of income, gain, loss and deduction generally will be allocated amongst our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us.

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. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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 of income, gain, loss or deduction under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes.

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, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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.”

 

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Tax Rates

Under current law, 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% net investment income tax (“NIIT”) applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. 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 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 will make 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. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. 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 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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 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.

 

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Tax Treatment of Operations

Accounting Method and Taxable Year

We will 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 its tax return 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.”

Depletion Deductions

Subject to the limitations on deductibility of losses discussed above (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Limitations on Deductibility of Losses”), common unitholders will be entitled to deductions for the greater of either cost depletion or (if otherwise allowable) percentage depletion with respect to our oil and gas interests. Although the Code requires each common unitholder to compute its own depletion allowance and maintain records of its share of the adjusted tax basis of the underlying property for depletion and other purposes, we intend to furnish each of our common unitholders with information relating to this computation for federal income tax purposes. Each common unitholder, however, remains responsible for calculating its own depletion allowance and maintaining records of its share of the adjusted tax basis of the underlying property for depletion and other purposes.

Percentage depletion is generally available with respect to common unitholders who qualify under the independent producer exemption contained in Section 613A(c) of the Code. For this purpose, an independent producer is a person not directly or indirectly involved in the retail sale of oil, gas, or derivative products or the operation of a major refinery. Percentage depletion is calculated as an amount generally equal to 15% (and, in the case of marginal production, potentially a higher percentage) of the common unitholder’s gross income from the depletable property for the taxable year. The percentage depletion deduction with respect to any property is limited to 100% of the taxable income of the common unitholder from the property for each taxable year, computed without the depletion allowance. A common unitholder that qualifies as an independent producer may deduct percentage depletion only to the extent the common unitholder’s average daily production of domestic crude oil, or the gas equivalent, does not exceed 1,000 barrels. This depletable amount may be allocated between oil and gas production, with 6,000 cubic feet of domestic gas production regarded as equivalent to one barrel of crude oil. The 1,000-barrel limitation must be allocated among the independent producer and controlled or related persons and family members in proportion to the respective production by such persons during the period in question.

In addition to the foregoing limitations, the percentage depletion deduction otherwise available is limited to 65% of a common unitholder’s total taxable income from all sources for the year, computed without the depletion allowance, net operating loss carrybacks, or capital loss carrybacks. Any percentage depletion deduction disallowed because of the 65% limitation may be deducted in the following taxable year if the percentage depletion deduction for such year plus the deduction carryover does not exceed 65% of the common unitholder’s total taxable income for that year. The carryover period resulting from the 65% net income limitation is unlimited.

Common unitholders that do not qualify under the independent producer exemption are generally restricted to depletion deductions based on cost depletion. Cost depletion deductions are calculated by (i) dividing the common unitholder’s share of the adjusted tax basis in the underlying mineral property by the number of mineral units (barrels of oil and thousand cubic feet, or Mcf, of gas) remaining as of the beginning of the taxable year and (ii) multiplying the result by the number of mineral units sold within the taxable year. The total amount of deductions based on cost depletion cannot exceed the common unitholder’s share of the total adjusted tax basis in the property.

 

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All or a portion of any gain recognized by a common unitholder as a result of either the disposition by us of some or all of our oil and gas interests or the disposition by the common unitholder of some or all of its units may be taxed as ordinary income to the extent of recapture of depletion deductions, except for percentage depletion deductions in excess of the tax basis of the property. The amount of the recapture is generally limited to the amount of gain recognized on the disposition.

The foregoing discussion of depletion deductions does not purport to be a complete analysis of the complex legislation and Treasury Regulations relating to the availability and calculation of depletion deductions by the common unitholders. Further, because depletion is required to be computed separately by each common unitholder and not by us, no assurance can be given, and counsel is unable to express any opinion, with respect to the availability or extent of percentage depletion deductions to the unitholders for any taxable year. We encourage each prospective common unitholder to consult its tax advisor to determine whether percentage depletion would be available to the common unitholder.

Administrative Expenses

Expenses of the partnership will include administrative expenses, the deductibility of which may be subject to limitation. As long as we only own royalty interests, under applicable rules, administrative expenses attributable to common units will be considered miscellaneous itemized deductions that generally will have to be aggregated with an individual unitholder’s other miscellaneous itemized deductions. These rules disallow itemized deductions that are less than 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, and the amount of otherwise allowable itemized deductions will be reduced by the lesser of (i) 3% of (A) adjusted gross income over (B) $305,050 ($152,525 if married filing separately) and (ii) 80% of the amount of itemized deductions that are otherwise allowable, or both. It is anticipated that the amount of such administrative expenses will not be significant in relation to the partnership’s income.

Recent Legislative Developments

The Obama administration’s budget proposals for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 include proposals that would, among other things, eliminate or reduce certain key U.S. federal income tax incentives currently available to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. These changes include, but are not limited to, (i) the repeal of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties, (ii) the elimination of current deductions for intangible drilling and development costs (“IDCs”), (iii) the elimination of the deduction for certain domestic production activities, and (iv) an extension of the amortization period for certain geological and geophysical expenditures. It is unclear whether these proposals will be introduced into law and, if so, how soon any resulting changes could become effective. The passage of any legislation as a result of these proposals or any other similar changes in U.S. federal income tax laws could eliminate or postpone certain tax deductions that are currently available with respect to oil and natural gas exploration and development, and any such change could increase the taxable income allocable to our unitholders and negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization

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

 

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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. Please read “Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

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 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 and the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our liabilities with respect to the units sold. 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 and our “inventory items,” regardless of whether such inventory item is substantially appreciated in value. 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.

For purposes of calculating gain or loss on the sale of units, the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis will be adjusted by its allocable share of our income or loss in respect of its units for the year of the sale. Furthermore, as described above, 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 of 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 in the paragraph 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 the units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of units transferred must consistently use that identification method for

 

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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 Treasury 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 quarterly, 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. The Department of the Treasury has 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, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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

 

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to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of 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 thereby increasing our administration and tax preparation costs. 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. 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. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is unable to opine as to the 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 and other tax-exempt organizations as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons (collectively, “Non-U.S. Unitholders”) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to

 

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them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or non-U.S. unitholders 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 unrelated business taxable income. Because our properties will be financed with debt and because we may own working interests in the future, portions of our income may be unrelated business taxable income and may be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.

Non-U.S. unitholders are taxed by the United States on income effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”) and on certain types of U.S.-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends and royalties), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty. At the time of this offering, we believe our only income is from interest, royalty interests, net profits interests and similar mineral interests and thus we should not have any effectively connected income. We may have effectively connected income in the future if we acquire working interests or otherwise engage, directly or indirectly, in an active trade or business. Furthermore, it is probable that we will be deemed to conduct such activities through permanent establishments in the United States within the meaning of applicable tax treaties. Consequently, a non-U.S. unitholder may be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax on their share of our net income or gain in a manner similar to a taxable U.S. unitholder. Moreover, under rules concerning withholding on effectively connected income applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Even though we believe our income from interests, royalty interests, net profits interest and similar mineral interests will not be effectively connected income, we will instruct brokers and nominees to withhold on all distributions to non-U.S. holders at the highest applicable effective tax rate based upon the convention for effectively connected income. Non-U.S. holders may be entitled to a refund of all or a portion of this amount. Each non-U.S. unitholder that obtains a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submits that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN or W-8 BEN-E or applicable substitute form may obtain credit for these withholding taxes.

In addition, because a non-U.S. unitholder classified as a corporation may 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 as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “U.S. net equity” to the extent reflected in the corporation’s effectively connected earnings and profits. 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,” gain recognized by a non-U.S. person from the sale of its interest in a partnership that is engaged in a trade or business in the United States will be considered to be effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Thus, part or all of a non-U.S. unitholder’s gain from the sale or other disposition of its units may be treated as effectively connected with a 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 indirectly 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 our worldwide real property interests and our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business consisted of U.S. real property interests (which include U.S. real estate (including land, improvements, and certain associated personal property) and interests in certain entities holding U.S. real estate) 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.

 

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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 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 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 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

 

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$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

Certain penalties may be imposed as a result 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. 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. We do not anticipate that any accuracy related penalties will be assessed against us.

FATCA Withholding Requirements

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a withholding agent may be required to withhold 30% of any interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits and income from sources within the United States (“FDAP Income”) or gross proceeds from the sale of any property of a type which can produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States paid to (i) a foreign financial institution (which includes foreign broker-dealers, clearing organizations, investment companies, hedge funds and certain other investment entities) unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. account holders and meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a non-financial foreign entity that is a beneficial owner of the payment unless such entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements or otherwise qualifies for an exemption from this withholding.

The withholding provisions described above are scheduled to apply to payments of FDAP Income made on or after July 1, 2014 and to payments of relevant gross proceeds made on or after January 1, 2017. Each prospective unitholder should consult its own tax advisor regarding these withholding provisions.

State, Local and Other Tax Considerations

In addition to federal income taxes, unitholders may 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 own property now or in the future, even if you do not live in those jurisdictions. We may be treated as doing business in a number of jurisdictions and many of these jurisdictions impose a personal income tax. 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.

Although you may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because your income from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment requirement, you will be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. It is your responsibility to file all U.S. federal, foreign, state and local tax returns. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the foreign, state or local tax consequences of an investment in our common units.

It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions, of his investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective unitholder consult, and depend upon, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all state, local and non-U.S., as well as U.S. federal tax returns that may be required of it. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, alternative minimum tax or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in us.

 

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INVESTMENT IN VIPER ENERGY PARTNERS LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

An investment in us by an employee benefit plan is subject to additional considerations because the investments of these plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code, and/or provisions under any federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or ERISA (collectively, “Similar Laws”). For these purposes the term “employee benefit plan” includes, but is not limited to, qualified pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, Keogh plans, simplified employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities or individual retirement accounts or annuities (“IRAs”) and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of such plans, accounts or arrangements. 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, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in us is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is a proper investment for the plan.

Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibit employee benefit plans from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with parties that are “parties in interest” under ERISA or “disqualified persons” under the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the plan.

In addition to considering whether the purchase of common units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the plan will, by investing in us, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that 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 Internal Revenue Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.

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

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

(2) 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

(3) 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 is held by the employee benefit plans referred to above.

Plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of common units should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and any other applicable Similar Laws in light of the serious penalties imposed on persons who engage in prohibited transactions or other violations.

 

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SELLING UNITHOLDERS

This prospectus covers the offering for resale from time to time, in one or more offerings, of up to 70,950,000 common units representing limited partner interests in Viper Energy Partners LP owned by the selling unitholders identified in the table below. These common units were issued to the selling unitholders in connection with our initial public offering on June 23, 2014.

The selling unitholders will determine the prices and terms of the sales at the time of each offering made by it, and will be responsible for any fees, discounts or selling commissions due to brokers, dealers or agents. We will pay all of the other offering expenses. We will not receive any of the proceeds from any sale of the securities sold by the selling unitholders pursuant to this prospectus.

The following table sets forth information relating to the selling unitholders based on information supplied to us by the selling unitholders on or prior to the time of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We have not sought to verify such information. Information concerning the selling unitholders may change over time, and if necessary, we will supplement this prospectus accordingly. The selling unitholders may hold or acquire at any time common units in addition to those offered by this prospectus and may have acquired additional common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us. In addition, the selling unitholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of its common units since the date on which the information reflected herein was provided to us and may in the future sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of some or all of its common units in private placement transactions exempt from or not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Assuming the sale of all common units beneficially owned by them set forth in the table below, the selling unitholders will hold no units upon completion of the offering.

 

		Common Units Beneficially Owned Prior to the Offering(1)								Common Units Being Offered Hereby				Common Units Beneficially Owned After Completion of the Offering
Name of Selling Unitholder		Number				Percent(2)				Number				Number				Percent(2)
Diamondback Energy, Inc.(3)			70,450,000				88.4	%			70,450,000				—				—
Debello Investors LLC(4)			6,700				*				6,700				—				—
Wexford Catalyst Investors LLC(4)			106,500				*				106,500				—				—
Wexford Focused Investors LLC(4)			9,400				*				9,400				—				—
Wexford Spectrum Investors LLC(4)			377,400				*				377,400				—				—

 

*	Less than 1%

(1)

For purposes of this table, a person or group of persons is deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of any common units which such person has the right to acquire within 60 days. For purposes of computing the percentage of outstanding common units held by each person or group of persons named above, any security which such person or group of persons has the right to acquire within 60 days is deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership for such person or persons, but is not deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. As a result, the denominator used in calculating the beneficial ownership among our unitholders may differ.

(2)

Percentage of beneficial ownership is based upon 79,713,332 common units outstanding as of June 25, 2015. Because the selling unitholders are not obligated to sell any portion of the common units shown as offered by them, we cannot estimate the actual number or percentage of common units that will be held by any selling unitholder upon completion of this offering. However, for purposes of this table, we have assumed that, after completion of the offering, none of the common units covered by this prospectus will be held by the applicable selling unitholder.

(3)	Diamondback Energy, Inc. is a publicly traded company. The address for Diamondback Energy, Inc. is 500 West Texas Avenue, Suite 1200, Midland, Texas 79701.

 

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(4)

Wexford Spectrum Investors LLC (“WSI”), Wexford Catalyst Investors LLC (“WCI”), Wexford Focused Investors LLC (“WFI”) and Debello Investors LLC (“DI” and, together with WSI, WCI and WFI, the “Funds”) are investment funds managed by Wexford Capital LP (“Wexford Capital”). Wexford Capital is an investment advisor registered with the SEC, and manages a series of investment funds. Wexford GP LLC (“Wexford GP”) is the general partner of Wexford Capital. Charles E. Davidson and Joseph M. Jacobs are the managing members of Wexford GP. Wexford Capital may, by reason of its status as manager of the Funds, be deemed to own beneficially the securities of which the Funds possess beneficial ownership. Wexford GP may, as the General Partner of Wexford Capital, be deemed to own beneficially the securities of which the Funds possess beneficial ownership. Each of Mr. Davidson and Mr. Jacobs may, by reason of his status as a controlling person of Wexford GP, be deemed to own beneficially the securities of which the Funds possess beneficial ownership. Each of Wexford Capital, Wexford GP, Mr. Davidson and Mr. Jacobs disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities owned by the Funds except, in the case of Mr. Davidson and Mr. Jacobs, to the extent of their respective interests in the members of the Funds. Wexford Capital’s address is Wexford Plaza, 411 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

In making offers and sales pursuant to this prospectus, the selling unitholders are deemed to be acting as an underwriter, and their offers and sales are deemed to be made indirectly on our behalf.

Our Relationship with the Selling Unitholders

We were formed by Diamondback in February 2014 to, among other things, own, acquire and exploit oil and natural gas properties in North America. As of June 25, 2015, our general partner held a 100% non-economic general partner interest in the partnership and Diamondback had an approximate 88.4% limited partner interest in the partnership. Diamondback owns and controls our general partner, and two of Diamondback’s directors and certain of Diamondback’s executive officers serve as directors and/or executive officers of our general partner. Diamondback provides management, operating and administrative services to us and our general partner. We have also engaged from time to time in certain purchase and sale transactions with Diamondback and/or its affiliates. In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a registration rights agreement pursuant to which we are required to file a registration statement to register common units owned by Diamondback. In addition, under our partnership agreement we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act any common units proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates or their assignees.

We and our general partner have entered into an advisory services agreement with Wexford Capital pursuant to which Wexford Capital provides general finance and advisory services in exchange for a fee and certain expense reimbursement. Two of the directors of our general partner are also partners at Wexford Capital. As of June 18, 2015, Wexford Capital beneficially owned approximately 1.4% of the common stock of Diamondback.

For further information on our relationship with Diamondback and Wexford Capital, please read the documents referenced in “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We and the selling unitholders may, from time to time, sell securities described in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement through underwriters, through broker-dealers, through agents, directly to one or more purchasers, through a combination of any of the foregoing methods of sale, or through any other method permitted by applicable law.

In addition, we or the selling unitholders may also from time to time sell securities in compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to other available exemptions from the registration requirements under the Securities Act, rather than pursuant to this prospectus. In such event, we and the selling unitholders, if applicable, may be required by the securities laws of certain states to offer and sell the common units only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.

We or the selling unitholders may set the price or prices of our securities at:

 

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fixed prices;

 

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market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

 

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prices related to market prices;

 

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varying prices determined at the time of sale; or

 

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negotiated prices.

We or the selling unitholders may change the price of the securities offered from time to time.

The selling unitholders may act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each of their sales.

From time to time, the selling unitholders may pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered. If a selling unitholder defaults in performance of its secured obligations, the pledged or secured parties may offer and sell the securities from time to time by this prospectus. The selling unitholders also may transfer the securities in other circumstances. The number of securities beneficially owned by the selling unitholders will decrease as and when they transfer their securities or defaults in performing obligations secured by the securities. The plan of distribution for the securities offered and sold under this prospectus will otherwise remain unchanged, except that the transferees, distributees, pledgees, affiliates, other secured parties or other successors in interest will be selling unitholders for purposes of this prospectus.

Broker-dealers or other persons may receive discounts or commissions from us or the selling unitholders, or they may receive commissions from purchasers of common units for whom they acted as agents, or both. Any of such discounts or commissions might be in excess of those customary in the types of transactions involved. Broker-dealers or other persons engaged by us or the selling unitholders may allow other broker-dealers or other persons to participate in resales. We and the selling unitholders may agree to indemnify any broker-dealer or agent against certain liabilities related to the selling of the securities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. If a broker-dealer purchases securities as a principal, it may resell the securities for its own account under this prospectus. A distribution of the securities by us or the selling unitholders may also be effected through the issuance by us or the selling unitholders or others of derivative securities, including warrants, exchangeable securities, forward delivery contracts and the writing of options.

If we or the selling unitholders sell the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered in an underwritten offering, the underwriters may acquire the securities for their own account and resell the 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. In any such event described above in this paragraph, we will

 

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set forth in a supplement to this prospectus the names of the underwriters and the terms of the transactions, including any underwriting discounts, concessions or commissions and other items constituting compensation of the underwriters and broker-dealers. The underwriters from time to time may change any public offering price and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed or reallowed or paid to broker-dealers. Unless otherwise set forth in a supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities specified in the supplement if they purchase any of the securities.

If a prospectus supplement so indicates, we or the selling unitholders may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers by certain institutional investors to purchase these securities to which such prospectus supplement relates, providing for payment and delivery on a future date specified in such prospectus supplement. There may be limitations on the minimum amount that may be purchased by any such institutional investor or on the number of these securities that may be sold pursuant to such arrangements. Agents, dealers or underwriters will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity of such arrangements or such institutional investors thereunder.

The aggregate proceeds to the selling unitholders from the sale of the securities will be the purchase price of the units less the aggregate agents’ discounts or commissions, if any, and other expenses of the distribution not borne by us. We have agreed to pay all expenses incidental to the registration and sale of securities by the selling unitholders other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The aggregate proceeds to us from the sale of the securities will be the purchase price of the units less the aggregate agents’ discounts or commissions, if any, and other expenses of the distribution. The selling unitholders and any agent, broker or dealer that participates in sales of securities offered by this prospectus may be deemed “underwriters” under the Securities Act and any profits, commissions or other consideration received by any agent, broker or dealer may be considered underwriting discounts or commissions under the Securities Act. We or the selling unitholders may agree to indemnify any agent, broker or dealer that participates in sales of securities against liabilities arising under the Securities Act from sales of such securities.

We or the selling unitholders may offer the common units covered by this prospectus into an existing trading market on the terms described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. Underwriters or agents could make sales in privately negotiated transactions and/or any other method permitted by law, including sales deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, which includes sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Global Market, the existing trading market for our common units, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange. Underwriters and agents who participate in any at-the-market offerings will be described in the prospectus supplement relating thereto.

Any of our or the selling unitholders’ underwriters or agents or any of either of their affiliates may be customers of, engage in transactions with and perform services for us and/or the selling unitholders or its affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules.

We have informed the selling unitholders that during such time as they may be engaged in a distribution of the common units covered by this prospectus they are required to comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. With exceptions, Regulation M prohibits the selling unitholders, any affiliated purchasers and other persons who participate in such a distribution from bidding for or purchasing, or attempting to induce any person to bid for or purchase, any security which is the subject of the distribution until the entire distribution is complete.

We have informed the selling unitholders that they are legally required to deliver copies of this prospectus in connection with any sale of securities made under this prospectus in accordance with applicable prospectus delivery requirements.

 

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To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. The place and time of delivery for the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

In connection with offerings of securities under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and in compliance with applicable law, underwriters, brokers, or dealers may engage in transactions that stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market. Specifically, underwriters, brokers, or dealers may over-allot in connection with offerings, creating a short position in the securities for their own accounts. For the purpose of covering a syndicate short position or stabilizing the price of the securities, the underwriters, brokers, or dealers may place bids for the securities or effect purchases of the securities in the open market. Finally, the underwriters may impose a penalty whereby selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other brokers or dealers for distribution of the securities in offerings may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the syndicate repurchases previously distributed securities in transactions to cover short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. These activities may stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the market price of the securities, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market, and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the issuance of the securities offered in this prospectus as well as the legal matters described under “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” will be passed upon by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. 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 selling unitholders or underwriters of such offering, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement related to that offering.

EXPERTS

The audited financial statements of Viper Energy Partners LP incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement, have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

Information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus regarding our estimated quantities of oil and gas reserves and the discounted present value of future net cash flows therefrom is based upon estimates of such reserves and present values prepared by Ryder Scott Company, L.P., an independent petroleum engineering firm, as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. This information is included or incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the authority of said firm as experts in these matters.

 

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