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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
May 14, 2007
Registration Statement
No. 333-141764
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
Amendment No. 1
to
Form S-4
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF
1933
REGENCY ENERGY PARTNERS
LP*
REGENCY ENERGY FINANCE
CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as
specified in its charter)
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Delaware
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4922
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16-1731691
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Delaware
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4922
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38-3747282
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
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1700 Pacific,
Suite 2900
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William E.
Joor III
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Dallas, Texas 75201
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1700 Pacific,
Suite 2900
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(214) 750-1771
(Address, Including
Zip Code, and Telephone
Number, Including Area Code, of Registrants
Principal Executive Offices)
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Dallas, Texas 75201
(713) 621-9547
(Name, Address,
Including Zip Code, and
Telephone Number, Including Area Code,
of Agent for Service)
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Copies
to:
Dan A. Fleckman
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
2500 First City Tower
1001 Fannin Street, Suite 3600
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 758-2222
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the
public: From time to time after the effective
date of this registration statement.
If the securities being registered on this form are being
offered in connection with the formation of a holding company
and there is compliance with General Instruction G, check
the following box. o
If this form is filed to register additional securities for an
offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act,
check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
number of the earlier effective registration statement for the
same offering. o
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to
Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following
box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of
the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. o
* Includes certain subsidiaries of Regency Energy Partners LP
identified on the following pages.
The Registrants hereby amend this Registration Statement on
such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective
date until the Registrants shall file a further amendment which
specifically states that this Registration Statement shall
thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a)
of the Securities Act of 1933, or until the Registration
Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities
and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said
Section 8(a), may determine.
Regency Gas Services
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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03-0516215
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency OLP GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-4188520
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Intrastate Gas,
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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32-0077616
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Midcon Gas
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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86-1061643
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Liquids Pipeline
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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32-0077619
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Gathering and
Processing LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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32-0077618
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Waha GP, LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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38-3697585
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency NGL GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-0941731
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Marketing GP,
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-1005445
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Waha LP, LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-0749513
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency NGL Marketing
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-0941662
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Marketing
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-1005447
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Services Waha
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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20-0750124
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency TS GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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37-1540711
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency FS GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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74-3138090
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency GU GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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74-3138092
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Guarantor GP
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057138
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Operating GP
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057140
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency TS Acquisition GP
LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057145
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency FN GP LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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74-3138095
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency TGG LLC
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Texas
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20-0330629
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency TS Acquisition
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057145
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Eastex Protreat I
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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75-3216838
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Eastex Protreat II
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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75-3216839
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Field Services
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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35-2270502
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Frio Newline
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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26-0103023
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Utility
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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26-0103022
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Guarantor LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057138
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Operating LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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34-2057141
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Eastex Newline
LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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75-3216837
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency FS LP
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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75-3165677
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Gulf States Transmission
Corporation
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Louisiana
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72-1146059
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Gas Company
Ltd.
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Texas
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75-3016693
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Regency Pipeline Company
Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter
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Texas
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74-3016692
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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Palafox Joint Venture
(Exact Name of Registrant As
Specified In Its Charter)
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Delaware
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74-3017118
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be
changed. This prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it
seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where
the offer or sale is not permitted. We may not sell these
securities until the registration statement filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission is effective.
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SUBJECT
TO COMPLETION, DATED MAY 14, 2007
Prospectus
Regency Energy Partners
LP
Regency Energy Finance
Corp.
Offer to Exchange
up to
$550,000,000 of
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013
that have been registered under
the Securities Act of 1933
for
$550,000,000 of
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013
that have not been registered
under the Securities Act of 1933
Please read Risk
Factors beginning on page 6 for a discussion of
factors you should consider before participating in the exchange
offer.
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.
Each broker-dealer that receives the notes for its own account
pursuant to this exchange offer must acknowledge by way of the
letter of transmittal that it will deliver a prospectus in
connection with any resale of the notes. This prospectus, as it
may be amended or supplemented from time to time, may be used by
a broker-dealer in connection with resales of the notes received
in exchange for outstanding notes where such outstanding notes
were acquired by such broker-dealer as a result of market-making
activities or other trading activities. We have agreed to make
this prospectus available for a period of one year from the
expiration date of this exchange offer to any broker-dealer for
use in connection with any such resale. See Plan of
Distribution.
The date of this prospectus
is ,
2007
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the
Commission. In making your investment decision, you
should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated
by reference into this prospectus and in the applicable letter
of transmittal accompanying this prospectus. We have not
authorized anyone to provide you with any other information. If
you receive any unauthorized information, you must not rely on
it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any
state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume
that the information contained in this prospectus or in the
documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus are
accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover
of this prospectus or the date of such incorporated documents,
as the case may be.
This prospectus incorporates by reference business and financial
information about us that is not included in or delivered with
this prospectus. This information is available without charge
upon written or oral request directed to: Investor Relations,
Regency Energy Partners LP, 1700 Pacific, Suite 2900,
Dallas, Texas 75201; telephone number:
(214) 750-1771.
Please also see Where You Can Find More Information
in this prospectus.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
i
This summary highlights information included or incorporated
by reference in this prospectus. It may not contain all of the
information that is important to you. This prospectus includes
information about the exchange offer and includes or
incorporates by reference information about our business and our
financial and operating data. Before deciding to participate in
the exchange offer, you should read this entire prospectus
carefully, including the financial data and related notes
incorporated by reference in this prospectus and the Risk
Factors section beginning on page 6 of this
prospectus.
Throughout this prospectus, when we use the terms
we, us, our, or
Regency, we are referring either to Regency Energy
Partners LP or to Regency Energy Partners LP and its
subsidiaries collectively, including the co-issuer of the notes,
Regency Energy Finance Corp., as the context requires.
Regency
Energy Partners LP
We are a growth-oriented publicly-traded Delaware limited
partnership engaged in the gathering, processing, marketing and
transportation of natural gas. We provide these services through
systems located in north Louisiana, Texas and the mid-continent
region of the United States, which includes Kansas, Oklahoma,
Colorado and the Texas Panhandle. We were formed in 2005 by HM
Capital Partners LLC to capitalize on opportunities in the
midstream sector of the natural gas industry.
We divide our operations into two business segments:
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Gathering and Processing: in which we provide
wellhead-to-market
services to producers of natural gas, which include transporting
raw natural gas from the wellhead through gathering systems,
processing raw natural gas to separate natural gas liquids, or
NGLs, from the raw natural gas and selling or delivering the
pipeline-quality natural gas and NGLs to various markets and
pipeline systems; and
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Transportation: in which we deliver natural
gas from northwest Louisiana to more favorable markets in
northeast Louisiana through our
320-mile
Regency Intrastate Pipeline system, which has been significantly
expanded and extended over the last 18 months.
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All of our assets are located in well-established areas of
abundant natural gas production that are characterized by
long-lived, predictable reserves. These areas are generally
experiencing increased levels of natural gas exploration,
development and production activities as a result of strong
demand for natural gas, attractive recent discoveries, infill
drilling opportunities and the implementation of new exploration
and production techniques.
Our
Offices
Our principal executive offices are located at 1700 Pacific,
Suite 2900, Dallas, Texas 75201, and our phone number is
(214) 750-1771.
Our website address is www.regencyenergy.com. Information
on our website is not incorporated in this prospectus.
1
Exchange
Offer
On December 12, 2006, we completed a private offering of
the outstanding notes. As part of this private offering, we
entered into a registration rights agreement with the initial
purchasers of our outstanding notes in which we agreed, among
other things, to deliver this prospectus to you and to use our
reasonable best efforts to complete the exchange offer within 30
business days after the date of this prospectus. The following
is a summary of the exchange offer.
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Outstanding Notes |
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On December 12, 2006, we issued $550 million aggregate
principal amount of
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013. |
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Exchange Notes |
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83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013. The terms of the exchange notes are identical to
those terms of the outstanding notes, except that the transfer
restrictions, registration rights and provisions for additional
interest relating to the outstanding notes do not apply to the
exchange notes. |
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Exchange Offers |
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We are offering to exchange up to $550 million principal
amount of our
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013 that have been registered under the Securities
Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, for an equal amount of our
outstanding
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013 that have not been so registered. We are making
this offer to satisfy our obligations under the registration
rights agreement that we entered into when we issued the
outstanding notes in a transaction exempt from registration
under the Securities Act. |
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Expiration Date |
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The exchange offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time,
on ,
2007, unless we decide to extend it. |
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Conditions to the Exchange Offer |
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The registration rights agreement does not require us to accept
outstanding notes for exchange if the exchange offer or the
making of any exchange by a holder of the outstanding notes
would violate any applicable law or interpretation of the staff
of the Commission or if any legal action has been instituted or
threatened that would impair our ability to proceed with the
exchange offer. A minimum aggregate principal amount of
outstanding notes being tendered is not a condition to the
exchange offer. Please read Exchange Offer
Conditions to the Exchange Offer for more information
about the conditions to the exchange offer. |
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Procedures for Tendering Outstanding Notes
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All of the outstanding notes are held in book-entry form through
the facilities of The Depository Trust Company, or DTC. To
participate in the exchange offer, you must follow the automatic
tender offer program, or ATOP, procedures established by DTC for
tendering notes held in book-entry form. The ATOP procedures
require that the exchange agent receive, prior to the expiration
date of the exchange offer, a computer-generated message known
as an agents message that is transmitted
through ATOP and that DTC confirm that: |
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DTC has received instructions to exchange your notes; and you
agree to be bound by the terms of the letter of transmittal in
Annex A hereto. |
2
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For more details, please read Exchange Offer
Terms of the Exchange Offer and Exchange
Offer Procedures for Tendering. |
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Guaranteed Delivery Procedures |
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None. |
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Withdrawal of Tenders |
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You may withdraw your tender of outstanding notes at any time
prior to the expiration date. To withdraw, you must submit a
notice of withdrawal to the exchange agent using ATOP procedures
before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration
date of the exchange offer. Please read Exchange
Offer Withdrawal of Tenders. |
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Acceptance of Outstanding Notes and Delivery of Exchange Notes
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If you fulfill all conditions required for proper acceptance of
outstanding notes, we will accept any and all outstanding notes
that you properly tender in the exchange offer before
5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date. We
will return any outstanding note that we do not accept for
exchange to you without expense promptly after the expiration
date. We will deliver the exchange notes promptly after the
expiration date and acceptance of the outstanding notes for
exchange. Please read Exchange Offer Terms of
the Exchange Offer. |
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Fees and Expenses |
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We will bear all expenses related to the exchange offer. Please
read Exchange Offer Fees and
Expenses. |
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Use of Proceeds |
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The issuance of the exchange notes will not provide us with any
new proceeds. We are making the exchange offer solely to satisfy
our obligations under our registration rights agreement. |
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Consequences of Failure to Exchange Outstanding Notes
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If you do not exchange your outstanding notes in the exchange
offer, you will no longer be able to require us to register the
outstanding notes under the Securities Act, except in the
limited circumstances provided under our registration rights
agreement. In addition, you will not be able to resell, offer to
resell or otherwise transfer the outstanding notes unless we
have registered the outstanding notes under the Securities Act,
or unless you resell, offer to resell or otherwise transfer them
in compliance with an exemption from the registration
requirements of, or in a transaction not subject to, the
Securities Act. |
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U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
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The exchange of exchange notes for outstanding notes in the
exchange offer will not be a taxable event for U.S. federal
income tax purposes. Please read Material Federal Income
Tax Consequences. |
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Exchange Agent |
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We have appointed Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as the
exchange agent for the exchange offer. You should direct
questions and requests for assistance and requests for
additional copies of this prospectus (including the letter of
transmittal) to the exchange agent addressed as follows: |
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WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.
Corporate Trust Operations
MAC
N9203-121
Sixth & Marquette Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55479 |
3
Terms of
the Exchange Notes
The exchange notes will be identical to the outstanding notes,
except that the exchange notes are registered under the
Securities Act and will not have restrictions on transfer,
registration rights or provisions for additional interest. The
exchange notes will evidence the same debt as the outstanding
notes, and the same indenture will govern the exchange notes and
the outstanding notes. Where appropriate sometimes refer to both
the exchange notes and the outstanding notes as the
notes.
The following summary contains basic information about the
exchange notes and is not intended to be complete. It does not
contain all the information that is important to you. For a more
complete understanding of the exchange notes, please read
Description of Exchange Notes.
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Issuers |
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Regency Energy Partners LP and Regency Energy Finance Corp. |
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Securities Offered |
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$550,000,000 principal amount of
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013. |
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Interest Rate |
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8.375% per annum. |
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Interest Payment Dates |
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Interest on the exchange notes will accrue from December 7,
2006 and will be paid semi-annually on June 15 and December 15
of each year, commencing June 15, 2007, to holders of
record as of the preceding June 1 and December 1,
respectively. |
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Maturity Date |
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December 15, 2013. |
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Subsidiary Guarantees |
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Each of our current wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries, other
than Regency Energy Finance Corp., will guarantee the exchange
notes initially. Not all of our future subsidiaries will have to
become guarantors. If we cannot make payments on the exchange
notes when they are due, the guarantor subsidiaries, if any,
must make them instead. Please read Description of
Exchange Notes Subsidiary Guarantees. |
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Optional Redemption |
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We may redeem some or all of the exchange notes at any time on
or after December 15, 2010. We may also redeem some or all
of the exchange notes at a make-whole redemption
price at any time prior to December 15, 2010. In addition,
prior to December 15, 2009, we may redeem up to 35% of the
aggregate principal amount of the exchange notes with the
proceeds of certain equity offerings at a specified redemption
price. The redemption prices are discussed under the caption
Description of Exchange Notes Optional
Redemption. |
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Change of Control |
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When a change of control event occurs, each holder of exchange
notes may require us to repurchase all or a portion of its
exchange notes at a price equal to 101% of the principal amount
of the exchange notes, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to
the date of repurchase. |
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Ranking |
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The notes and the guarantees will be unsecured and will rank
equally with all existing and future unsubordinated obligations
of us and our guarantors. The notes and the guarantees will be
senior in right of payment to any future obligations of us and
our guarantors that are, by their terms, expressly subordinated
in right of payment to the notes and the guarantees. The notes
and the guarantees will be effectively subordinated to the
secured obligations of us and our guarantors, including our
credit facility, to the extent of the value of the assets
securing such obligations. As of March 22, |
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2007, we and the guarantors had outstanding approximately
$698.1 million of total debt, consisting of
$50 million in term loans and $98.1 million in
revolving credit borrowings under our credit facility, all of
which was secured, and had availability for an additional
$151.9 million of revolving credit borrowing under our
credit facility. This offering will have no effect on the
available capacity under our credit facility. |
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Certain Covenants |
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The indenture will contain covenants that, among other things,
will limit our ability and the ability of certain of our
subsidiaries to: |
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incur additional indebtedness,
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pay distributions on, or repurchase or redeem equity
interests,
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make certain investments,
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incur liens,
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enter into certain types of transactions with our
affiliates; and
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sell assets or consolidate or merge with or into
other companies.
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These and other covenants are subject to important exceptions
and qualifications that are described under the heading
Description of Exchange Notes in this prospectus. |
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If, prior to their maturity, the exchange notes achieve an
investment grade rating from each of Moodys Investors
Services, Inc. and Standard & Poors Ratings
Services and no event of default has occurred and is continuing
under the indenture, then many of these covenants will terminate. |
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Transfer Restrictions; Absence of a Public Market for the Notes
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The exchange notes generally will be freely transferable, but
will also be new securities for which there will not initially
be a market. We do not intend to arrange for a trading market in
the exchange notes after the exchange offer, and it is therefore
unlikely that such a market will exist for the exchange notes. |
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Form of Exchange Notes |
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The exchange notes will be represented by one or more global
notes. Each global exchange note will be deposited with the
trustee, as custodian for DTC. |
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Same-Day
Settlement |
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The global exchange notes will be shown on, and transfers of the
global exchange notes will be effected only through, records
maintained in book-entry form by DTC and its direct and indirect
participants. |
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The exchange notes are expected to trade in DTCs Same Day
Funds Settlement System until maturity or redemption. Therefore,
secondary market trading activity in the exchange notes will be
settled in immediately available funds. |
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Trustee, Registrar and Exchange Agent
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Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. |
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Governing Law |
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The exchange notes and the indenture relating to the exchange
notes will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the
laws of the State of New York. |
5
RISK
FACTORS
In addition to the other information set forth elsewhere or
incorporated by reference in this prospectus, you should
consider carefully the risks described below before deciding
whether to participate in the exchange offer.
Risks
Related to the Exchange Offer
If you
fail to exchange outstanding notes, existing transfer
restrictions will remain in effect and the market value of
outstanding notes may be adversely affected because they may be
more difficult to sell.
If you fail to exchange outstanding notes for exchange notes
under the exchange offer, then you will continue to be subject
to the existing transfer restrictions on the outstanding notes.
In general, the outstanding notes may not be offered or sold
unless they are registered or exempt from registration under the
Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Except in
connection with this exchange offer or as required by the
registration rights agreement, we do not intend to register
resales of the outstanding notes.
The tender of outstanding notes under the exchange offer will
reduce the principal amount of the currently outstanding notes.
Due to the corresponding reduction in liquidity, this may have
an adverse effect upon, and increase the volatility of, the
market price of any currently outstanding notes that you
continue to hold following completion of the exchange offer.
Risks
Related to Our Business
We may
be unable to integrate successfully the operations of TexStar or
future acquisitions with our operations and we may not realize
all the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of TexStar or
any future acquisition.
Integration of TexStar with our business and operations has been
a complex, time consuming and costly process. We cannot assure
you that we will achieve the desired profitability from TexStar
or any other acquisitions we may complete in the future. In
addition, failure to successfully assimilate future acquisitions
could adversely affect our financial condition and results of
operations.
Our acquisitions involve numerous risks, including:
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operating a significantly larger combined organization and
adding operations;
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difficulties in the assimilation of the assets and operations of
the acquired businesses, especially if the assets acquired are
in a new business segment or geographic area;
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the risk that natural gas reserves expected to support the
acquired assets may not be of the anticipated magnitude or may
not be developed as anticipated;
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the loss of significant producers or markets or key employees
from the acquired businesses;
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the diversion of managements attention from other business
concerns;
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the failure to realize expected profitability or growth;
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the failure to realize expected synergies and cost savings;
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coordinating geographically disparate organizations, systems and
facilities; and
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coordinating or consolidating corporate and administrative
functions.
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Further, unexpected costs and challenges may arise whenever
businesses with different operations or management are combined,
and we may experience unanticipated delays in realizing the
benefits of an acquisition. If we consummate any future
acquisition, our capitalization and results of operation may
change significantly, and you may not have the opportunity to
evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information
that we will consider in evaluating future acquisitions.
6
While
substantial amounts of the transportation capacity of the
Regency Intrastate Pipeline System have been contracted, if we
are unable to utilize the remaining transportation capacity, our
business and our operating results could be adversely
affected.
As of March 1, 2007, we had definitive agreements for
562,900 MMBtu/d of firm transportation on the Regency
Intrastate Pipeline System, of which 500,679 MMBtu/d was
utilized in February 2007. During the month of February 2007, we
also provided 195,395 MMBtu/d of interruptible
transportation. If we are unable to commit the remaining
uncommitted capacity on the system to firm gas transportation
contracts and the parties to existing interruptible
transportation contracts fail to utilize the capacity, our
business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Because
of the natural decline in production from existing wells, our
success depends on our ability to obtain new supplies of natural
gas, which involves factors beyond our control. Any decrease in
supplies of natural gas in our areas of operation could
adversely affect our business and operating
results.
Our gathering and transportation pipeline systems are connected
to or dependent on the level of production from natural gas
wells that supply our systems and from which production will
naturally decline over time. As a result, our cash flows
associated with these wells will also decline over time. In
order to maintain or increase throughput levels on our gathering
and transportation pipeline systems and the asset utilization
rates at our natural gas processing plants, we must continually
obtain new supplies. The primary factors affecting our ability
to obtain new supplies of natural gas and attract new customers
to our assets are: the level of successful drilling activity
near these systems and our ability to compete with other
gathering and processing companies for volumes from successful
new wells.
The level of natural gas drilling activity is dependent on
economic and business factors beyond our control. The primary
factor that impacts drilling decisions is natural gas prices.
Natural gas prices reached historic highs in 2005 and early 2006
but have declined substantially in the second half of 2006. The
averages of the NYMEX daily settlement prices per MMBtu of
natural gas for the year ended December 31, 2005 and 2006
were $9.02 per MMBtu and $6.98 per MMBtu,
respectively. A sustained decline in natural gas prices could
result in a decrease in exploration and development activities
in the fields served by our gathering and processing facilities
and pipeline transportation systems, which would lead to reduced
utilization of these assets. Other factors that impact
production decisions include producers capital budget
limitations, the ability of producers to obtain necessary
drilling and other governmental permits and regulatory changes.
Because of these factors, even if additional natural gas
reserves were discovered in areas served by our assets,
producers may choose not to develop those reserves. If we were
not able to obtain new supplies of natural gas to replace the
natural decline in volumes from existing wells due to reductions
in drilling activity or competition, throughput on our pipelines
and the utilization rates of our processing facilities would
decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition.
We
depend on certain key producers and other customers for a
significant portion of our supply of natural gas. The loss of,
or reduction in volumes from, any of these key producers or
customers could adversely affect our business and operating
results.
We rely on a limited number of producers and other customers for
a significant portion of our natural gas supplies. Three
customers represented 44 percent of our natural gas supply
in our transportation segment for the year ended
December 31, 2006. These contracts have terms that are
either
month-to-month
or
year-to-year.
As these contracts expire, we will have to negotiate extensions
or renewals or replace the contracts with those of other
suppliers. For example, a significant contract with ExxonMobil
expired in August 2006 and was not renewed. We may be unable to
obtain new or renewed contracts on favorable terms, if at all.
The loss of all or even a portion of the volumes of natural gas
supplied by these producers and other customers, as a result of
competition or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect
on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
7
In
accordance with industry practice, we do not obtain independent
evaluations of natural gas reserves dedicated to our gathering
systems. Accordingly, volumes of natural gas gathered on our
gathering systems in the future could be less than we
anticipate, which could adversely affect our business and
operating results.
In accordance with industry practice, we do not obtain
independent evaluations of natural gas reserves connected to our
gathering systems due to the unwillingness of producers to
provide reserve information as well as the cost of such
evaluations. Accordingly, we do not have estimates of total
reserves dedicated to our systems or the anticipated lives of
such reserves. If the total reserves or estimated lives of the
reserves connected to our gathering systems is less than we
anticipate and we are unable to secure additional sources of
natural gas, then the volumes of natural gas gathered on our
gathering systems in the future could be less than we
anticipate. A decline in the volumes of natural gas gathered on
our gathering systems could have an adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition.
Natural
gas, NGLs and other commodity prices are volatile, and a
reduction in these prices could adversely affect our cash flow
and operating results.
We are subject to risks due to frequent and often substantial
fluctuations in commodity prices. NGL prices generally fluctuate
on a basis that correlates to fluctuations in crude oil prices.
In the past, the prices of natural gas and crude oil have been
extremely volatile, and we expect this volatility to continue.
For example, natural gas prices reached historic highs in 2005
and early 2006, but have declined substantially in the second
half of 2006. The NYMEX daily settlement price for natural gas
for the prompt month contract in 2005 ranged from a high of
$15.38 per MMBtu to a low of $5.79 per MMBtu and for
the year ended December 31, 2006 ranged from a high of
$10.63 per MMBtu to a low of $4.20 per MMBtu. The
NYMEX daily settlement price for crude oil for the prompt month
contract in 2005 ranged from a high of $69.81 per barrel to
a low of $42.12 per barrel and for the year ended
December 31, 2006 ranged from a high of $77.03 per
barrel to a low of $55.81 per barrel. The markets and
prices for natural gas and NGLs depend upon factors beyond our
control. These factors include demand for oil, natural gas and
NGLs, which fluctuate with changes in market and economic
conditions and other factors, including:
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the impact of weather on the demand for oil and natural gas;
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the level of domestic oil and natural gas production;
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the availability of imported oil and natural gas;
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actions taken by foreign oil and gas producing nations;
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the availability of local, intrastate and interstate
transportation systems;
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the availability and marketing of competitive fuels;
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the impact of energy conservation efforts; and
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the extent of governmental regulation and taxation.
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Our natural gas gathering and processing businesses operate
under two types of contractual arrangements that expose our cash
flows to increases and decreases in the price of natural gas and
NGLs:
percentage-of-proceeds
and keep-whole arrangements. Under
percentage-of-proceeds
arrangements, we generally purchase natural gas from producers
and retain an agreed percentage of the proceeds (in cash or
in-kind) from the sale at market prices of pipeline-quality gas
and NGLs or NGL products resulting from our processing
activities. Under keep-whole arrangements, we receive the NGLs
removed from the natural gas during our processing operations as
the fee for providing our services in exchange for replacing the
thermal content removed as NGLs with a like thermal content in
pipeline-quality gas or its cash equivalent. Under these types
of arrangements our revenues and our cash flows increase or
decrease as the prices of natural gas and NGLs fluctuate. The
relationship between natural gas prices and NGL prices may also
affect our profitability. When natural gas prices are low
relative to NGL prices, it is more profitable for us to process
natural gas under keep-whole arrangements. When natural gas
prices are high relative to NGL prices, it is less profitable
for us
8
and our customers to process natural gas both because of the
higher value of natural gas and of the increased cost
(principally that of natural gas as a feedstock and a fuel) of
separating the mixed NGLs from the natural gas. As a result, we
may experience periods in which higher natural gas prices
relative to NGL prices reduce our processing margins or reduce
the volume of natural gas processed at some of our plants.
In our
gathering and processing operations, we purchase raw natural gas
containing significant quantities of NGLs, process the raw
natural gas and sell the processed gas and NGLs. If we are
unsuccessful in balancing the purchase of raw natural gas with
its component NGLs and our sales of pipeline quality gas and
NGLs, our exposure to commodity price risks will
increase.
We purchase from producers and other customers a substantial
amount of the natural gas that flows through our natural gas
gathering and processing systems and our transportation pipeline
for resale to third parties, including natural gas marketers and
utilities. We may not be successful in balancing our purchases
and sales. In addition, a producer could fail to deliver
promised volumes or could deliver volumes in excess of
contracted volumes, a purchaser could purchase less than
contracted volumes, or the natural gas price differential
between the regions in which we operate could vary unexpectedly.
Any of these actions could cause our purchases and sales not to
be balanced. If our purchases and sales are not balanced, we
will face increased exposure to commodity price risks and could
have increased volatility in our operating results.
Our
results of operations and cash flow may be adversely affected by
risks associated with our hedging activities.
In performing our functions in the Gathering and Processing
segment, we are a seller of NGLs and are exposed to commodity
price risk associated with downward movements in NGL prices. As
a result of the volatility of NGLs, we have executed swap
contracts settled against ethane, propane, butane and natural
gasoline market prices, supplemented with crude oil put options.
(Historically, changes in the prices of heavy NGLs, such as
natural gasoline, have generally correlated with changes in the
price of crude oil.) As of March 29, 2007, we have hedged
approximately 71 percent of our expected exposure to NGL
prices in 2007 and 2008 and approximately 28 percent in
2009. We have hedged approximately 66 percent of our
expected exposure to condensate prices in 2007 and approximately
64 percent in 2008 and 2009. We have hedged approximately
60 percent of our expected exposure to natural gas prices
in 2007. We continually monitor our hedging and contract
portfolio and expect to continue to adjust our hedge position as
conditions warrant. Also, we may seek to limit our exposure to
changes in interest rates by using financial derivative
instruments and other hedging mechanisms from time to time.
Even though our management monitors our hedging activities,
these activities can result in substantial losses. Such losses
could occur under various circumstances, including any
circumstance in which a counterparty does not perform its
obligations under the applicable hedging arrangement, the
hedging arrangement is imperfect, or our hedging policies and
procedures are not followed or do not work as planned.
To the
extent that we intend to grow internally through construction of
new, or modification of existing, facilities, we may not be able
to manage that growth effectively and that could decrease our
cash flow and adversely affect our results of
operation.
A principal focus of our strategy is to continue to grow by
expanding our business both internally and through acquisitions.
Our ability to grow internally will depend on a number of
factors, some of which will be beyond our control. In general,
the construction of additions or modifications to our existing
systems, and the construction of new midstream assets involve
numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal
uncertainties beyond our control. Any project that we undertake
may not be completed on schedule at budgeted cost or at all.
Construction may occur over an extended period, and we are not
likely to receive a material increase in revenues related to
such project until it is completed. Moreover, our revenues may
not increase immediately upon its completion because the
anticipated growth in gas production that the project was
intended to capture does not materialize, our estimates of the
growth in production prove inaccurate or for other reasons. For
any of these reasons, newly constructed or modified midstream
facilities may not generate
9
our expected investment return and that, in turn, could
adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.
In addition, our ability to undertake to grow in this fashion
will depend on our ability to finance the construction or
modification project and on our ability to hire, train and
retain qualified personnel to manage and operate these
facilities when completed.
Because
we distribute all of our available cash to our unitholders, our
future growth may be limited.
Since we will distribute all of our available cash to our
unitholders, subject to the limitations on restricted payments
contained in the indenture governing the senior notes and our
credit facility, we will depend on financing provided by
commercial banks and other lenders and the issuance of debt and
equity securities to finance any significant internal organic
growth or acquisitions. For a definition of available cash,
please see our partnership agreement. If we are unable to obtain
adequate financing from these sources, our ability to grow will
be limited.
Our
industry is highly competitive, and increased competitive
pressure could adversely affect our business and operating
results.
We compete with similar enterprises in each of our areas of
operations. Some of our competitors are large oil, natural gas
and petrochemical companies that have greater financial
resources and access to supplies of natural gas than we do. In
addition, our customers who are significant producers or
consumers of NGLs may develop their own processing facilities in
lieu of using ours. Similarly, competitors may establish new
connections with pipeline systems that would create additional
competition for services we provide to our customers. Our
ability to renew or replace existing contracts with our
customers at rates sufficient to maintain current revenues and
cash flows could be adversely affected by the activities of our
competitors. All of these competitive pressures could have a
material adverse effect on our business, results of operations
and financial condition.
If
third-party pipelines interconnected to our processing plants
become unavailable to transport NGLs, our cash flow and results
of operations could be adversely affected.
We depend upon third party pipelines that provide delivery
options to and from our processing plants for the benefit of our
customers. If any of these pipelines become unavailable to
transport the NGLs produced at our related processing plants, we
would be required to find alternative means to transport the
NGLs out of our processing plants, which could increase our
costs, reduce the revenues we might obtain from the sale of NGLs
or reduce our ability to process natural gas at these plants.
We are
exposed to the credit risks of our key customers, and any
material nonpayment or nonperformance by our key customers could
adversely affect our cash flow and results of
operations.
We are subject to risks of loss resulting from nonpayment or
nonperformance by our customers. Any material nonpayment or
nonperformance by our key customers could reduce our ability to
make distributions to our unitholders. Furthermore, some of our
customers may be highly leveraged and subject to their own
operating and regulatory risks, which increases the risk that
they may default on their obligations to us.
Our
business involves many hazards and operational risks, some of
which may not be fully covered by insurance. If a significant
accident or event occurs that is not fully insured, our
operations and financial results could be adversely
affected.
Our operations are subject to the many hazards inherent in the
gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas and
NGLs, including:
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damage to our gathering and processing facilities, pipelines,
related equipment and surrounding properties caused by
tornadoes, floods, fires and other natural disasters and acts of
terrorism;
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inadvertent damage from construction and farm equipment;
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leaks of natural gas, NGLs and other hydrocarbons or losses of
natural gas or NGLs as a result of the malfunction of pipelines,
measurement equipment or facilities at receipt or delivery
points;
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fires and explosions;
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weather related hazards, such as hurricanes; and
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other hazards, including those associated with high-sulfur
content, or sour gas, such as an accidental discharge of
hydrogen sulfide gas, that could also result in personal injury
and loss of life, pollution and suspension of operations.
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These risks could result in substantial losses due to personal
injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of
property and equipment and pollution or other environmental
damage and may result in curtailment or suspension of our
related operations. A natural disaster or other hazard affecting
the areas in which we operate could have a material adverse
effect on our operations. We are not insured against all
environmental events that might occur. If a significant accident
or event occurs that is not insured or fully insured, it could
adversely affect our operations and financial condition.
Due to
our lack of asset diversification, adverse developments in our
midstream operations would adversely affect our cash flows and
results of operations.
We rely exclusively on the revenues generated from our midstream
energy business, and as a result, our financial condition
depends upon prices of, and continued demand for, natural gas
and NGLs. Due to our lack of diversification in asset type, an
adverse development in this business would have a significantly
greater impact on our financial condition and results of
operations than if we maintained more diverse assets.
Failure
of the gas that we ship on our pipelines to meet the
specifications of interconnecting interstate pipelines could
result in curtailments by the interstate
pipelines.
The markets to which the shippers on our pipelines ship natural
gas include interstate pipelines. These interstate pipelines
establish specifications for the natural gas that they are
willing to accept, which include requirements such as
hydrocarbon dewpoint, temperature, and foreign content including
water, sulfur, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. These
specifications vary by interstate pipeline. If the total mix of
natural gas shipped by the shippers on our pipeline fails to
meet the specifications of a particular interstate pipeline, it
may refuse to accept all or a part of the natural gas scheduled
for delivery to it. In those circumstances, we may be required
to find alternative markets for that gas or to shut-in the
producers of the non-conforming gas, potentially reducing our
throughput volumes or revenues.
Terrorist
attacks, the threat of terrorist attacks, continued hostilities
in the Middle East or other sustained military campaigns may
adversely impact our results of operations.
The long-term impact of terrorist attacks, such as the attacks
that occurred on September 11, 2001, and the magnitude of
the threat of future terrorist attacks on the energy
transportation industry in general and on us in particular are
not known at this time. Uncertainty surrounding continued
hostilities in the Middle East or other sustained military
campaigns may affect our operations in unpredictable ways,
including disruptions of natural gas supplies and markets for
natural gas and NGLs and the possibility that infrastructure
facilities could be direct targets of, or indirect casualties
of, an act of terror.
Changes in the insurance markets attributable to terrorist
attacks may make certain types of insurance more difficult for
us to obtain. Moreover, the insurance that may be available to
us may be significantly more expensive than our existing
insurance coverage. Instability in the financial markets as a
result of terrorism or war could also affect our ability to
raise capital.
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We do
not own all of the land on which our pipelines and facilities
have been constructed, and we are therefore subject to the
possibility of increased costs or the inability to retain
necessary land use.
We obtain the rights to construct and operate our pipelines on
land owned by third parties and governmental agencies for
specified periods of time. Many of these
rights-of-way
are perpetual in duration; others have terms ranging from five
to ten years. Many are subject to rights of reversion in the
case of non-utilization for periods ranging from one to three
years. In addition, some of our processing facilities are
located on leased premises. Our loss of these rights, through
our inability to renew
right-of-way
contracts or leases or otherwise, could have a material adverse
effect on our business, results of operations and financial
condition.
In addition, the construction of additions to our existing
gathering assets may require us to obtain new
rights-of-way
prior to constructing new pipelines. We may be unable to obtain
such
rights-of-way
to connect new natural gas supplies to our existing gathering
lines or to capitalize on other attractive expansion
opportunities. If the cost of obtaining new
rights-of-way
increases, then our cash flows and growth opportunities could be
adversely affected.
A
successful challenge to the rates we charge on our Regency
Intrastate Pipeline may reduce the amount of cash we
generate.
To the extent our Regency Intrastate Pipeline transports natural
gas in interstate commerce, the rates, terms and conditions of
that transportation service are subject to regulation by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, pursuant to
Section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, or NGPA,
which regulates, among other things, the provision of
transportation services by an intrastate natural gas pipeline on
behalf of an interstate natural gas pipeline. Under
Section 311, rates charged for transportation must be fair
and equitable, and the FERC is required to approve the terms and
conditions of the service. Rates established pursuant to
Section 311 are generally analogous to the cost based rates
FERC deems just and reasonable for interstate
pipelines under the Natural Gas Act of 1938, or NGA. FERC may
therefore apply its NGA policies to determine costs that can be
included in cost of service used to establish Section 311
rates. These rate policies include the recent FERC policy on
income tax allowance that permits interstate pipelines to
include, as part of the cost of service, a full income tax
allowance for all entities owning the utility asset provided
such entities or individuals are subject to an actual or
potential tax liability. If the Section 311 rates presently
approved for Regency through May 2008 are successfully
challenged in a complaint or after such date the FERC disallows
the inclusion of costs in the cost of service, changes its
regulations or policies, or establishes more onerous terms and
conditions applicable to Section 311 service, this may
adversely affect our business. Any reduction in our rates could
have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations
and financial condition.
A
change in the characterization of some of our assets by federal,
state or local regulatory agencies or a change in policy by
those agencies may result in increased regulation of our assets,
which may cause our revenues to decline and operating expenses
to increase.
Our natural gas gathering and intrastate transportation
operations are generally exempt from FERC regulation under the
NGA but FERC regulation still affects these businesses and the
markets for products derived from these businesses. FERCs
policies and practices, including, for example, its policies on
open access transportation, ratemaking, capacity release, and
market center promotion, indirectly affect intrastate markets.
In recent years, FERC has pursued pro-competitive regulatory
policies. We cannot assure you, however, that FERC will continue
this approach as it considers matters such as pipeline rates and
rules and policies that may affect rights of access to natural
gas transportation capacity. In addition, the distinction
between FERC-regulated transmission service and federally
unregulated gathering services is the subject of regular
litigation at FERC and the courts and of policy discussions at
FERC, so, in such circumstances, the classification and
regulation of some of our gathering facilities or our intrastate
transportation pipeline may be subject to change based on future
determinations by FERC, and the courts or Congress. Such a
change could result in increased regulation by FERC.
12
Other state and local regulations also affect our business. Our
gathering lines are subject to ratable take and common purchaser
statutes in states in which we operate. Ratable take statutes
generally require gatherers to take, without undue
discrimination, oil or natural gas production that may be
tendered to the gatherer for handling. Similarly, common
purchaser statutes generally require gatherers to purchase
without undue discrimination as to source of supply or producer.
These statutes restrict our right as an owner of gathering
facilities to decide with whom we contract to purchase or
transport natural gas. Federal law leaves any economic
regulation of natural gas gathering to the states. States in
which we operate have adopted complaint-based regulation of oil
and natural gas gathering activities, which allows oil and
natural gas producers and shippers to file complaints with state
regulators in an effort to resolve grievances relating to oil
and natural gas gathering access and rate discrimination.
We may
incur significant costs and liabilities in the future resulting
from a failure to comply with new or existing environmental
regulations or an accidental release of hazardous substances
into the environment.
Our operations are subject to stringent and complex federal,
state and local environmental laws and regulations governing,
among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, the
use, management and disposal of hazardous and nonhazardous
materials and wastes, and the cleanup of contamination.
Noncompliance with such laws and regulations, or incidents
resulting in environmental releases, could cause us to incur
substantial costs, penalties, fines and other criminal
sanctions, third party claims for personal injury or property
damage, investments to retrofit or upgrade our facilities and
programs, or curtailment of operations. Certain environmental
statutes, including CERCLA and comparable state laws, impose
strict, joint and several liability for costs required to clean
up and restore sites where hazardous substances have been
disposed or otherwise released.
There is inherent risk of the incurrence of environmental costs
and liabilities in our business due to the necessity of handling
natural gas and petroleum products, air emissions related to our
operations, and historical industry operations and waste
disposal practices. For example, an accidental release from one
of our pipelines or processing facilities could subject us to
substantial liabilities arising from environmental cleanup and
restoration costs, claims made by neighboring landowners and
other third parties for personal injury and property damage, and
fines or penalties for related violations of environmental laws
or regulations. Moreover, the possibility exists that stricter
laws, regulations or enforcement policies could significantly
increase our compliance costs and the cost of any remediation
that may become necessary. We may not be able to recover these
costs from insurance. We believe, based on current information,
that any costs we may incur relating to environmental matters
will not adversely affect us. We cannot be certain, however,
that identification of presently unidentified conditions, more
vigorous enforcement by regulatory agencies, enactment of more
stringent laws and regulations, or other unanticipated events
will not arise in the future and give rise to material
environmental liabilities that could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition or results of
operations.
If we
fail to develop or maintain an effective system of internal
controls, we may not be able to report our financial results
accurately or prevent fraud.
We became subject to the public reporting requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on February 3, 2006. We
produce our consolidated financial statements in accordance with
the requirements of GAAP, but we do not become subject to
certain of the internal controls standards applicable to most
companies with publicly traded securities until 2007. We may not
currently meet all those standards. Effective internal controls
are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports to
prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a publicly traded
partnership. Our efforts to develop and maintain our internal
controls compliance program may not be successful, and we may be
unable to maintain adequate controls over our financial
processes and reporting in the future, including compliance with
the obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002, which we refer to as Section 404. For example,
Section 404 will require us, among other things, annually
to review and report on, and our independent registered public
accounting firm to attest to, our internal control over
financial reporting. We must comply with Section 404 for
our fiscal year
13
ending December 31, 2007. Any failure to develop or
maintain an effective internal controls compliance program or
difficulties encountered in its implementation or other
effective improvement of our internal controls could harm our
operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting
obligations. Given the difficulties inherent in the design and
operation of internal controls over financial reporting, we can
provide no assurance as to our conclusions under
Section 404, or those of our independent registered public
accounting firm, regarding the effectiveness of our internal
controls. Ineffective internal controls could subject us to
regulatory scrutiny and a loss of confidence in our reported
financial information, which could have an adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our
leverage may limit our ability to borrow additional funds,
comply with the terms of our indebtedness or capitalize on
business opportunities.
Our leverage is significant in relation to our partners
capital. Our debt to capital ratio (calculated as total debt
divided by the sum of total debt and partners capital) as
of December 31, 2006 was 76 percent. As of
March 22, 2007, our total outstanding long-term debt was
approximately $698.1 million. We will be prohibited from
making cash distributions during an event of default under any
of our indebtedness. Various limitations in our credit facility
and the indenture for the notes may reduce our ability to incur
additional debt, to engage in some transactions and to
capitalize on business opportunities. Any subsequent refinancing
of our current indebtedness or any new indebtedness could have
similar or greater restrictions.
Our leverage could have important consequences to investors in
the notes. We will require substantial cash flow to meet our
principal and interest obligations with respect to the notes and
our other indebtedness. Our ability to make scheduled payments,
to refinance our obligations with respect to our indebtedness or
our ability to obtain additional financing in the future will
depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in
turn, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and to
financial, business and other factors. We believe that we will
have sufficient cash flow from operations and available
borrowings under our credit facility to service our
indebtedness, although the principal amount of the exchange
notes will likely need to be refinanced at maturity in whole or
in part. A significant downturn in the hydrocarbon industry or
other development adversely affecting our cash flow could,
however, materially impair our ability to service our
indebtedness. If our cash flow and capital resources are
insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be
forced to refinance all or a portion of our debt or to sell
assets. We cannot assure you that we would be able to refinance
our existing indebtedness or to sell assets on terms that are
commercially reasonable.
Our leverage may adversely affect our ability to fund future
working capital, capital expenditures and other general
partnership requirements, future acquisition, construction or
development activities, or otherwise to realize fully the value
of our assets and opportunities because of the need to dedicate
a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to
payments on our indebtedness or to comply with any restrictive
terms of our indebtedness. Our leverage may also make our
results of operations more susceptible to adverse economic and
industry conditions by limiting our flexibility in planning for,
or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in
which we operate and may place us at a competitive disadvantage
as compared to our competitors that have less debt.
Increases
in interest rates, which have recently experienced record lows,
could adversely impact our unit price and our ability to issue
additional equity, in order to make acquisitions, to reduce debt
or for other purposes.
During 2004 and 2005, the credit markets experienced
50-year
record lows in interest rates. During the latter half of 2005
and in 2006, interest rates increased. If the overall economy
continues to strengthen, monetary policy may tighten further,
resulting in higher interest rates to counter possible
inflation. The interest rate on all the outstanding notes is,
and the interest rate on all the exchange notes will be fixed.
The rate on loans outstanding under our credit facility bears
interest at a floating rate. Assuming $250 million in
outstanding revolving credit loans, an increase of
100 basis points in the LIBOR rate would increase our
quarterly interest payment for obligations outstanding under our
credit facility by approximately $625,000. Additionally,
interest rates on future credit facilities and debt offerings
could be higher than current levels, causing our financing costs
to increase accordingly. As with other yield-oriented
securities, the market price
14
for our units will be affected by the level of our cash
distributions and implied distribution yield. The distribution
yield is often used by investors to compare and rank
yield-oriented securities for investment decision-making
purposes. Therefore, changes in interest rates, either positive
or negative, may affect the yield requirements of investors who
invest in our units, and a rising interest rate environment
could have an adverse effect on our unit price and our ability
to issue additional equity, in order to make acquisitions, to
reduce debt or for other purposes.
Risks
Related To Our Ownership Structure
HM
Capital Investors own 60.2 percent of our outstanding
limited partner units and control 100 percent of our
general partner, which has sole responsibility for conducting
our business and managing our operations.
HM Capital Investors own 60.2 percent of our outstanding
limited partner units and control 100 percent of our
general partner. Although our general partner has a fiduciary
duty to manage us in a manner beneficial to us and our
unitholders, the directors and officers of our general partner
have a fiduciary duty to manage our general partner in a manner
beneficial to its owners, the HM Capital Investors. Conflicts of
interest may arise between the HM Capital Investors and their
affiliates, including our general partner, on the one hand, and
us, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest,
our general partner may favor its own interests and the
interests of its affiliates over our interests. These conflicts
include, among others, the following situations:
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neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement
requires the HM Capital Investors or their affiliates to pursue
a business strategy that favors us;
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our general partner is allowed to take into account the
interests of parties other than us, such as the HM Capital
Investors, in resolving conflicts of interest;
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HM Capital Investors and their affiliates may engage in
competition with us;
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our general partner has limited its liability and reduced its
fiduciary duties, and has also restricted the remedies available
to our unitholders for actions that, without the limitations,
might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty;
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our general partner determines the amount and timing of asset
purchases and sales, capital expenditures, borrowings, issuance
of additional partnership securities, and reserves, each of
which can affect the amount of cash available to pay interest
on, and principal of, the exchange notes;
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our general partner determines which costs incurred by it and
its affiliates are reimbursable by us;
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our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner
from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services
rendered to us or entering into additional contractual
arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf;
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our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our
contractual and other obligations; and
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our general partner controls the enforcement of obligations owed
to us by our general partner and its affiliates.
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HM
Capital Investors and their affiliates may compete directly with
us.
HM Capital Investors and their affiliates are not prohibited
from owning assets or engaging in businesses that compete
directly or independently with us. In addition, HM Capital
Investors or their affiliates may acquire, construct or dispose
of any additional midstream or other assets in the future,
without any obligation to offer us the opportunity to purchase
or construct or dispose of those assets.
15
Risks
Related to the Exchange Notes
We
have a holding company structure in which our subsidiaries
conduct our operations and own our operating
assets.
We are a holding company, and our subsidiaries conduct all of
our operations and own all of our operating assets. We have no
significant assets other than the partnership interests and the
equity in our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make
required payments on the exchange notes depends on the
performance of our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute
funds to us. The ability of our subsidiaries to make
distributions to us may be restricted by, among other things,
credit facility and applicable state partnership laws and other
laws and regulations. Pursuant to our credit facility, we may be
required to establish cash reserves for the future payment of
principal and interest on the amounts outstanding under our
credit facility. If we are unable to obtain the funds necessary
to pay the principal amount of the exchange notes at maturity,
we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as a
refinancing of the exchange notes. We cannot assure you that we
would be able to refinance the exchange notes.
Your
right to receive payments on the notes and the guarantees is
unsecured and will be effectively subordinated to our existing
and future secured indebtedness.
The notes are effectively subordinated to claims of our secured
creditors and the guarantees are effectively subordinated to the
claims of our secured creditors as well as the secured creditors
of our subsidiary guarantors. As of March 22, 2007, Regency
Energy Partners and its Subsidiaries had outstanding
$698.1 million of total debt consisting of $50 million
of term loan obligations and $98.1 million of revolving
credit obligations under our credit facility, all of which was
secured, and $151.9 million of available capacity for
additional secured revolving credit borrowings under that credit
facility.
In the
future, not all of our subsidiaries may guarantee the exchange
notes. Your right to receive payments on the exchange notes
could be adversely affected if any of our non-guarantor
subsidiaries declares bankruptcy, liquidates or
reorganizes.
Although all of our subsidiaries (other than the co-issuer) have
initially guaranteed the notes, in the future, under certain
circumstances, the guarantees are subject to release and we may
have subsidiaries that are not guarantors. In that case, the
notes would be effectively subordinated to the claims of all
creditors, including unsecured indebtedness, trade creditors and
tort claimants, of our subsidiaries that are not guarantors. In
the event of the insolvency, bankruptcy, liquidation,
reorganization, dissolution or winding up of the business of a
subsidiary that is not a guarantor, creditors of that subsidiary
would generally have the right to be paid in full before any
distribution is made to us or the holders of the notes.
We do
not have the same flexibility as other types of organizations to
accumulate cash, which may limit cash available to service the
exchange notes or to repay them at maturity.
Unlike a corporation, our partnership agreement requires us to
distribute, on a quarterly basis, all of our available cash to
our unitholders of record and our general partner, subject to
the limitations on restricted payments in the indenture
governing the notes and our credit facility agreement. Available
cash is generally all of our cash receipts adjusted for cash
distributions and net changes to reserves. Our general partner
will determine the amount and timing of such distributions and
has broad discretion to establish and make additions to our
reserves or the reserves of our operating partnership in amounts
the general partner determines in its reasonable discretion to
be necessary or appropriate:
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to provide for the proper conduct of our business and the
businesses of our operating partnership (including reserves for
future capital expenditures and for our anticipated future
credit needs),
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to provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and the
general partner for any one or more of the next four calendar
quarters, or
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to comply with applicable law or any of our loan or other
agreements.
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Although our payment obligations to our unitholders are
subordinate to our payment obligations to you, the value of our
units will decrease in direct correlation with decreases in the
amount we distribute per unit. Accordingly, if we experience a
liquidity problem in the future, we may not be able to issue
equity to recapitalize.
A
court may use fraudulent conveyance considerations to avoid or
subordinate the subsidiary guarantees.
Various applicable fraudulent conveyance laws have been enacted
for the protection of creditors. A court may use fraudulent
conveyance laws to subordinate or avoid the subsidiary
guarantees of the exchange notes issued by any of our subsidiary
guarantors. It is also possible that under certain circumstances
a court could hold that the direct obligations of a subsidiary
guaranteeing the exchange notes could be superior to the
obligations under that guarantee.
A court could avoid or subordinate the guarantee of the exchange
notes by any of our subsidiaries in favor of that
subsidiarys other debts or liabilities to the extent that
the court determined either of the following were true at the
time the subsidiary issued the guarantee:
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that subsidiary incurred the guarantee with the intent to
hinder, delay or defraud any of its present or future creditors
or that subsidiary contemplated insolvency with a design to
favor one or more creditors to the total or partial exclusion of
others; or
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that subsidiary did not receive fair consideration or reasonable
equivalent value for issuing the guarantee and, at the time it
issued the guarantee, that subsidiary:
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was insolvent or rendered insolvent by reason of the issuance of
the guarantee;
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was engaged or about to engage in a business or transaction for
which the remaining assets of that subsidiary constituted
unreasonably small capital; or
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intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts beyond
its ability to pay such debts as they matured.
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The measure of insolvency for purposes of the foregoing will
vary depending upon the law of the relevant jurisdiction.
Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent for
purposes of the foregoing if the sum of its debts, including
contingent liabilities, were greater than the fair saleable
value of all of its assets at a fair valuation, or if the
present fair saleable value of its assets were less than the
amount that would be required to pay its probable liability on
its existing debts, including contingent liabilities, as they
become absolute and matured.
Among other things, a legal challenge of a subsidiarys
guarantee of the exchange notes on fraudulent conveyance grounds
may focus on the benefits, if any, realized by that subsidiary
as a result of our issuance of the exchange notes. To the extent
a subsidiarys guarantee of the exchange notes is avoided
as a result of fraudulent conveyance or held unenforceable for
any other reason, the exchange note holders would cease to have
any claim in respect of that guarantee and the exchange notes
would be structurally subordinated to all liabilities of that
subsidiary.
Our
reimbursement of our general partners expenses will reduce
our cash available for debt service.
We will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for all
expenses they incur on our behalf. These expenses will include
all costs incurred by our general partner and its affiliates in
managing and operating us, including costs for rendering
corporate staff and support services to us. The reimbursement of
expenses of our general partner and its affiliates will reduce
our cash available for debt service.
Your
ability to transfer the exchange notes may be limited by the
absence of a trading market.
The exchange notes will be new securities for which currently
there is no trading market. We do not currently intend to apply
for listing of the exchange notes on any securities exchange or
stock market. Although the initial purchasers have informed us
that they currently intend to make a market in the exchange
17
notes, they are not obligated to do so. In addition, the initial
purchasers may discontinue any such market-making at any time
without notice. The liquidity of any market for the exchange
notes will depend on the number of holders of those exchange
notes, the interest of securities dealers in making a market in
those exchange notes and other factors. Accordingly, we cannot
assure you as to the development or liquidity of any market for
the exchange notes.
We may
not have the ability to raise funds necessary to finance any
change of control offer required under the
indenture.
If a change of control (as defined in the indenture) occurs, we
will be required to offer to purchase your exchange notes at
101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest.
If a purchase offer obligation arises under the indenture
governing the exchange notes, a change of control could also
have occurred under the senior secured credit facilities, which
could result in the acceleration of the indebtedness outstanding
thereunder. Any of our future debt agreements may contain
similar restrictions and provisions. If a purchase offer were
required under the indenture for our debt, we may not have
sufficient funds to pay the purchase price of all debt,
including your exchange notes, that we are required to purchase
or repay.
Many
of the covenants in the indenture will terminate if the exchange
notes are rated investment grade by both Moodys and
Standard & Poors.
Many of the covenants in the indenture governing the exchange
notes will no longer apply to us if the exchange notes are, at
any time prior to maturity, rated investment grade by both
Moodys and Standard & Poors, provided at
such time no default or event of default has occurred and is
continuing. These covenants will restrict, among other things,
our ability to pay distributions, incur debt and to enter into
certain other transactions. There can be no assurance that the
exchange notes will ever be rated investment grade or that, if
they are rated investment grade, the exchange notes will
maintain these ratings. Termination of these covenants would,
however, allow us to engage in certain transactions that would
not be permitted while these covenants were in force. See
Description of Exchange Notes Certain
Covenants Termination of Covenants.
Tax
Risks
Our
tax treatment will depend on our status as a partnership for
federal income tax purposes, as well as our not being subject to
a material amount of entity level taxation by individual states.
If the IRS treats us as a corporation for tax purposes or we
become subject to a material amount of entity level taxation, it
could reduce the amount of cash available for payment of
principal and interest on the exchange notes.
If we were classified as a corporation for federal income tax
purposes, we could be required to pay federal income tax on our
taxable income at the corporate tax rate. Treatment of us as a
corporation could cause a material reduction in our anticipated
cash flow, which could materially and adversely affect our
ability to make payments on the exchange notes.
In addition, because of widespread state budget deficits and
other reasons several states are evaluating ways to subject
partnerships and limited liability companies to entity level
taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise or
other forms of taxation. For example, beginning in 2008, we will
be subject to a new entity level tax related to the portion of
our income that is generated in Texas during our prior tax year.
Imposition of such a tax on us by Texas, or any other state,
will reduce our cash flow.
You are urged to read Federal Income Tax
Considerations for a discussion of certain federal income
tax consequences of exchanging the outstanding notes for
exchange notes.
18
USE OF
PROCEEDS
The exchange offer is intended to satisfy our obligations under
the registration rights agreement. We will not receive any cash
proceeds from the issuance of the exchange notes in the exchange
offer. In consideration for issuing the exchange notes as
contemplated by this prospectus, we will receive outstanding
notes in a like principal amount. The form and terms of the
exchange notes are identical in all respects to the form and
terms of the outstanding notes, except the exchange notes do not
include certain transfer restrictions, registration rights or
provisions for additional interest. Outstanding notes
surrendered in exchange for the exchange notes will be retired
and cancelled and will not be reissued. Accordingly, the
issuance of the exchange notes will not result in any change in
our outstanding indebtedness.
RATIO OF
EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table presents the ratios of earnings to fixed
charges of the Partnership and its predecessor for the periods
indicated. For purposes of computing the ratios of earnings to
fixed charges, earnings consist of income from continuing
operations before adjustment for equity income from equity
method investees plus fixed charges, amortization of capitalized
interest and distributed income from investees accounted for
under the equity method. Fixed charges consist of interest
expensed and capitalized and an estimated interest component of
rent expense.
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Regency Predecessor LLC
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Regency Energy Partners LP
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Period from
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Period from
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Period from
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Acquisition Date
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Inception
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January 1,
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(December 1,
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(April 2, 2003) to
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2004 to
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2004) to
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Year Ended
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Year Ended
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December 31,
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November 30,
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December 31,
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December 31,
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December 31,
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2003(1)
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2004
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2004
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2005(2)
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2006(2)
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Ratio of earnings to fixed charges
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3.39
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4.67
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2.03
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Earnings were inadequate to cover fixed charges for the years
ended December 31, 2006 and 2005 by $8.2 and
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19
EXCHANGE
OFFER
We sold the outstanding notes on December 7, 2006, pursuant
to the purchase agreement dated as of December 12, 2006, by
and among us, Regency Energy Finance Corp., our subsidiary
guarantors and the initial purchasers named therein. The
outstanding notes were subsequently offered by the initial
purchasers to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to
Rule 144A under the Securities Act.
Purpose
of the Exchange Offer
We sold the outstanding notes in transactions that were exempt
from or not subject to the registration requirements under the
Securities Act. Accordingly, the outstanding notes are subject
to transfer restrictions. In general, you may not offer or sell
the outstanding notes unless either the offer and sale thereof
are registered under the Securities Act or are exempt from or
not subject to registration under the Securities Act and
applicable state securities laws.
In the registration rights agreement, we agreed to file an
exchange offer registration statement no later than
150 days after the closing date following the offering of
the outstanding notes. We also agreed to use our commercially
reasonable best efforts to cause the exchange offer registration
statement for the exchange notes to become effective within
310 days after the closing date. [We have complied with
these two agreements.] Now, to satisfy our obligations under the
registration rights agreement, we are offering holders of the
outstanding notes who are able to make certain representations
described below the opportunity to exchange their notes for the
exchange notes in the exchange offer. The exchange offer will be
open for a period of at least 30 days. During the exchange
offer period, we will issue the exchange notes in exchange for
all outstanding notes properly surrendered and not withdrawn
before the expiration date. The exchange notes will be
registered and the transfer restrictions, registration rights
and provisions for additional interest relating to the
outstanding notes will not apply to the exchange notes.
Resale of
Exchange Notes
Based on no-action letters of the Commission staff issued to
third parties, we believe that exchange notes may be offered for
resale, resold and otherwise transferred by you without further
compliance with the registration and prospectus delivery
provisions of the Securities Act if:
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you are not an affiliate of us or Regency Energy
Finance Corp. within the meaning of Rule 405 under the
Securities Act;
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such exchange notes are acquired in the ordinary course of your
business; and
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you do not intend to participate in a distribution of the
exchange notes.
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The Commission staff, however, has not considered the exchange
offer for the exchange notes in the context of a no-action
letter, and the Commission staff may not make a similar
determination as in the no-action letters issued to these third
parties.
If you tender in the exchange offer with the intention of
participating in any manner in a distribution of the exchange
notes, you
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cannot rely on such interpretations by the Commission
staff; and
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must comply with the registration and prospectus delivery
requirements of the Securities Act in connection with a
secondary resale transaction.
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Unless an exemption from registration is otherwise available,
any securityholder intending to distribute exchange notes should
be covered by an effective registration statement under the
Securities Act. The registration statement should contain the
selling securityholders information required by
Item 507 of
Regulation S-K
under the Securities Act.
This prospectus may be used for an offer to resell, resale or
other transfer of exchange notes only as specifically described
in this prospectus. If you are a broker dealer, you may
participate in the exchange offer
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only if you acquired the outstanding notes as a result of market
making activities or other trading activities. Each broker
dealer that receives exchange notes for its own account in
exchange for outstanding notes, where such outstanding notes
were acquired by such broker dealer as a result of market making
activities or other trading activities, must acknowledge by way
of the letter of transmittal that it will deliver this
prospectus in connection with any resale of the exchange notes.
Please read the section captioned Plan of
Distribution for more details regarding the transfer of
exchange notes.
Terms of
the Exchange Offer
Subject to the terms and conditions described in this prospectus
and in the letter of transmittal, we will accept for exchange
any outstanding notes properly tendered and not withdrawn prior
to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date of
the exchange offer. We will issue exchange notes in principal
amount equal to the principal amount of outstanding notes
surrendered in the exchange offer. Outstanding notes may be
tendered only for exchange notes and only in denominations of
$1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000.
The exchange offer is not conditioned upon any minimum aggregate
principal amount of outstanding notes being tendered in the
exchange offer.
As of the date of this prospectus, $550,000,000 in aggregate
principal amount of
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013 are outstanding. This prospectus is being sent to
DTC, the sole registered holder of the outstanding notes, and to
all persons that we can identify as beneficial owners of the
outstanding notes. There will be no fixed record date for
determining registered holders of outstanding notes entitled to
participate in the exchange offer.
We intend to conduct the exchange offer in accordance with the
provisions of the registration rights agreement, the applicable
requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and
the rules and regulations of the Commission. Outstanding notes
the holders of which do not tender for exchange in the exchange
offer will remain outstanding and continue to accrue interest.
These outstanding notes will be entitled to the rights and
benefits such holders have under the indenture relating to the
outstanding notes and the registration rights agreement.
We will be deemed to have accepted for exchange properly
tendered outstanding notes when we have given oral or written
notice of the acceptance to the exchange agent and complied with
the applicable provisions of the registration rights agreement.
The exchange agent will act as agent for the tendering holders
for the purposes of receiving the exchange notes from us.
If you tender outstanding notes in the exchange offer, you will
not be required to pay brokerage commissions or fees or, except
to the extent indicated by the instructions to the letter of
transmittal, transfer taxes with respect to the exchange of
outstanding notes. We will pay all charges and expenses, other
than certain applicable taxes described below, in connection
with the exchange offer. Please read Fees and
Expenses for more details regarding fees and expenses
incurred in connection with the exchange offer. We will return
any outstanding notes that we do not accept for exchange for any
reason without expense to their tendering holders promptly after
the expiration or termination of the exchange offer.
Expiration
Date
The exchange offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time,
on ,
2007, unless, in our sole discretion, we extend it.
Extensions,
Delays in Acceptance, Termination or Amendment
We expressly reserve the right, at any time or various times, to
extend the period of time during which the exchange offer is
open. We may delay acceptance of any outstanding notes by giving
oral or written notice of such extension to their holders at any
time until the exchange offer expires or terminates. During any
such extensions, all outstanding notes previously tendered will
remain subject to the exchange offer, and we may accept them for
exchange.
21
To extend the exchange offer, we will notify the exchange agent
orally or in writing of any extension. We will notify the
registered holders of outstanding notes of the extension no
later than 9:00 a.m. New York City time on the
business day after the previously scheduled expiration date.
If any of the conditions described below under
Conditions to the Exchange Offer have
not been satisfied, we reserve the right, in our sole discretion,
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to delay accepting for exchange any outstanding notes,
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to extend the exchange offer, or
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to terminate the exchange offer,
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by giving oral or written notice of such delay, extension or
termination to the exchange agent. Subject to the terms of the
registration rights agreement, we also reserve the right to
amend the terms of the exchange offer in any manner.
Any such delay in acceptance, extension, termination or
amendment will be followed as promptly as practicable by oral or
written notice thereof to holders of the outstanding notes. If
we amend the exchange offer in a manner that we determine to
constitute a material change, we will promptly disclose such
amendment by means of a prospectus supplement. The prospectus
supplement will be distributed to holders of the outstanding
notes. Depending upon the significance of the amendment and the
manner of disclosure to holders, we will extend the exchange
offer if it would otherwise expire during such period. If an
amendment constitutes a material change to the exchange offer,
including the waiver of a material condition, we will extend the
exchange offer, if necessary, to remain open for at least five
business days after the date of the amendment. In the event of
any increase or decrease in the consideration we are offering
for the outstanding notes or in the percentage of outstanding
notes being sought by us, we will extend the exchange offer to
remain open for at least 10 business days after the date on
which we provide notice of such increase or decrease to the
registered holders of outstanding notes.
Conditions
to the Exchange Offer
We will not be required to accept for exchange, or to issue any
exchange notes for, any outstanding notes if the exchange offer,
or the making of any exchange by a holder of outstanding notes,
would violate applicable law or any applicable interpretation of
the staff of the Commission. Similarly, we may terminate the
exchange offer as provided in this prospectus before accepting
outstanding notes for exchange in the event of such a potential
violation.
We will not be obligated to accept for exchange the outstanding
notes of any holder that has not made to us the representations
described under Procedures for Tendering
and Plan of Distribution and such other
representations as may be reasonably necessary under applicable
Commission rules, regulations or interpretations to allow us to
use an appropriate form to register the exchange notes under the
Securities Act.
Additionally, we will not accept for exchange any outstanding
notes tendered, and will not issue exchange notes in exchange
for any such outstanding notes, if at such time any stop order
has been threatened or is in effect with respect to the exchange
offer registration statement of which this prospectus
constitutes a part or the qualification of the indenture under
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
We expressly reserve the right to amend or terminate the
exchange offer, and to reject for exchange any outstanding notes
not previously accepted for exchange, upon the occurrence of any
of the conditions to the exchange offer specified above. We will
give oral or written notice of any extension, amendment, non
acceptance or termination to the holders of the outstanding
notes as promptly as practicable.
These conditions are for our sole benefit, and we may assert
them or waive them in whole or in part at any time or at various
times prior to the expiration of the exchange offer in our sole
discretion. If we fail at any time to exercise any of these
rights, this failure will not mean that we have waived our
rights. Each such right will be deemed an ongoing right that we
may assert at any time or at various times prior to the
expiration of the exchange offer.
22
Procedures
for Tendering
To participate in the exchange offer, you must properly tender
your outstanding notes to the exchange agent as described below.
We will only issue exchange notes in exchange for outstanding
notes that you timely and properly tender. Therefore, you should
allow sufficient time to ensure timely delivery of the
outstanding notes, and you should follow carefully the
instructions on how to tender your outstanding notes. It is your
responsibility to tender your outstanding notes properly. We
have the right to waive any defects. We are not, however,
required to waive defects, and neither we nor the exchange agent
is required to notify you of any defects in your tender.
If you have any questions or need help in exchanging your
outstanding notes, please call the exchange agent whose address
and phone number are described in the letter of transmittal
included as Annex A to this prospectus.
All of the outstanding notes were issued in book entry form, and
all of the outstanding notes are currently represented by global
certificates registered in the name of Cede & Co., the
nominee of DTC. We have confirmed with DTC that the outstanding
notes may be tendered using ATOP. The exchange agent will
establish an account with DTC for purposes of the exchange offer
promptly after the commencement of the exchange offer, and DTC
participants may electronically transmit their acceptance of the
exchange offer by causing DTC to transfer their outstanding
notes to the exchange agent using the ATOP procedures. In
connection with the transfer, DTC will send an
agents message to the exchange agent. The
agents message will state that DTC has received
instructions from the participant to tender outstanding notes
and that the participant agrees to be bound by the terms of the
letter of transmittal.
By using the ATOP procedures to exchange outstanding notes, you
will not be required to deliver a letter of transmittal to the
exchange agent. You will, however, be bound by its terms just as
if you had signed it.
There is no procedure for guaranteed late delivery of the
outstanding notes.
Determinations Under the Exchange Offer. We
will determine in our sole discretion all questions as to the
validity, form, eligibility, time of receipt, acceptance of
tendered outstanding notes and withdrawal of tendered
outstanding notes. Our determination will be final and binding.
We reserve the absolute right to reject any outstanding notes
not properly tendered or any outstanding notes our acceptance of
which would, in the opinion of our counsel, be unlawful. We also
reserve the right to waive any defect, irregularities or
conditions of tender as to particular outstanding notes. Our
interpretation of the terms and conditions of the exchange
offer, including the instructions in the letter of transmittal,
will be final and binding on all parties. Unless waived, all
defects or irregularities in connection with tenders of
outstanding notes must be cured within such time as we shall
determine. Although we intend to notify holders of defects or
irregularities with respect to tenders of outstanding notes,
neither we, the exchange agent nor any other person will incur
any liability for failure to give such notification. Tenders of
outstanding notes will not be deemed made until such defects or
irregularities have been cured or waived. Any outstanding notes
received by the exchange agent that are not properly tendered
and as to which the defects or irregularities have not been
cured or waived will be returned to the tendering holder as soon
as practicable following the expiration date of the exchange.
When We Will Issue Exchange Notes. In all
cases, we will issue exchange notes for outstanding notes that
we have accepted for exchange under the exchange offer only
after the exchange agent receives, prior to 5:00 p.m., New
York City time, on the expiration date,
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a book-entry confirmation of such outstanding notes into the
exchange agents account at DTC; and
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a properly transmitted agents message.
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Return of Outstanding Notes Not Accepted or
Exchanged. If we do not accept any tendered
outstanding notes for exchange or if outstanding notes are
submitted for a greater principal amount than the holder desires
to exchange, the unaccepted or non-exchanged outstanding notes
will be returned without expense to their tendering holder. Such
non-exchanged outstanding notes will be credited to an account
maintained with DTC. These actions will occur as promptly as
practicable after the expiration or termination of the exchange
offer.
23
Your Representations to Us. By agreeing to be
bound by the letter of transmittal, you will represent to us
that, among other things:
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Any exchange notes that you receive will be acquired in the
ordinary course of your business;
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you have no arrangement or understanding with any person or
entity to participate in the distribution of the exchange notes;
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you are not engaged in and do not intend to engage in the
distribution of the exchange notes;
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if you are a broker-dealer that will receive exchange notes for
your own account in exchange for outstanding notes, you acquired
those outstanding notes as a result of market-making activities
or other trading activities and you will deliver this
prospectus, as required by law, in connection with any resale of
the exchange notes; and
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you are not an affiliate, as defined in
Rule 405 under the Securities Act, of us or Regency Energy
Finance Corp.
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Withdrawal
of Tenders
Except as otherwise provided in this prospectus, you may
withdraw your tender at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New
York City time, on the expiration date of the exchange offer.
For a withdrawal to be effective you must comply with the
appropriate ATOP procedures. Any notice of withdrawal must
specify the name and number of the account at DTC to be credited
with withdrawn outstanding notes and otherwise comply with the
ATOP procedures.
We will determine all questions as to the validity, form,
eligibility and time of receipt of a notice of withdrawal. Our
determination shall be final and binding on all parties. We will
deem any outstanding notes so withdrawn not to have been validly
tendered for exchange for purposes of the exchange offer.
Any outstanding notes that have been tendered for exchange but
that are not exchanged for any reason will be credited to an
account maintained with DTC for the outstanding notes. This
return or crediting will take place as soon as practicable after
withdrawal, rejection of tender, expiration or termination of
the exchange offer. You may retender properly withdrawn
outstanding notes by following the procedures described under
Procedures for Tendering above at any time on
or prior to the expiration date of the exchange offer.
Fees and
Expenses
We will bear the expenses of soliciting tenders. The principal
solicitation is being made by mail; however, we may make
additional solicitation by telegraph, telephone or in person by
our officers and regular employees and those of our affiliates.
We have not retained any dealer manager in connection with the
exchange offer and will not make any payments to broker dealers
or others soliciting acceptances of the exchange offer. We will,
however, pay the exchange agent reasonable and customary fees
for its services and reimburse it for its related reasonable out
of pocket expenses.
We will pay the cash expenses to be incurred in connection with
the exchange offer. They include:
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Commission registration fees;
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fees and expenses of the exchange agent and trustee;
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accounting and legal fees and printing costs; and
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related fees and expenses.
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Transfer
Taxes
We will pay all transfer taxes, if any, applicable to the
exchange of outstanding notes under the exchange offer. Each
tendering holder, however, will be required to pay any transfer
taxes, whether imposed on the registered holder or any other
person, if a transfer tax is imposed for any reason other than
the exchange of outstanding notes under the exchange offer.
Consequences
of Failure to Exchange
If you do not exchange your outstanding notes for exchange notes
under the exchange offer, the outstanding notes you hold will
continue to be subject to the existing restrictions on transfer.
In general, you may not offer or sell the outstanding notes
except under an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject
to, the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. We
do not intend to register outstanding notes under the Securities
Act unless the registration rights agreement requires us to do
so.
Accounting
Treatment
We will record the exchange notes in our accounting records at
the same carrying value as the outstanding notes. This carrying
value is the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
notes, as reflected in our accounting records on the date of
exchange. Accordingly, we will not recognize any gain or loss
for accounting purposes in connection with the exchange offer,
other than the recognition of the fees and expenses of the
offering as stated under Fees and
Expenses.
Other
Participation in the exchange offer is voluntary, and you should
consider carefully whether to accept. You are urged to consult
your financial and tax advisors in making your own decision on
what action to take.
We may in the future seek to acquire untendered outstanding
notes in open market or privately negotiated transactions,
through subsequent exchange offers or otherwise. We have no
present plans to acquire any outstanding notes that are not
tendered in the exchange offer or to file a registration
statement to permit resales of any untendered outstanding notes.
25
DESCRIPTION
OF EXCHANGE NOTES
In this description, the term Regency Energy
Partners refers only to Regency Energy Partners LP and not
to any of its subsidiaries, the term Finance Corp.
refers to Regency Energy Finance Corp. and the term
Issuers refers to Regency Energy Partners and
Finance Corp. References to the notes in this
section of the prospectus include both the outstanding notes we
issued on December 12, 2006 and the exchange notes, unless
the context requires otherwise. You can find the definitions of
certain terms used in this description under the subheading
Certain Definitions.
The exchange notes will be issued and the outstanding notes were
issued under an indenture (the Indenture) among the
Issuers, the Guarantors and Wells Fargo Bank, National
Association, as trustee, in a private transaction that is not
subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
See Notice to investors. The terms of the notes will
include those stated in the Indenture and those made part of the
Indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939,
as amended.
This Description of Exchange Notes is intended to be a useful
overview of the material provisions of the exchange notes, the
guarantees, and the indenture. Since this Description of
Exchange Notes is only a summary, you should refer to the
exchange notes and the indenture, forms of which are available
from us, for a complete description of our obligations and your
rights.
If the exchange offer is consummated, holders of notes who do
not exchange their notes for exchange notes will vote together
with the holders of the exchange notes for all relevant purposes
under the indenture. In that regard, the indenture requires that
certain actions by the holders under the indenture (including
acceleration after an Event of Default) must be taken, and
certain rights must be exercised, by specified minimum
percentages of the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding
notes issued under the indenture. In determining whether holders
of the requisite percentage in principal amount have given any
notice, consent or waiver or taken any other action permitted
under the indenture, any notes that remain outstanding after the
exchange offer will be aggregated with the exchange notes, and
the holders of these notes and exchange notes will vote together
as a single series for all such purposes. Accordingly, all
references in this Description of Exchange Notes to specified
percentages in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
notes mean, at any time after the exchange offer for the notes
is consummated, such percentage in aggregate principal amount of
such notes and the exchange notes then outstanding.
Brief
Description of the Notes and the Guarantees
The
Notes.
The notes:
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are general unsecured obligations of the Issuers;
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are pari passu in right of payment with all existing and
future senior Indebtedness of the Issuers;
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are senior in right of payment to any future subordinated
Indebtedness of the Issuers; and
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are unconditionally guaranteed by the Guarantors.
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The notes are, however, effectively subordinated to all secured
Indebtedness under the Credit Agreement, which is secured by
substantially all of the assets of Regency Energy Partners and
the Guarantors, to the extent of the value of the collateral
securing the Indebtedness. See Risk FactorsRisks
Related to the NotesYour right to receive payments on the
notes and the guarantees is unsecured and will be effectively
subordinated to our existing and future secured
indebtedness.
The
Note Guarantees
Each guarantee of the notes:
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is a general unsecured obligation of the Guarantor;
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is pari passu in right of payment with all existing and
future senior Indebtedness of that Guarantor; and
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is senior in right of payment to any future subordinated
Indebtedness of that Guarantor.
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The note guarantees will, however, be effectively subordinated
to all secured Indebtedness of the Guarantors, including their
guarantees of Indebtedness under the Credit Agreement, to the
extent of the value of the collateral securing those guarantees.
See Risk factors Risks Related to the
Notes Your right to receive payments on the notes
and the guarantees is unsecured and will be effectively
subordinated to our existing and future secured
indebtedness.
Initially, all our Subsidiaries (except Finance Corp.) have
guaranteed the notes. In the future, the notes will be
guaranteed only by our Restricted Subsidiaries that guarantee
Indebtedness of an Issuer or a Guarantor or by our Domestic
Subsidiaries that incur Indebtedness under a Credit Facility. In
the event of a bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization of any
of our non-guaranteeing Subsidiaries, such Subsidiaries will pay
the holders of their debt and their trade creditors before they
will be able to distribute any of their assets to us.
As of the date of the Indenture, all of our Subsidiaries are
Restricted Subsidiaries. Under the circumstances
described below under the caption Certain
Covenants Designation of Restricted and Unrestricted
Subsidiaries, however, we will be permitted to designate
certain of our Subsidiaries as Unrestricted
Subsidiaries. Our Unrestricted Subsidiaries will not be
subject to the restrictive covenants in the Indenture. Our
Unrestricted Subsidiaries will not guarantee the notes.
Finance
Corp.
Finance Corp. is a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned
subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners that has been formed for
the purpose of facilitating the offering of the notes by acting
as co-issuer. Finance Corp. will be nominally capitalized and
will not have any operations or revenues. As a result,
prospective purchasers of the notes should not expect Finance
Corp. to participate in servicing the interest and principal
obligations on the notes. See Certain
Covenants Business Activities.
Principal,
Maturity and Interest
The Issuers have issued the outstanding notes with an initial
maximum in aggregate principal amount of $550.0 million. In
addition to the exchange notes offered hereby, the Issuers may
issue additional notes under the Indenture from time to time
after this offering. Any issuance of additional notes is subject
to all the covenants in the Indenture, including the covenant
described below under the caption Certain
Covenants Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of
Disqualified Equity. The outstanding notes and any
additional notes subsequently issued under the Indenture,
together with any Exchange Notes, will be treated as a single
class for all purposes under the Indenture, including waivers,
amendments, redemptions and offers to purchase, and any such
additional notes will be fungible with the original notes to the
extent set forth in the applicable offering documentation. The
Issuers may issue notes only in denominations of $1,000 and
integral multiples of $1,000. The notes will mature on
December 15, 2013.
Interest on the notes will accrue at the rate of 8.375% per
annum and will be payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15
and December 15, commencing on June 15, 2007. Interest
on overdue principal and interest, if any, will accrue at the
interest rate on the notes. The Issuers will make each interest
payment to the holders of record on the immediately preceding
June 1 and December 1.
Interest on the notes will accrue from the date of original
issuance or, if interest has already been paid, from the date it
was most recently paid. In the case of the exchange notes, all
interest accrued on outstanding notes from December 7, 2006
will be treated as having accrued on the exchange notes that are
issued in exchange for the outstanding notes. Interest will be
computed on the basis of a
360-day year
comprised of twelve
30-day
months.
Methods
of Receiving Payments on the Notes
If a holder of notes has given wire transfer instructions to
Regency Energy Partners, the Issuers will pay all principal,
interest and premium, if any, on that holders notes in
accordance with those instructions. All other payments on the
notes will be made at the office or agency of the paying agent
and registrar unless the
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Issuers elect to make interest payments by check mailed to the
noteholders at their addresses set forth in the register of
holders.
Paying
Agent and Registrar for the Notes
The trustee is initially acting as paying agent and registrar.
The Issuers may change the paying agent or registrar without
prior notice to the holders of the notes, and Regency Energy
Partners, Finance Corp. or any of Regency Energy Partners
other Subsidiaries may act as paying agent or registrar.
Transfer
and Exchange
A holder may transfer or exchange notes in accordance with the
provisions of the Indenture. The registrar and the trustee may
require a holder, among other things, to furnish appropriate
endorsements and transfer documents in connection with a
transfer of notes. No services charge will be imposed by the
Issuers, the trustee or the registrar for any registration of
transfer or exchange of notes, but holders will be required to
pay all taxes due on transfer. The Issuers are not required to
transfer or exchange any note selected for redemption. Also, the
Issuers are not required to transfer or exchange any note for a
period of 15 days before a selection of notes to be
redeemed.
Note
Guarantees
Initially, the notes have been guaranteed by each of Regency
Energy Partners current Subsidiaries, except Finance Corp.
In the future, the notes will be guaranteed by each of Regency
Energy Partners Restricted Subsidiaries under the
circumstances described under Certain
Covenants Additional Guarantees. These Note
Guarantees are joint and several obligations of the Guarantors.
The obligations of each Guarantor under its Note Guarantee will
be limited as necessary to prevent that Note Guarantee from
constituting a fraudulent conveyance under applicable law. See
Risk factors Risks Related to the
Notes A court may use fraudulent conveyance
considerations to avoid or subordinate the subsidiary
guarantees.
A Guarantor may not sell or otherwise dispose of all or
substantially all of its properties or assets to, or consolidate
with or merge with or into (whether or not such Guarantor is the
surviving Person), another Person, other than Regency Energy
Partners or another Guarantor, unless:
(1) immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no
Default or Event of Default exists; and
(2) either:
(a) the Person acquiring the assets in any such sale or
other disposition or the Person formed by or surviving any such
consolidation or merger (if other than the Guarantor) assumes
all the obligations of that Guarantor under the Indenture, its
Note Guarantee and the registration rights agreement pursuant to
a supplemental indenture substantially in the form specified in
the Indenture; or
(b) the Net Proceeds of such sale or other disposition are
applied in accordance with the Asset Sales
provisions of the Indenture.
The Note Guarantee of a Guarantor will be released:
(1) in connection with any sale or other disposition of all
or substantially all the assets of that Guarantor (including by
way of merger or consolidation) to a Person that is not (either
before or after giving effect to such transaction) Regency
Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners, if the sale or other disposition does not violate the
Asset Sale provisions of the Indenture;
(2) in connection with any sale or other disposition of all
the Capital Stock of that Guarantor to a Person that is not
(either before or after giving effect to such transaction)
Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency
Energy Partners, if the sale or other disposition does not
violate the Asset Sale provisions of the Indenture;
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(3) if Regency Energy Partners designates any Restricted
Subsidiary that is a Guarantor to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary
in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Indenture;
(4) at such time as the Guarantor ceases to guarantee any
other Indebtedness of an Issuer or another Guarantor, provided
that, if it is also a Domestic Subsidiary, it is then no longer
an obligor with respect to any Indebtedness under any Credit
Facility; provided, however, that if, at any time following such
release, that Guarantor incurs a Guarantee under a Credit
Facility, then such Guarantor shall be required to provide a
Note Guarantee at such time; or
(5) upon legal or covenant defeasance or satisfaction and
discharge of the Indenture as provided below under the captions
Legal Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
and Satisfaction and Discharge.
See Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Asset Sales.
Optional
Redemption
Except pursuant to the next three paragraphs of this section
relating to optional redemption, the notes will not be
redeemable at the Issuers option.
At any time prior to December 15, 2009, the Issuers may on
any one or more occasions redeem up to 35% of the aggregate
principal amount of notes (including any additional notes)
issued under the Indenture, upon not less than 30 nor more than
60 days prior notice, at a redemption price of
108.375% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid
interest, if any, to the redemption date (subject to the right
of holders of record on the relevant record date to receive
interest due on an interest payment date that is on or prior to
the redemption date), with the net cash proceeds of one or more
Equity Offerings by Regency Energy Partners; provided
that:
(1) at least 65% of the aggregate principal amount of notes
(including any additional notes) issued under the Indenture
(excluding notes held by Regency Energy Partners and its
Subsidiaries) remains outstanding immediately after the
occurrence of such redemption; and
(2) the redemption occurs within 90 days of the date
of the closing of such Equity Offering.
On or after December 15, 2010, the Issuers may redeem all
or a part of the notes upon not less than 30 nor more than
60 days notice, at the redemption prices (expressed
as percentages of principal amount) set forth below plus accrued
and unpaid interest, if any, on the notes redeemed, to the
applicable redemption date, if redeemed during the twelve-month
period beginning on December 15 of each year indicated below,
subject to the rights of holders of notes on the relevant record
date to receive interest on an interest payment date that is on
or prior to the redemption date:
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Year
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Percentage
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2010
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104.188
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%
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2011
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102.094
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%
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2012 and thereafter
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100.000
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%
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At any time prior to December 15, 2010, the Issuers may
also redeem all or a part of the notes, upon not less than 30
nor more than 60 days prior notice, at a redemption
price equal to 100% of the principal amount of notes redeemed
plus the Applicable Premium as of, and accrued and unpaid
interest, if any, to the date of redemption, subject to the
rights of holders of notes on the relevant record date to
receive interest due on an interest payment date that is on or
prior to the redemption date.
Unless the Issuers default in the payment of the redemption
price, interest will cease to accrue on the notes or portions
thereof called for redemption on the applicable redemption date.
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Selection
and Notice
If less than all of the notes are to be redeemed at any time,
the trustee will select notes for redemption as follows:
(1) if the notes are listed on any national securities
exchange, in compliance with the requirements of the principal
national securities exchange on which the notes are
listed; or
(2) if the notes are not listed on any national securities
exchange, on a pro rata basis, by lot or by such other
method as the trustee deems fair.
No notes of $1,000 or less can be redeemed in part. Notices of
redemption will be mailed by first class mail at least 30 but
not more than 60 days before the redemption date to each
holder of notes to be redeemed at its registered address, except
that redemption notices may be mailed more than 60 days
prior to a redemption date if the notice is issued in connection
with a defeasance of the notes or a satisfaction and discharge
of the Indenture. Notices of redemption may not be conditional.
If any note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of
redemption that relates to that note will state the portion of
the principal amount of that note that is to be redeemed. A new
note in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the
original note will be issued in the name of the holder of notes
upon cancellation of the original note. Notes called for
redemption become due on the date fixed for redemption. On and
after the redemption date, interest ceases to accrue on notes or
portions of notes called for redemption.
Mandatory
Redemption
Except as set forth below under Repurchase at
the Option of Holders, the Issuers are not required to
make mandatory redemption or sinking fund payments with respect
to the notes or to repurchase notes at the option of the holders.
Repurchase
at the Option of Holders
Change
of Control
If a Change of Control occurs, Regency Energy Partners will make
an offer to each holder of notes to repurchase all or any part
(equal to $1,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000) of that
holders notes pursuant to the offer described below (the
Change of Control Offer) on the terms set forth in
the Indenture. In the Change of Control Offer, Regency Energy
Partners will offer a payment in cash equal to 101% of the
aggregate principal amount of notes repurchased, plus accrued
and unpaid interest, if any, on the notes repurchased to, but
excluding, the date of purchase (the Change of Control
Payment), subject to the rights of holders of notes on the
relevant record date to receive interest due on an interest
payment date that is on or prior to the purchase date. Within
30 days following any Change of Control, Regency Energy
Partners will mail a notice to each holder describing the
transaction or transactions that constitute the Change of
Control and offering to repurchase notes on the Change of
Control Payment Date specified in the notice, which date
will be no earlier than 20 business days and no later than
60 days from the date such notice is mailed, pursuant to
the procedures required by the Indenture and described in such
notice. In making the Change of Control Offer, Regency Energy
Partners will comply with all applicable requirements of
Rule 14e-1
under the Exchange Act and other securities laws and regulations
thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations are
applicable in connection with the repurchase of the notes as a
result of a Change of Control. To the extent that the provisions
of any securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change
of Control provisions of the Indenture, Regency Energy Partners
will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations
and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under
the Change of Control provisions of the Indenture by virtue of
such compliance.
On the Change of Control Payment Date, Regency Energy Partners
will, to the extent lawful:
(1) accept for payment all notes or portions of notes
properly tendered pursuant to the Change of Control Offer;
30
(2) deposit with the paying agent an amount equal to the
Change of Control Payment in respect of all notes or portions of
notes properly tendered; and
(3) deliver or cause to be delivered to the trustee the
notes properly accepted together with an officers
certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of notes or
portions of notes being purchased by Regency Energy Partners.
The paying agent will promptly mail to each holder of notes
properly tendered the Change of Control Payment for such notes
(or, if all the notes are then in global form, make such payment
through the facilities of DTC), and the trustee will promptly
authenticate and mail (or cause to be transferred by book entry)
to each holder a new note equal in principal amount to any
unpurchased portion of the notes surrendered, if any;
provided, that each new note will be in a principal
amount of $1,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000. Regency
Energy Partners will publicly announce the results of the Change
of Control Offer on or as soon as practicable after the Change
of Control Payment Date.
These provisions described above that require the Company to
make a Change of Control Offer following a Change of Control
will be applicable whether or not any other provisions of the
Indenture are applicable. Except as described above with respect
to a Change of Control, the Indenture does not contain
provisions that permit the holders of the notes to require that
either of the Issuers repurchase or redeem the notes in the
event of a takeover, recapitalization or similar transaction.
Regency Energy Partners will not be required to make a Change of
Control Offer upon a Change of Control if (1) a third party
makes the Change of Control Offer in the manner, at the times
and otherwise in compliance with the requirements set forth in
the Indenture applicable to a Change of Control Offer made by
Regency Energy Partners and purchases all notes properly
tendered and not withdrawn under the Change of Control Offer or
(2) notice of redemption has been given pursuant to the
Indenture as described above under the caption
Optional Redemption, unless and until
there is a default in payment of the applicable redemption price.
The definition of Change of Control includes a phrase relating
to the direct or indirect sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or
other disposition of all or substantially all of the
properties or assets of Regency Energy Partners and its
Subsidiaries taken as a whole. Although there is a limited body
of case law interpreting the phrase substantially
all, there is no precise established definition of the
phrase under applicable law. Accordingly, the ability of a
holder of notes to require Regency Energy Partners to repurchase
its notes as a result of a sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or
other disposition of less than all of the assets of Regency
Energy Partners and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole to another
Person or group may be uncertain.
Asset
Sales
Regency Energy Partners will not consummate, and will not permit
any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to consummate, an Asset Sale
unless:
(1) Regency Energy Partners (or the Restricted Subsidiary,
as the case may be) receives consideration at the time of the
Asset Sale at least equal to the Fair Market Value of the assets
or Equity Interests issued or sold or otherwise disposed of;
(2) such fair market value is determined by (a) an
executive officer of the General Partner if the value is less
than $15.0 million, as evidenced by an officers
certificate delivered to the trustee, or (b) the Board of
Directors of the General Partner if the value is
$15.0 million or more, as evidenced by a resolution of such
Board of Directors of the General Partners; and
(3) at least 75% of the aggregate consideration received by
Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries in the
Asset Sale and all other Asset Sales since the date of the
Indenture is in the form of cash or Cash Equivalents. For
purposes of this provision, each of the following will be deemed
to be cash:
(a) any liabilities, as shown on Regency Energy
Partners most recent consolidated balance sheet, of
Regency Energy Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than
contingent liabilities and
31
liabilities that are by their terms subordinated to the notes or
any Note Guarantees) that are assumed by the transferee of any
such assets pursuant to a customary novation agreement that
releases Regency Energy Partners or such Restricted Subsidiary
from further liability; and
(b) any securities, notes or other obligations received by
Regency Energy Partners or any such Restricted Subsidiary from
such transferee that are within 90 days after the Asset
Sale (subject to ordinary settlement periods), converted by
Regency Energy Partners or such Restricted Subsidiary into cash
or Cash Equivalents, to the extent of the cash or Cash
Equivalents received in that conversion.
Within 360 days after the receipt of any Net Proceeds from
an Asset Sale, Regency Energy Partners (or the applicable
Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be) may apply such Net
Proceeds:
(1) to repay Senior Indebtedness of Regency Energy Partners
and/or its
Restricted Subsidiaries (or to make an offer to repurchase or
redeem such Indebtedness, provided that such repurchase or
redemption closes within 45 days after the end of such
360-day
period) with a permanent reduction in availability for any
revolving credit Indebtedness;
(2) to acquire all or substantially all of the assets of,
or any Capital Stock of, another Permitted Business, if, after
giving effect to any such acquisition of Capital Stock, the
Permitted Business is or becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of
Regency Energy Partners;
(3) to make a capital expenditure; or
(4) to acquire other assets that are not classified as
current assets under GAAP and that are used or useful in a
Permitted Business.
Pending the final application of any Net Proceeds, Regency
Energy Partners or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary may
temporarily reduce revolving credit borrowings or otherwise
invest the Net Proceeds in any manner that is not prohibited by
the Indenture.
Any Net Proceeds from Asset Sales that are not applied or
invested as provided in the second paragraph of this covenant
will constitute Excess Proceeds. When the aggregate
amount of Excess Proceeds exceeds $20.0 million, within
five days thereof, Regency Energy Partners will make an offer
(an Asset Sale Offer) to all holders of notes and
all holders of other Indebtedness that is pari passu with
the notes containing provisions similar to those set forth in
the Indenture with respect to offers to purchase or redeem with
the proceeds of sales of assets to purchase the maximum
principal amount of notes and such other pari passu Indebtedness
that may be purchased out of the Excess Proceeds. The offer
price in any Asset Sale Offer will be equal to 100% of the
principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to
the date of purchase, subject to the right of holders of record
on the relevant record date to receive interest due on an
interest payment date that is on or prior to the date of
settlement, and will be payable in cash. If any Excess Proceeds
remain after consummation of an Asset Sale Offer, Regency Energy
Partners may use those Excess Proceeds for any purpose not
otherwise prohibited by the Indenture. If the aggregate
principal amount of notes and other pari passu
Indebtedness tendered into such Asset Sale Offer exceeds the
amount of Excess Proceeds, the trustee will select the notes and
such other pari passu Indebtedness will be purchased on a
pro rata basis. Upon completion of each Asset Sale Offer,
the amount of Excess Proceeds will be reset at zero.
In making an Asset Sale Offer, Regency Energy Partners will
comply with the applicable requirements of
Rule 14e-1
under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and
regulations thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations
are applicable in connection with each repurchase of notes
pursuant to an Asset Sale Offer. To the extent that the
provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with
the Asset Sale provisions of the Indenture, Regency Energy
Partners will comply with the applicable securities laws and
regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its
obligations under the Asset Sale provisions of the Indenture by
virtue of such compliance.
The agreements governing Regency Energy Partners other
Indebtedness contain, and future agreements governing Regency
Energy Partners Indebtedness may contain, prohibitions of
certain events, including events that would constitute a Change
of Control or an Asset Sale and including repurchases of or
other prepayments
32
in respect of the notes. The exercise by the holders of notes of
their right to require Regency Energy Partners to repurchase the
notes upon a Change of Control or an Asset Sale could cause a
default under these other agreements, even if the Change of
Control or Asset Sale itself does not, due to the financial
effect of such repurchases on Regency Energy Partners or other
circumstances. If a Change of Control or Asset Sale occurs at a
time when Regency Energy Partners is prohibited from purchasing
notes, Regency Energy Partners could seek the consent of the
lenders or counterparties under those agreements or could
attempt to repay or refinance such borrowings. If Regency Energy
Partners does not obtain an appropriate consent or repay those
borrowings, Regency Energy Partners will remain prohibited from
purchasing notes. In that case, Regency Energy Partners
failure to purchase tendered notes would constitute an Event of
Default under the Indenture which could, in all likelihood,
constitute a default under the other indebtedness. Finally,
Regency Energy Partners ability to pay cash to the holders
of notes upon a repurchase may be limited by Regency Energy
Partners then existing financial resources. See Risk
factors Risks Related to the Notes We
may not have the ability to raise funds necessary to finance any
change of control offer required under the indenture.
Certain
Covenants
Termination
of Covenants
If at any time the notes achieve an Investment Grade Rating from
both of the Rating Agencies and no Default or Event of Default
has occurred and is then continuing under the Indenture, Regency
Energy Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries will no longer
be subject to the following provisions of the Indenture:
(1) Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Asset Sales;
(2) Restricted Payments;
(3) Incurrence of Indebtedness and
Issuance of Disqualified Equity;
(4) Dividend and Other Payment
Restrictions Affecting Subsidiaries;
(5) Designation of Restricted and
Unrestricted Subsidiaries;
(6) Transactions with Affiliates;
(7) Business Activities;
(8) clause (4) of the covenant described below under
the caption Merger, Consolidation or Sale of
Assets; and
(9) Limitation on Sale and Leaseback
Transactions.
There can be no assurance that the notes will ever achieve or
maintain an Investment Grade Rating. During any period that the
foregoing covenants have been terminated, the Issuer may not
designate any of its Subsidiaries as Unrestricted Subsidiaries
pursuant to the definition of Unrestricted
Subsidiary.
Restricted
Payments
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly:
(1) declare or pay any dividend or make any other payment
or distribution on account of its outstanding Equity Interests
(including any payment in connection with any merger or
consolidation involving Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries) or to the direct or indirect holders of
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries Equity Interests in their capacity as such
(other than distributions or dividends payable in Equity
Interests, excluding Disqualified Equity, of Regency Energy
Partners and other than distributions or dividends payable to
Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary);
33
(2) purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire or retire for
value (including in connection with any merger or consolidation
involving Regency Energy Partners) any Equity Interests of
Regency Energy Partners or any direct or indirect parent of
Regency Energy Partners;
(3) make any payment on or with respect to, or purchase,
redeem, defease or otherwise acquire or retire for value any
Indebtedness of Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor that is
contractually subordinated to the notes or to any Note Guarantee
(excluding intercompany Indebtedness between or among Regency
Energy Partners and any of its Restricted Subsidiaries), except
a payment of interest or principal within one month of its
Stated Maturity; or
(4) make any Restricted Investment (all such payments and
other actions set forth in these clauses (1) through
(4) above being collectively referred to as
Restricted Payments),
unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such
Restricted Payment, no Default (except a Reporting Default) or
Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would occur
as a consequence of such Restricted Payment and either:
(1) if the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio for Regency Energy
Partners most recently ended four full fiscal quarters for
which internal financial statements are available at the time of
such Restricted Payment is not less than 1.75 to 1.0, such
Restricted Payment, together with the aggregate amount of all
other Restricted Payments made by Regency Energy Partners and
its Restricted Subsidiaries (excluding Restricted Payments
permitted by clauses (2), (3), (4) (to the extent, in the
case of clause (4), payments are made to Regency Energy
Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary), (5), (6), (7) and
(8) of the next succeeding paragraph) during the quarter in
which such Restricted Payment is made, is less than the sum,
without duplication, of:
(a) Available Cash from Operating Surplus as of the end of
the immediately preceding quarter; plus
(b) 100% of the aggregate net cash proceeds received by
Regency Energy Partners (including the Fair Market Value of any
Permitted Business or long-term assets that are used or useful
in a Permitted Business to the extent acquired in consideration
of Equity Interests of Regency Energy Partners (other than
Disqualified Equity)) since the date of the Indenture as a
contribution to its common equity capital or from the issue or
sale of Equity Interests of Regency Energy Partners (other than
Disqualified Equity) or from the issue or sale of convertible or
exchangeable Disqualified Equity or convertible or exchangeable
debt securities of Regency Energy Partners that have been
converted into or exchanged for such Equity Interests (other
than Equity Interests (or Disqualified Equity or debt
securities) sold to a Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners);
plus
(c) to the extent that any Restricted Investment that was
made after the date of the Indenture is sold for cash or Cash
Equivalents or otherwise liquidated or repaid for cash or Cash
Equivalents, the return of capital with respect to such
Restricted Investment (less the cost of disposition, if any);
plus
(d) the net reduction in Restricted Investments resulting
from dividends, repayments of loans or advances, or other
transfers of assets in each case to Regency Energy Partners or
any of its Restricted Subsidiaries from any Person (including
Unrestricted Subsidiaries) or from redesignations of
Unrestricted Subsidiaries as Restricted Subsidiaries, to the
extent such amounts have not been included in Available Cash
from Operating Surplus for any period commencing on or after the
date of the Indenture (items (b), (c) and (d) being
referred to as Incremental Funds); minus
(e) the aggregate amount of Incremental Funds previously
expended pursuant to this clause (1) and clause (2)
below; or
(2) if the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio for Regency Energy
Partners most recently ended four full fiscal quarters for
which internal financial statements are available at the time of
such Restricted Payment is less than 1.75 to 1.0, such
Restricted Payment, together with the aggregate amount of all
other Restricted Payments made by Regency Energy Partners and
its Restricted Subsidiaries (excluding Restricted Payments
permitted by clauses (2), (3), (4) (to the extent, in the
case of clause (4), payments
34
are made to Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary),
(5), (6), (7) and (8) of the next succeeding
paragraph) during the quarter in which such Restricted Payment
is made (such Restricted Payments for purposes of this
clause (2) meaning only distributions on common units and
subordinated units of Regency Energy Partners, plus the related
distribution on the general partner interest), is less than the
sum, without duplication, of:
(a) $100.0 million less the aggregate amount of all
prior Restricted Payments made by Regency Energy Partners and
its Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to this clause 2(a)
during the period since the date of the Indenture; plus
(b) Incremental Funds to the extent not previously expended
pursuant to this clause (2) or clause (1) above.
The preceding provisions will not prohibit:
(1) the payment of any dividend or distribution within
60 days after the date of its declaration, if at the date
of declaration the payment would have complied with the
provisions of the Indenture;
(2) so long as no Default (except a Reporting Default) has
occurred and is continuing or would be caused thereby, the
redemption, repurchase, retirement, defeasance or other
acquisition of subordinated Indebtedness of Regency Energy
Partners or any Guarantor or of any Equity Interests of Regency
Energy Partners in exchange for, or out of the net cash proceeds
of, a substantially concurrent (a) capital contribution to
Regency Energy Partners from any Person (other than a Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners) or (b) sale (other
than to a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners) of
Equity Interests of Regency Energy Partners, with a sale being
deemed substantially concurrent if such redemption, repurchase,
retirement, defeasance or other acquisition occurs not more than
120 days after such sale; provided that the amount of any
such net cash proceeds that are utilized for any such
redemption, repurchase, retirement, defeasance or other
acquisition will be excluded or deducted from the calculation of
Available Cash from Operating Surplus and Incremental Funds;
(3) so long as no Default (except a Reporting Default) has
occurred and is continuing or would be caused thereby, the
defeasance, redemption, repurchase or other acquisition or
retirement of any subordinated Indebtedness of Regency Energy
Partners or any Guarantor with the net cash proceeds from an
incurrence of, or in exchange for, Permitted Refinancing
Indebtedness;
(4) the payment of any distribution or dividend by a
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners to the holders
of its Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity) on a
pro rata basis;
(5) so long as no Default (except a Reporting Default) has
occurred and is continuing or would be caused thereby, the
repurchase, redemption or other acquisition or retirement for
value of any Equity Interests of Regency Energy Partners or any
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners held by any
current or former officer, director or employee of the General
Partner, Regency Energy Partners or any of Regency Energy
Partners Restricted Subsidiaries pursuant to any equity
subscription agreement or plan, stock or unit option agreement,
shareholders agreement or similar agreement; provided that
the aggregate price paid for all such repurchased, redeemed,
acquired or retired Equity Interests may not exceed
$2.0 million in any calendar year; provided further that
such amount in any calendar year may be increased by an amount
not to exceed (a) the cash proceeds received by Regency
Energy Partners from the sale of Equity Interests of Regency
Energy Partners to members of management or directors of the
General Partner, Regency Energy Partners or its Restricted
Subsidiaries that occurs after the date of the Indenture (to the
extent the cash proceeds from the sale of such Equity Interests
have not otherwise been applied to the payment of Restricted
Payments by virtue of sections 1(b) or 2(b) of the
preceding paragraph), plus (b) the cash proceeds of key man
life insurance policies received by Regency Energy Partners
after the date of the Indenture;
(6) so long as no Default (except a Reporting Default) has
occurred and is continuing or would be caused thereby, payments
of dividends on Disqualified Equity issued pursuant to the
covenant described under Incurrence of
Indebtedness and Issuance of Disqualified Equity;
35
(7) repurchases of Capital Stock deemed to occur upon
exercise of stock options, warrants or other convertible
securities if such Capital Stock represents a portion of the
exercise price of such options, warrants or other convertible
securities; or
(8) so long as no Default (except a Reporting Default) has
occurred and is continuing or would be caused thereby, cash
payments in lieu of the issuance of fractional shares in
connection with the exercise of warrants, options or other
securities convertible into or exchangeable for Capital Stock of
Regency Energy Partners.
The amount of all Restricted Payments (other than cash) will be
the Fair Market Value on the date of the Restricted Payment of
the asset(s) or securities proposed to be transferred or issued
by Regency Energy Partners or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the
case may be, pursuant to the Restricted Payment. The Fair Market
Value of any assets or securities that are required to be valued
by this covenant will be determined, in the case of amounts
under $15.0 million, by an officer of the General Partner
and, in the case of amounts over $15.0 million, by the
Board of Directors of the General Partner, whose determination
shall be evidenced by a board resolution. Not later than the
date of making any Restricted Payment (excluding any Restricted
Payment described in the preceding clauses (2)
(8) Regency Energy Partners will deliver to the trustee an
officers certificate stating that such Restricted Payment
is permitted and setting forth the basis upon which the
calculations required by this Restricted Payments
covenant were computed. For the purposes of determining
compliance with this Restricted Payments covenant,
in the event that a Restricted Payment meets the criteria of
more than one of the categories of Restricted Payments described
in the preceding clauses (1) (8), Regency
Energy Partners will be permitted to classify (or later classify
or reclassify in whole or in part in its sole discretion) such
Restricted Payment in any manner that complies with this
covenant.
Incurrence
of Indebtedness and Issuance of Preferred Stock
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create,
incur, issue, assume, guarantee or otherwise become directly or
indirectly liable, contingently or otherwise, with respect to
(collectively, incur) any Indebtedness (including
Acquired Debt), and Regency Energy Partners will not issue any
Disqualified Equity and will not permit any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries to issue any Disqualified Equity; provided,
however, that Regency Energy Partners and any Restricted
Subsidiary may incur Indebtedness (including Acquired Debt) and
Regency Energy Partners and the Restricted Subsidiaries may
issue Disqualified Equity, if the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio
for Regency Energy Partners most recently ended four full
fiscal quarters for which internal financial statements are
available immediately preceding the date on which such
additional Indebtedness is incurred or such Disqualified Equity
is issued, as the case may be, would have been at least 2.0 to
1.0, determined on a pro forma basis (including a pro forma
application of the net proceeds therefrom), as if the additional
Indebtedness had been incurred or the Disqualified Equity had
been issued, as the case may be, at the beginning of such
four-quarter period.
The first paragraph of this covenant will not prohibit the
incurrence of any of the following items of Indebtedness
(collectively, Permitted Debt) or the issuance of
any preferred securities described in
clause (11) below:
(1) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners and any
Restricted Subsidiary of additional Indebtedness (including
letters of credit) under one or more Credit Facilities, provided
that, after giving effect to any such incurrence, the aggregate
principal amount of all Indebtedness incurred under this
clause (1) (with letters of credit being deemed to have a
principal amount equal to the maximum potential liability of
Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries
thereunder) and then outstanding does not exceed the greater of
(a) $450.0 million and (b) the sum of
$250.0 million and 20.0% of Regency Energy Partners
Consolidated Net Tangible Assets;
(2) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners and its
Restricted Subsidiaries of the Existing Indebtedness;
(3) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners, Finance
Corp. and the Guarantors of Indebtedness represented by the
outstanding notes and the related Note Guarantees to be issued
on the date of the
36
Indenture and the exchange notes and the related Note Guarantees
to be issued pursuant to the registration rights agreement;
(4) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness represented by Capital
Lease Obligations, mortgage financings or purchase money
obligations, in each case, incurred for the purpose of financing
all or any part of the purchase price or cost of construction or
improvement of property, plant or equipment used in the business
of Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries, including all Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness
incurred to renew, refund, refinance, replace, defease or
discharge any Indebtedness incurred pursuant to this
clause (4), provided that after giving effect to any such
incurrence the aggregate principal amount of all Indebtedness
incurred pursuant to this clause (4) and then outstanding
does not exceed the greater of (a) $20.0 million and
(b) 2.0% of Regency Energy Partners Consolidated Net
Tangible Assets;
(5) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness in
exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used to renew,
refund, refinance, replace, defease or discharge, any
Indebtedness (other than intercompany Indebtedness) that was
permitted by the Indenture to be incurred under the first
paragraph of this covenant or clause (2) or (3) of
this paragraph or this clause (5);
(6) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of intercompany Indebtedness between or
among Regency Energy Partners and any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries; provided, however, that:
(a) if Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor is the
obligor on such Indebtedness and the payee is not Regency Energy
Partners or a Guarantor, such Indebtedness must be expressly
subordinated to the prior payment in full in cash of all
Obligations then due with respect to the notes, in the case of
Regency Energy Partners, or the Note Guarantee, in the case of a
Guarantor; and
(b) (i) any subsequent issuance or transfer of Equity
Interests that results in any such Indebtedness being held by a
Person other than Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners and (ii) any sale or
other transfer of any such Indebtedness to a Person that is not
either Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of
Regency Energy Partners, will be deemed, in each case, to
constitute an incurrence of such Indebtedness by Regency Energy
Partners or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, that
was not permitted by this clause (6);
(7) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of Hedging Obligations;
(8) the guarantee by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of Indebtedness of Regency Energy
Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners
that was permitted to be incurred by another provision of this
covenant; provided that if the Indebtedness being guaranteed is
subordinated to or pari passu with the notes, then the Guarantee
shall be subordinated or pari passu, as applicable, to the same
extent as the Indebtedness guaranteed;
(9) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries of obligations relating to net gas
balancing positions arising in the ordinary course of business
and consistent with past practice;
(10) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of
its Restricted Subsidiaries of Acquired Debt in connection with
a transaction meeting either one of the financial tests set
forth in clause (4) under the caption
Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets;
(11) the issuance by any of Regency Energy Partners
Restricted Subsidiaries to Regency Energy Partners or to any of
its Restricted Subsidiaries of any preferred securities;
provided, however, that:
(a) any subsequent issuance or transfer of Equity Interests
that results in any such preferred securities being held by a
Person other than Regency Energy Partners or a Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners; and
37
(b) any sale or other transfer of any such preferred
securities to a Person that is not either Regency Energy
Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners
will be deemed, in each case, to constitute an issuance of such
preferred securities by such Restricted Subsidiary that was not
permitted by this clause (11); and
(12) the incurrence by Regency Energy Partners or any of
its Restricted Subsidiaries of additional Indebtedness; provided
that, after giving effect to any such incurrence, the aggregate
principal amount of all Indebtedness incurred under this
clause (12) does not exceed the greater of
(a) $25.0 million and (b) 2.5% of Regency Energy
Partners Consolidated Net Tangible Assets.
Regency Energy Partners will not incur, and will not permit
Finance Corp. or any Guarantor to incur, any Indebtedness
(including Permitted Debt) that is contractually subordinated in
right of payment to any other Indebtedness of Regency Energy
Partners, Finance Corp. or such Guarantor unless such
Indebtedness is also contractually subordinated in right of
payment to the notes and the applicable Note Guarantee on
substantially identical terms; provided, however, that no
Indebtedness of a Person will be deemed to be contractually
subordinated in right of payment to any other Indebtedness of
such Person solely by virtue of being unsecured or by virtue of
being secured on a first or junior Lien basis.
For purposes of determining compliance with this
Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of
Disqualified Equity covenant, in the event that an item of
proposed Indebtedness meets the criteria of more than one of the
categories of Permitted Debt described in clauses (1)
through (12) above, or is entitled to be incurred pursuant
to the first paragraph of this covenant, Regency Energy Partners
will be permitted to classify (or later classify or reclassify
in while or in part in its sole discretion) such item of
Indebtedness, in any manner that complies with this covenant.
Indebtedness under Credit Facilities outstanding on the date on
which notes are first issued and authenticated under the
Indenture will initially be deemed to have been incurred on such
date in reliance on the exception provided by clause (1) of
the definition of Permitted Debt. The accrual of interest, the
accretion or amortization of original issue discount, the
payment of interest on any Indebtedness in the form of
additional Indebtedness with the same terms, the
reclassification of preferred stock as Indebtedness due to a
change in accounting principles, and the payment of dividends on
Disqualified Equity in the form of additional shares of the same
class of Disqualified Equity will not be deemed to be an
incurrence of Indebtedness or an issuance of Disqualified Equity
for purposes of this covenant; provided, however, in each such
case, that the amount of any such accrual, accretion or payment
is included in Fixed Charges of Regency Energy Partners as
accrued. Notwithstanding any other provision of this covenant,
the maximum amount of Indebtedness that Regency Energy Partners
or any Restricted Subsidiary may incur pursuant to this covenant
shall not be deemed to be exceeded solely as a result of
fluctuations in exchange rates or currency values.
Liens
Regency Energy Partners will not and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume or otherwise
cause or suffer to exist or become effective any Lien of any
kind (other than Permitted Liens) securing Indebtedness
(including any Attributable Debt) upon any of their property or
assets, now owned or hereafter acquired, unless all payments due
under the notes are secured on an equal and ratable basis or on
a senior basis with the obligations so secured until such time
as such obligations are no longer secured by a Lien (other than
Permitted Liens).
Dividend
and Other Payment Restrictions Affecting
Subsidiaries
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create or
permit to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance
or restriction on the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to:
(1) pay dividends or make any other distributions on its
Equity Interests to Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries or to pay any indebtedness owed to
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries;
38
(2) make loans or advances to Regency Energy Partners or
any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; or
(3) transfer any of its properties or assets to Regency
Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.
However, the preceding restrictions will not apply to
encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of:
(1) agreements as in effect on the date of the Indenture
and any amendments, restatements, modifications, renewals,
increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings
of those agreements or the Indebtedness to which they relate;
provided that the amendments, restatements, modifications,
renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or
refinancings are not materially more restrictive, taken as a
whole, with respect to such dividend, distribution and other
payment restrictions than those contained in those agreements on
the date of the Indenture;
(2) the Indenture, the notes and the Note Guarantees;
(3) applicable law;
(4) any instrument governing Indebtedness or Equity
Interests of a Person acquired by Regency Energy Partners or any
of its Restricted Subsidiaries as in effect at the time of such
acquisition (except to the extent such Indebtedness or Equity
Interests were incurred in connection with or in contemplation
of such acquisition), which encumbrance or restriction is not
applicable to any Person, or the properties or assets of any
Person, other than the Person, or the property or assets of the
Person, so acquired; provided, however, that, in the case of
Indebtedness, the incurrence thereof was otherwise permitted by
the terms of the Indenture;
(5) customary non-assignment provisions in Hydrocarbon
purchase and sale, or exchange agreements, or similar
operational agreements or in licenses or leases, in each case
entered into in the ordinary course of business and consistent
with past practices;
(6) Capital Lease Obligations, mortgage financings or
purchase money obligations, in each case for property acquired
in the ordinary course of business that impose restrictions on
that property of the nature described in clause (3) of the
preceding paragraph;
(7) any agreement for the sale or other disposition of a
Restricted Subsidiary that restricts distributions by that
Restricted Subsidiary pending its sale or other disposition;
(8) Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness; provided that the
restrictions contained in the agreements governing such
Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness are not materially more
restrictive, taken as a whole, than those contained in the
agreements governing the Indebtedness being refinanced;
(9) Liens securing indebtedness otherwise permitted to be
incurred under the provisions of the covenant described above
under the caption Liens that limit the
right of the debtor to dispose of the assets subject to such
Liens;
(10) provisions with respect to the disposition or
distribution of assets or property in joint venture agreements,
asset sale agreements, sale-leaseback agreements, stock sale
agreements, buy/sell agreements and other similar agreements
entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(11) any agreement or instrument relating to any property
or assets acquired after the date of the Indenture, so long as
such encumbrance or restriction relates only to the property or
assets so acquired and is not and was not created in
anticipation of such acquisitions;
(12) restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth
imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the
ordinary course of business; and
(13) any instrument governing Indebtedness of an FERC
Subsidiary, provided that such Indebtedness was otherwise
permitted by the terms of the Indenture to be incurred.
39
Merger,
Consolidation or Sale of Assets
Neither of the Issuers may, directly or indirectly:
(1) consolidate or merge with or into another Person
(whether or not such Issuer is the surviving entity); or
(2) sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise
dispose of all or substantially all of the properties or assets
of Regency Energy Partners and its Subsidiaries, taken as a
whole, in one or more related transactions, to another Person,
unless:
(1) either: (a) such Issuer is the survivor; or
(b) the Person formed by or surviving any such
consolidation or merger (if other than such Issuer) or to which
such sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other
disposition has been made is a Person organized or existing
under the laws of the United States, any state of the United
States or the District of Columbia; provided, however, that
Finance Corp. may not consolidate or merge with or into any
Person other than a corporation satisfying such requirement so
long as Regency Energy Partners is not a corporation;
(2) the Person formed by or surviving any such
consolidation or merger (if other than such Issuer) or the
Person to which such sale, assignment, transfer, lease,
conveyance or other disposition has been made assumes all the
obligations of such Issuer under the notes, the Indenture and
the registration rights agreement pursuant to agreements
reasonably satisfactory to the trustee;
(3) immediately after such transaction, no Default or Event
of Default exists;
(4) in the case of a transaction involving Regency Energy
Partners and not Finance Corp., Regency Energy Partners or the
Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger
(if other than Regency Energy Partners), or to which such sale,
assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition has
been made will either:
(a) be, on the date of such transaction after giving pro
forma effect thereto and any related financing transactions as
if the same had occurred at the beginning of the applicable
four-quarter period, permitted to incur at least $1.00 of
additional Indebtedness pursuant to the Fixed Charge Coverage
Ratio test set forth in the first paragraph of the covenant
described above under the caption Incurrence
of Indebtedness and Issuance of Disqualified
Equity; or
(b) immediately after giving effect to such transaction and
on a pro forma basis and any related financing transactions as
if the same had occurred at the beginning of the applicable
four-quarter period, the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of Regency
Energy Partners or the Person formed by or surviving any such
consolidation or merger (if other than Regency Energy Partners),
or to which such sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance
or other disposition had been made will be equal to or greater
than the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of Regency Energy Partners
immediately before such transaction; and
(5) such Issuer has delivered to the trustee an
officers certificate and an opinion of counsel, each
stating that such consolidation, merger or disposition and such
supplemental indenture (if any) comply with the Indenture and
all conditions precedent therein relating to such transaction
have been satisfied;
provided that clause (4) shall not apply to any sale of
assets of a Restricted Subsidiary to Regency Energy Partners or
another Restricted Subsidiary or the merger or consolidation of
a Restricted Subsidiary into any Restricted Subsidiary or
Regency Energy Partners.
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, Regency Energy Partners
is permitted to reorganize as any other form of entity in
accordance with the following procedures; provided that:
(1) the reorganization involves the conversion (by merger,
sale, legal conversion, contribution or exchange of assets or
otherwise) of Regency Energy Partners into a form of entity
other than a limited partnership formed under Delaware law;
(2) the entity so formed by or resulting from such
reorganization is an entity organized or existing under the laws
of the United States, any state thereof or the District of
Columbia;
40
(3) the entity so formed by or resulting from such
reorganization assumes all the obligations of Regency Energy
Partners under the notes, the Indenture and the registration
rights agreement pursuant to agreements reasonably satisfactory
to the trustee;
(4) immediately after such reorganization no Default or
Event of Default exists; and
(5) such reorganization is not materially adverse to the
holders or Beneficial Owners of the notes (for purposes of this
clause (5) a reorganization will not be considered
materially adverse to the holders or Beneficial Owners of the
notes solely because the successor or survivor of such
reorganization (a) is subject to federal or state income
taxation as an entity or (b) is considered to be an
includable corporation of an affiliated group of
corporations within the meaning of Section 1504(b)(i) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any similar
state or local law).
A Guarantor may not sell or otherwise dispose of all or
substantially all of its properties or assets to, or consolidate
with or merge with or into (whether or not such Guarantor is the
surviving Person), another Person, other than Regency Energy
Partners or another Guarantor, unless it complies with the
alternative conditions described above under
Brief Description of the Notes and the
Guarantees Note Guarantees.
Although there is a limited body of case law interpreting the
phrase substantially all, there is no precise
established definition of the phrase under applicable law.
Accordingly, in certain circumstances there may be a degree of
uncertainty as to whether a particular transaction would involve
all or substantially all of the properties or assets
of a Person.
Transactions
with Affiliates
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, make any payment to, or sell, lease,
transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets
to, or purchase any property or assets from, or enter into or
make or amend any transaction, contract, agreement,
understanding, loan, advance or guarantee with, or for the
benefit of, any Affiliate of Regency Energy Partners (each, an
Affiliate Transaction), unless:
(1) the Affiliate Transaction is on terms that are no less
favorable to Regency Energy Partners or the relevant Restricted
Subsidiary than those that would have been obtained in a
comparable transaction by Regency Energy Partners or such
Restricted Subsidiary with an unrelated Person; and
(2) Regency Energy Partners delivers to the trustee:
(a) with respect to any Affiliate Transaction or series of
related Affiliate Transactions involving aggregate consideration
in excess of $25.0 million, a resolution of the Board of
Directors of the General Partner set forth in an officers
certificate certifying that such Affiliate Transaction complies
with this covenant and that such Affiliate Transaction has been
approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the Board
of Directors of Regency Energy Partners; and
(b) with respect to any Affiliate Transaction or series of
related Affiliate Transactions involving aggregate consideration
in excess of $50.0 million, a written opinion as to the
fairness to Regency Energy Partners or such Subsidiary of such
Affiliate Transaction from a financial point of view issued by
an accounting, appraisal or investment banking firm of national
standing.
The following items will not be deemed to be Affiliate
Transactions and, therefore, will not be subject to the
provisions of the prior paragraph:
(1) any employment, equity award, equity option or equity
appreciation agreement or plan entered into by Regency Energy
Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary
course of business;
(2) transactions between or among Regency Energy Partners
and/or its
Restricted Subsidiaries;
(3) transactions with a Person (other than an Unrestricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners) that is an Affiliate of
Regency Energy Partners solely because Regency Energy Partners
owns, directly or through a Restricted Subsidiary, an Equity
Interest in, or controls, such Person;
41
(4) any issuance of Equity Interests (other than
Disqualified Equity) of Regency Energy Partners to Affiliates of
Regency Energy Partners;
(5) Restricted Payments or Permitted Investments that do
not violate the provisions of the Indenture described above
under the caption Restricted Payments;
(6) customary compensation, indemnification and other
benefits made available to officers, directors or employees of
Regency Energy Partners, a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency
Energy Partners or the General Partner, including reimbursement
or advancement of
out-of-pocket
expenses and provisions of officers and directors
liability insurance;
(7) in the case of contracts for purchase, gathering,
processing, sale, transportation and marketing of crude oil,
natural gas, condensate and natural gas liquids, hedging
agreements, and production handling, operating, construction,
terminaling, storage, lease, platform use, or other operational
contracts, any such contracts are entered into in the ordinary
course of business on terms substantially similar to those
contained in similar contracts entered into by Regency Energy
Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary and third parties, or if
neither Regency Energy Partners nor any Restricted Subsidiary
has entered into a similar contract with a third party, that the
terms are no less favorable than those available from third
parties on an arms length basis, as determined by the
Board of Directors of the General Partner;
(8) loans or advances to employees in the ordinary course
of business not to exceed $1.0 million in the aggregate at
any one time outstanding; and
(9) the existence of, or the performance by Regency Energy
Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary of its obligations under
the terms of, any agreements that are described under the
heading Certain relationships and related
transactions in our annual report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006 and incorporated by
reference into this prospectus, to which it is a party on the
terms described therein and any amendments thereto and any
similar agreements which it may enter into thereafter; provided,
however, that the existence of, or the performance by Regency
Energy Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary of its obligations
under, any future amendment to such agreements or under any such
similar agreements shall only be permitted by this
clause (9) to the extent that the terms of any such
amendment or new agreement, taken as a whole, are not less
favorable to the Holders in any material respect as determined
by the Board of Directors of the General Partner in its
reasonable good faith judgment.
Business
Activities
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, engage in any business other than
Permitted Businesses, except to such extent as would not be
material to Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted
Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
Finance Corp. will not hold any material assets, become liable
for any material obligations or engage in any significant
business activities; provided, that Finance Corp. may be a
co-obligor or guarantor with respect to Indebtedness if Regency
Energy Partners is an obligor on such Indebtedness and the net
proceeds of such Indebtedness are received by Regency Energy
Partners, Finance Corp. or one or more Guarantors. At any time
after Regency Energy Partners is a corporation, Finance Corp.
may consolidate or merge with or into Regency Energy Partners or
any Restricted Subsidiary.
Additional
Guarantees
If, after the date of the Indenture, any Restricted Subsidiary
of Regency Energy Partners that is not already a Guarantor
guarantees any Indebtedness of either of the Issuers or any
Indebtedness of any Guarantor, or any Domestic Subsidiary, if
not then a Guarantor, incurs any Indebtedness under any Credit
Facility, then in either case that Subsidiary will become a
Guarantor by executing a supplemental indenture and delivering
it to the trustee within 20 business days of the date on which
it guaranteed or incurred such Indebtedness, as the case may be;
provided however, that the preceding shall not apply to
Subsidiaries of Regency Energy Partners that have been properly
designated as Unrestricted Subsidiaries in accordance with the
Indenture for so long as
42
they continue to constitute Unrestricted Subsidiaries.
Notwithstanding the preceding, any Note Guarantee of a
Restricted Subsidiary that was incurred pursuant to this
paragraph as a result of its guarantee of any Indebtedness shall
provide by its terms that it shall be automatically and
unconditionally released upon the release or discharge of the
Guarantee that resulted in the creation of such Restricted
Subsidiarys Note Guarantee, except a discharge or release
by, or as a result of payment under, such Guarantee.
Designation
of Restricted and Unrestricted Subsidiaries
The Board of Directors of the General Partner may designate any
Restricted Subsidiary to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary if that
designation would not cause a Default. If a Restricted
Subsidiary is designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, the
aggregate Fair Market Value of all outstanding Investments owned
by Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries in
the Subsidiary designated as Unrestricted will be deemed to be
either an Investment made as of the time of the designation that
will reduce the amount available for Restricted Payments under
the covenant described above under the caption
Restricted Payments or a Permitted
Investment under one or more clauses of the definition of
Permitted Investments, as determined by Regency Energy Partners;
provided that any designation will only be permitted if the
Investment would be permitted at that time and if the Restricted
Subsidiary otherwise meets the definition of an Unrestricted
Subsidiary.
Any designation of a Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners as an
Unrestricted Subsidiary will be evidenced to the trustee by
filing with the trustee a certified copy of a resolution of the
Board of Directors of the General Partner giving effect to such
designation and an officers certificate certifying that
such designation complied with the preceding conditions and was
permitted by the covenant described above under the caption
Restricted Payments. If, at any time,
any Unrestricted Subsidiary would fail to meet the preceding
requirements as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, it will thereafter
cease to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary for purposes of the
Indenture and any Indebtedness of such Subsidiary will be deemed
to be incurred by a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners as of such date and, if such Indebtedness is not
permitted to be incurred as of such date under the covenant de
scribed under the caption Incurrence of
Indebtedness and Issuance of Disqualified Equity, Regency
Energy Partners will be in default of such covenant.
The Board of Directors of the General Partner may at any time
designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners; provided that such
designation will be deemed to be an incurrence of Indebtedness
by a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners of any
outstanding Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary, and
such designation will only be permitted if (1) such
Indebtedness is permitted under the covenant described above
under the caption Incurrence of Indebtedness
and Issuance of Disqualified Equity, calculated on a pro
forma basis as if such designation had occurred at the beginning
of the four-quarter reference period; and (2) no Default or
Event of Default would be in existence following such
designation.
Limitation
on Sale and Leaseback Transactions
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, enter into any sale and leaseback
transaction; provided, however, that Regency Energy Partners or
any Restricted Subsidiary may enter into a sale and leaseback
transaction if the transfer of assets in that sale and leaseback
transaction is permitted by, and Regency Energy Partners or such
Restricted Subsidiary applies the proceeds of such transaction
in compliance with, the covenant described above under the
caption Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Asset Sales.
Payments
for Consent
Regency Energy Partners will not, and will not permit any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, pay or cause
to be paid any consideration to or for the benefit of any holder
of notes for or as an inducement to any consent, waiver or
amendment of any of the terms or provisions of the Indenture or
the notes unless such consideration is offered to be paid and is
paid to all holders of the notes that consent, waive
43
or agree to amend in the time frame set forth in the
solicitation documents relating to such consent, waiver or
agreement.
Reports
Whether or not required by the SEC, so long as any notes are
outstanding, Regency Energy Partners will file with the SEC for
public availability, within the time periods specified in the
SECs rules and regulations (unless the SEC will not accept
such a filing), and Regency Energy Partners will furnish to the
trustee and, upon its prior request, to any of the holders or
Beneficial Owners of notes, within five business days of filing,
or attempting to file, the same with the SEC:
(1) all quarterly and annual financial and other
information with respect to Regency Energy Partners and its
Subsidiaries that would be required to be contained in a filing
with the SEC on
Forms 10-Q
and 10-K if
Regency Energy Partners were required to file such Forms,
including a Managements Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations and, with
respect to annual information only, a report on the annual
financial statements by Regency Energy Partners certified
independent accountants; and
(2) all current reports that would be required to be filed
with the SEC on
Form 8-K
if Regency Energy Partners were required to file such reports.
All such reports will be prepared in all material respects in
accordance with all of the rules and regulations applicable to
such reports, including
Section 3-10
of
Regulation S-X.
Each annual report on
Form 10-K
will include a report on Regency Energy Partners
consolidated financial statements by Regency Energy
Partners independent registered public accounting firm. In
addition, Regency Energy Partners will file a copy of each of
the reports referred to in clauses (1) and (2) above
with the SEC for public availability within the time periods
specified in the rules and regulations applicable to such
reports (unless the SEC will not accept such a filing) and will
post the reports on its website within those time periods.
If, at any time Regency Energy Partners is no longer subject to
the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for any
reason, Regency Energy Partners will nevertheless continue
filing the reports specified in the preceding paragraphs of this
covenant with the SEC within the time periods specified above
unless the SEC will not accept such a filing; provided that, for
so long as Regency Energy Partners is not subject to the
periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for any
reason, the time period for filing reports on
Form 8-K
shall be 5 business days after the event giving rise to the
obligation to file such report. Regency Energy Partners will not
take any action for the purpose of causing the SEC not to accept
any such filings. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, the SEC
will not accept Regency Energy Partners filings for any
reason, Regency Energy Partners will post the reports referred
to in the preceding paragraphs on its website within the time
periods that would apply if Regency Energy Partners were
required to file those reports with the SEC.
In addition, Regency Energy Partners and the Guarantors have
agreed that, for so long as any notes remain outstanding they
will furnish to the holders and Beneficial Owners of the notes
and to securities analysts and prospective investors in the
notes, upon their request, the information required to be
delivered pursuant to Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities
Act.
Events of
Default and Remedies
Each of the following is an Event of Default:
(1) default for 30 days in the payment when due of
interest on, if any, with respect to, the notes;
(2) default in the payment when due (at maturity, upon
redemption or otherwise) of the principal of, or premium, if
any, on, the notes;
(3) failure by Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor to
make a Change of Control Offer or an Asset Sale Offer within the
time periods set forth, or to consummate a purchase of notes
when required pursuant to the terms described, under the
captions Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Change
44
of Control or Repurchase at the Option
of Holders Asset Sales or to comply with the
provisions described under the caption Certain
Covenants Merger, Consolidation or Sale of
Assets;
(4) failure by Regency Energy Partners for 90 days
after notice to comply with the provisions described under
Reports;
(5) failure by Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor for
60 days after written notice to comply with any of its
other agreements in the Indenture;
(6) default under any mortgage, indenture or instrument
under which there may be issued or by which there may be secured
or evidenced any Indebtedness for money borrowed by Regency
Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (or the
payment of which is guaranteed by Regency Energy Partners or any
of its Restricted Subsidiaries), whether such Indebtedness or
Guarantee now exists, or is created after the date of the
Indenture, if that default:
(a) is caused by a failure to pay principal of, or interest
or premium, if any, on such Indebtedness prior to the expiration
of the grace period provided in such Indebtedness on the date of
such default (a Payment Default); or
(b) results in the acceleration of such Indebtedness prior
to its Stated Maturity, and, in each case, the principal amount
of any such Indebtedness, together with the principal amount of
any other such Indebtedness under which there has been a Payment
Default or the maturity of which has been so accelerated,
aggregates $20.0 million or more, provided, however, that
if, prior to any acceleration of the notes, (i) any such
Payment Default is cured or waived, (ii) any such
acceleration is rescinded, or (iii) such Indebtedness is
repaid during the 10 business day period commencing upon the end
of any applicable grace period for such Payment Default or the
occurrence of such acceleration, as applicable, any Default or
Event of Default (but not any acceleration of the notes) caused
by such Payment Default or acceleration shall be automatically
rescinded, so long as such rescission does not conflict with any
judgment or decree;
(7) failure by an Issuer or any of Regency Energy
Partners Restricted Subsidiaries to pay final judgments
entered by a court or courts of competent jurisdiction
aggregating in excess of $20.0 million, which judgments are
not paid, discharged or stayed for a period of 60 days;
(8) except as permitted by the Indenture, any Note
Guarantee shall be held in any judicial proceeding to be
unenforceable or invalid or shall cease for any reason to be in
full force and effect, or any Guarantor, or any Person acting on
behalf of any Guarantor, shall deny or disaffirm its Obligations
under its Note Guarantee; and
(9) certain events of bankruptcy or insolvency or
reorganization described in the Indenture with respect to
Finance Corp., Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries that is a Significant Subsidiary or any group of
Restricted Subsidiaries that, taken as a whole, would constitute
a Significant Subsidiary.
In the case of an Event of Default arising from certain events
of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, with respect to
Finance Corp., Regency Energy Partners or any Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners that is a Significant
Subsidiary or any group of Restricted Subsidiaries of Regency
Energy Partners that, taken together, would constitute a
Significant Subsidiary, all outstanding notes will become due
and payable immediately without further action or notice. If any
other Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the trustee or
the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the
then outstanding notes may declare all the notes to be due and
payable immediately.
Holders of the notes may not enforce the Indenture or the notes
except as provided in the Indenture. Subject to certain
limitations, holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount
of the notes then outstanding may direct the trustee in its
exercise of any trust or power. The trustee may withhold notice
of any continuing Default or Event of Default from holders of
the notes if it determines that withholding notice is in their
interest, except a Default or Event of Default relating to the
payment of principal of, or interest or premium, if any, on, the
notes.
45
Subject to the provisions of the Indenture relating to the
duties of the trustee, in case an Event of Default occurs and is
continuing, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise
any of the rights or powers under the Indenture at the request
or direction of any holders of notes unless such holders have
offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity or security against
any loss, liability or expense. Except to enforce the right to
receive payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, if
any, when due, no holder of a note may pursue any remedy with
respect to the Indenture or the notes unless:
(1) such holder has previously given the trustee notice
that an Event of Default is continuing;
(2) holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount
of the then outstanding notes have requested the trustee to
pursue the remedy;
(3) such holders have offered the trustee reasonable
security or indemnity against any loss, liability or expense;
(4) the trustee has not complied with such request within
60 days after the receipt of the request and the offer of
security or indemnity; and
(5) holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of
the then outstanding notes have not given the trustee a
direction inconsistent with such request within such
60-day
period.
The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
notes then outstanding by notice to the trustee may, on behalf
of the holders of all of the notes, rescind an acceleration or
waive any existing Default or Event of Default and its
consequences under the Indenture except a continuing Default or
Event of Default in the payment of principal of, or interest or
premium, if any, on, the notes.
In the case of any Event of Default occurring by reason of any
willful action or inaction taken or not taken by or on behalf of
an Issuer with the intention of avoiding payment of the premium
that the Issuers would have had to pay if the Issuers then had
elected to redeem the notes on or after December 15, 2010
pursuant to the optional redemption provisions of the indenture,
an equivalent premium will also become and be immediately due
and payable to the extent permitted by law upon the acceleration
of the notes. If an Event of Default occurs prior to
December 15, 2010 by reason of any willful action or
inaction taken or not taken by or on behalf of an Issuer with
the intention of avoiding the prohibition on redemption of the
notes prior to that date, then the premium specified in the
indenture with respect to the first year that the notes may be
redeemed at the Issuers option (other than with the net
cash proceeds of an Equity Offering or on a make-whole basis)
will also become immediately due and payable to the extent
permitted by law upon the acceleration of the notes.
The Issuers and the Guarantors are required to deliver to the
trustee annually a statement regarding compliance with the
Indenture. Upon any officer of Regency Energy Partners or
Finance Corp. becoming aware of any Default or Event of Default,
the Issuers are required to deliver to the trustee a statement
specifying such Default or Event of Default.
No
Recourse to General Partner or Personal Liability of Directors,
Officers, Employees and Stockholders
Neither the General Partner nor any director, officer, partner,
member, employee, incorporator, manager or unit holder or other
owner of any Equity Interest of the Issuers or any Guarantor, as
such, will have any liability for any obligations of the Issuers
or the Guarantors under the notes, the Indenture, the Note
Guarantees or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by
reason of, such obligations or their creation. Each holder of
notes by accepting a note waives and releases all such
liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration
for issuance of the notes and the Note Guarantees. The waiver
may not be effective to waive liabilities under the federal
securities laws.
46
Legal
Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
The Issuers may, at their option and at any time, elect to have
all of the Issuers obligations discharged with respect to
the outstanding notes and all Obligations of the Guarantors
discharged with respect to their Note Guarantees (Legal
Defeasance) except for:
(1) the rights of holders of outstanding notes to receive
payments in respect of the principal of, or interest or premium,
if any, on, such notes when such payments are due from the trust
referred to below;
(2) the Issuers obligations with respect to the notes
concerning issuing temporary notes, registration of notes,
mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen notes and the maintenance
of an office or agency for payment and money for security
payments held in trust;
(3) the rights, powers, trusts, duties and immunities of
the trustee, and the Issuers and the Guarantors
obligations in connection therewith; and
(4) the Legal Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance provisions
of the Indenture.
In addition, Regency Energy Partners may, at its option and at
any time, elect to have the obligations of the Issuers released
with respect to certain covenants (including Regency Energy
Partners obligation to make Change of Control Offers and
Asset Sale Offers) that are described in the Indenture
(Covenant Defeasance) and all Obligations of the
Guarantors with respect to their Note Guarantees discharged, and
thereafter any omission to comply with those covenants or Note
Guarantees will not constitute a Default or Event of Default
with respect to the notes. In the event Covenant Defeasance
occurs, certain events (not including non-payment and
bankruptcy, receivership, rehabilitation insolvency or
reorganization events relating to Regency Energy Partners)
described under Events of Default and
Remedies will no longer constitute an Event of Default.
In order to exercise either Legal Defeasance or Covenant
Defeasance:
(1) the Issuers must irrevocably deposit with the trustee,
in trust, for the benefit of the holders of the notes, cash in
U.S. dollars, non-callable Government Securities, or a
combination of cash in U.S. dollars and non-callable
Government Securities, in amounts as will be sufficient, in the
opinion of a nationally recognized investment bank, appraisal
firm or firm of independent public accountants, to pay the
principal of, and interest and premium, if any, on the
outstanding notes on the stated date for payment thereof or on
the applicable redemption date, as the case may be, and the
Issuers must specify whether the notes are being defeased to the
date of fixed maturity or to a particular redemption date;
(2) in the case of Legal Defeasance, the Issuers must
deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel reasonably
acceptable to the trustee confirming that (a) the Issuers
have received from, or there has been published by, the Internal
Revenue Service a ruling or (b) since the date of the
Indenture, there has been a change in the applicable federal
income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based
thereon such opinion of counsel will confirm that, the holders
of the outstanding notes will not recognize income, gain or loss
for federal income tax purposes as a result of such Legal
Defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same
amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have
been the case if such Legal Defeasance had not occurred;
(3) in the case of Covenant Defeasance, the Issuers have
delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel reasonably
acceptable to the trustee confirming that the holders of the
outstanding notes will not recognize income, gain or loss for
federal income tax purposes as a result of such Covenant
Defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same
amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have
been the case if such Covenant Defeasance had not occurred;
(4) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is
continuing on the date of such deposit (other than a Default or
Event of Default resulting from the borrowing of funds to be
applied to such deposit);
(5) such Legal Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance will not
result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default
under, any material agreement or instrument (other than the
Indenture) to which Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Subsidiaries is a party or by which Regency Energy Partners or
any of its Subsidiaries is bound;
47
(6) the Issuers must deliver to the trustee an
officers certificate stating that the deposit was not made
by the Issuers with the intent of preferring the holders of
notes over the other creditors of the Issuers with the intent of
defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding any creditors of
the Issuers or others; and
(7) the Issuers must deliver to the trustee an
officers certificate and an opinion of counsel, each
stating that all conditions precedent relating to the Legal
Defeasance or the Covenant Defeasance have been complied with.
Amendment,
Supplement and Waiver
Except as provided in the next two succeeding paragraphs, the
Indenture or the notes or the Note Guarantees may be amended or
supplemented with the consent of the holders of at least a
majority in aggregate principal amount of the notes then
outstanding (including, without limitation, consents obtained in
connection with a purchase of, or tender offer or exchange offer
for, notes), and any existing Default or Event of Default or
compliance with any provision of the Indenture or the notes or
the Note Guarantees may be waived with the consent of the
holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then
outstanding notes (including, without limitation, consents
obtained in connection with a purchase of, or tender offer or
exchange offer for, notes).
Without the consent of each holder of notes affected, an
amendment, supplement or waiver may not (with respect to any
notes held by a non-consenting holder):
(1) reduce the principal amount of notes whose holders must
consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;
(2) reduce the principal of or change the fixed maturity of
any note or alter the provisions with respect to the redemption
or repurchase of the notes (other than provisions relating to
the covenants described above under the caption
Repurchase at the Option of Holders);
(3) reduce the rate of or change the time for payment of
interest, including default interest, on any note;
(4) waive a Default or Event of Default in the payment of
principal of, or interest or premium, if any, on, the notes
(except a rescission of acceleration of the notes by the holders
of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then
outstanding notes and a waiver of the payment default that
resulted from such acceleration);
(5) make any note payable in currency other than that
stated in the notes;
(6) make any change in the provisions of the Indenture
relating to waivers of past Defaults or the rights of holders of
notes to receive payments of principal of, or interest or
premium, if any, on, the notes (other than as permitted by
clause (7) below);
(7) waive a redemption or repurchase payment with respect
to any note (other than a payment required by one of the
covenants described above under the caption
Repurchase at the Option of Holders);
(8) release any Guarantor from any of its obligations under
its Note Guarantee or the Indenture, except in accordance with
the terms of the Indenture; or
(9) make any change in the preceding amendment, supplement
and waiver provisions.
Notwithstanding the preceding, without the consent of any holder
of notes, the Issuers, the Guarantors and the trustee may amend
or supplement the Indenture, the notes or the Note Guarantees:
(1) to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;
(2) to provide for uncertificated notes in addition to or
in place of certificated notes;
48
(3) to provide for the assumption of an Issuers or a
Guarantors obligations to holders of notes and Note
Guarantees in the case of a merger or consolidation or sale of
all or substantially all of such Issuers or such
Guarantors properties or assets, as applicable;
(4) to make any change that would provide any additional
rights or benefits to the holders of notes or that does not
adversely affect the legal rights under the Indenture of any
such holder;
(5) to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to
effect or maintain the qualification of the Indenture under the
Trust Indenture Act;
(6) to conform the text of the Indenture or the Note
Guarantees to any provision of this Description of
exchange notes to the extent that such text of the
Indenture or Note Guarantee was intended to reflect such
provision of this Description of exchange notes;
(7) to provide for the issuance of additional notes in
accordance with the limitations set forth in the Indenture;
(8) to allow any Guarantor to execute a supplemental
indenture
and/or a
notation of a Note Guarantee with respect to the notes or to
reflect the addition or release of a Note Guarantee in
accordance with the Indenture;
(9) to secure the notes
and/or the
Note Guarantees; or
(10) to provide for the reorganization of Regency Energy
Partners as any other form of entity, in accordance with the
second paragraph of Certain
Covenants Merger, Consolidation or Sale of
Assets.
Satisfaction
and Discharge
The Indenture will be discharged and will cease to be of further
effect as to all notes issued thereunder, when:
(1) either:
(a) all notes that have been authenticated, except lost,
stolen or destroyed notes that have been replaced or paid and
notes for whose payment money has been deposited in trust and
thereafter repaid to the Issuers, have been delivered to the
trustee for cancellation; or
(b) all notes that have not been delivered to the trustee
for cancellation have become due and payable or will become due
and payable within one year by reason of the mailing of a notice
of redemption or otherwise and the Issuers or any Guarantor has
irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited with the trustee
as trust funds in trust solely for the benefit of the holders,
cash in U.S. dollars, non-callable Government Securities,
or a combination of cash in U.S. dollars and non-callable
Government Securities, in amounts as will be sufficient, without
consideration of any reinvestment of interest, to pay and
discharge the entire Indebtedness on the notes not delivered to
the trustee for cancellation for principal, premium, if any, and
accrued interest to the date of fixed maturity or redemption;
(2) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is
continuing on the date of the deposit (other than a Default or
Event of Default resulting from the borrowing of funds to be
applied to such deposit) and the deposit will not result in a
breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, any other
instrument to which Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor is
a party or by which Regency Energy Partners or any Guarantor is
bound;
(3) the Issuers or any Guarantor has paid or caused to be
paid all sums payable by it under the Indenture; and
(4) the Issuers have delivered irrevocable instructions to
the trustee under the Indenture to apply the deposited money
toward the payment of the notes at fixed maturity or on the
redemption date, as the case may be.
49
In addition, the Issuers must deliver an officers
certificate and an opinion of counsel to the trustee stating
that all conditions precedent to satisfaction and discharge have
been satisfied.
Concerning
the Trustee
If the trustee becomes a creditor of the Issuers or any
Guarantor, the Indenture limits the right of the trustee to
obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on
certain property received in respect of any such claim as
security or otherwise. The trustee will be permitted to engage
in other transactions; however, if it acquires any conflicting
interest (as defined in the Trust Indenture Act) after a Default
has occurred and is continuing, it must eliminate such conflict
within 90 days, apply to the SEC for permission to continue
as trustee (if the Indenture has been qualified under the Trust
Indenture Act) or resign.
The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
then outstanding notes will have the right to direct the time,
method and place of conducting any proceeding for exercising any
remedy available to the trustee, subject to certain exceptions.
The Indenture provides that in case an Event of Default occurs
and is continuing, the trustee will be required, in the exercise
of its power, to use the degree of care of a prudent man in the
conduct of his own affairs. Subject to such provisions, the
trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its
rights or powers under the Indenture at the request of any
holder of notes, unless such holder has offered to the trustee
security or indemnity satisfactory to it against any loss,
liability or expense.
Governing
Law
The Indenture, the notes and the Subsidiary Guarantees will be
governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the
State of New York.
Additional
Information
Anyone who receives this prospectus may obtain a copy of the
Indenture, registration rights agreement, and the Partnership
Agreement without charge by writing to Regency Energy Partners
LP at 1700 Pacific Avenue, Suite 2900, Dallas, Texas 75201,
Attention: Chief Legal Officer.
Book-Entry,
Delivery and Form
The exchange notes will be issued initially only in the form of
one or more global notes (collectively, the Global
Notes). The Global Notes will be deposited upon issuance
with the trustee as custodian for The Depository Trust Company
(DTC),in New York, New York, and registered in the
name of DTCs nominee, Cede & Co., in each case,
for credit to an account of a direct participant in DTC as
described below. Beneficial interests in the Global Notes may be
held through the Euroclear System (Euroclear) and
Clearstream Banking, S.A. (Clearstream) (as indirect
participants in DTC).
Except as set forth below, the Global Notes may be transferred,
in whole but not in part, only to another nominee of DTC or to a
successor of DTC or its nominee. Beneficial interests in the
Global Notes may not be exchanged for definitive notes in
registered certificated form (Certificated Notes)
except in the limited circumstances described below. Please read
Exchange of Global Notes for Certificated
Notes.
Depository
Procedures
The following description of the operations and procedures of
DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream are provided solely as a matter
of convenience. These operations and procedures are solely
within the control of the respective settlement systems and are
subject to changes by them. The Issuers take no responsibility
for these operations and procedures and urge investors to
contact the system or their participants directly to discuss
these matters.
DTC has advised the Issuers that DTC is a limited-purpose trust
company created to hold securities for its participating
organizations (collectively, the Participants) and
to facilitate the clearance and settlement of transactions in
those securities between Participants through electronic
book-entry changes in accounts of its Participants. The
Participants include securities brokers and dealers(including
the initial purchasers), banks,
50
trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other
organizations. Access to DTCs system is also available to
other entities such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust
companies that clear through or maintain a custodial
relationship with a Participant, either directly or indirectly
(collectively, the Indirect Participants). Persons
who are not Participants may beneficially own securities held by
or on behalf of DTC only through the Participants or the
Indirect Participants. The ownership interests in, and transfers
of ownership interests in, each security held by or on behalf of
DTC are recorded on the records of the Participants and Indirect
Participants.
DTC has also advised us that, pursuant to procedures established
by it:
(1) upon deposit of the Global Notes, DTC will credit the
accounts of the Participants designated by the exchange agent
with portions of the principal amount of the Global
Notes; and
(2) ownership of these interests in the Global Notes will
be shown on, and the transfer of ownership of these interests
will be effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with
respect to the Participants) or by the Participants and the
Indirect Participants (with respect to other owners of
beneficial interests in the Global Notes).
Investors in the Global Notes who are Participants in DTCs
system may hold their interests therein directly through DTC.
Investors in the Global Notes who are not Participants may hold
their interests therein indirectly through organizations
(including Euroclear and Clearstream) which are Participants in
such system. Euroclear and Clearstream may hold interests in the
Global Notes on behalf of their participants through
customers securities accounts in their respective names on
the books of their respective depositories, which are Euroclear
Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of Euroclear, and Citibank, N.A., as
operator of Clearstream. All interests in a Global Note,
including those held through Euroclear or Clearstream, may be
subject to the procedures and requirements of DTC. Those
interests held through Euroclear or Clearstream may also be
subject to the procedures and requirements of such systems. The
laws of some states require that certain Persons take physical
delivery in definitive form of securities that they own.
Consequently, the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a
Global Note to such Persons will be limited to that extent.
Because DTC can act only on behalf of the Participants, which in
turn act on behalf of the Indirect Participants, the ability of
a Person having beneficial interests in a Global Note to pledge
such interests to Persons that do not participate in the DTC
system, or otherwise take actions in respect of such interests,
may be affected by the lack of a physical certificate evidencing
such interests.
Except as described below, owners of an interest in the
Global Notes will not have notes registered in their names, will
not receive physical delivery of Certificated Notes and will not
be considered the registered owners or holders
thereof under the Indenture for any purpose.
Payments in respect of the principal of, and interest and
premium, if any, if any, on, a Global Note registered in the
name of DTC or its nominee will be payable to DTC in its
capacity as the registered holder under the Indenture. Under the
terms of the Indenture, the Issuers and the trustee will treat
the Persons in whose names the notes, including the Global
Notes, are registered as the owners of the notes for the purpose
of receiving payments and for all other purposes. Consequently,
neither the Issuers, the trustee nor any agent of the Issuers or
the trustee has or will have any responsibility or liability for:
(1) any aspect of DTCs records or any
Participants or Indirect Participants records
relating to or payments made on account of beneficial ownership
interests in the Global Notes or for maintaining, supervising or
reviewing any of DTCs records or any Participants or
Indirect Participants records relating to the beneficial
ownership interests in the Global Notes; or
(2) any other matter relating to the actions and practices
of DTC or any of its Participants or Indirect Participants.
DTC has advised us that its current practice, at the due date of
any payment in respect of securities such as the notes
(including principal and interest), is to credit the accounts of
the relevant Participants with the payment on the payment date
unless DTC has reason to believe that it will not receive
payment on such payment date. Each relevant Participant is
credited with an amount proportionate to its beneficial
ownership of
51
an interest in the principal amount of the notes as shown on the
records of DTC. Payments by the Participants and the Indirect
Participants to the beneficial owners of notes will be governed
by standing instructions and customary practices and will be the
responsibility of the Participants or the Indirect Participants
and will not be the responsibility of DTC, the trustee or the
Issuers. Neither the Issuers nor the trustee will be liable for
any delay by DTC or any of its Participants in identifying the
beneficial owners of the notes, and the Issuers and the trustee
may conclusively rely on and will be protected in relying on
instructions from DTC or its nominee for all purposes.
Transfers between Participants in DTC will be effected in
accordance with DTCs procedures, and will be settled in
same-day
funds, and transfers between participants in Euroclear and
Clearstream will be effected in accordance with their respective
rules and operating procedures. Cross-market transfers between
the Participants in DTC, on the one hand, and Euroclear or
Clearstream participants, on the other hand, will be effected
through DTC in accordance with DTCs rules on behalf of
Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by its depositary;
however, such cross-market transactions will require delivery of
instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by
the counterparty in such system in accordance with the rules and
procedures and within the established deadlines (Brussels time)
of such system. Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be,
will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements,
deliver instructions to its respective depositary to take action
to effect final settlement on its behalf by delivering or
receiving interests in the relevant Global Note in DTC, and
making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures
for same-day
funds settlement applicable to DTC. Euroclear participants and
Clearstream participants may not deliver instructions directly
to the depositories for Euroclear or Clearstream.
DTC has advised us that it will take any action permitted to be
taken by a holder of notes only at the direction of one or more
Participants to whose account DTC has credited the
interests in the Global Notes and only in respect of such
portion of the aggregate principal amount of the notes as to
which such Participant or Participants has or have given such
direction. However, if there is an Event of Default under the
notes, DTC reserves the right to exchange the Global Notes for
notes in certificated form, and to distribute such notes to its
Participants.
Although DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream have agreed to the
foregoing procedures to facilitate transfers of interests in the
Global Notes among participants in DTC, Euroclear and
Clearstream, they are under no obligation to perform or to
continue to perform such procedures, and may discontinue such
procedures at any time. Neither the Issuers nor the trustee nor
any of their respective agents will have any responsibility for
the performance by DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream or their
respective participants or indirect participants of their
respective obligations under the rules and procedures governing
their operations.
Exchange
of Global Notes for Certificated Notes
A Global Note is exchangeable for Certificated Notes in
denominations of $1,000 and in integral multiples of $1,000, if:
(1) DTC (a) notifies the Issuers that it is unwilling
or unable to continue as depositary for the Global Note or
(b) has ceased to be a clearing agency registered under the
Exchange Act and, in either case, the Issuers fail to appoint a
successor depositary; or
(2) there has occurred and is continuing an Event of
Default and DTC notifies the trustee of its decision to exchange
the Global Note for Certificated Notes.
In all cases, Certificated Notes delivered in exchange for any
Global Note or beneficial interests in Global Notes will be
registered in the names, and issued in any approved
denominations, requested by or on behalf of the depositary (in
accordance with its customary procedures).
Exchange
of Certificated Notes for Global Notes
Certificated Notes may not be exchanged for beneficial interests
in any Global Note.
52
Same-Day
Settlement and Payment
The Issuers will make payments in respect of the notes
represented by the Global Notes (including principal, premium,
if any, interest, if any) by wire transfer of immediately
available funds to the accounts specified by the Global Note
holder. The Issuers will make all payments of principal,
interest and premium, if any, if any, with respect to
Certificated Notes by wire transfer of immediately available
funds to the accounts specified by the holders of the
Certificated Notes or, if no such account is specified, by
mailing a check to each such holders registered address.
The notes represented by the Global Notes are expected to be
eligible to trade in The PORTAL Market and to trade in
DTCs
Same-Day
Funds Settlement System, and any permitted secondary market
trading activity in such notes will, therefore, be required by
DTC to be settled in immediately available funds. We expect that
secondary trading in any Certificated Notes will also be settled
in immediately available funds.
Because of time zone differences, the securities account of a
Euroclear or Clearstream participant purchasing an interest in a
Global Note from a Participant in DTC will be credited, and any
such crediting will be reported to the relevant Euroclear or
Clearstream participant, during the securities settlement
processing day (which must be a business day for Euroclear and
Clearstream) immediately following the settlement date of DTC.
DTC has advised us that cash received in Euroclear or
Clearstream as a result of sales of interests in a Global Note
by or through a Euroclear or Clearstream participant to a
Participant in DTC will be received with value on the settlement
date of DTC but will be available in the relevant Euroclear or
Clearstream cash account only as of the business day for
Euroclear or Clearstream following DTCs settlement date.
Certain
Definitions
Set forth below are certain defined terms used in the Indenture.
Reference is made to the Indenture for a full disclosure of all
such terms, as well as any other capitalized terms used herein
for which no definition is provided.
Acquired Debt means, with respect to any
specified Person:
(1) Indebtedness of any other Person existing at the time
such other Person was merged with or into or became a Subsidiary
of such specified Person, whether or not such Indebtedness is
incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such other
Person merging with or into, or becoming a Subsidiary of, such
specified Person, but excluding Indebtedness which is
extinguished, retired or repaid in connection with such Person
merging with or becoming a Subsidiary of such specific
Person; and
(2) Indebtedness secured by a Lien encumbering any asset
acquired by such specified Person.
Affiliate of any specified Person means any
other Person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by
or under direct or indirect common control with such specified
Person. For purposes of this definition, control, as
used with respect to any Person, means the possession, directly
or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of
the management or policies of such Person, whether through the
ownership of voting securities, by agreement or otherwise;
provided that beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the Voting
Stock of a Person will be deemed to be control; provided,
further, that any third Person which also beneficially owns 10%
or more of the Voting Stock of a specified Person shall not be
deemed to be an Affiliate of either the specified Person or the
other Person merely because of such common ownership in such
specified Person. For purposes of this definition, the terms
controlling, controlled by and
under common control with have correlative meanings.
Applicable Premium means, with respect to any
note on any redemption date, the greater of:
(1) 1.0% of the principal amount of the note; or
(2) the excess of:
(a) the present value at such redemption date of
(i) the redemption price of the note at December 15,
2010 (such redemption price being set forth in the table
appearing above under the
53
caption Optional Redemption) plus
(ii) all required interest payments due on the note through
December 15, 2010 (excluding accrued but unpaid interest to
the redemption date), computed using a discount rate equal to
the Treasury Rate as of such redemption date plus 50 basis
points; over
(b) the principal amount of the note.
Asset Sale means:
(1) the sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition of any
properties or assets; provided, however, that the sale, lease,
conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of
the properties or assets of Regency Energy Partners and its
Subsidiaries taken as a whole will be governed by the provisions
of the Indenture described above under the caption
Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Change of Control
and/or the
provisions described above under the caption
Certain Covenants Merger,
Consolidation or Sale of Assets and not by the provisions
of the Asset Sale covenant; and
(2) the issuance of Equity Interests in any of Regency
Energy Partners Restricted Subsidiaries or the sale of
Equity Interests in any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.
Notwithstanding the preceding, none of the following items will
be deemed to be an Asset Sale:
(1) any single transaction or series of related
transactions that involves properties or assets having a Fair
Market Value of less than $10.0 million;
(2) a transfer of properties or assets between or among
Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries;
(3) an issuance or sale of Equity Interests by a Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners to Regency Energy Partners
or to a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners;
(4) the sale or lease of products, services or accounts
receivable in the ordinary course of business and any sale or
other disposition of damaged, worn-out or obsolete properties or
assets in the ordinary course of business;
(5) the sale or other disposition of cash or Cash
Equivalents, Hedging Obligations or other financial instruments
in the ordinary course of business;
(6) a Restricted Payment that does not violate the covenant
described above under the caption Certain
Covenants Restricted Payments or a Permitted
Investment;
(7) any trade or exchange by Regency Energy Partners or any
Restricted Subsidiary of properties or assets of any type for
properties or assets of any type owned or held by another
Person, including any disposition of some but not all of the
Equity Interests of a Restricted Subsidiary in exchange for
assets or properties and after which the Person whose Equity
Interests have been so disposed of continues to be a Restricted
Subsidiary, provided that the Fair Market Value of the
properties or assets traded or exchanged by Regency Energy
Partners or such Restricted Subsidiary (together with any cash
or Cash Equivalents and liabilities assumed) is reasonably
equivalent to the Fair Market Value of the properties or assets
(together with any cash or Cash Equivalents and liabilities
assumed) to be received by Regency Energy Partners or such
Restricted Subsidiary; and provided further that any cash
received must be applied in accordance with the provisions
described above under the caption Repurchase
at the Option of Holders Asset Sales; and
(8) the creation or perfection of a Lien that is not
prohibited by the covenant described above under the caption
Certain Covenants Liens, and
any disposition in connection with a Permitted Lien.
Asset Sale Offer has the meaning assigned to
that term under Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Asset Sales.
Attributable Debt in respect of a sale and
leaseback transaction means, at the time of determination, the
present value of the obligation of the lessee for net rental
payments during the remaining term of the lease included in such
sale and leaseback transaction including any period for which
such lease has been extended
54
or may, at the option of the lessor, be extended. Such present
value shall be calculated using a discount rate equal to the
rate of interest implicit in such transaction, determined in
accordance with GAAP; provided, however, that, if such
sale and leaseback transaction results in a Capital Lease
Obligation, the amount of Indebtedness represented thereby will
be determined in accordance with the definition of Capital
Lease Obligation.
Available Cash has the meaning assigned to
such term in the Partnership Agreement, as in effect on the date
of the Indenture.
Beneficial Owner has the meaning assigned to
such term in
Rule 13d-3
and
Rule 13d-5
under the Exchange Act, except that, in calculating the
beneficial ownership of any particular person (as
that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act),
such person will be deemed to have beneficial
ownership of all securities that such person has the
right to acquire by conversion or exercise of other securities,
whether such right is currently exercisable or is exercisable
only after the passage of time. The terms Beneficially
Owns and Beneficially Owned have a
corresponding meaning.
Board of Directors means:
(1) with respect to a corporation, the board of directors
of the corporation or any committee thereof duly authorized to
act on behalf of such board;
(2) with respect to a partnership, the board of directors
or board of managers of the general partner of the partnership
or, if such general partner is itself a limited partnership,
then the board of directors or board of managers of its general
partner;
(3) with respect to a limited liability company, the
managing member or members or any controlling committee of
managing members thereof; and
(4) with respect to any other Person, the board or
committee of such Person serving a similar function.
Capital Lease Obligation means, at the time
any determination is to be made, the amount of the liability in
respect of a capital lease that would at that time be required
to be capitalized on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with
GAAP.
Capital Stock means:
(1) in the case of a corporation, corporate stock;
(2) in the case of an association or business entity, any
and all shares, interests, participations, rights or other
equivalents (however designated) of corporate stock;
(3) in the case of a partnership or limited liability
company, partnership interests (whether general or limited) or
membership interests; and
(4) any other interest or participation that confers on a
Person the right to receive a share of the profits and losses
of, or distributions of assets of, the issuing Person,
but excluding from all of the foregoing any debt securities
convertible into Capital Stock, whether or not such debt
securities include any right of participation with Capital Stock.
Cash Equivalents means:
(1) United States dollars or, in an amount up to the amount
necessary or appropriate to fund local operating expenses, other
currencies;
(2) securities issued or directly and fully guaranteed or
insured by the United States government or any agency or
instrumentality of the United States government (provided that
the full faith and credit of the United States is pledged in
support of those securities) having maturities of not more than
one year from the date of acquisition;
55
(3) certificates of deposit and eurodollar time deposits
with maturities of six months or less from the date of
acquisition, bankers acceptances with maturities not
exceeding six months and overnight bank deposits, in each case,
with any domestic commercial bank having capital and surplus in
excess of $500.0 million and a Thomson Bank Watch Rating of
B or better;
(4) repurchase obligations with a term of not more than
seven days for underlying securities of the types described in
clauses (2) and (3) above entered into with any
financial institution meeting the qualifications specified in
clause (3) above;
(5) commercial paper having one of the two highest ratings
obtainable from Moodys or S&P and, in each case,
maturing within six months after the date of
acquisition; and
(6) money market funds at least 95% of the assets of which
constitute Cash Equivalents of the kinds described in
clauses (1) through (5) of this definition.
Change of Control means the occurrence of any
of the following:
(1) the direct or indirect sale, lease, transfer,
conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or
consolidation), in one or a series of related transactions, of
all or substantially all of the properties or assets of Regency
Energy Partners and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole to any
person (as that term is used in
Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), which occurrence is
followed by a Ratings Decline within 90 days;
(2) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or
dissolution of Regency Energy Partners or the removal of the
General Partner by the limited partners of Regency Energy
Partners;
(3) the consummation of any transaction (including any
merger or consolidation), the result of which is that any
person (as defined above), other than a Qualified
Owner, becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of
more than 50% of the Voting Stock of the General Partner or of
Regency Energy Partners, measured by voting power rather than
number of shares, which occurrence is followed by a Ratings
Decline within 90 days; or
(4) the first day on which a majority of the members of the
Board of Directors of the General Partner are not Continuing
Directors, which occurrence is followed by a Ratings Decline
within 90 days.
Notwithstanding the preceding, a conversion of Regency Energy
Partners from a limited partnership to a corporation, limited
liability company or other form of entity or an exchange of all
of the outstanding limited partnership interests for capital
stock in a corporation, for member interests in a limited
liability company or for Equity Interests in such other form of
entity shall not constitute a Change of Control, so long as
following such conversion or exchange the persons
(as defined above) who Beneficially Owned the Capital Stock of
Regency Energy Partners immediately prior to such transactions
continue to Beneficially Own in the aggregate more than 50% of
the Voting Stock of such entity, or continue to Beneficially Own
sufficient Equity Interests in such entity to elect a majority
of its directors, managers, trustees or other persons serving in
a similar capacity for such entity, and, in either case no
person, excluding any Qualifying Owner, Beneficially
Owns more than 50% of the Voting Stock of such entity.
Change of Control Offer has the meaning
assigned to that term under Repurchase at the
Option of Holders Change of Control.
Consolidated Cash Flow means, with respect to
any specified Person for any period, the Consolidated Net Income
of such Person for such period plus, without duplication:
(1) an amount equal to (i) any extraordinary loss plus
(ii) any net loss realized by such Person or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with an Asset Sale or the
disposition of any securities by such Person or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries or the extinguishment of any
Indebtedness of such Person or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries, in each case, to the extent such losses were
deducted in computing such Consolidated Net Income; plus
56
(2) provision for taxes based on income or profits of such
Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, to the
extent that such provision for taxes was deducted in computing
such Consolidated Net Income; plus
(3) the consolidated interest expense of such Person and
its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, whether paid or
accrued (including amortization of debt issuance costs and
original issue discount, non-cash interest payments, the
interest component of any deferred payment obligations, the
interest component of all payments associated with Capital Lease
Obligations, imputed interest with respect to Attributable Debt,
commissions, discounts and other fees and charges incurred in
respect of letter of credit or bankers acceptance
financings, and net of all payments, if any, pursuant to Hedging
Obligations), to the extent that any such expense was deducted
in computing such Consolidated Net Income; plus
(4) depreciation, amortization (including amortization of
intangibles but excluding amortization of prepaid cash expenses
that were paid in a prior period) and other non-cash expenses
(excluding any such non-cash expense to the extent that it
represents an accrual of or reserve for cash expenses in any
future period or amortization of a prepaid cash expense that was
paid in a prior period) of such Person and its Restricted
Subsidiaries for such period to the extent that such
depreciation, amortization and other non-cash expenses were
deducted in computing such Consolidated Net Income; plus
(5) unrealized non-cash losses resulting from foreign
currency balance sheet adjustments required by GAAP to the
extent such losses were deducted in computing such Consolidated
Net Income; plus
(6) all extraordinary or non-recurring items of gain or
loss, or revenue or expense; minus
(7) non-cash items increasing such Consolidated Net Income
for such period, other than the accrual of revenue in the
ordinary course of business,
in each case, on a consolidated basis and determined in
accordance with GAAP.
Consolidated Net Income means, with respect
to any specified Person for any period, the aggregate of the Net
Income of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such
period, on a consolidated basis, determined in accordance with
GAAP; provided that:
(1) the aggregate Net Income (but not loss) of any Person
that is not a Restricted Subsidiary or that is accounted for by
the equity method of accounting will be included only to the
extent of the amount of dividends or similar distributions paid
in cash to the specified Person or a Restricted Subsidiary of
the Person;
(2) the Net Income of any Restricted Subsidiary will be
excluded to the extent that the declaration or payment of
dividends or similar distributions by that Restricted Subsidiary
of that Net Income is not at the date of determination permitted
without any prior governmental approval (that has not been
obtained) or, directly or indirectly, by operation of the terms
of its charter or any agreement, instrument, judgment, decree,
order, statute, rule or governmental regulation applicable to
that Restricted Subsidiary or its stockholders, partners or
members;
(3) the cumulative effect of a change in accounting
principles will be excluded;
(4) unrealized losses and gains under derivative
instruments included in the determination of Consolidated Net
Income, including those resulting from the application of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 will be
excluded; and
(5) any nonrecurring charges relating to any premium or
penalty paid, write off of deferred finance costs or other
charges in connection with redeeming or retiring any
Indebtedness prior to its Stated Maturity will be excluded.
Consolidated Net Tangible Assets means, with
respect to any Person at any date of determination, the
aggregate amount of total assets included in such Persons
most recent quarterly or annual consolidated balance sheet
prepared in accordance with GAAP less applicable reserves
reflected in such balance sheet, after
57
(i) adding the aggregate incremental amount of total assets
that would have resulted from an acquisition of assets from an
Affiliate that is accounted for as a pooling had it been
accounted for using purchase accounting and (ii) deducting
the following amounts: (a) all current liabilities
reflected in such balance sheet, and (b) all goodwill,
trademarks, patents, unamortized debt discounts and expenses and
other like intangibles reflected in such balance sheet.
Continuing Directors means, as of any date of
determination, any member of the Board of Directors of the
General Partner who:
(1) was a member of such Board of Directors on the date of
the Indenture; or
(2) was nominated for election or elected to such Board of
Directors with the approval of a majority of the Continuing
Directors who were members of such Board of Directors at the
time of such nomination or election.
Credit Agreement means that certain Fourth
Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of
December 1, 2004 and amended and restated at various dates,
most recently August 15, 2006, by and among Regency Gas
Services LP, Regency Energy Partners, the Guarantors party
thereto, the lenders party thereto, Wachovia Bank, National
Association, as administrative agent, collateral agent,
swingline lender and issuing bank, UBS Securities LLC and
Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint
book managers for the
Tranche B-1
Term Loans, Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, Citigroup Global
Markets Inc. and UBS Securities LLC, as joint lead arrangers and
joint book managers for the Revolving Loans, UBS
Loan Finance LLC, as syndication agent, Citigroup Global
Markets Inc., as co-syndication agent for the Revolving Loans,
and Fortis Capital Corp. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as
co-documentation agents, providing for $850.0 million of
borrowings and letters of credit, including any related notes,
Guarantees, collateral documents, instruments and agreements
executed in connection therewith, and, in each case, as amended,
restated, modified, renewed, refunded, replaced or refinanced in
whole or in part from time to time.
Credit Facilities means, one or more debt
facilities (including the Credit Agreement) or commercial paper
facilities, in each case, with banks or other institutional
lenders providing for revolving credit loans, term loans,
accounts receivable financing (including through the sale of
accounts receivable to such lenders or to special purpose
entities formed to borrow from such lenders against such
accounts receivable) or letters of credit, in each case, as
amended, restated, modified, renewed, refunded, replaced or
refinanced (including by means of sales of debt securities to
institutional investors) in whole or in part from time to time.
Default means any event that is, or with the
passage of time or the giving of notice or both would be, an
Event of Default.
Disqualified Equity means any Equity Interest
that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security into which
it is convertible, or for which it is exchangeable, in each
case, at the option of the holder of the Equity Interest), or
upon the happening of any event, matures or is mandatorily
redeemable, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise,
or redeemable at the option of the holder of the Equity
Interest, in whole or in part, on or prior to the date that is
91 days after the date on which the notes mature.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any Equity Interest that
would constitute Disqualified Equity solely because the holders
of the Equity Interest have the right to require Regency Energy
Partners to repurchase such Equity Interest upon the occurrence
of a change of control or an asset sale will not constitute
Disqualified Equity if the terms of such Equity Interest provide
that Regency Energy Partners may not repurchase or redeem any
such Equity Interest pursuant to such provisions unless such
repurchase or redemption complies with the covenant described
above under the caption Certain
Covenants Restricted Payments.
Domestic Subsidiary means any Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners that was formed under the
laws of the United States or any state of the United States or
the District of Columbia.
Equity Interests means Capital Stock and all
warrants, options or other rights to acquire Capital Stock (but
excluding any debt security that is convertible into, or
exchangeable for, Capital Stock).
Equity Offering means any public or private
sale of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity) made
for cash on a primary basis by Regency Energy Partners after the
date of the Indenture.
58
Exchange Notes means the notes issued in an
Exchange Offer pursuant to the Indenture.
Exchange Offer has the meaning set forth for
such term in the applicable registration rights agreement.
Existing Indebtedness means the aggregate
principal amount of Indebtedness of Regency Energy Partners and
its Subsidiaries (other than Indebtedness under the Credit
Agreement) in existence on the date of the Indenture, until such
amounts are repaid.
Fair Market Value means the value that would
be paid by a willing buyer to an unaffiliated willing seller in
a transaction not involving distress or necessity of either
party, determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of
Regency Energy Partners (unless otherwise provided in the
Indenture).
FERC Subsidiary means a Restricted Subsidiary
of Regency Energy Partners that is subject to the regulatory
jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (or any
successor thereof) under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas
Act of 1938.
Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio means with
respect to any specified Person for any four-quarter reference
period, the ratio of the Consolidated Cash Flow of such Person
for such period to the Fixed Charges of such Person for such
period. If the specified Person or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries incurs, assumes, guarantees, repays, repurchases,
redeems, defeases or otherwise discharges any Indebtedness
(other than ordinary working capital borrowings) or issues,
repurchases or redeems Disqualified Equity subsequent to the
commencement of the applicable four-quarter reference period and
on or prior to the date on which the event for which the
calculation of the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio is made (the
Calculation Date), then the Fixed Charge Coverage
Ratio will be calculated giving pro forma effect to such
incurrence, assumption, Guarantee, repayment, repurchase,
redemption, defeasance or other discharge of Indebtedness, or
such issuance, repurchase or redemption of Disqualified Equity,
and the use of the proceeds therefrom, as if the same had
occurred at the beginning of such period.
In addition, for purposes of calculating the Fixed Charge
Coverage Ratio:
(1) acquisitions that have been made by the specified
Person or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, including through
mergers or consolidations and including any related financing
transactions during the four-quarter reference period or
subsequent to such reference period and on or prior to the
Calculation Date will be given pro forma effect as if they had
occurred on the first day of the four-quarter reference period,
including any Consolidated Cash Flow and any pro forma expense
and cost reductions that have occurred or are reasonably
expected to occur, in the reasonable judgment of the chief
financial or accounting officer of Regency Energy Partners
(regardless of whether those cost savings or operating
improvements could then be reflected in pro forma financial
statements in accordance with
Regulation S-X
promulgated under the Securities Act or any other regulation or
policy of the SEC related thereto);
(2) the Consolidated Cash Flow attributable to discontinued
operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP, and
operations or businesses (and ownership interests therein)
disposed of prior to the Calculation Date, will be excluded;
(3) the Fixed Charges attributable to discontinued
operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP, and
operations or businesses (and ownership interests therein)
disposed of prior to the Calculation Date, will be excluded, but
only to the extent that the obligations giving rise to such
Fixed Charges will not be obligations of the specified Person or
any of its Restricted Subsidiaries following the Calculation
Date;
(4) interest income reasonably anticipated by such Person
to be received during the applicable four quarter period from
cash or Cash Equivalents held by such Person or any Restricted
Subsidiary of such Person, which cash or Cash Equivalents exist
on the Calculation Date or will exist as a result of the
transaction giving rise to the need to calculate the Fixed
Charge Coverage Ratio, will be included;
(5) if any Indebtedness bears a floating rate of interest,
the interest expense on such Indebtedness will be calculated as
if the average rate in effect from the beginning of the
applicable period to the Calculation Date had been the
applicable rate for the entire period (taking into account any
Hedging
59
Obligation applicable to such Indebtedness if such Hedging
Obligation has a remaining term as at the Calculation Date in
excess of 12 months); and
(6) if any Indebtedness is incurred under a revolving
credit facility and is being given pro forma effect, the
interest on such Indebtedness shall be calculated based on the
average daily balance of such Indebtedness for the four fiscal
quarters subject to the pro forma calculation.
Fixed Charges means, with respect to any
specified Person for any period, (A) the sum, without
duplication, of:
(1) the consolidated interest expense of such Person and
its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, whether paid or
accrued, including amortization of debt issuance costs and
original issue discount, non-cash interest payments, the
interest component of any deferred payment obligations, the
interest component of all payments associated with Capital Lease
Obligations, imputed interest with respect to Attributable Debt,
commissions, discounts and other fees and charges incurred in
respect of letter of credit or bankers acceptance
financings, and net of the effect of all payments made or
received pursuant to Hedging Obligations in respect of interest
rates; plus
(2) the consolidated interest expense of such Person and
its Restricted Subsidiaries that was capitalized during such
period; plus
(3) any interest on Indebtedness of another Person that is
guaranteed by such Person or one of its Restricted Subsidiaries
or secured by a Lien on assets of such Person or one of its
Restricted Subsidiaries, whether or not such Guarantee or Lien
is called upon; plus
(4) all dividends, whether paid or accrued and whether or
not in cash, on any series of Disqualified Equity of such Person
or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than dividends on
Equity Interests payable solely in Equity Interests of Regency
Energy Partners (other than Disqualified Equity) or to Regency
Energy Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners; minus
(B) to the extent included in (A) above, write-offs of
deferred financing costs of such Person and its Restricted
Subsidiaries during such period and any charge related to, or
any premium or penalty paid in connection with, paying any such
Indebtedness of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries
prior to its Stated Maturity. GAAP means generally
accepted accounting principles in the United States, which are
in effect from time to time.
General Partner means Regency GP LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company, and its successors and
permitted assigns as general partner of Regency GP LP, a
Delaware limited partnership, and its successors and permitted
assigns as general partner of Regency Energy Partners or as the
business entity with the ultimate authority to manage the
business and operations of Regency Energy Partners.
Government Securities means direct
obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the United States
of America for the payment of which guarantee or obligations the
full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged.
Guarantee means a guarantee other than by
endorsement of negotiable instruments for collection in the
ordinary course of business, direct or indirect, in any manner
including by way of a pledge of assets or through letters of
credit or reimbursement agreements in respect thereof, of all or
any part of any Indebtedness.
Guarantors means each of:
(1) the Subsidiaries of Regency Energy Partners, other than
Finance Corp., executing the Indenture as initial
Guarantors; and
(2) any other Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners that
becomes a Guarantor in accordance with the provisions of the
Indenture,and their respective successors and assigns, in each
case, until the Note Guarantee of such Person has been released
in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture.
60
Hedging Obligations means, with respect to
any specified Person, the obligations of such Person incurred in
the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes
under:
(1) interest rate swap agreements (whether from fixed to
floating or from floating to fixed), interest rate cap
agreements and interest rate collar agreements entered into with
one or more financial institutions and designed to reduce costs
of borrowing or to protect the Person or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries entering into the agreement against fluctuations in
interest rates with respect to Indebtedness incurred;
(2) other agreements or arrangements designed to manage
interest rates or interest rate risk;
(3) foreign exchange contracts and currency protection
agreements entered into with one of more financial institutions
and designed to protect the Person or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries entering into the agreement against fluctuations in
currency exchanges rates with respect to Indebtedness incurred;
(4) any commodity futures contract, commodity option or
other similar agreement or arrangement designed to protect
against fluctuations in the price of Hydrocarbons used,
produced, processed or sold by that Person or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries at the time; and
(5) other agreements or arrangements designed to protect
such Person or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries against
fluctuations in currency exchange rates or commodity prices.
Hydrocarbons means crude oil, natural gas,
casinghead gas, drip gasoline, natural gasoline, condensate,
distillate, liquid hydrocarbons, gaseous hydrocarbons and all
constituents, elements or compounds thereof and products refined
or processed therefrom.
Indebtedness means, with respect to any
specified Person, any indebtedness of such Person, whether or
not contingent:
(1) in respect of borrowed money;
(2) evidenced by bonds, notes, debentures or similar
instruments or letters of credit (or reimbursement agreements in
respect thereof);
(3) in respect of bankers acceptances;
(4) representing Capital Lease Obligations or Attributable
Debt in respect of sale and leaseback transactions;
(5) representing the balance deferred and unpaid of the
purchase price of any property or services due more than six
months after such property is acquired or such services are
completed; or
(6) representing any Hedging Obligations,
if and to the extent any of the preceding items (other than
letters of credit, Attributable Debt and Hedging Obligations)
would appear as a liability upon a balance sheet of the
specified Person prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition,
the term Indebtedness includes all Indebtedness of
others secured by a Lien on any asset of the specified Person
(whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by the specified
Person) and, to the extent not otherwise included, the Guarantee
by the specified Person of any Indebtedness of any other Person.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following shall not
constitute Indebtedness:
(1) accrued expenses and trade accounts payable arising in
the ordinary course of business;
(2) any obligation of Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of bid, performance, surety
and similar bonds issued for the account of Regency Energy
Partners and any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary
course of business, including Guarantees and obligations of
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries
with respect to letters of credit supporting such obligations
(in each case other than an obligation for money borrowed);
(3) any Indebtedness that has been defeased in accordance
with GAAP or defeased pursuant to the deposit of cash or
Government Securities (in an amount sufficient to satisfy all
such Indebtedness at fixed maturity or redemption, as
applicable, and all payments of interest and premium, if any) in
a trust or
61
account created or pledged for the sole benefit of the holders
of such Indebtedness and subject to no other Liens, and the
other applicable terms of the instrument governing such
Indebtedness;
(4) any obligation arising from the honoring by a bank or
other financial institution of a check, draft or similar
instrument drawn against insufficient funds in the ordinary
course of business; provided, however, that such obligation is
extinguished within five business days of its
incurrence; and
(5) any obligation arising from any agreement providing for
indemnities, guarantees, purchase price adjustments, holdbacks,
contingency payment obligations based on the performance of the
acquired or disposed assets or similar obligations (other than
guarantees of Indebtedness) incurred by any Person in connection
with the acquisition or disposition of assets.
Investment Grade Rating means a rating equal
to or higher than Baa3 (or the equivalent) by Moodys and
BBB- (or the equivalent) by S&P.
Investments means, with respect to any
Person, all direct or indirect investments by such Person in
other Persons (including Affiliates) in the forms of loans
(including Guarantees or other obligations), advances or capital
contributions (excluding (1) commission, travel and similar
advances to officers and employees made in the ordinary course
of business and (2) advances to customers in the ordinary
course of business that are recorded as accounts receivable on
the balance sheet of the lender), purchases or other
acquisitions for consideration of Indebtedness, Equity Interests
or other securities, together with all items that are or would
be classified as investments on a balance sheet prepared in
accordance with GAAP. If Regency Energy Partners or any
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners sells or
otherwise disposes of any Equity Interests of any direct or
indirect Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners such
that, after giving effect to any such sale or disposition, such
Person is no longer a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners, Regency Energy Partners will be deemed to have made an
Investment on the date of any such sale or disposition equal to
the Fair Market Value of Regency Energy Partners
Investments in such Restricted Subsidiary that were not sold or
disposed of in an amount determined as provided in the final
paragraph of the covenant described above under the caption
Certain Covenants Restricted
Payments.
Joint Venture means any Person that is not a
direct or indirect Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners in
which Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries makes any Investment.
Lien means, with respect to any asset, any
mortgage, lien, pledge, charge, security interest or encumbrance
of any kind in respect of such asset, whether or not filed,
recorded or otherwise perfected under applicable law, including
any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any
lease in the nature thereof, any option or other agreement to
sell or give a security interest in and any filing of or
agreement to give any financing statement under the Uniform
Commercial Code (or equivalent statutes) of any jurisdiction
other than a precautionary financing statement respecting a
lease not intended as a security agreement. In no event shall a
right of first refusal be deemed to constitute a Lien.
Moodys means Moodys Investors
Service, Inc., or any successor to the rating agency business
thereof.
Net Income means, with respect to any
specified Person, the net income (loss) of such Person,
determined in accordance with GAAP and before any reduction in
respect of preferred stock dividends, excluding, however:
(1) any gain (but not loss), together with any related
provision for taxes on such gain (but not loss), realized in
connection with: (a) any Asset Sale; or (b) the
disposition of any securities by such Person or the
extinguishment of any Indebtedness of such Person; and
(2) any extraordinary gain (but not loss), together with
any related provision for taxes on such extraordinary gain (but
not loss).
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Net Proceeds means the aggregate cash
proceeds received by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of any Asset Sale (including
any cash received upon the sale or other disposition of any
non-cash consideration received in any Asset Sale), net of:
(1) the direct costs relating to such Asset Sale, including
legal, accounting and investment banking fees, and sales
commissions, and any relocation expenses incurred as a result of
the Asset Sale,
(2) taxes paid or payable as a result of the Asset Sale, in
each case, after taking into account any available tax credits
or deductions and any tax sharing arrangements,
(3) amounts required to be applied to the repayment of
Indebtedness, other than revolving credit Indebtedness except to
the extent resulting a permanent reduction in availability of
such Indebtedness under a Credit Facility, secured by a Lien on
the properties or assets that were the subject of such Asset
Sale and all distributions and payments required to be made to
minority interest holders in Restricted Subsidiaries as a result
of such Asset Sale, and
(4) any amounts to be set aside in any reserve established
in accordance with GAAP or any amount placed in escrow, in
either case for adjustment in respect of the sale price of such
properties or assets or for liabilities associated with such
Asset Sale and retained by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries until such time as such reserve is
reversed or such escrow arrangement is terminated, in which case
Net Proceeds shall include only the amount of the reserve so
reversed or the amount returned to Regency Energy Partners or
its Restricted Subsidiaries from such escrow arrangement, as the
case may be.
Non-Recourse Debt means Indebtedness:
(1) as to which neither Regency Energy Partners nor any of
its Restricted Subsidiaries (a) provides credit support of
any kind (including any undertaking, agreement or instrument
that would constitute Indebtedness), (b) is directly or
indirectly liable as a guarantor or otherwise or (c) is the
lender;
(2) no default with respect to which (including any rights
that the holders of the Indebtedness may have to take
enforcement action against an Unrestricted Subsidiary) would
permit upon notice, lapse of time or both any holder of any
other Indebtedness of Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries to declare a default on such other
Indebtedness or cause the payment of the Indebtedness to be
accelerated or payable prior to its Stated Maturity; and
(3) as to which the lenders have been notified in writing
that they will not have any recourse to the stock or assets of
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries
except as contemplated by clause (10) of the
definition of Permitted Liens.
For purposes of determining compliance with the covenant
described under Certain Covenants
Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of Disqualified
Equity above, if any Non-Recourse Debt of any of Regency
Energy Partners Unrestricted Subsidiaries ceases to be
Non-Recourse Debt of such Unrestricted Subsidiary, such event
will be deemed to constitute an incurrence of Indebtedness by a
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners.
Note Guarantee means the Guarantee by each
Guarantor of the Issuers obligations under the Indenture
and the notes, pursuant to the provisions of the Indenture.
Obligations means any principal, interest,
penalties, fees, indemnifications, reimbursements, damages and
other liabilities payable under the documentation governing any
Indebtedness.
Operating Surplus has the meaning assigned to
such term in the Partnership Agreement, as in effect on the date
of the Indenture.
Partnership Agreement means the Amended and
Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Regency Energy
Partners LP, dated as of February 3, 2006, as amended on
August 15, 2006 and September 21, 2006, and as such
may be further amended, modified or supplemented from time to
time.
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Permitted Business means either
(1) gathering, transporting, treating, processing,
marketing, distributing, storing or otherwise handling
Hydrocarbons, or activities or services reasonably related or
ancillary thereto including entering into Hedging Obligations to
support these businesses, or (2) any other business that
generates gross income that constitutes qualifying
income under Section 7704(d) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended.
Permitted Business Investments means
Investments by Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries in any Unrestricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners or in any Joint Venture, provided that:
(1) either (a) at the time of such Investment and
immediately thereafter, Regency Energy Partners could incur
$1.00 of additional Indebtedness under the Fixed Charge Coverage
Ratio test set forth in the first paragraph of the covenant
described under Certain Covenants
Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of Disqualified
Equity above or (b) such Investment does not exceed
the aggregate amount of Incremental Funds (as defined in the
covenant described under Certain
Covenants Restricted Payments) not previously
expended at the time of making such Investment;
(2) if such Unrestricted Subsidiary or Joint Venture has
outstanding Indebtedness at the time of such Investment, either
(a) all such Indebtedness is Non-Recourse Debt or
(b) any such Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiaries
or Joint Venture that is recourse to Regency Energy Partners or
any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (which shall include all
Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary or Joint Venture
for which Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries may be directly or indirectly, contingently or
otherwise, obligated to pay, whether pursuant to the terms of
such Indebtedness, by law or pursuant to any guarantee,
including any claw-back, make-well or
keepwell arrangement) could, at the time such
Investment is made, be incurred at that time by Regency Energy
Partners and its Restricted Subsidiaries under the Fixed Charge
Coverage Ratio test set forth in the first paragraph of the
covenant described under Certain
Covenants Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of
Disqualified Equity; and
(3) such Unrestricted Subsidiarys or Joint
Ventures activities are not outside the scope of the
Permitted Business.
Permitted Investments means:
(1) any Investment in Regency Energy Partners or in a
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners;
(2) any Investment in Cash Equivalents;
(3) any Investment by Regency Energy Partners or any
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners in a Person, if
as a result of such Investment:
(a) such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency
Energy Partners; or
(b) such Person is merged, consolidated or amalgamated with
or into, or transfers or conveys substantially all of its
properties or assets to, or is liquidated into, Regency Energy
Partners or a Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners;
(4) any Investment made as a result of the receipt of
non-cash consideration from:
(a) an Asset Sale that was made pursuant to and in
compliance with the covenant described above under the caption
Repurchase at the Option of
Holders Asset Sales; or
(b) pursuant to clause (7) of the items deemed not to
be Asset Sales under the definition of Asset Sale;
(5) any Investment in any Person solely in exchange for the
issuance of Equity Interests (other than Disqualified Equity) of
Regency Energy Partners;
(6) any Investments received in compromise or resolution of
(A) obligations of trade creditors or customers that were
incurred in the ordinary course of business of Regency Energy
Partners or any of its
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Restricted Subsidiaries, including pursuant to any plan of
reorganization or similar arrangement upon the bankruptcy or
insolvency of any trade creditor or customer, or as a result of
a foreclosure by Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries with respect to any secured Investment
in default; or (B) litigation, arbitration or other
disputes with Persons who are not Affiliates;
(7) Investments represented by Hedging Obligations
permitted to be incurred;
(8) loans or advances to employees made in the ordinary
course of business of Regency Energy Partners or any Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners in an aggregate principal
amount not to exceed $1.0 million at any one time
outstanding;
(9) repurchases of the notes;
(10) any Investments in prepaid expenses, negotiable
instruments held for collection and lease, utility,
workers compensation and performance and other similar
deposits and prepaid expenses made in the ordinary course of
business;
(11) Permitted Business Investments; and
(12) other Investments in any Person having an aggregate
Fair Market Value (measured on the date each such Investment was
made and without giving effect to subsequent changes in value),
when taken together with all other Investments made pursuant to
this clause (12) that are at the time outstanding not
to exceed the greater of (a) $25.0 million and
(b) 2.5% of Regency Energy Partners Consolidated Net
Tangible Assets.
Permitted Liens means:
(1) Liens securing any Indebtedness under any of the Credit
Facilities and all Obligations and Hedging Obligations relating
to such Indebtedness;
(2) Liens in favor of Regency Energy Partners or the
Guarantors;
(3) Liens on property of a Person existing at the time such
Person is merged with or into or consolidated with Regency
Energy Partners or any Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners;
provided that such Liens were in existence prior to such merger
or consolidation and do not extend to any assets other than
those of the Person merged into or consolidated with Regency
Energy Partners or the Subsidiary;
(4) Liens on property existing at the time of acquisition
of the property by Regency Energy Partners or any Restricted
Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners; provided that such Liens
were in existence prior to, such acquisition, and not incurred
in contemplation of, such acquisition;
(5) Liens to secure the performance of statutory
obligations, surety or appeal bonds, performance bonds or other
obligations of a like nature incurred in the ordinary course of
business;
(6) Liens to secure Indebtedness (including Capital Lease
Obligations) permitted by clause (4) of the second
paragraph of the covenant entitled Certain
Covenants Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of
Disqualified Equity covering only the assets acquired with
or financed by such Indebtedness;
(7) Liens existing on the date of the Indenture (other than
Liens securing the Credit Facilities);
(8) Liens created for the benefit of (or to secure) the
notes (or the Note Guarantees);
(9) Liens on any property or asset acquired, constructed or
improved by Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries (a Purchase Money Lien), which
(a) are in favor of the seller of such property or assets,
in favor of the Person developing, constructing, repairing or
improving such asset or property, or in favor of the Person that
provided the funding for the acquisition, development,
construction, repair or improvement cost, as the case may be, of
such asset or property, (b) are created within
360 days after the acquisition, development, construction,
repair or improvement, (c) secure the purchase price or
development, construction, repair or improvement cost, as the
case may be, of such asset or property in an amount up to 100%
of the Fair Market Value of such acquisition, construction or
65
improvement of such asset or property, and (d) are limited
to the asset or property so acquired, constructed or improved
(including the proceeds thereof, accessions thereto and upgrades
thereof);
(10) Liens on and pledges of the Equity Interests of any
Unrestricted Subsidiary or any Joint Venture owned by Regency
Energy Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy
Partners to the extent securing Non-Recourse Debt or other
Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary or Joint Venture;
(11) Liens in favor of collecting or payor banks having a
right of setoff, revocation, refund or chargeback with respect
to money or instruments of Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries on deposit with or in possession of such
bank;
(12) Liens to secure performance of Hedging Obligations of
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries;
(13) Liens arising under construction contracts,
interconnection agreements, operating agreements, joint venture
agreements, partnership agreements, oil and gas leases, farmout
agreements, division orders, contracts for purchase, gathering,
processing, sale, transportation or exchange of crude oil,
natural gas liquids, condensate and natural gas, natural gas
storage agreements, unitization and pooling declarations and
agreements, area of mutual interest agreements, real property
leases and other agreements arising in the ordinary course of
business of Regency Energy Partners and its Restricted
Subsidiaries that are customary in the Permitted Business;
(14) Liens upon specific items of inventory, receivables or
other goods or proceeds of Regency Energy Partners or any of its
Restricted Subsidiaries securing such Persons obligations
in respect of bankers acceptances or receivables
securitizations issued or created for the account of such Person
to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such
inventory, receivables or other goods or proceeds and permitted
by the covenant described under Certain
Covenants Incurrence of Indebtedness and Issuance of
Disqualified Equity;
(15) Liens securing any Indebtedness equally and ratably
with all Obligations due under the notes or any Note Guarantee
pursuant to a contractual covenant that limits Liens in a manner
substantially similar to the covenant described above under
Certain Covenants Liens;
(16) Liens incurred in the ordinary course of business of
Regency Energy Partners or any Restricted Subsidiary of Regency
Energy Partners; provided, however, that, after giving effect to
any such incurrence, the aggregate principal amount of all
Indebtedness then outstanding and secured by any Liens pursuant
to this clause (16) dates not exceed 5.0% of Regency
Energy Partners Consolidated Net Tangible Assets at such
time; and
(17) any Lien renewing, extending, refinancing or refunding
a Lien permitted by clauses (1) through (16) above;
provided that (a) the principal amount of Indebtedness
secured by such Lien does not exceed the principal amount of
such Indebtedness outstanding immediately prior to the renewal,
extension, refinance or refund of such Lien, plus all accrued
interest on the Indebtedness secured thereby and the amount of
all fees, expenses and premiums incurred in connection
therewith, and (b) no assets encumbered by any such Lien
other than the assets permitted to be encumbered immediately
prior to such renewal, extension, refinance or refund are
encumbered thereby.
After termination of the covenants referred to in the first
paragraph of Certain Covenants
Termination of Covenants, for purposes of complying with
the Liens covenant, the Liens described in
clauses (1) and (16) of this definition of
Permitted Liens will be Permitted Liens only to the
extent those Liens secure Indebtedness not exceeding, at the
time of determination, 10% of the Consolidated Net Tangible
Assets of Regency Energy Partners. Once effective, this 10%
limitation on Permitted Liens will continue to apply during any
later period in which the notes do not have an Investment Grade
Rating by both Rating Agencies.
Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness means any
Indebtedness of Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted
Subsidiaries issued in exchange for, or the net proceeds of
which are used to renew, refund,
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refinance, replace, defease or discharge, other Indebtedness of
Regency Energy Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries
(other than intercompany Indebtedness); provided that:
(1) the principal amount of such Permitted Refinancing
Indebtedness does not exceed the principal amount of the
Indebtedness renewed, refunded, refinanced, replaced, defeased
or discharged (plus all accrued interest on the Indebtedness and
the amount of all fees and expenses, including premiums,
incurred in connection therewith);
(2) such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness has a final
maturity date no earlier than the final maturity date of, and
has a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than
the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of, the Indebtedness being
renewed, refunded, refinanced, replaced, defeased or discharged;
(3) if the Indebtedness being renewed, refunded,
refinanced, replaced, defeased or discharged is subordinated in
right of payment to the notes or the Note Guarantees, such
Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness is subordinated in right of
payment to, the notes or the Note Guarantees, on terms at least
as favorable to the holders of notes as those contained in the
documentation governing the Indebtedness being renewed,
refunded, refinanced, replaced, defeased or discharged; and
(4) such Indebtedness is incurred either by Regency Energy
Partners or by the Restricted Subsidiary that is the obligor on
or guarantor of the Indebtedness being renewed, refunded,
refinanced, replaced, defeased or discharged.
Person means any individual, corporation,
partnership, joint venture, association, joint-stock company,
trust, unincorporated organization, limited liability company or
government or other entity.
Qualified Owner means Hicks, Muse,
Tate & Furst Equity Fund V, LP and its Affiliates
that are organized by such Person (or any Person controlling
such Person) primarily for making, or otherwise having as their
primary activity holding or exercising control over, equity or
debt investments in Regency GP LLC or other portfolio companies.
Rating Agencies means Moodys and
S&P.
Ratings Categories means:
(1) with respect to S&P, any of the following
categories: AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C and D (or
equivalent successor categories); and
(2) with respect to Moodys, any of the following
categories: Aaa, Aa, A, Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C and D (or
equivalent successor categories).
Ratings Decline means a decrease in the
rating of the notes by either Moodys or S&P by one or
more gradations (including gradations within Rating Categories
as well as between Rating Categories). In determining whether
the rating of the notes has decreased by one or more gradations,
gradations within Ratings Categories, namely + or for
S&P, and 1, 2 and 3 for Moodys, will be taken
into account; for example, in the case of S&P, a ratings
decline either from BB+ to BB or BB to BB− will constitute
a decrease of one gradation.
Reporting Default means a Default described
in clause (4) under Events of Default and
Remedies.
Restricted Investment means an Investment
other than a Permitted Investment.
Restricted Subsidiary of a Person means any
Subsidiary of the referent Person that is not an Unrestricted
Subsidiary. Notwithstanding anything in the indenture to the
contrary, Finance Corp. shall be a Restricted Subsidiary of
Regency Energy Partners.
S&P means Standard &
Poors Ratings Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc., or any successor to the rating agency business
thereof.
SEC means the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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Senior Indebtedness means with respect to any
Person, Indebtedness of such Person, unless the instrument
creating or evidencing such Indebtedness provides that such
Indebtedness is subordinate in right of payment to the notes or
the Note Guarantee of such Person, as the case may be.
Significant Subsidiary means any Subsidiary
that would be a significant subsidiary as defined in
Article 1,
Rule 1-02
of
Regulation S-X,
promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Regulation
is in effect on the date of the Indenture.
Stated Maturity means, with respect to any
installment of interest or principal on any series of
Indebtedness, the date on which the payment of interest or
principal was scheduled to be paid in the original documentation
governing such Indebtedness, and will not include any contingent
obligations to repay, redeem or repurchase any such interest or
principal prior to the date originally scheduled for the payment
thereof.
Subsidiary means, with respect to any
specified Person:
(1) any corporation, association or other business entity
(other than a partnership or limited liability company) of which
more than 50% of the total voting power of the Voting Stock is
at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that
Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person
(or a combination thereof); and
(2) any partnership (whether general or limited) or limited
liability company (a) the sole general partner or member of
which is such Person or a Subsidiary of such Person, or
(b) if there is more than a single general partner or
member, either (x) the only managing general partners or
managing members of which are such Person or one or more
Subsidiaries of such Person (or any combination thereof) or
(y) such Person owns or controls, directly or indirectly, a
majority of the outstanding general partner interests, member
interests or other Voting Stock of such partnership or limited
liability company, respectively.
Treasury Rate means, with respect to any
redemption date, the yield to maturity at the time of
computation of United States Treasury securities with a constant
maturity (as compiled and published in the most recent Federal
Reserve Statistical Release H.15 (519) that has become
publicly available at least two business days prior to the
redemption date (or, if such Statistical Release is no longer
published, any publicly available source of similar market
data)) most nearly equal to the period from the redemption date
to December 15, 2010; provided, however, that if such
period is not equal to the constant maturity of a
United States Treasury security for which a weekly average
yield is given, Regency Energy Partners shall obtain the
Treasury Rate by linear interpolation (calculated to the nearest
one twelfth of a year) from the weekly average yields of United
States Treasury securities for which such yields are given,
except that if the period from the redemption date to
December 15, 2010, is less than one year, the weekly
average yield on actually traded United States Treasury
securities adjusted to a constant maturity of one year will be
used. Regency Energy Partners will (a) calculate the
Treasury Rate on the second business day preceding the
applicable redemption date and (b) prior to such redemption
date file with the trustee an officers certificate setting
forth the Applicable Premium and the Treasury Rate and showing
the calculation of each in reasonable detail.
Unrestricted Subsidiary means any Subsidiary
of Regency Energy Partners (other than Finance Corp. or any
successor to it) that is designated by the Board of Directors of
the General Partner as an Unrestricted Subsidiary pursuant to a
resolution of the Board of Directors, but only to the extent
that such Subsidiary:
(1) except to the extent permitted by subclause (2)(b)
of the definition of Permitted Business Investments,
has no Indebtedness other than Non-Recourse Debt;
(2) except as permitted under clause (4) of the
covenant described above under the caption
Certain Covenants Transactions
with Affiliates, is not party to any agreement, contract,
arrangement or understanding with Regency Energy Partners or any
Restricted Subsidiary of Regency Energy Partners unless the
terms of any such agreement, contract, arrangement or
understanding are no less favorable to Regency Energy Partners
or such Restricted Subsidiary than those that might be obtained
at the time from Persons who are not Affiliates of Regency
Energy Partners;
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(3) is a Person with respect to which neither Regency
Energy Partners nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has any
direct or indirect obligation (a) to subscribe for
additional Equity Interests or (b) to maintain or preserve
such Persons financial condition or to cause such Person
to achieve any specified levels of operating results; and
(4) has not guaranteed or otherwise directly or indirectly
provided credit support for any Indebtedness of Regency Energy
Partners or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.
All Subsidiaries of an Unrestricted Subsidiary shall be also
Unrestricted Subsidiaries.
Voting Stock of any specified Person as of
any date means the Capital Stock of such Person that is at the
time entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any
contingency) to vote in the election of the Board of Directors
of such Person.
Weighted Average Life to Maturity means, when
applied to any Indebtedness at any date, the number of years
obtained by dividing:
(1) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying
(a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking
fund, serial maturity or other required payments of principal,
including payment at final maturity, in respect of the
Indebtedness, by (b) the number of years (calculated to the
nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the
making of such payment; by
(2) the then outstanding principal amount of such
Indebtedness.
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FEDERAL
INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a summary of certain federal income tax
consequences relevant to the exchange of exchange notes for
outstanding notes, but does not purport to be a complete
analysis for all potential tax effects. The summary is based
upon the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, Treasury
Regulations, Internal Revenue Service rulings and pronouncements
and judicial decisions now in effect, all of which may be
subject to change at any time by legislative, judicial or
administrative action. These changes may be applied
retroactively in a manner that could adversely affect a holder
of exchange notes. The description does not consider the effect
of any applicable foreign, state, local or other tax laws or
estate or gift tax considerations. Each holder is encouraged to
consult, and depend on, his own tax advisor in analyzing the
particular tax consequences of exchanging such holders
outstanding notes for new notes, including the applicability and
effect of any federal, state, local and foreign tax laws.
The exchange of exchange notes for outstanding notes will not be
a taxable event to a holder for United States federal
income tax purposes. Accordingly, a holder will have the same
adjusted issue price, adjusted basis and holding period in the
exchange notes as it had in the outstanding notes immediately
before the exchange.
PLAN OF
DISTRIBUTION
Based on interpretations by the staff of the Commission in
no-action letters issued to third parties, we believe that you
may transfer exchange notes issued under the exchange offer in
exchange for the outstanding notes if:
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you acquire the exchange notes in the ordinary course of your
business; and
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you are not engaged in, and do not intend to engage in, and have
no arrangement or understanding with any person to participate
in, a distribution of such exchange notes.
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You may not participate in the exchange offer if you are:
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an affiliate within the meaning of Rule 405
under the Securities Act of us or Regency Energy Finance
Corp.; or
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a broker-dealer that acquired outstanding notes directly from us.
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Each broker-dealer that receives exchange notes for its own
account pursuant to the exchange offer must acknowledge that it
will deliver this prospectus in connection with any resale of
such exchange notes. To date, the staff of the Commission has
taken the position that broker-dealers may fulfill their
prospectus delivery requirements with respect to transactions
involving an exchange of securities such as this exchange offer,
other than a resale of an unsold allotment from the original
sale of the outstanding notes, with this prospectus. This
prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented from time to
time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection with resales
of exchange notes received in exchange for outstanding notes
where such outstanding notes were acquired as a result of
market-making activities or other trading activities. We have
agreed that, during the period described in Section 4(3) of
and Rule 174 under the Securities Act that is applicable to
transactions by brokers or dealers with respect to the exchange
notes, we will make this prospectus, as amended or supplemented,
available to any broker-dealer for use in connection with any
such resale. In addition, until such date, all dealers effecting
transactions in exchange notes may be required to deliver this
prospectus.
If you wish to exchange notes for your outstanding notes in the
exchange offer, you will be required to make representations to
us as described in Exchange Offer Procedures
for Tendering Your Representations to Us in
this prospectus. As indicated in the letter of transmittal, you
will be deemed to have made these representations by tendering
your outstanding notes in the exchange offer. In addition, if
you are a broker-dealer who receives exchange notes for your own
account in exchange for outstanding notes that were acquired by
you as a result of market-making activities or other trading
activities, you will be required to
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acknowledge, in the same manner, that you will deliver this
prospectus in connection with any resale by you of such exchange
notes.
We will not receive any proceeds from any sale of exchange notes
by broker-dealers. Exchange notes received by broker-dealers for
their own account pursuant to the exchange offer may be sold
from time to time in one or more transactions:
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in the
over-the-counter
market;
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in negotiated transactions;
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through the writing of options on the exchange notes; or
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a combination of such methods of resale;
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at market prices prevailing at the time of resale, at prices
related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
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Any such resale may be made directly to purchasers or to or
through brokers or dealers who may receive compensation in the
form of commissions or concessions from any such broker-dealer
or the purchasers of any such exchange notes. Any broker-dealer
that resells exchange notes that were received by it for its own
account pursuant to the exchange offer and any broker or dealer
that participates in a distribution of such exchange notes may
be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of
the Securities Act. Each letter of transmittal states that by
acknowledging that it will deliver and by delivering this
prospectus, a broker-dealer will not be deemed to admit that it
is an underwriter within the meaning of the
Securities Act.
For the period described in Section 4(3) of and
Rule 174 under the Securities Act that is applicable to
transactions by brokers or dealers with respect to the exchange
notes, we will promptly send additional copies of this
prospectus and any amendment or supplement to this prospectus to
any broker-dealer that requests such documents. We have agreed
to pay all reasonable expenses incident to the exchange offers
(including the expenses of one counsel for the holders of the
outstanding notes) other than commissions or concessions of any
broker-dealers and will indemnify the holders of the outstanding
notes (including any broker-dealers) against certain
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
LEGAL
MATTERS
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has issued an opinion as to the
legality of the exchange notes and the guarantees of the
Subsidiary guarantors organized in the State of Texas and the
State of Delaware. Kean Miller Hawthorne DArmond
McCowan & Jarman, LLP has issued an opinion as to the
legality of the guarantees of the Subsidiary guarantors
incorporated in the State of Louisiana.
EXPERTS
The (1) consolidated financial statements of Regency Energy
Partners LP and subsidiaries and (2) the consolidated
balance sheet of Regency GP LP incorporated in this prospectus
by reference from Regency Energy Partners LPs Annual
Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006 have been audited by
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered
public accounting firm, as stated in their reports, which are
incorporated herein by reference, and have been so incorporated
in reliance upon the reports of such firm given upon their
authority as experts in accounting and auditing. The
consolidated financial statements of Pueblo Midstream Gas
Corporation and subsidiary as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2006 incorporated in this prospectus by
reference from Regency Energy Partners LPs Current Report
on
Form 8-K
dated May 10, 2007 have been audited by
Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors, as stated
in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference, and
have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such
firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and
auditing.
71
WHERE YOU
CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports,
proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may
read and copy any documents filed by us at the SECs public
reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.
20549. Please call the SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330
for further information on the public reference room. Our
filings with the SEC are also available to the public from
commercial document retrieval services and at the SECs web
site at http://www.sec.gov.
We incorporate by reference information into this
prospectus, which means that we disclose important information
to you by referring you to another document filed separately
with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is
deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information
superseded by information contained expressly in this
prospectus, and the information we file later with the SEC will
automatically supersede this information. You should not assume
that the information in this prospectus is current as of any
date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus.
Any information that we file under Sections 13(a), 13(c),
14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and that is
deemed filed, with the SEC will automatically update
and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the
documents listed below:
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Our Annual Report on
Forms 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006; and
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Our Current Reports on
Form 8-K
filed on January 26, 2007, February 16, 2007,
March 6, 2007, March 30, 2007, April 3, 2007,
April 27, 2007 and May 11, 2007.
|
You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference
in this prospectus and any exhibit specifically incorporated by
reference in those documents, at no cost, by writing or
telephoning us at the following address or phone number:
Regency
Energy Partners LP.
Investor Relations
1700 Pacific, Suite 2900
Dallas, Texas 75201
(214) 750-1711
We also make available free of charge on our internet website at
http://www.regencyenergy.com all of the documents we file
with the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after we
electronically file such material with the SEC. Information
contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into
this prospectus and you should not consider information
contained on our website as part of this prospectus.
INFORMATION
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities
laws. Statements included in this prospectus that are not
historical facts, but that address activities, events or
developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in
the future, including things such as references to future goals
or intentions or other such references are forward-looking
statements. These statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology including may,
believe, expect, anticipate,
estimate, continue, or similar words.
These statements include statements related to plans for growth
of the business, future capital expenditures and competitive
strengths and goals. We make these statements based on our past
experience and our perception of historical trends, current
conditions and expected future developments as well as other
considerations we believe are appropriate under the
circumstances. Whether actual results and developments in the
future will conform to our expectations is subject to numerous
risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results could materially differ
from what is expressed, implied or forecast in these statements.
Any differences could be caused by a number of factors,
including:
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Our ability to integrate successfully any acquired assets or
operations;
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72
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the volatility of prices and market demand for natural gas and
natural gas liquids;
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our ability to continue to obtain new sources of natural gas
supply;
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the ability of key producers to continue to drill and
successfully complete and attach new natural gas supplies;
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our ability to retain our key customers;
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general economic conditions;
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the effects of government regulations and policies; and
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other financial, operational and legal risks and uncertainties
detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC.
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Cautionary statements identifying important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations
are set forth in this prospectus, including in conjunction with
the forward-looking statements that are referred to above. When
considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind
the risk factors and other cautionary statements set forth in
this prospectus under Risk Factors. All
forward-looking statements included in this prospectus and all
subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements
attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by
these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date made, other than as required by law,
and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or to revise
any forward-looking statements.
73
PART II
INFORMATION
NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 20. Indemnification
of Officers and Directors
We will generally indemnify officers, directors and affiliates
of the general partner to the fullest extent permitted by the
law against all losses, claims, damages or similar events and is
incorporated herein by this reference. Subject to any terms,
conditions or restrictions set forth in the partnership
agreement,
Section 17-108
of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act empowers
a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless
any partner or other persons from and against all claims and
demands whatsoever.
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Item 21.
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Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
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4
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.1
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Indenture for
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013, together with the global notes (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 4.2 of our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006).
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4
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.2
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Registration Rights Agreement,
dated as of December 12, 2006, among Regency Energy
Partners LP, Regency Finance Corp., the Guarantors named therein
and UBS Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.,
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc. and
Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC.
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5
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.1*
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Opinion of Vinson &
Elkins L.L.P. as to the legality of certain of the securities
being registered.
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5
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.2*
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Opinion of Kean Miller Hawthorne
DArmond McCowan & Jarman, LLP as to the legality
of certain of the securities being registered.
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12
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.1
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Computation of Ratio of Earnings
to Fixed Charges (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 12.1
to our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006).
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23
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.1*
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Consent of Deloitte &
Touche LLP.
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23
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.2*
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Consent of Vinson &
Elkins L.L.P. (contained in Exhibit 5.1).
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23
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.3*
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Consent of Kean Miller Hawthorne
DArmond McCowan & Jarman, LLP (contained in
Exhibit 5.2).
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23
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.4*
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Consent of Deloitte and Touche LLP
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24
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.1
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Powers of Attorney (included on
the signature pages).
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25
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.1
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Form T-1
Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the Trust
Indenture Act of 1939 of the trustee under the Indenture with
respect to the
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013.
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Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes
of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933,
each filing of the registrants annual report pursuant to
Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plans annual report pursuant to
Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934) that is incorporated by reference in this
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration
statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial bona fide offering thereof.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers
and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the
foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the
event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities
(other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling
person in connection with the securities being registered, the
registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled
II-1
by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be
governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Each registrant hereby undertakes:
To respond to requests for information that is incorporated by
reference into the prospectus pursuant to Items 4,
10(b), 11, or 13 of this Form, within one business day of
receipt of such request, and to send the incorporated documents
by first class mail or other equally prompt means. This includes
information contained in documents filed subsequent to the
effective date of the registration statement through the date of
responding to the request.
To supply by means of a post-effective amendment all information
concerning a transaction, and the company being acquired
involved therein, that was not the subject of and included in
the registration statement when it became effective.
II-2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this Registration Statement on
Form S-4
to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized in the City of Dallas, State of Texas, on the 14th
day of May, 2007.
REGENCY ENERGY PARTNERS LP
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By:
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Regency GP LP,
its general partner
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By:
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Regency GP LLC,
its general partner
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By:
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/s/ James
W. Hunt
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Name: James W. Hunt
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Title:
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Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by
the following persons in the capacities and the dates
indicated.
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Signature
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Title
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Date
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/s/ James
W. Hunt
James
W. Hunt
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Chairman of the Board, President,
and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
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May 14, 2007
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/s/ Stephen
L. Arata
Stephen
L. Arata
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Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
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May 14, 2007
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/s/ Lawrence
B. Connors
Lawrence
B. Connors
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Vice President, Finance and
Accounting (Principal Accounting Officer)
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May 14, 2007
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*
Joe
Colonnetta
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
Jason
H. Downie
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
A.
Dean Fuller
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
Jack
D. Furst
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
J.
Edward Herring
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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II-3
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Signature
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Title
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Date
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*
Robert
D. Kincaid
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
Gary
W. Luce
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*
J.
Otis Winters
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Director
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May 14, 2007
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*By: /s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III,
Attorney-in-Fact
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II-4
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY ENERGY FINANCE CORP.
Name: James W. Hunt
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Title:
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Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by
the following persons in the capacities and the dates
indicated.
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Signature
|
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Title
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Date
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/s/ James
W. Hunt
James
W. Hunt
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Chairman, President, Chief
Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
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May 14, 2007
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/s/ Stephen
L. Arata
Stephen
L. Arata
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Vice President and Treasurer,
Director (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting
Officer)
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May 14, 2007
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Michael
L. Williams
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Vice President, Director
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May 14, 2007
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/s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III
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Vice President, Secretary, Director
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May 14, 2007
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*By: /s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III,
Attorney-in-Fact
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II-5
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY WAHA LP, LLC
REGENCY NGL GP, LLC
REGENCY GAS MARKETING GP LLC
REGENCY WAHA GP, LLC
REGENCY INTRASTATE GAS, LLC
REGENCY MIDCON GAS LLC
REGENCY LIQUIDS PIPELINE LLC
REGENCY GAS GATHERING AND PROCESSING LLC
GULF STATES TRANSMISSION CORPORATION
Name: James W. Hunt
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by
the following persons in the capacities and the dates
indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
|
/s/ James
W. Hunt
James
W. Hunt
|
|
Chairman and President
(Principal Accounting Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
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|
|
|
|
/s/ Stephen
Arata
Stephen
Arata
|
|
Vice President, Director
(Principal Financial Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Lawrence
B. Connors
Lawrence
B. Connors
|
|
Treasurer
(Principal Accounting Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
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|
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|
|
Michael
L. Williams
|
|
Vice President, Director
(except as to Gulf States Transmission Corporation)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
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|
|
/s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III
|
|
Vice President and Secretary,
Director
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
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|
*By: /s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III,
Attorney-in-Fact
|
|
|
|
|
II-6
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY FN GP LLC
REGENCY FS GP LLC
REGENCY GUARANTOR GP LLC
REGENCY GU GP LLC
REGENCY OPERATING GP LLC
REGENCY PIPELINE COMPANY INC.
REGENCY TGG LLC
REGENCY TS GP LLC
REGENCY TS ACQUISITION GP LLC
Name: James W. Hunt
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by
the following persons in the capacities and the dates
indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
|
/s/ James
W. Hunt
James
W. Hunt
|
|
Chairman and President
(Principal Executive Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Stephen
L. Arata
Stephen
L. Arata
|
|
Vice President, Director
(Principal Financial Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Lawrence
B. Connors
Lawrence
B. Connors
|
|
Vice President and Treasurer
(Principal Accounting Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III
|
|
Vice President and Secretary,
Director
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael
L. Williams
|
|
Vice President, Director
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
*By: /s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III,
Attorney-in-Fact
|
|
|
|
|
II-7
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY OLP GP LLC
Name: James W. Hunt
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by
the following persons in the capacities and the dates
indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
|
/s/ James
W. Hunt
James
W. Hunt
|
|
Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Stephen
L. Arata
Stephen
L. Arata
|
|
Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, Director (Principal Financial Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Lawrence
B. Connors
Lawrence
B. Connors
|
|
Vice President, Finance and Chief
Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer)
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III
|
|
Executive Vice President, Chief
Legal and Administrative Officer and Secretary, Director
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael
L. Williams
|
|
Executive Vice President and Chief
Operations Officer, Director
|
|
May 14, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
*By: /s/ William
E. Joor III
William
E. Joor III
Attorney-in-Fact
|
|
|
|
|
II-8
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY EASTEX NEWLINE LP
REGENCY EASTEX PROTREAT I LP
REGENCY EASTEX PROTREAT II LP
|
|
|
|
By:
|
REGENCY OPERATING GP LLC,
its General Partner
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ James
W. Hunt
|
Name: James W. Hunt
II-9
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY FRIO NEWLINE LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-10
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY FS LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-11
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GAS UTILITY LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-12
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GUARANTOR LP
|
|
|
|
By:
|
REGENCY GUARANTOR GP LLC,
|
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-13
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY FIELD SERVICES LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-14
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY OPERATING LP
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By:
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REGENCY OPERATING GP LLC,
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its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-15
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY TS ACQUISITION LP
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By:
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REGENCY TS ACQUISITION GP LLC,
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its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-16
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GAS COMPANY LTD.
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By:
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REGENCY PIPELINE COMPANY INC.,
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its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-17
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY NGL MARKETING LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-18
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GAS MARKETING LP
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By:
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REGENCY GAS MARKETING GP LLC,
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its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-19
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GAS SERVICES LP
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
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Title:
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President and Chief Executive Officer
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II-20
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
REGENCY GAS SERVICES WAHA LP
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By:
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REGENCY WAHA GP LLC.,
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its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-21
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form S-4
and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Dallas, Texas, on May 14, 2007
PALAFOX JOINT VENTURE
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By:
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REGENCY PIPELINE COMPANY INC,
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its General Partner
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By:
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REGENCY GAS SERVICES LP,
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its General Partner
its General Partner
Name: James W. Hunt
II-22
INDEX TO
EXHIBITS
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4
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.1
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Indenture for
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013, together with the global note (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 4.2 of our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006).
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4
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.2
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Registration Rights Agreement,
dated as of December 12, 2006, among Regency Energy
Partners LP, Regency Finance Corp., the Guarantors named therein
and UBS Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.,
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc. and
Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC.
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5
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.1*
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Opinion of Vinson &
Elkins L.L.P. as to the legality of certain of the securities
being registered.
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5
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.2*
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Opinion of Kean Miller Hawthorne
DArmond McCowan & Jarman, LLP as to the legality
of certain of the securities being registered.
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12
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.1
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Computation of Ratio of Earnings
to Fixed Charges (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 12.1
to our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006).
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23
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.1*
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Consent of Deloitte &
Touche LLP.
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23
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.2*
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Consent of Vinson &
Elkins L.L.P. (contained in Exhibit 5.1).
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23
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.3*
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Consent of Kean Miller Hawthorne
DArmond McCowan & Jarman, LLP (contained in
Exhibit 5.2).
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23
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.4*
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Consent of Deloitte and Touche LLP
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24
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.1
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Powers of Attorney (included on
the signature pages).
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25
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.1
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Form T-1
Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the Trust
Indenture Act of 1939 of the trustee under the Indenture with
respect to the
83/8% Senior
Notes due 2013.
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