Variable Interest Entities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Variable Interest Entities

Variable Interest Entities

19. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

The Partnership’s investment in the Carnero JV represents a variable interest entity (“VIE”) that could expose the Partnership to losses. The amount of losses the Partnership could be exposed to from the Carnero JV is limited to the capital investment of approximately $100.3 million.

As of December 31, 2019, the Partnership had invested approximately $124.1 million in the Carnero JV and no debt has been incurred by the Carnero JV. We have included this VIE in other assets, equity investments on the balance sheet.

Below is a tabular comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities of the VIE and the Partnership’s maximum exposure to loss as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2019		2018
Acquisitions, earnout and capital investments	$	128,140	$	127,899
Earnings in equity investments		25,976		23,144
Distributions received		(53,805)		(36,578)
Maximum exposure to loss	$	100,311	$	114,465