8. Tax Receivable Agreement

As discussed in Note 1, pursuant to the Cactus LLC Agreement, each TRA Holder has, subject to certain limitations, their Redemption Right. Alternatively, upon the exercise of the Redemption Right, Cactus Inc. will have its Call Right.

Cactus LLC has made for itself (and for each of its direct or indirect subsidiaries that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and that it controls) an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Pursuant to the Section 754 election, redemptions of CW Units pursuant to the Redemption Right or the Call Right are expected to result in adjustments to the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Cactus LLC. These adjustments will be allocated to Cactus Inc. In addition, the repayment of borrowings outstanding under the Cactus LLC term loan facility in connection with our IPO resulted in adjustments to the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Cactus LLC, a portion of which will be allocated to Cactus Inc. following its acquisition or deemed acquisition of CW Units from the CW Unit Holders. Such adjustments to the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Cactus LLC would not have been available to Cactus Inc. absent its acquisition or deemed acquisition of CW Units pursuant to the exercise of the Redemption Right or the Call Right.

These basis adjustments are expected to increase (for tax purposes) Cactus Inc.’s depreciation and amortization deductions and may also decrease Cactus Inc.’s gains (or increase its losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets. Such increased deductions and losses and reduced gains may reduce the amount of tax that Cactus Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The TRA generally provides for the payment by Cactus Inc. to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax and franchise tax that Cactus Inc. actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances as a result of (i) certain increases in tax basis that occur as a result of Cactus Inc.’s acquisition (or deemed acquisition for U.S. federal income tax purposes) of all or a portion of such TRA Holder’s CW Units in connection with our IPO or any subsequent offering, or pursuant to any other exercise of the Redemption Right or the Call Right, (ii) certain increases in tax basis resulting from the repayment of borrowings outstanding under Cactus LLC’s term loan facility in connection with our IPO and (iii) imputed interest deemed to be paid by Cactus Inc. as a result of, and additional tax basis arising from, any payments Cactus Inc. makes under the TRA. We will retain the remaining 15% of the cash savings.

The payment obligations under the TRA are Cactus Inc.’s obligations and not obligations of Cactus LLC, and we expect that the payments we will be required to make under the TRA will be substantial. We have determined that it is more likely than not that actual cash tax savings will be realized by Cactus Inc. from the tax benefits resulting from the CW Unit redemptions pursuant to the Redemption Right or the Call Right. Accordingly, the TRA is expected to result in future payments, and we have recorded a total liability from the TRA of $220.9 million included in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2019 with $14.8 million reflected in current liabilities based on the expected timing of our next payment. Future redemptions of CW Units will create additional liability and follow the same accounting procedures. Estimating the amount and timing of payments that may become due under the TRA is by its nature imprecise and the assumptions used in the estimate can change.

For purposes of the TRA, net cash savings in tax generally will be calculated by comparing Cactus Inc.’s actual tax liability (determined by using the actual applicable U.S. federal income tax rate and an assumed combined state and local income tax rate) to the amount it would have been required to pay had it not been able to utilize any of the tax benefits subject to the TRA. The amounts payable, as well as the timing of any payments under the TRA, are dependent upon significant future events and assumptions, including the timing and number of redemptions of CW Units, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of each redemption, the extent to which such redemptions are taxable transactions, the amount of the redeeming unit holder’s tax basis in its CW Units at the time of the relevant redemption, the depreciation and amortization periods that apply to the increase in tax basis, the amount and timing of taxable income we generate in the future and the U.S. federal, state and local income tax rate then applicable, and the portion of Cactus Inc.’s payments under the TRA that constitute imputed interest or give rise to depreciable or amortizable tax basis.

A delay in the timing of redemptions of CW Units, holding other assumptions constant, would be expected to decrease the discounted present value of the amounts payable under the TRA as the benefit of the depreciation and amortization deductions would be delayed and the estimated increase in tax basis could be reduced as a result of allocations of Cactus LLC taxable income to the redeeming unit holder prior to the redemption. Stock price increases or decreases at the time of each redemption of CW Units would be expected to result in a corresponding increase or decrease to the benefits subject to the TRA of approximately 125% of the tax-effected change in price and to the undiscounted amounts payable under the TRA in an amount approximately equal to 106% of the tax-effected change in price. The amounts payable under the TRA are dependent upon Cactus Inc. having sufficient future taxable income to utilize the tax benefits on which it is required to make payments under the TRA. If Cactus Inc.’s projected taxable income is significantly reduced, the expected payments would be reduced to the extent such tax benefits do not result in a reduction of Cactus Inc.’s future income tax liabilities.

It is possible that future transactions or events could increase or decrease the actual tax benefits realized and the corresponding liability from the TRA. Moreover, there may be a negative impact on our liquidity if, as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise, (i) the payments under the TRA exceed the actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the TRA or (ii) distributions to Cactus Inc. by Cactus LLC are not sufficient to permit Cactus Inc. to make payments under the TRA after it has paid its taxes and other obligations. The payments under the TRA will not be conditional on a holder of rights under the TRA having a continued ownership interest in either Cactus LLC or Cactus Inc.

In addition, although we are not aware of any issue that would cause the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or other relevant tax authorities to challenge potential tax basis increases or other tax benefits covered under the TRA, the TRA Holders will not reimburse us for any payments previously made under the TRA if such basis increases or other benefits are subsequently disallowed, except that excess payments made to any such holder will be netted against payments otherwise to be made, if any, to such holder after our determination of such excess. As a result, in such circumstances, Cactus Inc. could make payments that are greater than its actual cash tax savings, if any, and may not be able to recoup those payments.

We will recognize subsequent changes to the measurement of the liability from the TRA in the income statement as a component of income before taxes. In the case of any changes to any valuation allowance associated with the underlying tax asset, given the link between the tax savings generated and the recognition of the liability from the TRA (i.e., the latter is based on 85% of the former), and the explicit guidance in ASC 740-20-45-11(g) which requires that subsequent changes in a valuation allowance established against deferred tax assets that arose due to change in tax basis as a result of a transaction among or with shareholders to be recorded in the income statement as opposed to equity, we believe recording of the corollary adjustment to the liability from the TRA in the income statement is appropriate.

The term of the TRA commenced upon completion of our IPO and will continue until all tax benefits that are subject to the TRA have been utilized or expired, unless we exercise our right to terminate the TRA. In the event that the TRA is not terminated, the payments under the TRA are anticipated to commence in 2019 and to continue for approximately 20 years after the date of the last redemption of CW Units. Accordingly, it is expected that payments will continue to be made under the TRA for more than 25 years. If we elect to terminate the TRA early (or it is terminated early due to certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control), our obligations under the TRA would accelerate and we would be required to make an immediate payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future payments to be made by us under the TRA (determined by applying a discount rate of one-year LIBOR plus 150 basis points) and such payment is expected to be substantial. The calculation of anticipated future payments will be based upon certain assumptions and deemed events set forth in the TRA, including the assumptions that (i) we have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits covered by the TRA and (ii) any CW Units (other than those held by Cactus Inc.) outstanding on the termination date are deemed to be redeemed on the termination date. Any early termination payment may be made significantly in advance of the actual realization, if any, of the future tax benefits to which the termination payment relates.

The TRA provides that in the event that we breach any of our material obligations under the TRA, whether as a result of (i) our failure to make any payment when due (including in cases where we elect to terminate the TRA early, the TRA is terminated early due to certain mergers, asset sales, or other forms of business combinations or changes of control or we have available cash but fail to make payments when due under circumstances where we do not have the right to elect to defer the payment, as described below), (ii) our failure to honor any other material obligation under it or (iii) by operation of law as a result of the rejection of the TRA in a case commenced under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or otherwise, then the TRA Holders may elect to treat such breach as an early termination, which would cause all our payment and other obligations under the TRA to be accelerated and become due and payable applying the same assumptions described above. As a result of either an early termination or a change of control, we could be required to make payments under the TRA that exceed the actual cash tax savings under the TRA. In these situations, our obligations under the TRA could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, or other forms of business combinations or changes of control. Decisions we make in the course of running our business, such as with respect to mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes in control, may influence the timing and amount of payments that are received by the TRA Holders under the TRA. For example, the earlier disposal of assets following a redemption of CW Units may accelerate payments under the TRA and increase the present value of such payments, and the disposal of assets before a redemption of CW Units may increase the TRA Holders’ tax liability without giving rise to any rights of the TRA Holders to receive payments under the TRA. Such effects may result in differences or conflicts of interest between the interests of the TRA Holders and other shareholders.

Payments generally are due under the TRA within five business days following the finalization of the schedule with respect to which the payment obligation is calculated. However, interest on such payments will begin to accrue from the due date (without extensions) of our U.S. federal income tax return for the period to which such payments relate until such payment due date at a rate equal to one-year LIBOR plus 150 basis points. Except in cases where we elect to terminate the TRA early or it is otherwise terminated as described above, generally we may elect to defer payments due under the TRA if we do not have available cash to satisfy our payment obligations under the TRA. Any such deferred payments under the TRA generally will accrue interest from the due date for such payment until the payment date at a rate of one-year LIBOR plus 550 basis points. However, interest will accrue from the due date for such payment until the payment date at a rate of one-year LIBOR plus 150 basis points if we are unable to make such payment as a result of limitations imposed by our credit facility. We have no present intention to defer payments under the TRA. To the extent that we are unable to make payments under the TRA for any reason, such payments will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid.

Because we are a holding company with no operations of our own, our ability to make payments under the TRA is dependent on the ability of Cactus LLC to make distributions to us in an amount sufficient to cover our obligations under the TRA. This ability, in turn, may depend on the ability of Cactus LLC’s subsidiaries to make distributions to it. The ability of Cactus LLC, its subsidiaries and other entities in which it directly or indirectly holds an equity interest to make such distributions will be subject to, among other things, the applicable provisions of Delaware law (or other applicable jurisdiction) that may limit the amount of funds available for distribution and restrictions in relevant debt instruments issued by Cactus LLC or its subsidiaries and other entities in which it directly or indirectly holds an equity interest. Additionally, distributions made by Cactus LLC are generally required to be made pro rata among all of its members, including legacy CW Unit Holders, which could be significant.

During third quarter 2019, we finalized our 2018 federal tax return for Cactus, Inc. and made a $9.3 million TRA payment, which is equal to 85% of the $10.8 million tax benefit resulting from the exchange of CW Units for shares of Class A common stock during 2018 plus $0.2 million of interest accrued from the original return due date through the payment date at a rate of LIBOR plus 150 basis points.

Liability Related to Tax Receivable Agreement

The table below presents our contractual obligations for payments of the liability related to the TRA for periods subsequent to September 30, 2019. This table does not include potential pro rata distributions to non-controlling interest members if Cactus LLC is required to make distributions to Cactus Inc. in an amount sufficient to cover its obligations under the TRA.


	Liability related to TRA
Remainder of 2019	$	—
2020		14,815
2021		12,159
2022		12,391
2023		12,655
Thereafter		168,900
	$	220,920