As confidentially submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 12, 2022.

This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains strictly confidential.

Registration No. 333-                

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Confidential Draft Submission No. 1

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		4922		83-3013440
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

15320 Highway 105 W, Suite 210

Montgomery, Texas 77356

(936) 539-3300

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Robert M. McKee

President and Chief Executive Officer

15320 Highway 105 W, Suite 210

Montgomery, Texas 77356

(936) 539-3300

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Matthew R. Pacey Jennifer Wu Atma J. Kabad Kirkland & Ellis LLP 609 Main Street, Suite 4700 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 836-3600		Ryan J. Maierson Nick S. Dhesi Latham & Watkins LLP 811 Main Street, Suite 3700 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 546-5400

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box:  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) 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.  ☐

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.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer  ☐

Accelerated filer

☐

Non-accelerated filer

☒

Smaller reporting company

☐

Emerging growth company

☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant 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, as amended, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary 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.

Subject to Completion. Dated                 , 2022.

             Shares

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc.

Common Stock

This is an initial public offering of shares of common stock of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. All of the                  shares of common stock are being sold by us.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. It is currently expected that the initial public offering price per share will be between $                 and $                 . We intend to list our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “KGS.”

We are an “emerging growth company” as that term is used in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and, as such, we have elected to take advantage of certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and future filings. See “Risk Factors” and “Prospectus Summary—Emerging Growth Company.”

After the completion of this offering, an investment fund advised by an affiliate of EQT AB will beneficially own approximately                 % of our outstanding common stock (or                 % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of common stock).

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 22 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

		Per share				Total
Initial public offering price		$				$
Underwriting discount and commissions(1)		$				$
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$				$

 

(1)	See “Underwriting” for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than                  shares of common stock, the underwriters have the option, for a period of 30 days, to purchase up to an additional                  shares from us at the initial price to the public less the underwriting discount and commissions.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock against payment in New York, New York on or about                 .

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC		J.P. Morgan

 

 

Barclays

 

 

Prospectus dated                 .                

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY			1
RISK FACTORS			22
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			48
USE OF PROCEEDS			50
DIVIDEND POLICY			51
CAPITALIZATION			52
DILUTION			53
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS			54
BUSINESS			72
MANAGEMENT			90
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION			93
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS			95
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT			97
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			98
CERTAIN CONSIDERATIONS FOR ERISA AND OTHER U.S. BENEFIT PLANS			103
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE			105
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS			107
UNDERWRITING			112
LEGAL MATTERS			119
EXPERTS			119
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			119
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF KODIAK GAS SERVICES, INC.			F-1

Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we and the underwriters have prepared. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the underwriters are offering to sell shares of common stock and seeking offers to buy shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where such offers and sales are permitted. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. See “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Through and including                 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This requirement is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

Commonly Used Defined Terms

As used in this prospectus, unless the context indicates or otherwise requires, the terms listed below have the following meanings:

 

•

“ABL Credit Agreement” means that certain Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of October 24, 2019 among Kodiak Gas Services, LLC, Frontier Intermediate Holding, LLC, the other obligors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent, as amended by the First Amendment thereto, dated as of May 15, 2020, the Second Amendment thereto, dated as of January 25, 2022, and the Third Amendment thereto, dated as of May 19, 2022;

 

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“ABL Facility” means our senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility provided under and governed by the ABL Credit Agreement;

 

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“Company” means Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries;

 

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“EQT” or “EQT AB Group” means EQT AB and its direct and indirect subsidiaries including, for the avoidance of doubt, investment vehicles managed and/or operated by affiliates of EQT AB and their respective portfolio companies;

 

•

“EQT AB” means EQT AB (publ), a Swedish public limited liability company registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Reg. No. 556849-4180) and whose ordinary shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange;

 

•

“Kodiak Holdings” means Frontier TopCo Partnership, L.P., an affiliate of EQT AB and holder of record of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. common stock;

 

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“Term Loan” means the term loan facility governed by the Term Loan Credit Agreement; and

 

•

“Term Loan Credit Agreement” means that certain Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of May 31, 2022, among Kodiak Gas Services, LLC, Frontier Intermediate Holding, LLC, the lenders party thereto, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as Administrative Agent, and the lenders party thereto.

Presentation of Information

Unless otherwise indicated, information presented in this prospectus (i) assumes that the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common stock is not exercised, (ii) assumes that the initial public offering price of the shares of our common stock will be $                 per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and (iii) assumes the filing and effectiveness of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (our “charter”) and the Amended and Restated Bylaws (our “bylaws”), both of which will be adopted immediately prior to the consummation of this offering. See “Description of Capital Stock” for a description of our charter and bylaws.

Industry and Market Data

The market data and certain other statistical information used throughout this prospectus are based on independent industry publications, government publications or other published independent sources. These sources include the United States Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) and the International Energy Agency. Although we believe these third-party sources are reliable as of their respective dates, neither we nor the underwriters have independently verified the accuracy or completeness of this information. Some data is also based on our good faith estimates and our management’s understanding of industry conditions. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section entitled “Risk Factors.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in these publications.

Trademarks and Trade Names

We own or have rights to various trademarks, service marks and trade names that we use in connection with the operation of our business. This prospectus may also contain trademarks, service marks and trade names of third parties, which are the property of their respective owners. Our use or display of third parties’ trademarks, service marks, trade names or products in this prospectus is not intended to, and does not imply, a relationship with us or an endorsement or sponsorship by or of us. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ^®, TM or SM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, service marks and trade names.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below together with other information set forth in this prospectus before investing in shares of our common stock. If any of the following risks or uncertainties actually occur, our business, financial condition, prospects, results of operations and cash flow could be materially adversely affected. The risks discussed below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks or uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, prospects, results of operations or cash flows. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. In that case, the market price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or a part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry

A long-term reduction in the demand for, or production of, natural gas or oil could adversely affect the demand for our compression operations or the prices we charge for our compression operations, which could result in a decrease in our revenues.

The demand for our compression operations depends upon the continued demand for, and production of, natural gas and oil. The natural gas and oil industry is historically cyclical with levels of activity that are significantly affected by the levels and volatility of natural gas and oil prices. We may experience fluctuations in operating results as a result of the reactions of our customers to changes in natural gas and oil prices. Demand may be affected by, among other factors, natural gas prices, oil prices, weather, availability of alternative energy sources, governmental regulation and the overall demand for energy. Any prolonged, substantial, material reduction in the demand for natural gas or oil would likely depress the level of production activity and result in a decline in the demand for our compression operations, which could result in a reduction in our revenues.

We have several key customers. The loss of one or more of these customers would result in a decrease in our revenues and could adversely affect our financial results.

We provide compression operations under contracts with several key customers. The loss of one or more of these key customers may have an adverse effect on our financial results. Our two largest customers accounted for approximately 24% of our revenues for the year ending December 31, 2021 and 23% for the year ending December 31, 2020. Our largest customer accounted for approximately 12% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. Additionally, our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 59% and 60% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The loss of all or even a portion of the compression operations we provide to our key customers, as a result of competition or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The deterioration of the financial condition of our customers could adversely affect our business.

During times when the natural gas or oil markets weaken, our customers are more likely to experience financial difficulties, including being unable to access debt or equity financing, which could result in a reduction in our customers’ spending for our services. For example, our customers could seek to preserve capital by using lower cost providers, not renewing month-to-month contracts or determining not to enter into any new compression operations contracts. A significant decline in commodity prices may cause certain of our customers to reconsider their near-term capital budgets, which may impact large-scale natural gas infrastructure and oil production activities. Reduced demand for our services could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, in the event of the financial failure of a customer, we could experience a loss of all or a portion of our outstanding accounts receivable associated with that customer.

 

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We face significant competition that may cause us to lose market share.

The compression business is competitive. Our ability to renew or replace existing contracts with our customers at rates sufficient to maintain current revenue and cash flows could be adversely affected by the activities of our competitors and our customers. If our competitors substantially increase the resources they devote to the development and marketing of competitive services or substantially decrease the prices at which they offer their services, we may be unable to compete effectively. Our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly to technological changes within our industry and changes in economic and market conditions and more readily take advantage of acquisitions and other opportunities. In addition, we could face significant competition from new entrants into our industry. Some of these competitors may expand or construct newer, more powerful or more flexible compression fleets, which would create additional competition for us. All of these competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our customers may choose to vertically integrate their operations by purchasing and operating their own compression fleet, increasing the number of compression units they currently own or using alternative technologies for enhancing oil production.

Our customers that are significant producers, processors, gatherers and transporters of natural gas and oil may choose to vertically integrate their operations by purchasing and operating their own compression fleets in lieu of using our compression operations. The historical availability of attractive financing terms from financial institutions and equipment manufacturers facilitates this possibility by making the purchase of individual compression units increasingly affordable to our customers. In addition, there are many technologies available for the artificial enhancement of oil production, and our customers may elect to use these alternative technologies instead of the gas lift compression operations we provide. Such vertical integration or use of alternative technologies could result in decreased demand for our compression operations, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

After the primary term of our contracts, such contracts are cancellable on 30 to 90 days’ notice, and we cannot be sure that such contracts will be extended or renewed after the end of the initial contractual term. Any such non-renewals, or renewals at reduced rates or the loss of contracts with any significant customer could adversely impact our financial results.

The length of our contract compression operations contracts with customers varies based on operating conditions and customer needs. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 22% of our compression operations on a revenue basis were provided on a month-to-month basis to customers who continue to utilize our services following expiration of the primary term of their contracts. These customers can generally terminate their month-to-month compression operations contracts on 30 to 90 days’ notice. We cannot be sure that a substantial number of these contracts will be extended or renewed by our customers or that any of our customers will continue to contract with us. The inability to negotiate extensions or renew a substantial portion of our contract compression operations contracts, the renewal of such contracts at reduced rates, the inability to contract for additional services with our customers or the loss of all or a significant portion of our services contracts with any significant customer could lead to a reduction in revenue and net income and could require us to record additional asset impairments. This could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The majority of our operations are located in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, making us vulnerable to risks associated with operating in limited geographic areas.

Our operations are geographically concentrated in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. As a result, we may be disproportionately exposed to the impact of regional supply and demand factors in the Permian Basin or Eagle Ford Shale caused by significant governmental regulation, curtailment of production or interruption of the processing or transportation of natural gas and oil produced from the wells in these areas. In addition, the effect

 

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of fluctuations on supply and demand may become more pronounced within specific geographic natural gas and oil producing areas such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, which may cause these conditions to occur with greater frequency or magnify the effects of these conditions. Due to the concentrated nature of our operations, we could experience any of the same conditions at the same time, resulting in a relatively greater impact on our revenue than they might have on other companies that have more geographically diverse operations.

We may be unable to integrate effectively the businesses we may acquire, which may impact our operations and limit our growth.

From time to time, we may choose to make business acquisitions to pursue market opportunities, increase our existing capabilities and expand into new geographic areas of operations. We may not be successful in integrating any future acquisitions into our existing operations, which may result in unforeseen operational difficulties or diminished financial performance or require a disproportionate amount of our management’s attention. Even if we are successful in integrating future acquisitions into our existing operations, we may not derive the benefits, such as operational or administrative synergies, that we expected from such acquisitions which may result in the commitment of our capital resources without the expected returns on such capital. Our inability to integrate acquisitions successfully into our existing operations, may adversely impact our operations and limit our growth.

We may be unable to access the capital and credit markets or borrow on affordable terms to obtain additional capital that we may require.

We have financed acquisitions, operating expenditures and capital expenditures with a combination of cash provided by operating and financing activities. However, to the extent we are unable to finance our operating expenditures, capital expenditures, scheduled interest and debt repayments and any future dividends with net cash provided by operating activities and borrowings under the ABL Credit Agreement or future financing arrangements, we may require additional capital. Periods of instability in the capital and credit markets (both generally and in the natural gas and oil industry in particular) could limit our ability to access these markets to raise debt or equity capital on affordable terms or to obtain additional financing. Among other things, our lenders may seek to increase interest rates, enact tighter lending standards, refuse to refinance existing debt at maturity at favorable terms or at all and may reduce or cease to provide funding to us. If we are unable to access the capital and credit markets on favorable terms, or if we are not successful in raising capital within the time period required or at all, we may not be able to grow or maintain our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, we may be unable to refinance borrowings under the ABL Credit Agreement.

Our fleet may require additional operating or capital expenses to maintain over time, which could adversely impact our financial results.

Our fleet may require additional operating or capital expenses to maintain over time, which could adversely impact our financial results. Such costs may include direct costs such as labor, parts, materials and any other services that are unique in nature to each individual compression unit. The cost of additions or improvements to our fleet could adversely impact our financial results.

Impairment in the carrying value of long-lived assets could reduce our earnings.

We have a significant number of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheet. Under GAAP, we are required to review our long-lived assets for impairment when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable or such assets will no longer be utilized in the operating fleet. The carrying value of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. If business conditions or other factors cause

 

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the expected undiscounted cash flows to decline, we may be required to record non-cash impairment charges. Events and conditions that could result in impairment in the value of our long-lived assets include changes in the industry in which we operate, long-term extended reduction in demand for natural gas and oil, competition, advances in technology, adverse changes in the regulatory environment or other factors leading to a reduction in our expected long-term profitability.

A prolonged downturn in the economic environment could cause an impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets and reduce our earnings.

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $306 million of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets of approximately $142 million. Goodwill is recorded when the purchase price of a business exceeds the fair market value of the tangible and separately measurable intangible net assets. GAAP requires us to test goodwill for impairment on an annual basis or when events or circumstances occur indicating that goodwill might be impaired. Any event that causes a reduction in demand for our services could result in a reduction of our estimates of future cash flows and growth rates in our business. These events could cause us to record impairments of goodwill or other intangible assets.

We have in the past been, and may in the future be, subject to sales tax audits in jurisdictions where we operate. As a result we may incur material unanticipated sales tax liabilities.

Taxing authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate have in the past, and may in the future, audit us or otherwise challenge the amount of sales tax we have collected or paid. As a result, we may incur material unanticipated sales tax liabilities. In October 2019, we received notice of an audit from the State of Texas Comptroller’s office for the period covering December 2015 through August 2019. Based on the information currently available, we have accrued a contingent liability of $16.1 million for the period set forth in the notice of audit and an additional $5.2 million for contingent liabilities subsequent to August 2019. This accrual may not be sufficient to cover the expenses and liabilities related to a future audit for such period.

If we are unable to make all payments required by any taxing authority as a result of an audit, settlement or otherwise, we could face additional interest or penalties, or other punitive actions, up to and including seizure of our assets or forfeiture of our sales tax permit. Payments and penalties related to sales taxes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations.

We qualify as a Heavy Equipment Dealer for ad valorem tax purposes under revised Texas statutes. If in the future we do not qualify as a Heavy Equipment Dealer or our compression units do not qualify as Heavy Equipment because of new or revised Texas statutes or different interpretations by Texas governmental authorities, we will incur additional taxes, which would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

In 2011, the Texas Legislature enacted changes related to the appraisal of natural gas compression units for ad valorem tax purposes by expanding the definitions of “Heavy Equipment Dealer” and “Heavy Equipment” effective from the beginning of 2012. If legislation is enacted in Texas that repeals or alters the Heavy Equipment statutes or a Texas governmental authority takes a different position such that we do not qualify as a Heavy Equipment Dealer or our compression units do not qualify as Heavy Equipment, then we would likely be required to pay additional ad valorem taxes with respect to prior and future periods, which would increase our quarterly cost of sales expense unless passed on to our customers, thereby impacting our future results of operations and financial condition. We may not be able to pass this cost along to our customers.

Our ability to manage and grow our business effectively may be adversely affected if we lose key members of our management.

We depend on the continuing efforts of our executive officers, and the departure of any of our executive officers could have a significant negative effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and on our ability to compete effectively in the marketplace.

 

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We might be unable to employ or retain qualified technical personnel, which could hamper our present operations, limit our ability to grow or increase our costs.

Many of the compression units that we operate are mechanically complex and often must perform in harsh conditions. We believe that our success depends upon our ability to employ and retain a sufficient number of technical personnel who have the ability to utilize, enhance and maintain these compression units. Our ability to maintain and expand our operations depends in part on our ability to utilize, replace, supplement and increase our skilled labor force. The demand for skilled workers is high, and supply is limited, especially in the Permian Basin. A significant increase in the wages paid by competing employers could result in a reduction of our skilled labor force or cause an increase in the wage rates that we must pay or both. If either of these events were to occur, our cost structure could increase, and our operations and growth potential could be impaired. Employee turnover may also lead to lost productivity and decrease employee engagement which could adversely impact our business.

Additionally, our ability to hire, train and retain qualified personnel could become more challenging as we grow and to the extent energy industry market conditions are competitive. When general industry conditions are favorable, the competition for experienced operational and field technicians increases as other energy and manufacturing companies’ needs for the same personnel increases. Our ability to grow or even to continue our current level of service to our current customers could be adversely impacted if we are unable to successfully hire, train and retain these important personnel. In addition, effective succession planning for our employees and expansion planning is important to our long-term success. Failure to achieve these plans could hinder our strategic planning and execution and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Any unionization efforts or labor regulation changes in certain jurisdictions in which we operate could divert management’s attention and could have a materially adverse effect on our operating results or limit our operational flexibility.

We consider our relationship with our employees to be satisfactory, and none of our employees are represented by a union in collective bargaining with us. However, efforts could be made by employees and third parties from time to time to unionize portions of our workforce. In addition, we may be subject to strikes or work stoppages and other labor disruptions in the future. Any unionization efforts, collective bargaining agreements or work stoppages could have a materially adverse effect on our operating results or limit our operational flexibility.

We depend on a limited number of suppliers and, particularly as a result of supply chain and logistics disruptions that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting inflationary environment, we are vulnerable to product shortages, long lead times and price increases, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations.

The substantial majority of the components for our natural gas compression equipment are supplied by a limited number of key vendors. Our reliance on these suppliers involves several risks, including price increases and a potential inability to obtain an adequate supply of required components in a timely manner. We also rely primarily on a limited number of vendors to package and assemble our compression units. We do not have long-term contracts with these suppliers or packagers, and a partial or complete loss of any of these sources could have a negative impact on our results of operations and could damage our customer relationships. In addition, the preferences of our customers with respect to particular vendors may change, which could require us to find new vendors. Some of these suppliers manufacture the components we purchase in a single facility, and any damage to that facility could lead to significant delays in delivery of completed compression units to us.

If we are unable to purchase compression equipment or components for our compression equipment on a timely basis to meet the demands of our customers, our existing customers may terminate their contractual relationships with us, or we may not be able to compete for business from new or existing customers, which, in each case,

 

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could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, supply chain bottlenecks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our ability to obtain necessary materials, parts or other components used in our operations or increase the costs of such items. A significant increase in the price of such equipment, materials and services, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting supply chain and logistics disruptions, or otherwise, could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Nonperformance by our suppliers or vendors could impact our revenues, increase our expenses and otherwise have a negative impact on our ability to conduct our business, operating results and cash flows.

Weak economic conditions or widespread financial distress could reduce the liquidity of our suppliers or vendors, making it more difficult for them to meet their commitments or obligations to us. Nonperformance by suppliers or vendors who have committed to provide us with critical products or services could raise our costs or interfere with our ability to successfully conduct our business.

Our operations entail inherent risks that may result in substantial liability. We do not insure against all potential losses and could be seriously harmed by unexpected liabilities.

Our operations are subject to inherent risks such as equipment defects, malfunctions and failures, natural disasters and other incidents that can result in uncontrollable flows of gas or well fluids, fires and explosions. These risks could expose us to substantial liability for personal injury, death, property damage, pollution and other environmental damages. Our insurance may be inadequate to cover our liabilities or subject to cancellation notices. Further, insurance covering the risks we face or in the amounts we desire may not be available in the future or, if available, the premiums may not be commercially justifiable. If we were to incur substantial liability and such damages were not covered by insurance or were in excess of policy limits, resulted in cancellation of our policy, or if we were to incur liability at a time when we are not able to obtain liability insurance, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Terrorist attacks, the threat of terrorist attacks or other sustained military campaigns may adversely impact our results of operations.

The long-term impact of terrorist attacks and the magnitude of the threat of future terrorist attacks on the energy industry in general and on us in particular are not known at this time. Uncertainty surrounding sustained military campaigns may affect our operations in unpredictable ways, including disruptions of natural gas and oil supplies and markets for natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil and the possibility that infrastructure facilities could be direct targets of, or indirect casualties of, an act of terror or war. Changes in the insurance markets attributable to terrorist attacks may make insurance against such attacks more difficult for us to obtain, if we choose to do so. Moreover, the insurance that may be available to us may be significantly more expensive than our existing insurance coverage. Instability in the financial markets resulting from terrorism or war could also negatively affect our ability to raise capital.

Risks Related to Regulatory Matters

Our operations are subject to stringent environmental, health and safety regulation, and changes in these regulations could increase our costs or liabilities.

Our operations at customer sites are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment, emissions controls and other environmental protection and occupational health and safety concerns. Environmental laws and regulations, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and comparable state laws, may impose strict, as well as joint and several, liability for environmental contamination, which could render us potentially liable for remediation costs, natural resource damages and other damages, regardless of whether we were responsible for the release or contamination, and even if our operations were lawful at the time of the release or if contamination was caused

 

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by third parties. In addition, third parties, including neighboring landowners, could file claims for personal injury, property damage and recovery of response costs. Remediation costs and other damages arising as a result of environmental laws and regulations, and costs associated with changes in existing environmental laws and regulations or the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations over time could adversely impact our or our customers’ financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, failure by us or our customers to comply with these environmental laws and regulations could result in the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal penalties and the issuance of injunctions delaying or prohibiting operations, which could in turn have an adverse impact on our customers and our business.

We conduct operations in a wide variety of customer locations across the continental United States (“U.S.”) Our customers are required to hold certain U.S. federal, state or local environmental permits or other authorizations and may require new or amended facility permits or licenses from time to time with respect to storm water discharges, waste handling or air emissions relating to equipment operations, including compression units, which subject our customers to new or revised permitting conditions that may be onerous or with respect to which compliance may be costly. These permits and authorizations frequently contain numerous compliance requirements, including monitoring and reporting obligations and operational restrictions, such as emissions limits. Given the wide variety of locations in which our customers operate, and the number of environmental permits and other authorizations that are applicable to our customers’ operations, our customers may occasionally identify or be notified of violations of or noncompliance with certain requirements existing under various permits or may be required to obtain additional permits. Although we do not hold the permits, such noncompliance with required permits or the failure to obtain additional permits by our customers could subject our customers to future penalties, operating restrictions, or delays in obtaining new or amended permits which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations are constantly evolving and may become increasingly complex and more stringent over time. Future environmental health and safety laws and regulations (or changes to existing laws and regulations) may also negatively impact natural gas and oil exploration and production, gathering and pipeline companies, including our customers, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, and results of our operations.

New regulations, proposed regulations and proposed modifications to existing regulations under the Clean Air Act, if implemented, could result in increased compliance costs and changes in customers’ demand and desired suppliers.

New regulations or proposed modifications to existing regulations under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) may lead to adverse impacts on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized a rule strengthening the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”) for ground level ozone, both of which are eight-hour concentration standards of 70 parts per billion. In December 2020, the EPA published its decision to retain the 2015 NAAQS for ground-level ozone; however, in October 2021, the EPA announced it will reconsider its December 2020 decision. While a draft assessment released in April 2022 indicates that EPA staff have reached a preliminary conclusion that the December 2020 decision will stand, the EPA is targeting the end of 2023 to complete its reconsideration. After the EPA revises a NAAQS standard, the states are expected to establish revised attainment/non-attainment regions. State implementation of the revised NAAQS could result in stricter permitting requirements, delay or prohibit our customers’ ability to obtain such permits, and result in increased expenditures for pollution control equipment, which could negatively impact our customers’ operations, increase the cost of additions to property, plants and equipment and negatively impact our business.

In 2012, the EPA finalized rules that establish new air emissions controls for natural gas and oil production and natural gas processing operations. Specifically, the EPA’s rule package included New Source Performance Standards to address emissions of sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) and a separate set of emissions standards to address hazardous air pollutants frequently associated with natural gas and oil production

 

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and processing activities. The rules established specific new requirements regarding emissions from compression units and controllers at natural gas processing plants, dehydrators, storage tanks and other production equipment as well as the first federal air standards for natural gas wells that are hydraulically fractured. In June 2016, the EPA took steps to expand on these regulations when it published New Source Performance Standards, known as Subpart OOOOa, that required certain new, modified or reconstructed facilities in the natural gas and oil sector to reduce methane gas and VOC emissions. These Subpart OOOOa standards expanded the 2012 New Source Performance Standards by using certain equipment-specific emissions control practices, requiring additional controls for pneumatic controllers and pumps as well as compression units, and imposing leak detection and repair requirements for natural gas compression units and booster stations.

In September 2020, the EPA, under the Trump Administration, finalized two sets of amendments to the 2016 Subpart OOOOa standards. The first, known as the 2020 Technical Rule, reduced the 2016 rule’s fugitive emissions monitoring requirements, among other changes. The second, known as the 2020 Policy Rule, rescinded the methane-specific requirements for certain natural gas and oil sources in the production and processing segments. On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing the EPA to rescind the 2020 Technical Rule by September 2021 and consider revising the 2020 Policy Rule. In June 2021, President Biden signed a Congressional Review Act resolution passed by Congress that revoked the 2020 Policy Rule but did not address the 2020 Technical Rule. Further, on November 15, 2021, the EPA issued a proposed rule intended to reduce methane emissions from natural gas and oil sources. The proposed rule would make the existing regulations in Subpart OOOOa more stringent and create a Subpart OOOOb to expand reduction requirements for new, modified, and reconstructed natural gas and oil sources, including standards focusing on certain source types that have never been regulated under the Clean Air Act (including intermittent vent pneumatic controllers, oil well associated gas, and liquids unloading facilities). In addition, the proposed rule would establish “Emissions Guidelines,” creating a Subpart OOOOc that would require states to develop plans to reduce methane emissions from existing sources that must be at least as effective as presumptive standards set by EPA. The EPA issued a supplemental proposed rule on November 15, 2022 to update, strengthen and expand its November 2021 proposed rule. The supplemental proposed rule would impose more stringent requirements on the natural gas and oil industry. It is currently subject to a public comment period that runs through February 13, 2023, and is expected to be finalized in 2023. We cannot predict whether and in what form EPA will finalize these amendments; however, Subpart OOOOa and any additional regulation of air emissions from the natural gas and oil sector could result in increased expenditures for pollution control equipment, which could impact our customers’ operations and negatively impact our business.

Additionally, in August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Among other things, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a methane emissions reduction program that amends the CAA to include a Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program for petroleum and natural gas systems. This program requires the EPA to impose a “waste emissions charge” on certain natural gas and oil sources that are already required to report under EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Implementation of such programs could increase our operating costs and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, which could in turn have an adverse impact on our customers and thus adversely impact our business.

A climate-related decrease in demand for natural gas and oil could negatively affect our business.

Supply and demand for natural gas and oil is dependent upon a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among others, the potential adoption of new government regulations, including those related to fuel conservation measures and climate change regulations, technological advances in fuel economy, an economy-wide transition to lower greenhouse gas (“GHG”) energy sources and energy generation devices. For example, legislative, regulatory or executive actions intended to reduce emissions of GHGs could increase the cost of consuming natural gas and oil, thereby potentially causing a reduction in the demand for such products. A broader transition to alternative fuels or energy sources, whether resulting from potential new government regulation, carbon taxes or consumer preferences, could result in decreased demand for natural gas and oil. Any decrease in demand for these products could consequently reduce demand for our services and could have a negative effect on our business.

 

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Efforts by governments, international bodies, businesses and consumers to reduce GHGs and otherwise mitigate the effects of climate change are ongoing. The nature of these efforts and their effects on our business are inherently unpredictable and subject to change. However, any activism directed at shifting funding and/or demand away from companies with energy-related assets could result in a reduction of funding for the energy sector overall, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain external financing as well as negatively affect the cost of, and terms for, financing to fund capital expenditures or other aspects of our business.

Our business is subject to climate-related transitional risks, including evolving climate change legislation, regulatory initiatives and stakeholder pressures could result in increased operating expenses and capital costs, financial risks and potential reduction in demand for our services.

Combating the effects of climate change continues to attract considerable attention in the United States and internationally, including from regulators, legislators, companies in a variety of industries, financial market participants and other stakeholders. Climate change legislation and regulatory initiatives may arise from a variety of sources, including international, national, regional and state levels of government and associated administrative bodies, seeking to monitor, restrict or regulate existing emissions of GHGs, such as carbon dioxide and methane, as well as to restrict or eliminate future emissions. Accordingly, our business and operations, and those of our customers, are subject to executive, regulatory, political and financial risks associated with natural gas and the emission of GHGs.

Congress has previously considered legislation to restrict or regulate emissions of GHGs. Energy legislation and other initiatives continue to be proposed that may be relevant to GHG emissions issues. Almost half of the states, either individually or through multi-state regional initiatives, have begun to address GHG emissions, primarily through the planned development of emission inventories or regional GHG cap and trade programs. Although most of the state-level initiatives have to date been focused on large sources of GHG emissions, such as electric power plants, it is possible that smaller sources such as our natural gas-powered compression units could become subject to GHG-related regulation. Depending on the particular program, we could be required to control emissions or to purchase and surrender allowances for GHG emissions resulting from our operations. The $1 trillion legislative infrastructure package passed by Congress in November 2021 includes a number of climate-focused spending initiatives targeted at climate resilience, enhanced response and preparation for extreme weather events, and clean energy and transportation investments. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also provides significant funding and incentives for research and development of low-carbon energy production methods, carbon capture, and other programs directed at addressing climate change.

Independent of Congress, the EPA has promulgated regulations controlling GHG emissions under its existing CAA authority. The EPA has adopted rules requiring many facilities, including petroleum and natural gas systems, to inventory and report their GHG emissions. In addition, the EPA rules provide air permitting requirements for certain large sources of GHG emissions. The requirement for facilities and large sources of GHG emissions to obtain and comply with permits will affect some of our customers’ largest new or modified facilities going forward but is not expected to cause us to incur material costs. As noted above, the EPA has undertaken efforts to regulate emissions of methane, considered a GHG, in the natural gas and oil sector, with the development of additional, more stringent rules under way.

In an executive order issued on January 20, 2021, President Biden asked the heads of all executive departments and agencies to review and take action to address any federal regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies and any similar agency actions promulgated during the prior administration that may be inconsistent with or present obstacles to the administration’s stated goals of protecting public health and the environment, and conserving national monuments and refuges. The executive order also established an Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, which is called on to, among other things, capture the full costs of GHG emissions, including the “social cost of carbon,” “social cost of nitrous oxide” and “social cost of methane,” which are “the monetized damages associated with incremental increases in greenhouse gas emissions,” including “changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk,

 

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and the value of ecosystem services.” The EPA published a draft report in September 2022 with the social cost of carbon at $190 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted in 2020 at a 2% discount rate. That figure is intended to be used to guide federal decisions on the costs and benefits of various policies and approvals, although such efforts have been the subject of a series of judicial challenges. At this time, we cannot determine whether the administration’s efforts on social cost or other interagency climate efforts will lead to any particular actions that give rise to a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

At the international level, the U.S. joined the international community at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, France (“COP21”), which resulted in an agreement intended to nationally determine their contributions and set GHG emission reduction goals every five years beginning in 2020 (the “Paris Agreement”). While the Paris Agreement did not impose direct requirements on emitters, national plans to meet its pledge could have resulted in new regulatory requirements. In April 2021, the current administration announced a new “nationally determined contribution” for U.S. GHG emissions that would achieve emissions reductions of at least 50% relative to 2005 levels by 2030. Those national commitments by themselves create no binding requirements on individual companies or facilities, but they do provide indications of the current administration’s policy direction and the types of legislative and regulatory requirements—such as the EPA’s proposed methane rules—that may be needed to achieve those commitments. Relatedly, the U.S. and European Union jointly announced the launch of the “Global Methane Pledge,” which aims to cut global methane pollution at least 30% by 2030 relative to 2020 levels, including “all feasible reductions” in the energy sector. Since its formal launch at the 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland, over 150 countries have joined the pledge. With the exception of those proposed EPA methane rules and related updates, which were announced by President Biden at COP26 and COP27, we cannot predict whether re-entry into the Paris Agreement or pledges made in connection therewith will result in any particular new regulatory requirements or whether such requirements will cause us to incur material costs. Additionally, the SEC issued a proposed rule in March 2022 that would mandate extensive disclosure of climate-related data, risks, and opportunities, including financial impacts, physical and transition risks, related governance and strategy, and GHG emissions, for certain public companies.

Although it is not currently possible to predict how these executive orders, national commitments or any proposed or future GHG or climate change legislation or regulation promulgated by Congress, the states or multi-state regions and their respective regulatory agencies will impact our business, any legislation or regulation of GHG emissions that may be imposed in areas in which we conduct business or on the assets we operate could result in increased compliance or operating costs or additional operating restrictions or reduced demand for our services, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Apart from governmental regulation, there are also increasing financial risks for companies in the energy sector as stockholders and bondholders currently invested in energy companies may elect in the future to shift some or all of their investments toward non-fossil fuel energy sources. In recent years ESG goals and programs, which may include policies, practices and extralegal targets related to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and corporate governance, have become an increasing focus of investors and stakeholders across the industry, and companies without robust ESG programs may find access to capital and investors more challenging in the future. For example, certain investment banks and asset managers based both domestically and internationally have announced that they are adopting climate change guidelines for their banking and investing activities. Institutional lenders who provide financing to energy companies such as ourselves have become more attentive to sustainable lending practices, and some may elect not to provide traditional energy producers or companies that support such producers with funding. ESG considerations may also affect others in the investment community, including investment advisers, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, insurance companies and other groups, and may result in their divestment of energy-related equities or otherwise limit their willingness to finance our or our customer’s operations. Limitation of investments in and financings for energy companies could result in the restriction, delay or cancellation of infrastructure projects and energy production activities. This potential for reduced access to the capital and financial markets, whether impacting our customers and/or our company, may further adversely affect the demand for and price of our securities.

 

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Furthermore, some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the earth’s atmosphere are changing global climate patterns in a manner that results in significant weather-related effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, floods and other such events, in addition to more chronic changes such as shifting temperature, precipitation, and other meteorological patterns. Energy needs could increase or decrease as a result of extreme weather conditions depending on the duration and magnitude of any such climate changes. Increased energy use due to weather changes may require us to invest in additional equipment to serve increased demand. A decrease in energy use due to weather changes may affect our financial condition through decreased revenues. To the extent the frequency of extreme weather events increases, this could impact our operations in various ways, including damage to our facilities interruptions in service or supply chain, increased insurance premiums or increases to our cost of providing service. Such impacts may be proportionately more severe given the geographical concentration of our operations. Demand for our operations also depends in part on the volume of products being produced and/or transported by our customers, which may also be impacted by similar risks. If any of these results occur, it could have an adverse effect on our assets and operations and cause us to incur costs in preparing for and responding to them.

Litigation risks are also increasing as a number of parties have sought to bring suit against various natural gas and oil companies in state or federal court, alleging, among other things, that such companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to climate change or alleging that the companies have been aware of the adverse effects of climate change for some time but defrauded their investors or customers by failing to adequately disclose those impacts. Should we be targeted by any such litigation, we may incur liability, which, to the extent that societal pressures or political or other factors are involved, could be imposed without regard to causation or contribution to the asserted damage, or to other mitigating factors. Moreover, any such litigation targeting our customers could negatively impact their operation and, in turn, decrease demand for our operations. An unfavorable ruling in any such case could significantly impact our operations and could have an adverse impact on our financial condition.

In sum, any legislation, regulatory programs or social pressures related to climate change could increase our costs and require substantial capital, compliance, operating and maintenance costs, reduce demand for our services and reduce our access to financial markets. Current, as well as potential future, laws and regulations that limit emissions of GHGs or that otherwise promote the use of renewable energy over fossil fuel energy sources could increase the cost of our services and, thereby, further reduce demand and adversely affect our sales volumes, revenues and margins.

Regulatory initiatives relating to the protection of endangered or threatened species in the United States could have an adverse impact on our and our customers’ ability to expand operations.

In the United States, the Endangered Species Act (the “ESA”) restricts activities that may affect endangered or threatened species or their habitats. Similar protections are offered to migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the “MBTA”). To the extent species that are listed under the ESA or similar state laws, or are protected under the MBTA, live in the areas where we or our customers operate, both our and our customers’ abilities to conduct or expand operations and construct facilities could be limited or be forced to incur material additional costs.

The designation of previously unidentified endangered or threatened species or new critical or suitable habitat designations could indirectly cause us to incur additional costs, cause our or our customers’ operations to become subject to operating restrictions or bans, and limit future development activity in affected areas. In June and July 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued final rules rescinding Trump-era regulations concerning the definition of “habitat” and critical habitat exclusions. As a result of these rules, the potential designation of previously unprotected species as threatened or endangered or new critical or suitable habitat designations in areas where we or our customers might conduct operations could result in limitations or prohibitions on our operations and could adversely impact our business. There is also increasing interest in nature-related matters beyond protected species, such as general biodiversity, which may similarly require us or our customers to incur costs or take other measures which may adversely impact our business or operations.

 

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Increased regulation of hydraulic fracturing could result in reductions of, or delays in, natural gas and oil production by our customers, which could adversely impact our revenue.

A significant portion of our customers’ natural gas and oil production is developed from unconventional sources that require hydraulic fracturing as part of the completion process. Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into the rock formation to stimulate gas production. The U.S. Congress has from time to time considered legislation to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”) to repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the definition of “underground injection” and require federal permitting and regulatory control of hydraulic fracturing, and disclosure of the chemical constituents of the fluids used in the fracturing process. Scrutiny of hydraulic fracturing activities continues in other ways, with the EPA having commenced a multi-year study of the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing. In December 2016, the EPA issued a report on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. The final report concluded that “water cycle” activities associated with hydraulic fracturing may impact drinking water resources “under some circumstances,” noting that the following hydraulic fracturing water cycle activities and local- or regional-scale factors are more likely than others to result in more frequent or more severe impacts: water withdrawals for fracturing in times or areas of low water availability; surface spills during the management of fracturing fluids, chemicals or produced water; injection of fracturing fluids into wells with inadequate mechanical integrity; injection of fracturing fluids directly into groundwater resources; discharge of inadequately treated fracturing wastewater to surface waters; and disposal or storage of fracturing wastewater in unlined pits. To date, EPA has taken no further action in response to the December 2016 report. Under the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), the EPA also prohibits the discharge of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing and certain other natural gas operations to publicly owned wastewater treatment plants.

State and federal regulatory agencies have also recently focused on a possible connection between the operation of injection wells used for natural gas and oil waste disposal and seismic activity. Similar concerns have been raised that hydraulic fracturing may also contribute to seismic activity. When caused by human activity, such events are called induced seismicity. Developing research suggests that the link between seismic activity and wastewater disposal may vary by region, and that only a very small fraction of the tens of thousands of injection wells have been suspected to be, or have been, the likely cause of induced seismicity. In March 2016, the United States Geological Survey identified six states with the most significant hazards from induced seismicity, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas, some of which are states where we operate. In light of these concerns, some state regulatory agencies have modified their regulations or issued orders to address induced seismicity. Increased regulation and attention given to induced seismicity could lead to greater opposition to, and litigation concerning, natural gas and oil activities utilizing hydraulic fracturing or injection wells for waste disposal, which could indirectly impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, these concerns may give rise to private tort suits against our customers from individuals who claim they are adversely impacted by seismic activity they allege was induced. Such claims or actions could result in liability to our customers for property damage, exposure to waste and other hazardous materials, nuisance or personal injuries, and require our customers to expend additional resources or incur substantial costs or losses. This could in turn adversely affect the demand for our services.

We cannot predict the future of any such legislation or tort liability. If additional levels of regulation, restrictions and permits were required through the adoption of new laws and regulations at the federal or state level or the development of new interpretations of those requirements by the agencies that issue the required permits, that could lead to operational delays, increased operating costs and process prohibitions that could reduce demand for our compression operations, which would materially adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

 

 

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Increasing scrutiny and changing stakeholder expectations in respect of ESG and sustainability practices may impose additional costs or risks.

In recent years, companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny from stakeholders related to their ESG and sustainability practices. A number of advocacy groups, both domestically and internationally, have campaigned for governmental and private action to promote change at public companies related to ESG matters, including increasing attention and demands for action related to climate change, promoting the use of substitutes to fossil fuel products and encouraging the divestment of companies in the fossil fuel industry. Investor advocacy groups, proxy advisory firms, certain institutional investors and lenders, investment funds and other influential investors and rating agencies are also increasingly focused on ESG and sustainability practices and matters and on the implications and social cost of their investments and loans. While we may at times create and publish disclosures or take other actions in an effort to meet these expectations, we cannot guarantee that these efforts will have the desired effect. If we do not adapt to or comply with investor or other stakeholder expectations and standards on ESG matters (or meet sustainability goals and targets that we have set), as they continue to evolve, if we are perceived to have not responded appropriately or quickly enough to growing concern for ESG and sustainability issues, regardless of whether there is a regulatory or legal requirement to do so, or if estimates, assumptions, and/or third-party information we currently believe to be reasonable are subsequently considered erroneous or misinterpreted, we may suffer from reputational damage and our business, financial condition and/or stock price could be materially and adversely affected.

Further, our operations, projects and growth opportunities require us to have strong relationships with various key stakeholders, including our stockholders, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities and others. We may face pressures from stakeholders, many of whom are increasingly focused on climate change, to prioritize sustainable energy practices, reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainability while at the same time remaining a successfully operating public company. If we do not successfully manage expectations across these varied stakeholder interests, it could erode our stakeholder trust and thereby affect our brand and reputation. Such erosion of confidence could negatively impact our business through decreased demand and growth opportunities, delays in projects, increased legal action and regulatory oversight, adverse press coverage and other adverse public statements, difficulty hiring and retaining top talent, difficulty obtaining necessary approvals and permits from governments and regulatory agencies on a timely basis and on acceptable terms and difficulty securing investors and access to capital. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. In addition, we expect there will likely be increasing levels of regulation, disclosure-related and otherwise, with respect to ESG matters, which will likely lead to increase compliance costs as well as scrutiny that could heighten all of the risks identified in this risk factor. Such ESG matters may also impact our suppliers or customers, which could augment existing or cause additional impacts to our business or operations.

We may be involved in legal proceedings that could result in substantial liabilities.

We are, from time to time, involved in various legal and other proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. Such legal proceedings are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted. Regardless of the outcome, such proceedings could have an adverse impact on us because of legal costs, diversion of management and other personnel and other factors. In addition, it is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in liability, penalties or sanctions, as well as judgments, consent decrees or orders requiring a change in our business practices, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Accruals for such liability, penalties or sanctions may be insufficient. Judgments and estimates to determine accruals or range of losses related to legal and other proceedings could change from one period to the next, and such changes could be material.

 

 

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Risks Related to Intellectual Property, Information Technology and Cybersecurity

We may be sued by third parties for infringement, misappropriation, dilution or other violation of their intellectual property or proprietary rights.

Third parties may in the future assert, that we have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated their intellectual property rights (“IPR”). Such claims and litigation may involve patent holding companies or other adverse IPR holders who have no relevant product revenue, and therefore our own IPR may provide little or no deterrence to these rights holders in bringing IPR claims against us. There may be IPR held by others, including issued or pending patents and trademarks, that cover significant aspects of our technologies, content, branding or business methods, and we cannot assure that we are not infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating, and have not infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated, any third-party IPR or that we will not be held to have done so or be accused of doing so in the future. We expect that we may receive in the future notices that claim we allegedly have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated other parties’ IPR. We cannot assure you that we will be able to detect potential or actual misappropriation or infringement of our IPR or trade secrets. Even if we detect misappropriation or infringement by a third party, we cannot assure you that we will be able to enforce our rights at a reasonable cost, or at all.

Any claim that we have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated IPR of third parties, with or without merit, and whether or not it results in litigation, is settled out of court or is determined in our favor, could be time-consuming and costly to address and resolve, and could divert the time and attention of management and technical personnel from our business. Furthermore, an adverse outcome of a dispute may result in an injunction and could require us to pay substantial monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a party’s IPR. Any settlement or adverse judgment resulting from such a claim could require us to enter into a licensing agreement to continue using the technology, content or other IPR that is the subject of the claim; restrict or prohibit our use of such technology, or other IPR; require us to expend significant resources to redesign our technology or solutions; and require us to indemnify third parties if they become subject to third party claims relating to IPR that we license or otherwise provide to them, which could be costly. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required or desirable, may be unavailable on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may require significant royalty payments and other expenditures. We may also be required to develop alternative non-infringing technology, which could require significant time and expense. There also can be no assurance that we would be able to develop or license suitable alternative technology, or other IPR to permit us to continue offering the affected technology. If we cannot develop or license technology for any allegedly infringing aspect of our business, we would be forced to limit our service and may be unable to compete effectively. In addition, our rights to IPR and trade secrets may not prevent independent third-party development and commercialization of competing products or services. Any of these events could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may find it necessary or appropriate to initiate claims or litigation to enforce our IPR or determine the validity and scope of IPR claimed by others. In any lawsuit we bring to enforce our IPR, a court may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on grounds that our IPR do not cover the use or technology in question. Further, in such proceedings, the defendant could counterclaim that our IPR is invalid or unenforceable and the court may agree, in which case we could lose valuable IPR. Litigation is inherently uncertain and any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. If we fail to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property, our business and results of operations may be harmed.

 

 

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Our reliance on third-party components for use in our IT systems could result in delays in service or disrupt our business.

Components of our information technology (“IT”) systems include various types of software and services licensed or provided from unaffiliated third parties, most of which we obtain on Software as a Service basis, without any ongoing support or maintenance obligations. Our business would be disrupted if any of the software or services we obtain from others or functional equivalents thereof were either no longer available to us or no longer offered on commercially reasonable terms, or if they fail and we cannot obtain maintenance and support on reasonable terms. In either case, we could be required to either redesign our IT systems to function with software or services available from other parties or develop these components ourselves, which could result in increased costs and could result in delays in services. Furthermore, we might be forced to limit the features available in our IT system due to changes by our third-party software and service providers, or due to price increases by such vendors. In addition, if we fail to maintain or renegotiate any of these software or service agreements, we could face significant delays and diversion of resources in attempting to obtain and integrate functional equivalents.

We are subject to significant legal and reputational risks and expenses relating to the privacy, use and security of employee and customer information.

We receive, maintain, and store the non-public personal information (“PII”) of our employees and customers. The sharing, use, disclosure and protection of this information are governed by the privacy and data security policies maintained by us. Moreover, there are federal and state laws and regulations regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, disclosure, and protection of PII and user data. Specifically, PII is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous jurisdictions, the intent of which is to protect the privacy of personal information that is collected, processed and transmitted in or from the governing jurisdiction. California enacted a privacy law (the “California Consumer Privacy Act” or “CCPA”) which limits how we may collect and use PII, and which came into effect on January 1, 2020. In addition, on November 3, 2020, California voters approved a new privacy law, California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), which significantly modifies the CCPA, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain PII and creating a new state agency to oversee implementation and enforcement efforts. Many of the CPRA’s provisions will become effective on January 1, 2023. The impact of CPRA on us is and will remain unclear. There are more states considering similar privacy laws. We could be adversely affected if the CCPA, CPRA and other states’ legislation or regulations require changes in our business practices or privacy policies, or if governing jurisdictions interpret or implement their legislation or regulations in ways that negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have experienced cybersecurity incidents or IT system disruptions in the past, and cybersecurity breaches or IT system disruptions may adversely affect our business in the future.

We rely on our IT systems to operate and record a significant portion of our business. This may include confidential or PII belonging to us, our employees, customers, suppliers, or others. Similar to other companies, our systems and networks, and those of third parties with whom we do business, may be subject to cybersecurity breaches caused by, among other things, illegal hacking, insider threats, computer viruses, phishing, malware, ransomware, or acts of vandalism or terrorism, or those perpetrated by criminals or nation-state actors. Furthermore, we may also experience increased cybersecurity risk as some of our personnel continue to work remotely as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have experienced cyber incidents in the past, although none have been material or had a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition. We may experience cybersecurity incidents and security breaches in the future. In addition to our own systems and networks, we use third-party service providers to process certain data or information on our behalf. Due to applicable laws and regulations, we may be held responsible for cybersecurity incidents attributed to our service providers to the extent it relates to information we share with them. Although we seek service providers that implement and maintain reasonable security measures, we cannot control third parties and cannot guarantee that a security breach will not occur in their systems or networks.

 

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Despite our efforts to continually refine our procedures, educate our employees, and implement tools and security measures to protect against such cybersecurity risks, there can be no assurance that these measures will prevent unauthorized access or detect every type of attempt or attack. Our potential future upgrades, refinements, tools and measures may not be completely effective or result in the anticipated improvements, if at all, and may cause disruptions in our IT systems. In addition, despite our best efforts, a cyberattack or security breach could go undetected for an extended period of time, and the ensuing investigation of the incident would take time to complete. During that period, we would not necessarily know the impact to our IT systems, or the costs and actions required to fully remediate and our initial remediation efforts may not be successful. Additionally, a cyberattack or security breach could be repeated before they are fully contained and remediated. A breach or failure of our systems or networks, critical third-party systems on which we rely, or those of our customers or suppliers, could result in an interruption in our operations, unplanned capital expenditures, unauthorized publication of our confidential business or proprietary information, unauthorized release of customer, employee or third party data, theft or misappropriation of funds, violation of privacy or other laws, and exposure to litigation or indemnity claims including resulting from customer-imposed cybersecurity controls or other related contractual obligations. There could also be increased costs to detect, prevent, respond or recover from cybersecurity incidents. Any such breach, or our delay or failure to make adequate or timely disclosures to the public, regulatory or law enforcement agencies or affected individuals following such an event, could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial position, results of operations and cash flows and cause reputational damage.

Our ability to manage our business and monitor our results is highly dependent upon information and communication systems, and a failure of these systems or our enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system could disrupt our business.

We are dependent upon a variety of information and communication systems to operate our business, including our ERP system. Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies in these systems, or in the design or implementation of any new ERP system, could adversely affect our ability to effectively run and manage information. Further, we depend on our ability to gather and promptly transmit accurate information to key decision makers, and our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected if our information systems fail, even for a short period of time. Failure to properly or adequately address these issues could impact our ability to perform necessary business operations, which could adversely affect our reputation, competitive position, business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not realize the intended benefits of our process and technology transformation projects, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

In 2022, we began two process and technology transformation projects, which will, among other things, replace our existing human capital management platform and consolidate several systems onto a single ERP system. The implementation of the process and technology transformation projects will require significant capital, including human capital and other resources from which we may not realize the benefits we expect to realize. Any such difficulties could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

 

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Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness. As of December 31, 2021, after giving effect to this offering and the use of proceeds therefrom, our total long-term debt was approximately $             in aggregate principal amount.

Subject to the limits contained in the ABL Credit Agreement, we may be able to incur substantial additional debt from time to time to finance working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions, or for other purposes. If we do so, the risks related to our substantial indebtedness could intensify. Specifically, our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences, including the following:

 

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making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt;

 

•

limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general company requirements on favorable terms or at all;

 

•

requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, future business opportunities and other general purposes;

 

•

increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;

 

•

exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings, including borrowings under the ABL Credit Agreement, are at variable rates of interest;

 

•

limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;

 

•

consequences relating to adverse borrowing base redeterminations;

 

•

placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; and

 

•

increasing our cost of borrowing.

In addition, our ability to refinance our indebtedness prior to maturity is dependent on the condition of the capital and credit markets and our financial condition. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to refinance our indebtedness or that any indebtedness incurred to refinance our indebtedness will be on comparable terms. See “—We may be unable to access the capital and credit markets or borrow on affordable terms to obtain additional capital that we may require.”

The terms of the ABL Credit Agreement restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to changes or to take certain actions.

The ABL Credit Agreement contains restrictive covenants (which contain a number of exceptions and qualifications that may be material) that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interest, including restrictions on our ability to:

 

•

incur additional indebtedness and guarantee indebtedness;

 

•

pay dividends or make other distributions or repurchase or redeem equity interests;

 

•

prepay, redeem or repurchase certain debt;

 

•

issue certain preferred units or similar equity securities;

 

•

make loans and investments;

 

•

sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of assets;

 

 

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•

incur liens;

 

•

enter into transactions with affiliates;

 

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enter into agreements restricting our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends;

 

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enter into certain swap agreements;

 

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amend certain organizational documents;

 

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enter into sale and leaseback transactions; and

 

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consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets.

In addition, the ABL Credit Agreement contains certain operating and financial covenants and requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy other financial condition tests. Our ability to comply with those covenants and meet those financial ratios and tests can be affected by events beyond our control, and we may be unable to meet them. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Description of Indebtedness” for further information about these covenants.

A breach of the covenants or restrictions under the ABL Credit Agreement could result in an event of default. Such a default may allow the creditors to accelerate the related debt and may result in the acceleration of any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In addition, an event of default under the ABL Credit Agreement would permit the lenders under the ABL Credit Agreement to terminate all commitments to extend further credit under that facility. Furthermore, if we were unable to repay the amounts due and payable under the ABL Credit Agreement, those lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. In the event our lenders accelerate the repayment of our borrowings, we and our subsidiaries may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness. As a result of these restrictions, we may be:

 

•

limited in how we conduct our business;

 

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unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to operate during general economic or business downturns; or

 

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unable to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities.

These restrictions may affect our ability to grow in accordance with our strategy. In addition, our financial results, our substantial indebtedness and our credit ratings could adversely affect the availability and terms of our financing.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under the ABL Credit Agreement are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to continue to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. We have in the past entered into, and in the future may enter into, interest rate swaps that involve the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments to reduce interest rate volatility. However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk.

 

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General Risks

A financial crisis or deterioration in general economic, business or industry conditions could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and ability to pay dividends on our common stock.

Concerns over global economic conditions, stock market volatility, energy costs, geopolitical issues, inflation and U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate increases in response, the availability and cost of credit, and slowing of economic growth in the United States and fears of a recession have contributed and may continue to contribute to economic uncertainty and diminished expectations for the global economy.

Concerns about global economic growth can result in a significant adverse impact on global financial markets and commodity prices. In addition, any financial crisis may cause us to face limitations on our ability to borrow under our debt agreements, service our debt obligations, access the debt and equity capital markets and complete asset purchases or sales and may cause increased counterparty credit risk on our derivative instruments and such counterparties to cause us to post collateral guaranteeing performance.

Further, if there is a financial crisis or the economic climate in the United States or abroad deteriorates, worldwide demand for natural gas or oil could materially decrease, which would likely depress the level of production activity and result in a decline in the demand for our compression operations and ultimately materially adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. If a material adverse change occurs in our business such that an event of default occurs under our debt agreements, the lenders under such agreements may be able to accelerate the maturity of our debt.

Events outside of our control, including an epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease or the threat thereof, could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends on our common stock.

We face risks related to pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks or other public health events, or the threat thereof, that are outside of our control, and could significantly disrupt our business and operational plans and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends on our common stock. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the global economy and has resulted in unprecedented governmental actions in the United States and countries around the world, including, among other things, social distancing guidelines, travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders, among other actions, which caused a significant decrease in activity in the global economy and the demand for oil, and to a lesser extent, natural gas.

The nature, scale and scope of the above-described events, combined with the uncertain duration and extent of governmental actions, prevent us from identifying all potential risks to our business.

Inflation may adversely affect us by increasing costs beyond what we can recover through price increases and limit our ability to enter into future traditional debt financing.

Inflation has adversely affected us by increasing costs of critical components, equipment, labor and other services we may rely on, and continued inflationary pressures could prevent us from operating at capacity, decreasing our revenues or having an adverse effect on our profitability. In addition, inflation is often accompanied by higher interest rates. Such higher interest rates may affect our ability to enter into future traditional debt financing, as high inflation may result in an increase in cost to borrow.

Although inflation in the United States had been relatively low for many years, there was a significant increase in inflation beginning in the second half of 2021, which has continued into 2022, due to a substantial increase in the money supply, a stimulation focused fiscal policy, a significant rebound in consumer demand as COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and worldwide supply chain disruptions resulting from the economic contraction caused by COVID-19 and lockdowns followed by a rapid recovery. Inflation rose from 5.4% in June 2021 to 7.0% in December 2021 to 8.2% in September 2022.

 

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A deterioration in general economic, business, geopolitical or industry conditions could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Concerns over global economic conditions, energy costs, geopolitical issues, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, the availability and cost of credit and slow economic growth in the United States have contributed to general economic uncertainty and diminished expectations for the global economy. Additionally, acts of protest and civil unrest have caused economic and political disruption in the United States. Meanwhile, continued hostilities in Europe and the Middle East and the occurrence or threat of terrorist attacks in the United States or other countries could adversely affect the economies of the United States and other countries. If the economic climate in the United States or abroad deteriorates, worldwide demand for energy could destabilize, which could materially adversely affect our and our customers’ operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our ability to use NOLs to offset future income may be limited.

Our ability to use any NOLs generated by us could be substantially limited if we were to experience an “ownership change” as defined under Section 382 of the Code. In general, an “ownership change” would occur if our “5-percent stockholders,” as defined under Section 382 of the Code, including certain groups of persons treated as “5-percent stockholders,” collectively increased their ownership in us by more than 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. An ownership change can occur as a result of a public offering of our common stock, as well as through secondary market purchases of our common stock and certain types of reorganization transactions. Such a limitation could, for any given year, have the effect of increasing the amount of our U.S. federal income tax liability, which would negatively impact our financial condition and the amount of after-tax cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

Tax legislation and administrative initiatives or challenges to our tax positions could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We operate in locations throughout the U.S. and, as a result, we are subject to the tax laws and regulations of U.S. federal, state and local governments. From time to time, various legislative or administrative initiatives may be proposed that could adversely affect our tax positions. There can be no assurance that our tax provision or tax payments will not be adversely affected by these initiatives. In addition, U.S. federal, state and local tax laws and regulations are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. There can be no assurance that our tax positions will not be challenged by relevant tax authorities or that we would be successful in any such challenge.

Risks Related to this Offering and Owning Our Common Stock

EQT controls a significant percentage of our voting power.

Upon completion of this offering, Kodiak Holdings will own approximately                 % of our outstanding common stock (or                 % of our common stock if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of common stock). In addition, certain of our directors are currently employed by EQT. Consequently, EQT will be able to influence matters that require approval by our stockholders, including the election and removal of directors, changes to our organizational documents and approval of acquisition offers and other significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership will limit your ability to influence corporate matters, and as a result, actions may be taken that you may not view as beneficial. This concentration of stock ownership may also adversely affect the trading price of our common stock to the extent investors perceive a disadvantage in owning stock of a company with a controlling stockholder.

Certain of our director nominees may have conflicts of interest because they are also employees of EQT, investment advisors to EQT managed funds or directors or officers of EQT. The resolution of these conflicts of interest may not be in our or your best interests.

Certain of our director nominees may have conflicts of interest because they are also employees of EQT, investment advisors to EQT managed funds or directors or officers of EQT. These positions may conflict with

 

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such individuals’ duties as one of our directors or officers regarding business dealings and other matters between EQT and us. The resolution of these conflicts may not always be in our or your best interest.

EQT is not limited in its ability to compete with us, and the corporate opportunity provisions in our charter could enable EQT to benefit from corporate opportunities that may otherwise be available to us.

EQT may invest in other companies in the future that may compete with us. Conflicts of interest could arise in the future between us, on the one hand, and EQT, on the other hand, concerning among other things, potential competitive business activities or business opportunities.

Our charter will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we renounce any interest or expectancy in any business opportunity that involves any aspect of the energy equipment or services business or industry and that may be from time to time presented to EQT or any of our directors or officers who is also an employee, partner, member, manager, officer or director of EQT or any affiliate of EQT, even if the opportunity is one that we might reasonably have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity to do so. Our charter will further provide that no such person or party shall be liable to us by reason of the fact that such person pursues any such business opportunity or fails to offer any such business opportunity to us. As a result, any of our directors or officers who is also an employee, partner, member, manager, officer or director of EQT or any affiliate of EQT may become aware, from time to time, of certain business opportunities, such as acquisition opportunities, and may direct such opportunities to other businesses in which they have invested, in which case we may not become aware of or otherwise have the ability to pursue such opportunity. Further, such businesses may choose to compete with us for these opportunities. As a result, by renouncing our interest and expectancy in any business opportunity that may be from time to time presented to any member of EQT or an affiliate of EQT or any of our directors or officers who is also an employee, partner, member, manager, officer or director of EQT or any affiliate of EQT, our business or prospects could be adversely affected if attractive business opportunities are procured by such parties for their own benefit rather than for ours. Our charter will provide that any amendment to or adoption of any provision inconsistent with our charter’s provisions governing the renouncement of business opportunities must be approved by the holders of at least                % of the voting power of the outstanding stock of the corporation entitled to vote thereon. See “Description of Capital Stock—Renouncement of Business Opportunities” for more information. Any actual or perceived conflicts of interest with respect to the foregoing could have an adverse impact on the trading price of our common stock.

The requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) and the NYSE, may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner.

As a public company, we will need to comply with new laws, regulations and requirements, certain corporate governance provisions of SOX, related regulations of the SEC and the requirements of the NYSE, with which we are not required to comply as a private company. Complying with these statutes, regulations and requirements will occupy a significant amount of time of our board of directors and management and will significantly increase our costs and expenses. We will need to:

 

•

institute a more comprehensive compliance function;

 

•

comply with rules promulgated by the NYSE;

 

•

continue to prepare and distribute periodic public reports in compliance with our obligations under the federal securities laws;

 

•

establish new internal policies, such as those relating to insider trading; and

 

•

involve and retain to a greater degree outside counsel and accountants in the above activities.

 

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In addition, we expect that being a public company subject to these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating these rules, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

Furthermore, while we generally must comply with Section 404 of SOX, we are not required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls until our first annual report subsequent to our ceasing to be an “emerging growth company.” We may not be required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls until as late as our annual report for the year ending December 31, 2028. At any time, we may conclude that our internal controls, once tested, are not operating as designed or that the system of internal controls does not address all relevant financial statement risks. Once required to attest to control effectiveness, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that concludes it does not believe our internal controls over financial reporting are effective. Compliance with SOX requirements may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner.

There is no existing market for our common stock, and a trading market that will provide you with adequate liquidity may not develop. The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. After this offering, there will be only                  publicly traded shares of common stock held by our public common stockholders (                shares of common stock if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of common stock). Kodiak Holdings will own                  shares of common stock, representing an aggregate                 % of outstanding shares of our common stock. We do not know the extent to which investor interest will lead to the development of an active trading market or how liquid that market might become. If an active trading market does not develop, you may have difficulty reselling any of our common stock at or above the initial public offering price. Additionally, the lack of liquidity may result in wide bid-ask spreads, contribute to significant fluctuations in the market price of the common stock and limit the number of investors who are able to buy the common stock.

The initial public offering price for the common stock offered hereby will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives of the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price of the common stock that will prevail in the trading market. Consequently, you may not be able to sell shares of our common stock at prices equal to or greater than the price paid by you in this offering.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of factors that could affect our stock price:

 

•

our operating and financial performance;

 

•

quarterly variations in the rate of growth of our financial indicators, such as net income per share, net income and revenues;

 

•

the public reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;

 

•

strategic actions by our competitors;

 

•

our failure to meet revenue or earnings estimates by research analysts or other investors;

 

•

changes in revenue or earnings estimates, or changes in recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage, by equity research analysts;

 

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•

speculation in the press or investment community;

 

•

the failure of research analysts to cover our common stock;

 

•

sales of our common stock by us or other stockholders, or the perception that such sales may occur;

 

•

changes in accounting principles, policies, guidance, interpretations or standards;

 

•

additions or departures of key management personnel;

 

•

actions by our stockholders;

 

•

general market conditions, including fluctuations in commodity prices;

 

•

domestic and international economic, legal and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance; and

 

•

the realization of any risks described under this “Risk Factors” section.

The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. Securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a company’s securities. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources and harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research reports or publish unfavorable research about our business, the price and trading volume of our common stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our common stock and other securities would be negatively affected. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, and one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our securities, the price of our securities would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of our securities could decrease, which could cause the price of our common stock and other securities and their trading volume to decline.

Our charter and bylaws will contain provisions that could delay, discourage or prevent a takeover attempt even if a takeover might be beneficial to our stockholders, and such provisions may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Provisions that will be contained in our charter and bylaws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us. Our charter and bylaws will also impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it more difficult for stockholders to effect certain corporate actions. For example, our charter will authorize our board of directors to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of unissued series of preferred stock without any vote or action by our stockholders. Thus, our board of directors can authorize and issue shares of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting or other rights of holders of our capital stock. These rights may have the effect of delaying or deterring a change of control of our company. Additionally, for example, our bylaws will (i) establish limitations on the removal of directors and on the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings, (ii) include advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors and for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings, (iii) provide that our board of directors is expressly authorized to adopt, or to alter or repeal, our bylaws, and (iv) provide for a classified board of directors, consisting of three classes of approximately equal size, each class serving staggered three-year terms, so that only approximately one-third of our directors will be elected each year.

 

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See “Description of Capital Stock—Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Charter, Our Bylaws and Delaware Law.” These provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Our charter will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.

Our charter will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), our charter or our bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to such Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under U.S. federal securities laws, including the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our charter described in the preceding sentences. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our charter inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Investors in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution of $                 per share.

Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $                 per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus), purchasers of our common stock in this offering will experience an immediate and substantial dilution of $                 per share in the net tangible book value per share of common stock from the initial public offering price, and our historical and pro forma net tangible book deficit as of December 30, 2021 would be $                 per share. See “Dilution.”

We cannot assure you that we will pay dividends on our common stock, and the ABL Credit Agreement may limit our ability to pay dividends on our common stock.

After completion of this offering, we may pay cash dividends on our common stock, subject to our compliance with applicable law, and depending on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, projections, liquidity, earnings, legal requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. We expect to adopt a written dividend policy relating to such dividends, and future dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Our ability to pay dividends depends on our receipt of cash dividends from our operating subsidiaries, which may further restrict our ability to pay dividends as a result of the laws of their jurisdiction of organization, agreements of our subsidiaries or covenants under any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. See Note 6 (“Debt and Credit Facilities”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, the ABL Credit Agreement may place restrictions on our ability to pay cash dividends. See “Dividend Policy.” We cannot assure you that we will pay a dividend in the future or continue to pay a dividend if we do commence paying dividends.

 

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Future sales of our common stock in the public market could reduce our stock price, and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of equity or convertible securities may dilute your ownership in us.

We may sell additional shares of common stock in subsequent public offerings. We may also issue additional shares of common stock or convertible securities. After the completion of this offering, we will have outstanding                  shares of our common stock and Kodiak Holdings will own                  shares of our common stock or approximately                 % of our total outstanding shares, all of which are restricted from immediate resale under the federal securities laws and are subject to the lock-up agreements with the underwriters described in “Underwriting” but may be sold into the market in the future. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” Kodiak Holdings and certain of our other stockholders will be party to the Stockholders Agreement (as defined and described in “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Registration Rights Agreement”), which will require us to effect the registration of their shares in certain circumstances no earlier than the expiration of the lock-up period contained in the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with this offering. Additionally,                 shares held by our employees and others will be eligible for sale at various times and subject to a 180-day lock-up agreement contained in our existing stockholders agreement, including shares eligible for sale upon exercise of vested options, after the date of this prospectus pursuant to the provisions of Rule 144.

In connection with this offering, we intend to file a registration statement with the SEC on Form S-8 providing for the registration of shares of our common stock issued or reserved for issuance under our equity incentive plan. Subject to the satisfaction of vesting conditions, the expiration of lock-up agreements and the requirements of Rule 144, shares registered under the registration statement on Form S-8 will be available for resale immediately in the public market without restriction.

We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock or securities convertible into common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our common stock will have on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock (including shares issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.

Terms of subsequent financings may adversely impact stockholder equity.

If we raise more equity capital from the sale of common stock, such equity could be offered at a price more favorable than the then current market price of our common stock. If we issue debt securities, the holders of the debt would have a claim to our assets that would be prior to the rights of stockholders until the debt is paid. Interest on these debt securities would increase costs and could negatively impact our operating results.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our certificate of incorporation, we may issue one or more classes or series of preferred stock that ranks senior in right of dividends, liquidation or voting to our common stock. Preferred stock may have such designations, preferences, limitations and relative rights, including preferences over our common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine, and the issuance of preferred stock would dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could adversely impact the voting power or value of our common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the common stock. The terms of any series of preferred stock may also reduce or eliminate the amount of cash available for payment of dividends to our holders of common stock or subordinate the claims of our holders of common stock to our assets in the event of our liquidation. Our common stock will not be subject to redemption or sinking fund provisions.

 

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The underwriters of this offering may waive or release parties to the lock-up agreements entered into in connection with this offering, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

Prior to this offering, we, all of our directors and executive officers and Kodiak Holdings will enter into lock-up agreements with respect to their common stock, pursuant to which they are subject to certain resale restrictions for a period of 180 days following the effectiveness date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.                  may, at any time and without notice, release all or any portion of the common stock subject to the foregoing lock-up agreements. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, then common stock will be available for sale into the public markets, which could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and impair our ability to raise capital.

A significant reduction by Kodiak Holdings of its ownership interests in us could adversely affect us.

We believe that Kodiak Holdings’s substantial ownership interest in us provides them with an economic incentive to assist us to be successful. Upon the expiration or earlier waiver of the lock-up restrictions on transfers or sales of our securities following the completion of this offering, Kodiak Holdings will not be subject to any obligation to maintain its ownership interest in us and may elect at any time thereafter to sell all or a substantial portion of or otherwise reduce its ownership interest in us. If Kodiak Holdings sells all or a substantial portion of its ownership interest in us, it may have less incentive to assist in our success and its affiliates that are expected to serve as members of our board of directors may resign. Such actions could adversely affect our ability to successfully implement our business strategies which could adversely affect our cash flows or results of operations.

Taking advantage of the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of certain reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. Pursuant to these reduced disclosure requirements, emerging growth companies are not required to, among other things, comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, provide certain disclosures regarding executive compensation, holding stockholder advisory votes on executive compensation or obtain stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, emerging growth companies have longer phase-in periods for the adoption of new or revised financial accounting. We will cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have $1.235 billion or more in annual revenues; (ii) the date on which we become a “large accelerated filer” (the fiscal year-end on which the total market value of our common equity securities held by non-affiliates is $700 million or more as of June 30); (iii) the date on which we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt securities over a three-year period; or (iv) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering.

We intend to take advantage of all of the reduced reporting requirements and exemptions, including the longer phase-in periods for the adoption of new or revised financial accounting standards under Section 107 of the JOBS Act, until we are no longer an emerging growth company. If we were to subsequently elect instead to comply with these public company effective dates, such election would be irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act.

Our election to use the phase-in periods permitted by this election may make it difficult to compare our financial statements to those of non-emerging growth companies and other emerging growth companies that have opted out of the longer phase-in periods under Section 107 of the JOBS Act and who will comply with new or revised financial accounting standards. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our common stock price may be more volatile. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding:

 

•

Expected operating results, such as revenue growth and earnings;

 

•

Anticipated levels of capital expenditures and uses of capital;

 

•

Current or future volatility in the credit markets and future market conditions;

 

•

Expectations of the effect on our financial condition of claims, litigation, environmental costs, contingent liabilities and governmental and regulatory investigations and proceedings;

 

•

Strategy for customer retention, growth, fleet maintenance, market position, financial results; and

 

•

Strategy for risk management.

Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:

 

•

A reduction in the demand for natural gas and oil;

 

•

The loss of, or the deterioration of the financial condition of, any of our key customers;

 

•

Nonpayment and nonperformance by our customers, suppliers or vendors;

 

•

Competitive pressures that may cause us to lose market share;

 

•

The structure of our contract operations services contracts and the failure of our customers to continue to rent equipment after expiration of the primary rental term;

 

•

Our ability to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms;

 

•

Our ability to fund purchases of additional compression equipment;

 

•

A downturn in the economic environment, as well as inflationary pressures;

 

•

Tax legislation and administrative initiatives or challenges to our tax positions;

 

•

The loss of key management, operational personnel or qualified technical personnel;

 

•

Our dependence on a limited number of suppliers;

 

•

The cost of compliance with existing governmental regulations and proposed governmental regulations, including climate change legislation and regulatory initiatives and stakeholder pressures, including ESG scrutiny;

 

•

The inherent risks associated with our operations, such as equipment defects and malfunctions;

 

•

Our reliance on third-party components for use in our IT systems;

 

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•

Legal and reputational risks and expenses relating to the privacy, use and security of employee and client information;

 

•

Threats of cyber-attacks or terrorism;

 

•

Agreements that govern our debt limit our ability to fund future growth and operate our business and increase our exposure to risk during adverse economic conditions;

 

•

Volatility in interest rates;

 

•

Our ability to access the capital and credit markets or borrow on affordable terms to obtain additional capital that we may require; and

 

•

Such other factors as discussed throughout the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of this prospectus.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this prospectus is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We will receive net proceeds of approximately $                 from the sale of the common stock by us in this offering assuming an initial public offering price of $                 per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and after deducting estimated expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, we estimate the net proceeds will be approximately $                 after deducting estimated expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us.

The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our financial flexibility, create a public market for our common stock, and facilitate our future access to the capital markets.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay borrowings outstanding under the Term Loan and to use any remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes. The maturity date of the Term Loan is May 19, 2027. The weighted average interest rate on borrowings under the Term Loan was 7.13% and 7.22% as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $                 per share would cause the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, received by us to increase or decrease, respectively, by approximately $                , assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. If the proceeds increase due to a higher initial public offering price, we intend to use such proceeds for general corporate purposes.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

After completion of this offering, we may pay cash dividends on our common stock, subject to our compliance with applicable law, and depending on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, projections, liquidity, earnings, legal requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. We expect to adopt a written dividend policy relating to such dividends, and any future dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors.

Our ability to pay dividends depends on our receipt of cash dividends from our operating subsidiaries, which may further restrict our ability to pay dividends as a result of the laws of their jurisdiction of organization, agreements of our subsidiaries or covenants under any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. In addition, the ABL Credit Agreement places restrictions on our ability to pay cash dividends. See “Risk Factors—We cannot assure you that we will pay dividends on our common stock, and the ABL Credit Agreement may limit our ability to pay dividends on our common stock.”

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of December 31, 2021:

 

•

on an actual basis; and

 

•

on an as adjusted basis giving effect to the sale by us of                shares of our common stock in this offering at an assumed initial offering price of $                per share (which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus) and the use of proceeds therefrom as set forth under “Use of Proceeds”.

The as adjusted information set forth in the table below is illustrative only and the as adjusted information will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other final terms of this offering. You should read the following table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our historical consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

		As of December 31, 2021
		Actual				As Adjusted
		(in thousands)
Cash and Cash Equivalents		$	28,795
Long-Term Debt
ABL Facility			1,465,234
Term Loan			400,000
Total Long-Term Debt			1,865,234
Stockholder’s Equity:
Common Shares, $0.01 par value; 1,000 common shares authorized, issued or outstanding, actual;                  shares authorized,                      common shares issued and outstanding, as adjusted			1
Additional Paid-in Capital			871,992
Retained Earnings			88,078
Total Equity:			960,071
Total Capitalization		$	2,854,100

 

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DILUTION

Purchasers of the common stock in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value per share of the common stock for accounting purposes. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2021 was approximately $                , or $                 per share of common stock. Pro forma net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our tangible net worth (tangible assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of common stock that will be outstanding immediately prior to the closing of this offering. After giving effect to the sale of                  shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $                 per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting estimated discounts and commissions and offering expenses, our adjusted pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2021 would have been approximately $                , or $                 per share. This represents an immediate increase in the net tangible book value of $                 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution (i.e., the difference between the offering price and the adjusted pro forma net tangible book value after this offering) to new investors purchasing shares in this offering of $                 per share. The following table illustrates the per share dilution to new investors purchasing shares in this offering:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share						$
Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2021		$
Increase per share attributable to new investors in this offering
Adjusted pro forma net tangible book value per share
Dilution in adjusted pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering						$

The following table summarizes, on an adjusted pro forma basis as of December 31, 2021, the total number of shares of common stock owned by existing stockholders and to be owned by the new investors in this offering, the total consideration paid, and the average price per share paid by our existing stockholders and to be paid by the new investors in this offering at $                , the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, calculated before deducting of estimated discounts and commissions and offering expenses:

 

Shares acquired

Total consideration

Average price per share

Number

Percent

Amount

Percent

Existing stockholders

New investors in this offering

Total

Assuming the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares is exercised in full, the number of shares held by new investors will be increased to                 , or             % on an adjusted pro forma basis as of December 31, 2021.

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $                 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease our adjusted pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2021 by approximately $                , the adjusted pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering by $                 per share and the dilution in adjusted pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering by $                 per share, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties. For further information on items that could impact our future operating performance or financial condition, see the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” elsewhere in this prospectus. We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, the historical financial information in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” reflects only the historical financial results of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. and references to “we,” “our,” or “us” are to Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

We are a leading operator of contract compression infrastructure in the U.S. Our compression operations are critical to our customers’ ability to reliably produce natural gas and oil to support growing global energy demand. We are a market leader in the Permian Basin, which is the largest producing natural gas and oil basin in the U.S. We operate our large horsepower compression units under stable, fixed-revenue contracts with blue-chip upstream and midstream customers. Our compression assets have long useful lives consistent with the expected production lives of the key regions where we operate. We believe our partnership-focused business model positions us as the preferred contract compression operator for our customers and creates longstanding relationships. We strategically invest in the training, development, and retention of our highly skilled and dedicated employees and believe their expertise and commitment to excellence enhances and differentiates our business model. Furthermore, we maintain an intense focus on being the most sustainable and responsible operator of contract compression infrastructure.

We manage our business through two operating segments: Compression Operations and Other Services. Compression Operations consists of operating company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure for our customers, pursuant to fixed-revenue contracts to enable the production, gathering and transportation of natural gas and oil. Other Services consists of a full range of contract services to support the needs of our customers, including station construction, maintenance and overhaul and other ancillary time and material based offerings. Our offerings are often cross-sold, bolstering cash flow generation with no associated capital expenditures.

Trends and Outlook

We provide contract compression infrastructure for customers in the oil and gas industry. Within the oil and gas industry, our assets are specifically utilized in natural gas compression applications in the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford Shale and other U.S. regions. Our customers are dependent on these applications to produce natural gas and oil and transport it to end markets. Our assets are central to meeting the growing global natural gas and oil demand. Furthermore, the long-life nature of our assets and our fixed-revenue contracts protect our business from the impact of industry and broader macroeconomic cycles.

Unconventional resources, large-scale centralized gathering and multi-well pad operations, require more horsepower than conventional resources, driving demand for our large horsepower compression units. Upstream and midstream companies have increasingly prioritized capital discipline and return of capital to stockholders. We believe that our customers will continue to outsource their compression infrastructure needs, to reduce capital expenditures outside of their core business and benefit from our technical skill and expertise.

 

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We believe that the industry is facing uncertainties and continued pressures from regulators and shifting sentiments from investors and other stakeholders, primarily related to broader adoption of emission reduction targets and other sustainability initiatives. Many energy companies, including some of our customers, have announced significant GHG emission reduction initiatives. We expect to benefit from this trend as 96% of our current fleet is capable of operating in the most stringent existing emissions regulatory environments in the U.S. A growing number of our customers are evaluating potential opportunities in electric compression infrastructure and we are well positioned to support them in these strategic initiatives.

Eighty-four percent of our compression assets are strategically deployed in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, which the EIA expects to maintain significant production volumes through at least 2050. We believe these two regions have the largest and lowest-cost unconventional resources in the U.S. Additionally, there are significant liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) export projects in development, and overall LNG capacity is expected to meaningfully grow over the next decade. We expect this to translate into Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale natural gas demand growth, requiring substantial additional compression horsepower. We believe these regions will play an increasingly important role in global energy security as the world continues to require reliable and growing natural gas and oil production to support increasing global energy demand.

See “Business—Natural Gas Compression Fundamentals” for more information regarding natural gas compression industry trends. Ultimately, the extent to which our business will be impacted by the factors described above, as well as future developments beyond our control, cannot be predicted with reasonable certainty. However, we continue to believe in the long-term demand for our compression operations given the necessity of compression in gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas and centralized gas lift of oil.

How We Evaluate Our Operations

Revenue-Generating Horsepower

Revenue-generating horsepower growth is the primary driver for our revenue growth, and it is the base measure for evaluating our efficiency of capital deployed. Revenue-generating horsepower includes compression units that are operating under contract and generating revenue, which are available to be deployed and for which we have a signed contract or is subject to a firm commitment from our customer.

Horsepower Utilization

We calculate horsepower utilization as (i) revenue-generating horsepower divided by (ii) fleet horsepower. The primary reason for tracking and analyzing our horsepower utilization is to determine the percentage of our fleet that is currently generating revenue for future cash flow generation and the efficiency of our capital deployed.

Revenue-Generating Horsepower per Revenue-Generating Compression Unit

We calculate revenue-generating horsepower per revenue-generating compression unit as (i) revenue-generating horsepower divided by (ii) revenue-generating compression unit. The primary reason for tracking and analyzing our revenue-generating horsepower per revenue-generating compression unit is to determine the expected operational and financial performance of the Company.

Revenue

One of our measures of financial performance is the amount of revenue generated quarterly and annually as revenue is an indicator of overall business growth for the Company.

 

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Adjusted Gross Margin

We track Adjusted Gross Margin on an absolute dollar basis and as a percentage of revenue. We define Adjusted Gross Margin as revenue less cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense. We believe that Adjusted Gross Margin is useful as a supplemental measure to investors of our operating profitability. Adjusted Gross Margin is impacted primarily by the pricing trends for service operations and cost of operations, including labor rates for service technicians, volume and per compression unit costs for lubricant oils, quantity and pricing of routine preventative maintenance on compression units and property tax rates on compression units.

Adjusted Gross Margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, Adjusted Gross Margin as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. To compensate for the limitations of Adjusted Gross Margin as a measure of our performance, we believe that it is important to consider gross margin determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted Gross Margin, to evaluate our operating profitability. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Adjusted EBITDA

We track Adjusted EBITDA on an absolute dollar basis and as a percentage of revenue. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, net; tax expense (benefit); depreciation and amortization; unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives; equity compensation expense; transaction expenses; loss (gain) on sale of assets; and impairment of compression equipment. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by our management and external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks and other financial institutions, to assess:

 

•

the financial performance of our assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis of our assets;

 

•

the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities;

 

•

the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to make debt payments and pay dividends; and

 

•

our operating performance as compared to those of other companies in our industry without regard to the impact of financing methods and capital structure.

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because, when viewed with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, they provide a more complete understanding of our performance than GAAP results alone. We also believe that external users of our financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses in evaluating the results of our business.

Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, revenues, net income, operating income, cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance and liquidity. Moreover, our Adjusted EBITDA as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

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Sources of Our Revenues

Compression Operations

Compression Operations revenue consists of operating company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure for our customers, pursuant to fixed-revenue contracts to enable the production, gathering and transportation of natural gas and oil. Additionally, revenue from these fixed-revenue contracts can include mobilization and demobilization charges that are directly reimbursable by our customers.

Other Services

Other services revenue consists of a full range of contract services to support the needs of our customers including station construction, maintenance and overhaul, and other ancillary time and material based offerings.

Principal Components of our Cost Structure

Compression Operations

Compression Operations expenses consist of direct and indirect expenses related to operating compression infrastructure assets, such as labor, supplies, machinery, freight, and crane expenses.

Other Services

Other Services expenses consist of compressor station construction and other ancillary expenses to support the needs of customers, including parts, labor, and materials.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation expense consists primarily of depreciation on property and equipment purchased and leasehold improvements. Amortization expense consists primarily of amortization on intangible assets related to trade name and customer relationships.

Selling, General and Administrative Expense

Selling, General, and Administrative expenses primarily consists of compensation and benefits related costs associated with our finance, legal, human resources, information technology, administrative functions, and sales and marketing. Selling, General, and Administrative costs also consist of third-party professional service fees for external legal, accounting and other consulting services, rent and lease charges, insurance costs, and software expense.

In addition, we expect to incur incremental, non-recurring costs related to our transition to a publicly traded corporation, including the costs of this offering. We also expect to incur additional recurring expenses as a publicly traded corporation, including costs associated with compliance under the Exchange Act, annual and quarterly reports to common stockholders, registrar and transfer agent fees, national stock exchange fees, audit fees, incremental director and officer liability insurance costs and director and officer compensation.

Long-lived Asset Impairment

Long-lived assets, including property, plant, and equipment, and other finite-lived identifiable intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances, including the removal of compression units from active fleet, indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. Impairment losses are recognized in the period in which the impairment occurs and represent the excess of the asset carrying value over its fair value. In

 

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December 2021, certain compression equipment was identified as not being part of our ongoing operations. As such, a recoverability assessment was performed, and fair value was assessed using a combination of a market and cost approach.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense, net relates to interest incurred on outstanding borrowings under our ABL Credit Facility and the Term Loan, net of interest income earned on cash balances.

Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivatives

Unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives is from changes in the mark-to-market valuation of derivative instruments related to interest rate swaps whereby we have exchanged variable interest rates for fixed interest rates and entered into interest rate collars which represent a simultaneous purchase of a cap rate with the sale of a floor rate. Derivative instruments are used to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the variable interest rate of the ABL Facility and the Term Loan and thereby mitigate the risks and costs associated with financing activities. We have not designated any derivative instruments as hedge for accounting purposes and we do not enter into such instruments for speculative trading purposes. Gains and losses on derivatives are presented in the other income and expense section of the consolidated statements of operations as unrealized gain or loss on derivatives.

2021 Operational Highlights

The following table summarizes certain horsepower and horsepower utilization percentages for our fleet for the periods presented.

 

		As of December 31,								Percent Change
		2021				2020
Operating Data (at period end):
Fleet horsepower(1)			2,935,826				2,768,868				6.0	%
Revenue-generating horsepower(2)			2,933,203				2,746,952				6.8	%
Fleet compression units			2,904				2,783				4.3	%
Revenue-generating compression units			2,900				2,762				5.0	%
Revenue-generating horsepower per revenue-generating compression unit(3)			1,011				995				1.6	%
Horsepower utilization(4)			99.9	%			99.2	%			0.7	%

 

(1)

Fleet horsepower includes revenue-generating horsepower and idle horsepower, which is compression units that do not have a signed contract or is not subject to a firm commitment from our customer and is not yet generating revenue. Fleet horsepower excludes 65,355 of non-marketable or obsolete horsepower as of December 31, 2021.

(2)	Revenue-generating horsepower includes compression units that are operating under contract and generating revenue, which are available to be deployed and for which we have a signed contract or is subject to a firm commitment from our customer.

(3)	Calculated as (i) revenue-generating horsepower divided by (ii) revenue-generating compression units at period end.

(4)	Horsepower utilization is calculated as (i) revenue-generating horsepower divided by (ii) fleet horsepower.

Horsepower

The 6.0% and 6.8% increase in fleet horsepower and revenue-generating horsepower, respectively, were primarily attributable to an increase in the purchase and deployment of new compression units through organic growth with our existing customer base as well as select new customers in the key regions in which we operate.

 

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Utilization

The 0.7% increase in horsepower utilization at period end was primarily attributable to organic growth with our existing customer base as well as select new customers in the key regions in which we operate including the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale.

Financial Results of Operations

Year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020

The following table presents selected financial and operating information for the periods presented:

 

		For Years Ended December 31,								% Change
		2021				2020
		(dollars in thousands)
Revenues:
Compression Operations		$	583,070			$	515,729				13.1	%
Other Services			23,305				16,691				39.6	%
Total revenues			606,375				532,420				13.9	%
Operating expenses:
Cost of operations (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)
Compression Operations (related party amounts of $1,912 and $1,549 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020)			192,813				167,951				14.8	%
Other Services			17,364				11,362				52.8	%
Depreciation and amortization			160,045				145,632				9.9	%
Selling, general and administrative expenses			37,665				39,044				(3.5	)%
Long-lived asset impairment			9,107				—				*
Loss (gain) on sale of fixed assets			426				(982	)			(143.4	)%
Total operating expenses			417,420				363,007				15.0	%
Income from operations			188,955				169,413				11.5	%
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense, net			(107,293	)			(113,440	)			(5.4	)%
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives			40,827				(50,662	)			(180.6	)%
Other income (expense)			(99	)			23				(530.4	)%
Total other income (expense)			(66,565	)			(164,079	)			(59.4	)%
Income before income taxes			122,390				5,334				2,194.5	%
Income tax expense (benefit)			(58,573	)			7,519				(879.0	)%
Net income (loss)		$	180,963			$	(2,185	)			(8,382.1	)%

 

*	Not applicable

Revenues and Sources of Income

Compression Operations

Compression Operations revenue increased $67.3 million (13.1%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. $67.0 million of the revenue increase was due to an increase in average revenue-generating horsepower as a result of increased demand for our compression operations (consistent with increased operating activity in the oil and gas industry) and due to an increase in average

 

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revenue per revenue-generating horsepower per month, $2.4 million of such revenue increase was attributable to services related to customer-owned horsepower; partially offset by a $2.1 million decrease in mobilization and demobilization charges that are directly reimbursable by our customers.

Other Services

Other Services revenue increased $6.6 million (39.6%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to a $3.6 million in station construction services, driven by an increase in the average revenue per compressor station to support customer capacity demands, and a $3.0 million increase in parts and service, driven by increased customer demand.

Operating Costs and Other Expenses

Compression Operations

Compression Operations expenses increased $24.9 million (14.8%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to $16.5 million increase in direct expenses, driven by fluids and parts to support increased activity, $7.3 million increase in direct labor expenses related to increased headcount, and $6.1 million increase in indirect expenses; partially offset by a $3.6 million release of a self-insurance accrual and a $1.9 million decrease in mobilization and demobilization costs that are directly reimbursable by our customers.

Other Services

Other Services expense increased $6.0 million (52.8%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to a $3.5 million increase in construction service expenses related to increased scale in compressor stations to meet customer capacity demands, and a $2.5 million increase in parts and service related to increased customer demand.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased $14.4 million (9.9%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to an increase in field equipment purchased in 2021, which resulted in increased depreciation associated with that equipment.

Selling, General and Administrative Expense

Selling, General and Administrative expenses decreased $1.4 million (3.5%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to $6.5 million decrease in bad debt expense; partially offset by $2.1 million increase in labor and benefits, $1.5 million increase in other overhead expenses, namely office rent, and $1.2 million increase in stock compensation expense.

Long-lived Asset Impairment

Long-Lived Asset Impairment increased $9.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily the result of compression equipment that was identified as not being part of our ongoing operations under the contract Compression Operations segment. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Loss (Gain) on Sale of Fixed Assets

The loss (gain) on the sale of fixed assets increased $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020. This is primarily due to the retiring or disposal of assets at amounts that differ from carrying value.

 

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Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense decreased $6.1 million (5.4%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This is primarily due to a 4.4% decrease in the average outstanding balance on the ABL Facility for 2021 as compared to 2020.

Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivatives

Unrealized gain on derivatives increased $91.5 million (180.6%) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This is primarily due to an increase in the market interest rates which decreased the fair value of the derivative liability on the balance sheet, creating an unrealized gain period over period.

Income tax expense (benefit)

Income tax expense decreased by $66.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to a $83.7 million change in the valuation allowance associated with federal and state deferred tax assets, which was released at December 31, 2021, partially offset by a $17.6 million increase in tax expense due to higher pre-tax income.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Our ability to fund operations, finance capital expenditures, service our debt, and pay dividends depends on the levels of our operating cash flows and access to the capital and credit markets. Our primary sources of liquidity are cash flows generated from our operations and our borrowing availability under the ABL Facility. Our cash flow is affected by numerous factors including prices and demand for our infrastructure compression assets, conditions in the financial markets and other factors. We believe cash generated by operating activities will be sufficient to service our debt, fund working capital, fund our estimated capital expenditures and pay dividends.

Cash Requirements

Capital Expenditures

The compression infrastructure business is capital intensive, requiring significant investment to maintain, expand and upgrade existing operations. Our capital requirements have consisted primarily of, and we anticipate that our capital requirements will continue to consist primarily of, the following:

 

•

Maintenance Capital Expenditures: capital expenditures made to maintain the operating capacity of our assets and extend their useful lives, or other capital expenditures that are incurred in maintaining our existing business and related operating income; and

 

•

Growth Capital Expenditures: capital expenditures made to expand the operating capacity or operating income capacity of assets, including by acquisition of compression units or through modification of existing compression units to increase their capacity.

The majority of our growth capital expenditures are related to the acquisition cost of new compression units and major upgrades to support changes in application. Maintenance capital expenditures are related to overhauls of significant components of our compression equipment, such as the engine and compressor, which return the components to a like-new condition, but do not modify the application for which the compression equipment was designed.

 

 

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Our aggregate capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $38.1 million of maintenance capital expenditures and $161.5 million for growth capital expenditures. For the year ended December 31, 2020, maintenance capital expenditures were $40.7 million and growth capital expenditures were $170.4 million, respectively. The decrease in capital expenditures was primarily related to a decrease in the purchase of new compressor equipment to support organic growth.

Contractual Obligations

Our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2021 consisted of the following:

 

•

Long-term debt of $1.9 billion, of which $1.5 billion is due in 2024, with the remainder due in 2026;

 

•

Purchase commitments of $77.0 million are due within 12 months, that primarily consist of commitments to purchase compression units. See Note 9 (“Commitment and Contingencies”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Dividends

After completion of this offering, we may pay cash dividends on our common stock, subject to our compliance with applicable law, and depending on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, projections, liquidity, earnings, legal requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. See “Dividend Policy.”

Other Commitments

As of December 31, 2021, other commitments include operating lease payments totaling $9.7 million. For a more detailed description of our lease obligations, See Note 9 (“Commitment and Contingencies”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Sources of Cash

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020:

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020				$ Variance
		(in thousands)
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	249,978			$	243,981			$	5,997
Net cash (used in) investing activities			(202,034	)			(296,378	)			94,344
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities			(43,254	)			73,709				(116,963	)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		$	4,690			$	21,312			$	(16,622	)

Operating Activities

The $6.0 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to a $44.9 million increase in net income, as adjusted for non-cash items, partially offset by a $38.9 million change in working capital.

 

 

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Investing Activities

The $94.3 million decrease in net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to a $95.5 million decrease in cash paid for capital assets, mainly related to the timing of payments for compression equipment. This was offset by a $1.0 million decrease in proceeds from the sale of assets.

Financing Activities

The $117.0 million change in net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year December 31, 2020 was primarily due to a decrease in borrowings on debt instruments of $95.5 million, a decrease in payments on debt instruments of $44.4 million and a decrease in equity instruments of $1.1 million. This was offset by a $24.0 million contribution by stockholders.

Description of Indebtedness

Asset Based Lending Credit Facility

On May 19, 2022, we entered into the Third Amendment to the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. See Note 17 (“Subsequent Events”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

The ABL Credit Agreement requires that we meet certain financial ratios and contains various additional covenants including, but not limited to, restrictions on the use of proceeds from borrowings and limitations on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, engage in transactions with affiliates, merge or consolidate, sell assets, make certain investments and acquisitions, make loans, grant liens, repurchase equity and pay dividends. One of the financial covenants under our ABL Facility permits a maximum leverage ratio (to be calculated based on Adjusted EBITDA (as such term is defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) for the annualized trailing three months) as of the last day of each fiscal quarter not to exceed (a) 7.25 to 1.00 for each fiscal quarter until March 31, 2023; (b) 7.00x for each fiscal quarter thereafter until September 30, 2023; (c) 6.75x for each fiscal quarter thereafter until March 31, 2024 and (d) 6.50x for the fiscal quarter ended June 30 2024. Another financial covenant under our ABL Facility permits a minimum Adjusted EBITDA to fixed charges ratio (to be calculated based on Adjusted EBITDA for the annualized trailing three months) of 1.10 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter. We are currently in compliance with all covenants under the ABL Credit Agreement.

Term Loan

On May 19, 2022, we entered into the Term Loan Credit Agreement whereby we increased the amount of the Term Loan from $400 million to $1 billion and made certain changes to our financial covenants.

Borrowings under the Term Loan bear the following applicable rates: interest rates are based on 6.00% plus an alternate base rate and 7.00% plus an adjusted eurocurrency rate for alternate base rate ABR loans and eurocurrency loans, respectively. The interest rates were 7.13% and 7.22% as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The Term Loan matures on May 19, 2027. Each year an excess cash flow payment that would reduce the principal balance of the Term Loan is due 120 days following the preceding year end unless such excess cash flow payment is waived by the lender . This excess cash flow payment is based on the ratio of total debt to last month annualized Adjusted EBITDA (as such term is defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement) at year end. Based on the calculated ratio, a potential payment percentage is applied to the excess cash flow to determine the amount, if any, due. Historically, we have been granted a waiver and have not been liable for the potential payment percentage. We were in compliance with all financial covenants as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. We expect to repay the Term Loan with proceeds from this offering. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

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Derivatives and Hedging Activities

To mitigate a portion of the exposure to fluctuations in the variable interest rate of the ABL Facility and minimize the risks and costs associated with financial activities, we have entered into various derivative instruments.

Our interest rate swaps exchange variable interest rate with fixed interest rates. We have not designated any derivative instruments as hedge for accounting purposes and do not enter into such instruments for speculative or trading purposes. See Note 7 (“Derivative Instruments”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Off-balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not entered into any transactions, agreements or other contractual arrangements that would result in off-balance sheet liabilities.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Management uses a variety of financial and operating metrics to analyze our performance. These metrics are significant factors in assessing our operating results and profitability and include the non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Gross Margin Percentage, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Percentage, Cash Available for Dividends and Free Cash Flow.

Adjusted Gross Margin and Adjusted Gross Margin Percentage

Adjusted Gross Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. We define Adjusted Gross Margin as revenue less cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense. We believe that Adjusted Gross Margin is useful as a supplemental measure to investors of our operating profitability. Adjusted Gross Margin is impacted primarily by the pricing trends for service operations and cost of operations, including labor rates for service technicians, volume and per compression unit costs for lubricant oils, quantity and pricing of routine preventative maintenance on compression units and property tax rates on compression units. Adjusted Gross Margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, Adjusted Gross Margin as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Because we capitalize assets, depreciation and amortization of equipment is a necessary element of our costs. To compensate for the limitations of Adjusted Gross Margin as a measure of our performance, we believe that it is important to consider gross margin determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted Gross Margin, to evaluate our operating profitability.

Adjusted Gross Margin for Compression Operations

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020
		(in thousands)
Total Revenues		$	583,070			$	515,729
Cost of operations (excluding depreciation and amortization)			(192,813	)			(167,951	)
Depreciation and amortization			(160,045	)			(145,632	)
Gross margin		$	230,212			$	202,146
Depreciation and amortization			160,045				145,632
Adjusted Gross Margin		$	390,257			$	347,778
Adjusted Gross Margin Percentage(1)			66.9	%			67.4	%

 

(1)	Calculated using Adjusted Gross Margin for Compression Operations as a percentage of total Compression Operations revenues.

 

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Adjusted Gross Margin for Other Services

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020
		(dollars in thousands)
Total Revenues		$	23,305			$	16,691
Cost of operations (excluding depreciation and amortization)			(17,364	)			(11,362	)
Depreciation and amortization			—				—
Gross margin		$	5,941			$	5,329
Depreciation and amortization			—				—
Adjusted Gross Margin		$	5,941			$	5,329
Adjusted Gross Margin Percentage(1)			25.5	%			31.9	%

 

(1)	Calculated using Adjusted Gross Margin for Other Services as a percentage of total Other Services revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, net; tax expense (benefit); depreciation and amortization; unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives; equity compensation expense; transaction expenses; loss (gain) on sale of assets; and impairment of compression equipment. We define Adjusted EBITDA Percentage as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenues. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage are used as supplemental financial measures by our management and external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks and other financial institutions, to assess:

 

•

the financial performance of our assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis of our assets;

 

•

the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities;

 

•

the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to make debt payments and pay dividends; and

 

•

our operating performance as compared to those of other companies in our industry without regard to the impact of financing methods and capital structure.

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage provide useful information to investors because, when viewed with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, they provide a more complete understanding of our performance than GAAP results alone. We also believe that external users of our financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses in evaluating the results of our business.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful than, revenues, net income, operating income, cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance and liquidity. Moreover, our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Given we are a capital intensive business, depreciation, impairment of compression equipment and the interest cost of acquiring compression equipment are necessary elements of our costs. To compensate for these limitations, we believe that it is important to consider both net income and net cash provided by operating

 

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activities determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage, to evaluate our financial performance and our liquidity. Our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income and net cash provided by operating activities, and these measures may vary among companies. Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Percentage as an analytical tool by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures and incorporating this knowledge into management’s decision-making processes.

The following table reconciles net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for each of the periods presented:

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020
		(dollars in thousands)
Net income (loss)		$	180,963			$	(2,185	)
Interest expense, net			107,293				113,440
Tax expense (benefit)			(58,573	)			7,519
Depreciation and amortization			160,045				145,632
Unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives			(40,827	)			50,662
Equity compensation expense (1)			1,224				—
Transaction expenses (2)			1,351				2,221
Loss (gain) on sale of assets			426				(982	)
Impairment of compression equipment (3)			9,107				—
Adjusted EBITDA		$	361,009			$	316,307
Adjusted EBITDA Percentage			59.5	%			59.4	%

 

(1)	For the year ended December 31, 2021, there were $1.2 million of non-cash adjustments for equity compensation expense related to our time-based vested shares.

(2)	Represents certain expenses related to potential and completed transactions and other items. We believe it is useful to investors to exclude these expenses.

(3)	Represents non-cash charges incurred to write down long-lived assets with recorded values that are not expected to be recovered through future cash flows.

The following table reconciles net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods presented:

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020
		(in thousands)
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	249,978			$	243,981
Interest expense, net			107,293				113,440
Tax expense (benefit)			(58,573	)			7,519
Deferred tax provision (benefit)			60,972				(5,540	)
Transaction expenses			1,351				2,221
Other			(6,406	)			(12,819	)
Change in operating assets and liabilities			6,394				(32,495	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	361,009			$	316,307

 

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Cash Available for Dividends

We define Cash Available for Dividends as Adjusted EBITDA less net cash interest expense, tax expenses, and maintenance capital expenditures. We believe Cash Available for Dividends is a useful liquidity measure and supplemental financial measure for us and our investors in assessing our ability to pay regular cash dividends to our stockholders. Cash Available for Dividends is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, such as revenues, net income, operating income (loss) or cash flows from operating activities. Cash Available for Dividends as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Free Cash Flow

We define Free Cash Flow as Adjusted EBITDA less maintenance and growth capital expenditures, tax expense and cash interest expense. We believe Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure and useful supplemental financial measure for us and investors in assessing our ability to pursue business opportunities and investments to grow our business and to service our debt. Free Cash Flow is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, such as revenues, net income (loss), operating income (loss) or cash flows from operating activities. Free Cash Flow as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table reconciles Net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Cash Available for Dividends and Free Cash Flow, for each of the periods presented:

 

		Year Ended December 31,
		2021				2020
		(in thousands)
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	249,978			$	243,981
Interest expense, net			107,293				113,440
Tax expense (benefit)			(58,573	)			7,519
Deferred tax provision (benefit)			60,972				(5,540	)
Transaction expenses			1,351				2,221
Other			(6,406	)			(12,819	)
Change in operating assets and liabilities			6,394				(32,495	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	361,009			$	316,307
Interest expense, net			(107,293	)			(113,440	)
Tax expense (benefit)			58,573				(7,519	)
Deferred tax provision (benefit)			(60,972	)			5,540
Maintenance capital expenditures			(38,088	)			(40,731	)
Cash available for dividends		$	213,229			$	160,157
Growth capital expenditures			(161,466	)			(170,444	)
Free Cash Flow		$	51,763			$	(10,287	)

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our certain financial estimates, judgment and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. We base our estimates on historical experience, available information and various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates; however, actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The accounting policies that we believe

 

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require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments and are the most critical to its reporting of results of operations and financial position are as follows:

Business Combinations and Goodwill

Goodwill acquired in connection with business combinations represents the excess of consideration over the fair value of net assets acquired. Certain assumptions and estimates are employed in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Goodwill is not amortized, but is reviewed for impairment annually, or more frequently if impairment indicators arise that suggest the carrying value of goodwill may not be recovered.

Goodwill - Impairment Assessments

We evaluate goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or changes indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value at the reporting unit level could be less than its carrying value (including goodwill). We estimate the fair value based on a number of factors, including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, overall financial performance and Company specific events. Estimating projected cash flows requires us to make certain assumptions as it relates to future operating performance. Application of the goodwill impairment test requires judgments, including a qualitative assessment to determine whether there are any impairment indicators, and determining the fair value of the reporting unit. A number of significant assumptions and estimates are involved in the application of the income approach to forecast future cash flows, including revenue and operating income growth rates, discount rates and other factors. While we believe that our estimates of current value are reasonable, if actual results differ from the estimates and judgments used including such items as future cash flows and the volatility inherent in markets which we serve, impairment charges against the carrying value of those assets could be required in the future.

We performed a qualitative test and noted that there were no events or circumstances occurring that indicated that the fair value of the entity may be below its carrying amount. No goodwill impairment was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, including property, plant, and equipment, and other finite-lived identifiable intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances, including the removal of compression units from active fleet, indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Such events and changes may include significant changes in performance relative to expected operating results, significant changes in asset use, significant negative industry or economic trends, and changes in our business strategy, among others. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to estimated future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. Impairment losses are recognized in the period in which the impairment occurs and represent the excess of the asset carrying value over its fair value estimated future undiscounted net cash flows. In December 2021, certain compression equipment was identified as not being part of our ongoing operations. As such, a recoverability assessment was performed, and fair value was assessed using a combination of a market and cost approach. Based on the assessed fair value an impairment expense of $9.1 million was recorded for the year end December 31, 2021. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Estimated Useful Lives of Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment is carried at cost. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis using useful lives that are estimated based on assumptions and judgments that reflect both historical experience and expectations regarding future use of our assets. The use of different assumptions and judgments in the calculation of depreciation, especially those involving useful lives, would likely result in significantly different net book values of our assets and results of operations.

 

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Commitments and Contingencies

From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. Additionally, our compliance with state and local sales tax regulations is subject to audit by various taxing authorities. Certain taxing authorities have either claimed or issued an assessment that specific operational processes, which we and others in our industry regularly conduct, result in transactions that are subject to state sales taxes. We and others in our industry have disputed these claims and assessments based on either existing tax statutes or published guidance by the taxing authorities.

We utilize both internal and external counsel in evaluating our potential exposure to adverse outcomes from orders, judgments or settlements. While we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of these actions, the accounting standard for contingencies requires management to make judgments about future events that are inherently uncertain. We are required to record a loss during any period in which we believe a contingency is probable and can be reasonably estimated. To the extent that actual outcomes differ from our estimates, or additional facts and circumstances cause us to revise our estimates, our earnings will be affected. We record legal costs as incurred, and all recorded legal liabilities are revised, as required, as better information becomes available to us.

As of December 31, 2021, based on the information currently available, we previously accrued a contingent liability of approximately $16.1 million for the periods currently under audit classified in accrued liabilities on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021. In addition, as of December 31, 2021, we accrued $5.2 million for contingent liabilities subsequent to the current audit period classified in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, we wrote off an outstanding receivable balance of $3.7 million, due to us from a previous acquisition, to bad debt expense. Additionally, we recorded a contingent liability of $3.7 million related to the remaining 50% of the receivable balance due to the seller in accrued liabilities. As of December 31, 2021, none of the outstanding receivables had been collected.

As of December 31, 2021, there are no other legal matters whose resolution could have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

We use any of three valuation approaches to measure fair value: the market approach, the income approach, and the cost approach in determining the appropriate valuation methodologies based on the nature of the asset or liability being measured and the reliability of the inputs used in arriving at fair value.

We record derivative instruments at fair value using level 2 inputs of the fair value hierarchy. The interest rate swaps and interest rate collar are valued using a discounted cash flow analysis on the expected cash flows of each derivative using observable inputs including interest rate curves and credit spreads.

As of December 31, 2021, $22.0 million was recorded as the fair value of the liability of the derivative instruments compared to $62.9 million recorded in 2020.

Recent Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”), which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of leases for both parties to a contract (i.e., lessees and lessors). The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease

 

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expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than 12 months regardless of their classification. ASC Topic 842 provides lessors with a practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the associated lease components and, instead, to account for those components as a single component if the non-lease components otherwise would be accounted for under ASC Topic 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC Topic 606”) and certain conditions are met. Our contract operations services agreements meet these conditions and we consider the predominant component to be the non-lease components, resulting in the ongoing recognition of revenue following ASC Topic 606 guidance. The guidance is effective for our for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted.

The adoption of this new accounting standard is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (“Topic 326”): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The amendments to ASC Topic 326 require immediate recognition of estimated credit losses expected to occur over the remaining life of many financial assets. The amendments in this update are effective for our for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. We are currently assessing the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-03, Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments, (“ASU 2020-03”). ASU 2020-03 improves and clarifies various financial instruments topics, including the current expected credit loss standard (“CECL”). ASU 2020-03 includes seven different issues that describe the areas of improvement and the related amendments to GAAP, intended to make the standards easier to understand and apply by eliminating inconsistencies and providing clarifications. This guidance is effective for us for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. We are currently assessing the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

See Note 2 (“Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”) to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

Our primary exposure to interest rate risk results from outstanding borrowings under the ABL Facility and Term Loan, each of which have a floating interest rate components. We use derivative instruments to manage our exposure to fluctuations in this variable interest rate. As of December 31, 2021 we had $1.5 billion outstanding under the ABL Facility. As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.5 billion outstanding under the ABL Facility and notional amounts at floating to fixed rate swaps which we attribute to our borrowings on an ABL Facility of 800 million. Notwithstanding fixed payments paid on the fixed-rate swaps, the average annualized effective interest rate incurred on the ABL Facility for borrowings during the year ended December 31, 2021 was approximately 3.38%. We estimate that a 1.0% increase in the applicable average interest rates for the year ended December 31, 2021 would have resulted in an estimated $7.0 million increase in interest expense.

As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 we had $400 million outstanding under the Term Loan. Interest on our Term Loan is comprised of an interest rate that is primarily fixed, but does contain a less significant variable component which exposes us to fluctuations in interest expense. We have a $400 million notional amount derivative collar with a floor of 1.70% and a cap of 2.10% that we attribute to our Term Loan. Including the amount paid on the derivative collar, the average annualized effective interest rate incurred on the Term Loan for borrowings during the year ended December 31, 2021 was 8.70%. We estimate that a 1.0% increase in the applicable average interest rates for the year ended December 31, 2021 would have resulted in an estimated $1.6 million increase in interest expense due to the 2.10% cap.

 

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Counterparty Risk

Our credit exposure generally relates to receivables for services provided. If any significant customer of ours should have credit or financial problems resulting in a delay or failure to pay the amount it owes us, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, if any significant vendor of ours should have financial problems or operational delays, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Concentration Risk

For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, our four largest customers accounted for 38% and 37%, respectively of our revenues, with no single customer account for more than 13% for both ending periods. If any significant customer of ours should discontinue their partnership with us, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Commodity Price Risk

Market risk is the risk of loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices. We do not take title to any natural gas or oil in connection with our services and, accordingly, have no direct exposure to fluctuating commodity prices. However, the demand for our compression operations depends upon the continued demand for, and production of, natural gas and oil. Sustained low natural gas or oil prices over the long term could result in a decline in the production of natural gas or oil, which could result in reduced demand for our compression operations.

Internal Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley, and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. Upon becoming a public company, we will be required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which will require our management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We will not be required to make our first assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 until our second annual report on Form 10-K after we become a public company.

Further, our independent registered public accounting firm is not yet required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, and will not be required to do so for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the provisions of the JOBS Act. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company.”

 

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BUSINESS

Company Overview

We are a leading operator of contract compression infrastructure in the U.S. Our compression operations are critical to our customers’ ability to reliably produce natural gas and oil to support growing global energy demand. We are a market leader in the Permian Basin, which is the largest producing natural gas and oil basin in the U.S. We operate our large horsepower compression units under stable, fixed-revenue contracts with blue-chip upstream and midstream customers. Our compression assets have long useful lives consistent with the expected production lives of the key regions where we operate. We believe our partnership-focused business model positions us as the preferred contract compression operator for our customers and creates longstanding relationships. We strategically invest in the training, development, and retention of our highly skilled and dedicated employees and believe their expertise and commitment to excellence enhances and differentiates our business model. Furthermore, we maintain an intense focus on being the most sustainable and responsible operator of contract compression infrastructure.

Eighty-four percent of our compression assets are strategically deployed in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, which the EIA expects to maintain significant production volumes through at least 2050. We believe these two regions have the largest and lowest-cost unconventional resources in the U.S. Additionally, there are significant LNG export projects in development, and overall LNG capacity is expected to meaningfully grow over the next decade. We expect this to translate into Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale natural gas demand growth, requiring substantial additional compression horsepower. We believe these regions will play an increasingly important role in global energy security as the world continues to require reliable and growing natural gas and oil production to support increasing global energy demand.

We lead the industry in large horsepower compression, with approximately 80% of our approximately 2.9 million horsepower fleet comprised of compression units larger than 1,000 horsepower. Due to lower initial reservoir pressures, production from unconventional resources, such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, requires significantly more compression horsepower than from conventional production, which supports our large horsepower strategy. Additionally, increased demand for large horsepower infrastructure is driven by multi-well pad drilling, overall well density, and large-scale gathering systems. We believe large horsepower compression units serve more stable applications, receive longer initial contracts, are more likely to be renewed, and produce higher margins, ultimately generating recurring cash flow and return on invested capital.

We believe the quality of our relationships with blue-chip customers, the reliability of our compression operations and the structure of our contracts produce stable, recurring cash flow. We derive substantially all of our revenues from fixed-revenue contracts. Over 38% of our revenues come from our four largest customers for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, which are all S&P 500 constituents and investment grade rated upstream and midstream companies in the Permian Basin. Our partnership-focused business model provides best-in-class reliability, which we believe is critical to securing and maintaining long-term relationships with our customers. Our assets and supporting operations have an industry-leading historical average mechanical availability (which measures the percentage of time in a given period that compression operations are being provided or are capable of being provided) of over 99.5% since inception. The strength of our customer relationships and contract structures, combined with the reliability and critical nature of our assets, have resulted in a five-year 99% average fleet utilization (which measures the revenue-generating horsepower divided by our total fleet horsepower).

 

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Below is a presentation of our average fleet utilization and our total revenue-generating horsepower since 2017:

 

Countries around the world are moving toward a lower carbon future while providing secure low-cost sources of energy for their citizens. Recent world events have resulted in renewed attention on environmentally responsible and secure energy production provided by the U.S., and we are committed to continuing to play a meaningful role in our industry. We are focused on being the most resilient and sustainable enterprise, and we have ambitious sustainability goals. We will continue to innovate processes and technologies to assist our customers in meeting their emission reduction goals, while striving to provide a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for our employees and the communities where we operate. Finally, we intend to do business with integrity and ethics and maintain a corporate governance structure that includes appropriate oversight and transparency in all aspects of our operations.

Our Business Model

Our business model is focused on large horsepower contract compression operations, which we believe is central to our customers’ efforts to meet the expected growing natural gas and oil demand from the Permian Basin and other regions in the U.S. Large horsepower compression operations allow us to enter into longer-term contracts that we believe are more predictable and stable for us and our customers. We believe our focus on customer service in top-tier regions, and the critical nature of our assets results in long-term customer relationships and financial stability for our business.

Our preventative and predictive maintenance and overhaul programs are designed to maximize mechanical availability and extend the useful lives of our assets over multiple decades. These programs allow us to contract all of our compression assets at rates that are comparable to our newest compression units. Our standardized fleet also enables streamlined and systematic training and on-site maintenance maximizing uptime for our customers. We are developing advanced systems to proactively analyze and monitor the operating conditions of our equipment, allowing for maximum uptime for our customers. Our maintenance culture is foundational to our partnership-focused business model and allows us to provide over 99.5% mechanical availability to our customers.

We believe that our customers will continue to outsource their compression infrastructure needs allowing them to limit their capital investments in compression equipment and increase their free cash flow or deploy capital on projects directly related to their core businesses. By outsourcing compression infrastructure, customers can efficiently address their changing compression requirements over time. Additionally, our customers benefit from the technical skills of our specialized personnel, and our focus on reliability and emissions reduction, helps them advance their sustainability goals.

We manage our business through two operating segments: Compression Operations and Other Services. Compression Operations consists of operating company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure for our customers, pursuant to fixed-revenue contracts to enable the production, gathering and transportation of

 

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natural gas and oil. Other Services consists of a full range of contract services to support the needs of our customers, including station construction, maintenance and overhaul, and other ancillary time and material based offerings. Our offerings are often cross-sold, bolstering cash flow generation with no associated capital expenditures.

We have a proven track record of steady growth, cash flow generation, strong financial results driven by increasing overall compression demand (particularly for large horsepower compression units) longstanding customer relationships, the fixed-revenue nature of our contracts and best-in-class reliability of our assets. From 2020 to 2021:

 

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Our revenue-generating horsepower increased by 7% from 2.7 million horsepower to 2.9 million horsepower.

 

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Our revenue increased by 14% from $532.4 million to $606.4 million; our net income increased from a net loss of $2.2 million to net income of $181.0 million;

 

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Our cash flow from operations increased by 3% from $244.0 million to $250.0 million;

 

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Our Adjusted Gross Margin increased by 12% from $353.1 million to $396.2 million;

 

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Our Adjusted EBITDA increased by 14% from $316.3 million to $361.0 million;

Adjusted Gross Margin and Adjusted EBITDA are not financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, but we believe they provide important perspective regarding our operating results and cash flow. “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below contains a descriptions of Adjusted Gross Margin and Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliations to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Our Assets

As of December 31, 2021, our compression asset base consists of 2,900 revenue-generating compression units amounting to approximately 2.9 million horsepower of owned compression, with an average of 1,011 horsepower per revenue-generating compression unit, which we believe is the highest such average horsepower. The average age of our fleet is 3.1 years and 87% of our compression fleet is less than five years old. Approximately 80% of our fleet is comprised of large horsepower compression units, aligning with the evolving industry demand. Large compression units enable multi-well pad development, reduce downtime, improve overall unit economics and provide lower emissions per horsepower relative to small horsepower compression units. Fleet standardization and continued geographic concentration allow us to lower cost of operations and improve margins through economies of scale.

Below is a tabular overview of our fleet by horsepower as of December 31, 2021.

 

		Fleet Horsepower				Percent of Horsepower				Utilization (Period End)
Large horsepower >1,000 horsepower			2,342,267				80	%			99.9	%
Medium & small horsepower <1,000 horsepower			593,559				20	%			99.9	%
Total			2,935,826				100	%

We have standardized our fleet and operational processes, creating an effective and seamless fleet maintenance program, spare parts inventory and efficient and resilient supply chain. Additionally, our assets are designed to serve a wide variety of large horsepower applications, such as gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas and centralized gas lift of oil.

 

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Our Key Areas of Operation

The following map illustrates our key areas of operation and corresponding revenue-generating horsepower:

 

HP = Revenue-generating horsepower

We strategically focus on deploying our compression assets in the most economic areas of leading onshore U.S. regions with the longest production horizons. We believe partnering with top-tier customers in regions with multi-decade resource life will support continued strong utilization and recontracting of our assets through industry and broader macroeconomic cycles.

Eighty-four percent of our compression assets are deployed in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, which the EIA expects to maintain significant production volumes through at least 2050. Based on data from the EIA, these two regions currently represent close to 26% of U.S. natural gas production and 65% of U.S. oil production.

The Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale are connected through long-haul natural gas pipelines to the nearby U.S. Gulf Coast and are critical natural gas supply basins for the LNG export capacity expansion occurring in the region. In addition to the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, we have assets in the Powder River Basin, Mid-Continent Region, DJ Basin, Appalachian Basin, Barnett Shale / East Texas Region and Black Warrior Basin. Below is a table showing revenue-generating horsepower in our areas of operations as of December 31, 2021.

 

		Revenue-Generating Horsepower				Percent of Horsepower
Permian Basin			1,997,163				68	%
Eagle Ford Shale			462,814				16	%
Other Areas of Operation			473,226				16	%
Total			2,933,203				100	%

 

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Our Customers and Contracts

We have developed long-term commercial relationships with premier upstream and midstream customers in our key areas of operations. We believe that alignment with our customers’ goals is a key differentiator to our business, and we have built a reputation backed by our leading mechanical availability to earn and strengthen customer loyalty. We believe mechanical availability is the key consideration for a customer in making its contract compression decisions. It is our priority to maintain over 99.5% mechanical availability in addition to providing uninterrupted “first-call” service for any and all downtime events across our fleet. This commitment to mechanical availability maximizes total customer operational uptime and revenue stability. We believe these factors make us the leading choice for our customers.

We have developed a systematic and selective customer evaluation methodology, based on key criteria including customers’ credit rating, size, and geological asset quality. Our four largest customers for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 are all S&P 500 constituents and investment grade rated upstream and midstream companies in the Permian Basin. Approximately 84% of initially contracted horsepower for our four largest customers is still in service with those customers today.

Our contracts are designed to provide us with predictable, stable, and recurring cash flows through industry and broader macroeconomic cycles. To maximize cash flow stability our contracts typically include:

 

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fixed-revenue structures similar to midstream take-or-pay contracts;

 

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annual inflation adjustments;

 

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pre-billing structure for the following month’s service fees;

 

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primary contract terms of one to seven years in duration (with large horsepower compression units typically contracted for a primary term of three years); and

 

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provisions requiring customers to pay for all mobilization and demobilization costs, which can be significant.

Additionally, because of our historically high mechanical availability and the multi-decade resource life in our key areas of operations, our contracts are typically renewed multiple times.

Our customer selection methodology and standardized contract structure have helped insulate our business from industry and broader macroeconomic cycles and have enabled us to drive better customer retention and increase our cash flow.

Our Sustainability Leadership

The energy industry is in a pivotal time as the world moves toward ambitious emissions reduction targets while maintaining affordable and reliable sources of energy. We maintain an intense focus on being the most sustainable and responsible operator of contract compression infrastructure. Furthermore, we strive to provide a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for the communities in which we live and the customers and employees with whom we work. We seek to continuously improve our operations, relationships with our stakeholders and ultimately maintain our position as a sustainable and responsible operator of contract compression infrastructure. We have a demonstrated track record of establishing programs and setting tangible targets to achieve initiatives for continuous improvement in each of these areas to create value for all of our stakeholders.

Ninety-six percent of our current fleet is capable of operating in the most stringent emissions regulatory environments in the U.S. We also believe it is imperative that we continue to develop and implement innovative strategies and technologies that further reduce emissions intensity and improve the operational reliability of our business. Many of our upstream and midstream customers have significantly increased their commitments to

 

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reduce emissions and rely on us to help them achieve their reduction goals. We have also developed several technologies targeting additional emissions reductions including ecoView and other fugitive methane reduction solutions. EcoView is our proprietary emissions monitoring and leak detection system that we have deployed in the field. We expect broad adoption beginning in the first quarter of 2023, with the long-term goal of integrating ecoView across our entire compression fleet.

Electric motor drive compression is also part of our long-term strategy to reduce emissions intensity across our fleet. We have begun deploying electric motor drive compression with select customers and have additional assets that we will deploy in the near future under long-term fixed revenue contracts. In addition, in select geographic areas where electric infrastructure exists, we assist our customers in building out their electric compression infrastructure.

Our people are vital to the success of our business. As a result, we have developed a robust safety culture that permeates all aspects of our business. Our comprehensive training program emphasizes safety, improving technical skills and professional development for employees across all functional areas. This program is further bolstered through a virtual training program currently in development to better prepare our employees to safely address situations in the field. Diversity and inclusion are paramount to our organization, and we require 100% compliance across our company in diversity and inclusion training. Diversity is also important at our Board level, where we expect     % of our directors to identify as diverse. We recently created the Kodiak Cares Foundation to support employees and charitable causes in the community. We are also committed to supporting veterans and do so through our recruiting and hiring efforts as well as supporting several causes that assist veterans and active-duty military.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that the following strengths of our business differentiate us from our competitors, reinforce our leadership position and enable us to capitalize on expected demand growth for natural gas compression infrastructure:

Premier, partnership-focused business model drives longstanding relationships with top-tier customers

We believe that we have a premier, partnership-focused business model that has created long-term relationships with our customers who depend on our compression operations as a critical element of their core production infrastructure. We treat our customers as partners, helping them optimize their compression infrastructure and bolster their cash flows.

We seek to maximize uptime and revenue for our customers with a historical average mechanical availability of over 99.5%. We maintain 24/7/365 “first-call” service for all instances of downtime across all horsepower classes. We also employ a robust inventory management system to ensure that spare parts required for maintenance and repairs are readily available in close proximity to our fleet. Our operational excellence and partnership-focused business model create substantial value for customers who benefit from increased throughput allowing them to generate additional revenue.

Our customers are leading upstream and midstream companies operating in the top U.S. basins. As a testament to the quality of the relationships with our four largest customers, 84% of the horsepower initially contracted with such customers remains under contract.

Our critical natural gas infrastructure in the most prolific U.S. regions is optimally positioned to support natural gas and oil production to satisfy growing global energy demand

We focus on strategically deploying our critical compression assets in leading onshore U.S. regions. We have 84% of our horsepower deployed in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. We believe these two regions rank

 

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among the largest inventory unconventional resources in the U.S. and based on data from the EIA, currently represent close to 26% of U.S. natural gas production and 65% of U.S. oil production. As these resources continue to be developed, increases in well-density driven by multi-well pad drilling, will result in increased demand for large compression equipment, which aligns with our large horsepower strategy.

Our business supports growing global energy demand by facilitating production of natural gas and oil. The Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale are increasingly providing the world with a reliable and secure supply of low-cost natural gas. We believe that projected U.S. Gulf Coast LNG liquefaction capacity additions will require incremental natural gas produced from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. Global LNG demand is expected to almost double from 380 million ton per annum (“MTPA”) in 2021 to approximately 700 MTPA by 2040. Increase in demand for U.S. LNG exports to Europe is likely to be driven by the need to backfill the disrupted supply of Russian natural gas.

Purpose built, standardized large horsepower compression fleet that is critical to our customers’ operations

We began deploying large horsepower compression units for centralized gas lift in the Permian Basin in 2013, which became the industry standard by 2016. We are an industry leader in large horsepower compression units with approximately 80% of our fleet in large horsepower compression units and an average of 1,011 horsepower per compression unit as of December 31, 2021. We believe our concentration of large horsepower compression units positions us to obtain longer contract tenor, extended time on location, greater renewal success and higher margins per compression unit relative to smaller horsepower compression units.

We have built a standardized compression fleet designed to support our customers’ needs, resulting in higher mechanical availability for our customers and lower maintenance costs for us. Our rigorous maintenance program enables our compression units of all ages to operate with similar efficiency and generate similar contract rates. This operational consistency enables us to generate stable revenues through the expected multi-decade operating life of a compression unit.

Stability of our cash flow provides a strong financial profile supporting our return of capital and growth objectives

We believe that our contract structure provides strong visibility and predictability of cash flows while insulating revenues from industry and broader macroeconomic cycles. Substantially all of our revenue is derived from fixed-revenue contracts that charge a flat monthly rate with annual inflation adjustments, providing us with cash flow stability as well as downside protection. Our 5-year average fleet utilization of over 99% enabled our revenue stability.

Compression costs are a non-discretionary operating expense for our customers. Our business is essential to maintain natural gas and oil production and is insulated from commodity price fluctuations or drilling and completion activities, which enabled us to grow revenue and earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The versatility of our units to support a variety of applications further enhances the stability of cash flows. Once our compression units are installed on customers’ locations, prolonged production disruptions and significant mobilization and demobilization costs, typically borne by our customers, would be required to displace our compression units.

Our disciplined approach to deploying capital with a proven track record of achieving high returns has enabled our significant growth. We order compression units when we have a customer commitment in place. Additionally, our business model benefits from growth capital spending flexibility, which allows us to rapidly increase or decrease spending as industry conditions warrant. This flexibility was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when we reduced equipment orders and utilized a portion of our additional cash flow to repay outstanding debt. This reduction in growth capital spending was approximately $134 million, representing a 44% reduction to our start of the year budget. Our average utilization for 2020 was 98%.

 

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Differentiated sustainability practices are core to our business model

We see the opportunity to continue to lead our industry in sustainability practices with a keen focus on doing our part to safeguard the environment, positively impact society, and maintain integrity and high governance standards.

We have a low emission compression fleet, with 96% capable of operating in the most stringent emissions regulatory environments in the U.S., aligning us with our customers’ emissions reduction initiatives. Furthermore, we are deploying large horsepower electric motor drive compression, reducing our emissions intensity across our fleet. Our experience of deploying electric units and working with our customers in building the infrastructure required to power electric compression has allowed us to develop expertise in electric compression construction and operations.

Our strong sustainability commitment also focuses on social and governance aspects. Our employees and the communities that we serve are central to what we do. We have implemented a variety of initiatives to support our people and deliver better service to our customers. Diversity and inclusion is paramount to a successful organization, and we have a 45% diverse workforce, 100% diversity and inclusion training compliance across our Company and expect     % of our board will identify diverse. We have implemented robust required safety training programs that have resulted in a leading safety record, developed virtual training programs to better prepare our employees for situations in the field, and offer various mentorship and technical training programs that grow our employees’ skillsets.

Founder-led, experienced team with a proven track record of value creation

We are led by our founder and CEO, Robert M. (“Mickey”) McKee, and an experienced management team with a proven track record of value creation. Management’s extensive experience, long tenure with us and strong leadership has resulted in a unique culture centered on entrepreneurship, responsibility, and a partnership-focused business model. We were founded and operate on the principle that our people, customers and vendors are the foundation of our success. Since our inception, this approach has contributed to significant growth, and we now have a compression fleet of 2.9 million horsepower.

Business Strategies

Our primary business objective is to maximize stockholder value, which we intend to do by pursuing disciplined growth while returning capital to our stockholders and maintaining strong financial and balance sheet flexibility. We intend to accomplish this objective by executing on the following business strategies:

Generate a stable cash flow profile by focusing on fixed revenue contracts in the lowest cost, largest inventory regions

Our fixed-revenue contract structures with pre-billing of monthly fees further insulate our business from fluctuations in commodity prices and provides strong cash flow visibility. We target multi-year contracts with recurring contract renewals to take full advantage of the long-life inventory of our areas of operations.

Our strategic positioning in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale enables us to capitalize on the large and low-cost existing production base in two of the most critical U.S. natural gas and oil producing regions. We believe that continuing to deploy our assets in these multi-decade resource life regions will help us to maintain high asset utilization through industry and broader macroeconomic cycles and provide cash flow stability.

 

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Continue to focus on reliable and low-emission large horsepower compression infrastructure

Our low-emission large horsepower compression infrastructure assets have an industry-leading historical average mechanical availability of over 99.5%. Our compression operations maximize uptime and consequently our customers’ cash flows, while lower emissions assets support our Company’s and our customers’ sustainability goals.

The growing share of unconventional production in the U.S. will continue to support the need for compression, which requires more horsepower compared to that of conventional production. Additionally, as customers continue to shift to multi-well pad drilling, they will increasingly require centralized compression models, relying on large horsepower compression units for their natural gas gathering, processing and transportation and gas lift operations. We believe that our industry leading large horsepower fleet, with approximately 80% of our compression units larger than 1,000 horsepower and our focus on reliability and low-emissions will allow us to benefit from growing demand for these types of assets.

Pursue high return growth opportunities alongside our leading customer base

We have grown our total revenue-generating horsepower since inception in 2012 to approximately 2.9 million horsepower while achieving industry leading fleet utilization and strong margins. We believe organic growth opportunities with existing and new customers in our current areas of operation will be a driver of long-term value creation. Increasing well density and the trend toward unconventional resource development will drive the need for additional large horsepower. In addition to expanding our horsepower base, we can grow our revenue base by pursuing ancillary opportunities tailored to our customers’ needs including station construction and third-party services. Additionally, our compression operations contracts include built-in inflation adjustments resulting in continued growth of our revenue base.

We actively seek to partner and grow with customers who have meaningful acreage positions in long-life and low-cost producing regions with significant infrastructure development needs. We collaborate with our customers to jointly develop long-term solutions designed to optimize their lifecycle compression costs, positioning us as their contract compression operator of choice.

Return capital to our stockholders while maintaining a conservative balance sheet with flexibility to pursue growth objectives

We believe that our resilient business model and the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet will support an attractive through-cycle dividend to our stockholders. We plan to maintain conservative balance sheet leverage. We intend to maintain a prudent financial policy which will enable us to maintain our commitment to capital returns while pursuing capital efficient growth projects.

Our business model focuses on growing our cash flow, which provides us flexibility to further enhance stockholder returns by growing our dividend, implementing share buybacks, or paying down debt.

Our disciplined approach to deploying capital with a proven track record of achieving high returns has enabled our significant growth. We typically only order compression units when we have a customer commitment in place.

Invest in attracting, retaining, and developing world-class talent

We believe the quality and relentless focus of our workforce is key to our success, and differentiates us from our competitors and positions us as a leader in the compression industry. We seek to attract and retain a diverse workforce with equal opportunities and prospects for advancement, which we believe is fundamental to our success. Furthermore, we have made a significant commitment to training our employees across relevant aspects of the business to ensure that they continue to excel in their roles.

 

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Keeping our workforce, customers, vendors, and communities safe is paramount, and we strive to maintain an industry-leading safety record. Our strong organizational safety culture centers around open communication. regular training, and safety reviews, to ensure that our health and safety program is operating to achieve desired outcomes and remains compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations as well as customer requirements.

Compression Industry

Compression is a mechanical process whereby natural gas is compressed to a smaller volume resulting in higher pressures. This process is critical for the production, gathering, and transportation of natural gas as well as for centralized gas lift for oil production. Without the increased pressure, gas can not flow from the wellhead to end-markets. With the development of unconventional natural gas and oil resources, compression become even more critical for the following reasons:

 

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In unconventional resources, natural gas is produced at lower pressures due to the geological nature of the resources, requiring compression immediately upon initial production and throughout most of the life of well.

 

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Advancements in drilling, completion and production technologies resulted in an increase in density of well locations and adoption of multi-well pads, allowing operators to achieve economies of scale with centralization of stations with more compression units and more horsepower per unit.

Given the essential nature of their operations, compression providers benefit from stable cash flows and fixed revenue contracts. Furthermore, large horsepower compression is costly to install and move and operators have increasingly focused on deploying capital into their core business, favoring outsourcing contract compression. By outsourcing compression, operators can more efficiently address their changing compression needs over time and are able to benefit from the specialized personnel and technical skills that compression providers offer.

We believe compression infrastructure industry growth will be supported by the following factors:

 

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Continued growing demand for U.S. natural gas driven by domestic natural gas and global LNG consumption. According to the EIA, natural gas accounted for approximately 32% of all energy used in the U.S. in 2021 and according to its most recent Annual Energy Outlook, natural gas consumption will increase from 34.4 Tcf in 2021 to 42.6 trillion cubic feet in 2050 (23.8% increase). Global LNG demand is expected to almost double from 380 MTPA in 2021 to approximately 700 MTPA by 2040. Increase in demand for U.S. LNG exports to Europe is likely to be driven by the need to backfill the disrupted supply of Russian natural gas

 

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Replacement of production from maturing and aging conventional basins with production from unconventional sources, which require more compression, to accommodate the increase in natural gas demand while offsetting declining production

General Compression Operations Contract Structures

The following discussion describes the material terms generally common to our compression operations contracts. We maintain a general gas compression agreement with each of our customers and separate addenda for each compression unit.

Term and Termination

Our contracts typically have a primary term length between one and seven years, depending on the customer, application, location, and size of the compression unit, with large horsepower typically contracted for a primary term of three years. After the expiration of the primary term, our contracts continue on a month-to-month basis until renewed or the contract is terminated by us or our customer, upon written notice. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 22% of our compression operations horsepower is on a month-to-month contract term.

 

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