Exhibit 8.2
July 20, 2009
The Managing, Supervisory and Joint
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries N.V.
Atrium, 8th floor
Strawinskylaan 3077
1077 ZX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Re:
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James Hardie Industries N.V. |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special United States tax counsel to James Hardie Industries N.V., a public
limited liability corporation registered in The Netherlands (the Company), in connection
with the registration of 102,000,000 ordinary shares, par value 0.59 per share (the
Securities), of James Hardie Industries SE (the Issuer) as a result of the
transformation of the Company from a public limited liability corporation organized in The
Netherlands (Naamloze Vennotschap (NV)) to a European Company (Societas Europaea (SE)) pursuant to
the merger of a newly-formed subsidiary of the Company incorporated in Ireland with and into the
Company. At your request, we are rendering our opinion set forth below concerning material United
States federal income tax consequences of each of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Proposal (as defined
in the Registration Statement, described below). All capitalized terms used but not defined herein
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Registration Statement.
In the above capacity, we have reviewed (i) the registration statement on Form F-4 (File No.
333-160177) relating to the Securities filed by the Company on
July 20, 2009 with the Securities and
Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Registration Statement), (ii)
the officers certificate delivered by James Hardie to us for the purposes of this opinion (the
Officers Certificate), and (iii) such other documents as we have deemed necessary or
appropriate in order to enable us to render the opinion below.
For purposes of our opinion, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the
genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the
conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed,
photostatic or electronic copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
We have assumed that such documents, certificates, and records are duly authorized, valid, and
enforceable. Where documents have been provided to us in draft form, we have
The Managing, Supervisory and Joint
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries N.V.
July 20, 2009
Page 2
assumed that the final executed versions of such documents will not differ materially from
such drafts.
In rendering our opinion, we have relied upon statements and representations made by the
Company, including the Officers Certificate, and have assumed that such statements and
representations are, and as of the date of consummation of each of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the
Proposal will be, true without regard to any qualifications as to knowledge and belief. We have
further assumed that (i) each of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Proposal will be consummated in
accordance with the description in the Registration Statement and none of the material terms or
conditions contained therein have been or will be waived or modified in any respect, (ii) such
other documents, certificates and records and statements as to factual matters contained in the
Registration Statement are true, correct and complete and will continue to be true, correct and
complete through the date that implementation for each of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Proposal is
completed, and (iii) the Registration Statement accurately describes the business operations and
the anticipated future operations of the Company. Our opinion is conditioned upon, among other
things, the initial and continuing accuracy and completeness of the facts, information, covenants,
representations and warranties provided or made by the Company, including those set forth in the
Officers Certificate.
Our opinion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
Code), Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, pertinent judicial
authorities, published opinions and administrative pronouncements of the Internal Revenue Service,
income tax treaties to which the United States is a party, and such other authorities as we have
considered relevant, all as in effect and available on the date of the Registration Statement and
all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect.
A change in any of the authorities upon which our advice is based could affect our conclusions
herein. There can be no assurance, moreover, that our opinion will be accepted by the Internal
Revenue Service or, if challenged, by a court.
Based solely upon and subject to the foregoing, including the representations set forth in the
Officers Certificate, we are of the opinion that under current United States federal income tax
law (i) each of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Proposal will be treated as a reorganization within the
meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Code, and (ii) neither the Company nor any US Holder will
recognize gain or loss for US federal income tax purposes by reason of the Company implementing
either Stage 1 or Stage 2.
Except as set forth herein, we express no opinions or views regarding the U.S. federal income
tax consequences of the Proposal or any other transaction related to the Proposal.
This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof, and we are not under any obligation to
supplement or revise our opinion to reflect any legal developments or factual matters arising
subsequent to the date hereof or the impact of any information, document,
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The Managing, Supervisory and Joint
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries N.V.
July 20, 2009
Page 3
certificate, record, statement, representation, covenant, or assumption relied upon herein
that hereafter becomes incorrect or untrue. In addition, any changes to either the Registration
Statement or the other documents referred to above could affect our conclusions herein.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and Exchange Commission as
an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the
caption Legal Matters in such Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby
admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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Very truly yours, |
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/s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher
& Flom LLP |
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