EXHIBIT 8.8
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PricewaterhouseCoopers
1 Embankment Place
London WC2N 6RH
Telephone:+44 (0) 20 7583 5000
Facsimile:+44 (0) 20 7822 4652
pwc.com/uk |
The Managing, Supervisory and Joint
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries N.V.
Atrium, 8th floor
Strawinskylaan 3077
1077 ZX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
20 July 2009
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Re: James Hardie Industries N.V. |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special UK tax advisers 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
Vennootschap (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 UK 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 20 July, 2009 with the Securities
and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Registration Statement),
and (ii) 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 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 and have assumed that such statements and representations are 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
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England with registered number OC303525. The registered office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is 1 Embankment Place, London WC2N 6RH. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for designated investment business.
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.
Our opinion is based on UK tax legislation, relevant UK case law and other UK Revenue
guidance, and income tax treaties to which the UK 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 UK tax
authorities or, if challenged, by a court.
Based solely upon and subject to the foregoing, the discussion in Section 9.5.1. of the F-4
entitled JHI NV Taxation, constitutes our opinion with respect to the tax matters discussed
therein. Except as set out above, we express no opinions or views regarding the UK 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, 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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Yours faithfully,
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/s/
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. |
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. |
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(2)