EX-8.01 5 d511660dex801.htm EX-8.01 EX-8.01

Exhibit 8.01

 

   

505 Montgomery Street, Suite 2000

San Francisco, California 94111-6538

Tel: +1.415.391.0600 Fax: +1.415.395.8095

www.lw.com

 

LOGO     FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES
    Barcelona    Moscow
    Beijing    Munich
    Boston    New York
    Brussels    Orange County
March 27, 2018     Century City    Paris
    Chicago    Riyadh
    Dubai    Rome
    Düsseldorf    San Diego
    Frankfurt    San Francisco
    Hamburg    Seoul
    Hong Kong    Shanghai
    Houston    Silicon Valley
    London    Singapore

Biglari Holdings Inc.

  Los Angeles    Tokyo

17802 1H 10 West, Suite 400

  Madrid    Washington, D.C.

San Antonio, Texas 78257

  Milan   
Re: Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March 5, 2018     

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Biglari Holdings Inc., an Indiana corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March 5, 2018 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, NBHSA Inc., an Indiana corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“New BH”), and BH Merger Company, an Indiana corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of New BH (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge (the “Merger”) with and into the Company, with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of New BH. This opinion is being delivered in connection with the proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-222267) (as amended through the date hereof, the “Registration Statement”) of New BH relating to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Capitalized terms not defined herein have the meanings specified in the Merger Agreement unless otherwise indicated.

In rendering our opinion, we have examined and, with your consent, are expressly relying upon (without any independent investigation or review thereof) the truth and accuracy of the factual statements, representations and warranties contained in (i) the Merger Agreement (including any Exhibits and Schedules thereto), (ii) the Registration Statement, (iii) the tax representation letter of the Company, New BH and Merger Sub dated as of March 27, 2018 and delivered to us for purposes of this opinion (the “Officer’s Certificate”) and (iv) such other documents and corporate records as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for purposes of our opinion.

In addition, we have assumed, with your consent, that:

 

  1. Original documents (including signatures) are authentic, and documents submitted to us as copies conform to the original documents, and there has been (or will be by the Effective Time of the Merger) execution and delivery of all documents where execution and delivery are prerequisites to the effectiveness thereof;


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  2. The Merger will be consummated in the manner contemplated by, and in accordance with the provisions of, the Merger Agreement and the Registration Statement, and the Merger will be effective under the laws of the State of Indiana;

 

  3. All factual statements, descriptions and representations contained in any of the documents referred to herein or otherwise made to us are true, complete and correct in all respects and will remain true, complete and correct in all respects up to and including the Effective Time, and no actions have been taken or will be taken which are inconsistent with such factual statements, descriptions or representations or which make any such factual statements, descriptions or representations untrue, incomplete or incorrect at the Effective Time;

 

  4. Any statements made in any of the documents referred to herein “to the knowledge of” or similarly qualified are true, complete and correct in all respects and will continue to be true, complete and correct in all respects at all times up to and including the Effective Time, in each case without such qualification; and

 

  5. The parties have complied with and, if applicable, will continue to comply with, the covenants contained in the Merger Agreement, the Registration Statement and the Officer’s Certificate.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated in the Registration Statement, we hereby confirm our opinion set forth under the caption “The Reorganization/Recapitalization Proposal—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”

In addition to the matters set forth above, this opinion is subject to the exceptions, limitations and qualifications set forth below.

 

  1. This opinion represents our best judgment regarding the application of U.S. federal income tax laws arising under the Code, existing judicial decisions, administrative regulations and published rulings and procedures, but does not address all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Merger. We express no opinion as to U.S. federal, state, local, foreign or other tax consequences, other than as set forth herein. Our opinion is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service or the courts, and there is no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service will not assert a contrary position. Furthermore, no assurance can be given that future legislative, judicial or administrative changes, on either a prospective or retroactive basis, would not adversely affect the validity of the conclusions stated herein. Nevertheless, we undertake no responsibility to advise you of any new developments in the application or interpretation of the U.S. federal income tax laws.


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  2. No opinion is expressed as to any transaction other than the Merger as described in the Merger Agreement, or to any transaction whatsoever, including the Merger, if, to the extent relevant to our opinion, either all the transactions described in the Merger Agreement are not consummated in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement and without waiver or breach of any provisions thereof or all of the factual statements, representations, warranties and assumptions upon which we have relied are not true and accurate at all relevant times.

We are furnishing this opinion in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement and this opinion is not to be relied upon for any other purpose without our prior written consent. We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm name therein under the caption “The Reorganization/Recapitalization Proposal—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.” In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP