Exhibit 5.1

 

TH International Limited
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman, KY1-1104
Cayman Islands

7 November, 2022

TH International Limited

We have acted as counsel as to Cayman Islands law to TH International Limited (the "Company") to provide this opinion letter in connection with the Company's registration statement on Form S-8, including all amendments or supplements thereto, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") under the United States Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the "Act") (including its exhibits, the "Registration Statement") related to the registration of 14,486,152 ordinary shares of the Company of a par value of US$0.00000934021455424713 each (the "Shares") authorised for issuance pursuant to the Company's Amended & Restated Share Option Scheme (the "Plan").

1 Documents Reviewed

We have reviewed originals, copies, drafts or conformed copies of the following documents, and such other documents as we deem necessary:

1.1 The certificate of incorporation dated 25 April 2018 and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company as adopted effective 19 August 2022 (the "Memorandum and Articles").

1.2 The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 13 August 2021 (the "2021 Resolutions") and 18 August 2022 (the "2022 Resolutions"), and the corporate records of the Company maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands.

1.3 A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies (the "Certificate of Good Standing").

1.4 A certificate from a director of the Company a copy of which is attached to this opinion letter (the "Director's Certificate").

1.5 The Registration Statement.

1.6 The Plan.

 

2 Assumptions

The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving the following opinions, we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as at the date of this opinion letter, of the Director's Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:

2.1 The Plan has been or will be authorised and duly executed and unconditionally delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands).

2.2 The Plan is, or will be, legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with its terms under the laws of the Cayman Islands and all relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands).

2.3 The choice of the Relevant Law as the governing law of the Plan has been made in good faith and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by the courts any relevant jurisdiction (other than the Cayman Islands) as a matter of all relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands).

2.4 Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals.

2.5 All signatures, initials and seals are genuine.

2.6 The capacity, power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform their respective obligations under the Plan.

2.7 There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below.

2.8 The Company will receive money or money's worth in consideration for the issue of the Shares and none of the Shares will be issued for less than their par value.

Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion.

3 Opinions

Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing assumptions and the qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:

3.1 The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

3.2 The Shares to be offered and issued by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan, have been duly authorised for issue, and when issued by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan for the consideration fixed thereto and duly registered in the Company's register of members (shareholders), will be validly issued and (assuming that all of the consideration is received by the Company) will be fully paid and non-assessable.

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4 Qualifications

The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:

4.1 The obligations assumed by the Company under the Plan will not necessarily be enforceable in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular:

(a) enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium or other laws of general application relating to protecting or affecting the rights of creditors and/or contributories;

(b) enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity. For example, equitable remedies such as specific performance may not be available, inter alia, where damages are considered to be an adequate remedy;

(c) where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of that jurisdiction; and

(d) some claims may become barred under relevant statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences.

4.2 To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed by law.

4.3 Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members (shareholders) is prima facie evidence of title to shares and this register would not record a third party interest in such shares. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. As far as we are aware, such applications are rarely made in the Cayman Islands and for the purposes of the opinion given in paragraph 3.2, there are no circumstances or matters of fact known to us on the date of this opinion letter which would properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company, but if such an application were made in respect of the Class A Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.

4.4 In this opinion letter the phrase "non-assessable" means, with respect to the issuance of shares, that a shareholder shall not, in respect of the relevant shares and in the absence of a contractual arrangement, or an obligation pursuant to the memorandum and articles of association, to the contrary, have any obligation to make further contributions to the Company's assets (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the headings "Legal Matters", "Shareholders' Suits" and "Enforcement of Civil Liabilities" in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In providing our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.

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We express no view as to the commercial terms of the Plan or whether such terms represent the intentions of the parties and make no comment with regard to warranties or representations that may be made by the Company.

The opinions in this opinion letter are strictly limited to the matters contained in the opinions section above and do not extend to any other matters. We have not been asked to review and we therefore have not reviewed any of the ancillary documents relating to the Plan and express no opinion or observation upon the terms of any such document.

This opinion letter is addressed to you and may be relied upon by you, your counsel and purchasers of the Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement. This opinion letter is limited to the matters detailed herein and is not to be read as an opinion with respect to any other matter.

Yours faithfully

/s/ Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP

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