Carnival plc
Carnival House
100 Harbour Parade
Southampton
United Kingdom
SO15 1ST
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London
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
65 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1HS T +44 20 7936 4000 (Switchboard)
+44 20 7785 5796 (Direct)
www.freshfields.com
Our Ref
115283-0096
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Carnival Corporation
3655 NW 87th Avenue
Miami
FL 33178-2428 |
(a)
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the Registration Statement;
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(b) |
a copy of the articles of association of the Company in force as at 7 August 2020 (the Articles);
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(c) |
a copy of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation dated 19 July 2000 issued by the Registrar of Companies of England and Wales;
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(d) |
a search carried out on 6 August 2020 (carried out by us or by GlobalX on our behalf) of the public documents of the Company kept at Companies House in Cardiff (the Company Search);
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(e) |
a certificate issued to us by the Corporate Counsel of the Company (certifying to us that, amongst other matters, the Special Voting Share has been duly authorised, validly issued
and is fully paid and non-assessable) dated 5 August 2020 (the Counsel’s Certificate); and
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(f) |
a certificate issued to us by the Corporate Counsel of the Company dated 9 March 2018 (the Historic Certificate).
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(a) |
Authenticity: the genuineness of all signatures, stamps and seals on, and the
authenticity, accuracy and completeness of, all documents submitted to us whether as originals or copies;
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(b) |
Copies: the conformity to originals of all documents supplied to us as
photocopies, portable document format (PDF) copies, facsimile copies or e-mail conformed copies;
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(c) |
Drafts: that, where a document has been examined by us in draft or specimen
form, it will be or has been duly executed and delivered in the form of that draft or specimen;
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(d) |
Counsel’s Certificates: that each of the statements contained in the Counsel’s
Certificate and the Historic Certificate (and in the schedules to each of the Counsel’s Certificate and the Historic Certificate) is true and correct as at the date hereof;
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(e) |
Company Search: that the information revealed by the Company Search: (i) was
accurate in all respects and has not since the time of such search been altered; and (ii) was complete, and included all relevant information which had been properly submitted to the Registrar of Companies;
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(f) |
Winding-Up Enquiry: that the information revealed by the Winding up Enquiry was
accurate in all respects and has not since the time of such enquiry been altered;
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(g) |
Board Meeting: that the meeting of the board of directors of the Company to
authorise the allotment and issue of the Special Voting Share was properly constituted and convened, that a quorum of properly appointed directors of the Company (holding the necessary offices and meeting the other requirements for the
purposes of forming a quorum) was present throughout; that the resolutions referred to therein were properly passed at such meeting, that all provisions contained in the Companies Act 1985, the Articles and the articles of incorporation
and by‑laws of Carnival Corporation were duly observed, and that such resolutions have not been amended, revoked or rescinded and are in full force and effect;
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(h) |
Directors’ Duties: that the directors of the Company, in authorising the
allotment and issue of the Special Voting Share and filing of the Registration Statement, have exercised their powers in accordance with their duties under all applicable laws and the Articles;
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(i) |
Unknown Facts: that there are no facts or circumstances (and no documents,
agreements, instruments or correspondence) which are not apparent from the face of the Documents or which have not been disclosed to us that may affect the validity or enforceability of the Documents or any obligation therein or otherwise
affect the opinions expressed in this opinion;
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(j) |
Representations: that the representations and warranties by the parties in the
Documents in any case (other than as to matters of law on which we opine in this opinion) are or were, as applicable, true, correct, accurate and complete in all respects on the date such representations and warranties were expressed to
be made and that the terms of the Documents have been and will be observed and performed by the parties thereto;
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(k) |
Anti-terrorism, money laundering: that the parties have complied (and will
continue to comply) with all applicable anti-terrorism, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, civil or criminal antitrust, cartel, competition, public procurement, state aid, sanctions and human rights laws and regulations, and that
performance and enforcement of the Documents is, and will continue to be, consistent with all such laws and regulations;
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(l) |
Secondary Legislation: that all UK secondary legislation relevant to this
opinion is valid, effective and enacted within the scope of the powers of the relevant rule-making authorities;
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(m) |
Authorisations:
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(i) |
that the Company had sufficient authorised capital at the time of the allotment and issue of the Special Voting Share to effect such allotment and issue;
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(ii) |
that the Company had sufficient authority to allot the Special Voting Share pursuant to section 80 of the Companies Act 1985 or any preceding legislation at the time of such
allotment;
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(n) |
Pre-emption rights: that the Company complied with all applicable pre-emption
rights, whether pursuant to law, regulation or the articles of association of the Company, at the time of the allotment and issue of the Special Voting Share; and
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(o) |
Filings under all laws: that all consents, licences, approvals, notices, filings,
recordations, publications and registrations which are necessary under any applicable laws in order to permit the performance of the Documents, including filing of the Registration Statement and the allotment and issue of the Special
Voting Share, or to perfect, protect or preserve any of the interests created by the Documents, have been made or obtained, or will be made or obtained within the period permitted or required by such laws or regulations.
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(a) |
the Company has been duly incorporated and registered in England and Wales as a public company limited by shares under the Companies Act 1985, as amended, and the Company Search and
Winding-up Enquiry revealed no application, petition, order or resolution for the administration or winding up of the Company and no notice of appointment of, or intention to appoint, a receiver or administrator in respect of the Company;
and
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(b) |
the Special Voting Share has been duly authorised and validly issued and is fully paid and non-assessable.
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(a) |
Company Search: the Company Search is not capable of revealing conclusively
whether or not:
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(i) |
a winding-up order has been made or a resolution passed for the winding-up of a company; or
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(ii) |
an administration order has been made; or
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(iii) |
a receiver, administrative receiver, administrator or liquidator has been appointed; or
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(iv) |
a court order has been made under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006,
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(b) |
Winding-Up Enquiry: the Winding-Up Enquiry relates only to the presentation of:
(i) a petition for the making of a winding-up order or the making of a winding-up order by the Court, (ii) an application to the High Court of Justice in London for the making of an administration order and the making by such court of an
administration order, and (iii) a notice of intention to appoint an administrator or a notice of appointment of an administrator filed at the High Court of Justice in London. It is not capable of revealing conclusively whether or not such
a winding-up petition, application for an administration order, notice of intention or notice of appointment has been presented or winding-up or administration order granted, because:
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(i) |
details of a winding-up petition or application for an administration order may not have been entered on the records of the Central Registry of Winding-Up Petitions immediately;
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(ii) |
in the case of an application for the making of an administration order and such order and the presentation of a notice of intention to appoint or notice of appointment, if such
application is made to, order made by or notice filed with, a Court other than the High Court of Justice in London, no record of such application, order or notice will be kept by the Central Registry of Winding-Up Petitions;
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(iii) |
a winding-up order or administration order may be made before the relevant petition or application has been entered on the records of the Central Registry, and the making of such
order may not have been entered on the records immediately;
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(iv) |
details of a notice of intention to appoint an administrator or a notice of appointment of an administrator under paragraphs 14 and 22 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 may
not be entered on the records immediately (or, in the case of a notice of intention to appoint, at all); and
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(v) |
with regard to winding-up petitions, the Central Registry of Winding-Up Petitions may not have records of winding-up petitions issued prior to 1994;
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(c) |
Jurisdiction: no opinion is given as to whether or not any court will take jurisdiction, or whether the English courts
would grant a stay of any proceedings commenced in England, or whether the English courts would grant any relief ancillary to proceedings commenced in a foreign court;
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(d) |
Foreign Courts: we express no opinion as to whether or not a foreign court (applying its own conflict of laws rules) will
act in accordance with the parties’ agreement as to jurisdiction and/or choice of law; and
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(e) |
Insolvency: this opinion is subject to all applicable laws relating to insolvency, bankruptcy, administration,
reorganisation, liquidation or analogous circumstances and other similar laws of general application relating to or affecting generally the enforcement of creditors’ rights and remedies from time to time.
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(a) |
Factual Statements: we have not been responsible for verifying whether any statements of fact (including as to foreign
law) or any statement of opinion or intention contained in or relevant to the Documents or any related documents are accurate, complete or reasonable or that no material facts have been omitted therefrom;
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(b) |
Enforceability: we express no opinion on whether the obligations of the Company under the Documents are enforceable
against it in the English courts;
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(c) |
Nature of Role: we have not been involved in the preparation or negotiation of the Documents, and have reviewed them only
for the limited purpose of giving this opinion. Accordingly, we express no view as to the suitability of the Documents or of their provisions or their general compliance with market practice or any commercial aspects of the Documents; and
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(d) |
Operational Licences: we have not investigated whether the Company has obtained any of the operational licences, permits
and consents which it may require for the purpose of carrying on its business.
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Yours faithfully
/s/ Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
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