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Tronox Holdings plc
Laporte Road
Stallingborough
Grimsby
North East Lincolnshire
DN40 2PR
England
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CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London EC4N 6AF
DX 135316 London Cannon Place
T +44 20 7367 3000
F +44 20 7367 2000
cms.law
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Our ref
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GMG/BN/165330.00001
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04 August 2020
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| 1. |
INTRODUCTION
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| 1.1 |
We are acting as English legal advisers to Tronox Holdings plc (“Tronox”), a company incorporated in England and Wales with company registration number 11653089. We have
been requested by Tronox to render our opinion as to the matters set forth below in connection with the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”) relating to the registration of
8,000,000 ordinary shares (subject to adjustments as may be required in accordance with the terms of the Plan (as defined below)), par value US$0.01 per share, of Tronox (the “Shares,” each a “Share”) to be offered and sold from time to time under the Tronox Amended and Restated Management Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).
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| 1.2 |
We understand that the Shares are not and are not intended to be admitted to trading on any market or exchange, or otherwise listed, in the United Kingdom.
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| 2. |
DOCUMENTS EXAMINED
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| 2.1 |
a copy of resolutions of the Tronox board meeting held on 24 June 2020 at which the filing of the Registration Statement and the issue of the Shares pursuant to the Plan were approved (the “Board Resolutions”), certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in paragraph 2.4 below);
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| 2.2 |
a copy of the shareholder resolutions passed by the sole shareholder of Tronox on 25 February 2019 authorising the directors of Tronox to allot and issue shares in Tronox up
to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of US$5,000,000, certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in paragraph 2.4 below);
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| 2.3 |
a copy of the shareholder resolution passed by the shareholders of Tronox on 24 June 2020, approving the amendment to the Plan for the purpose of increasing the number of shares available to be granted under the
Plan by 8,000,000, certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in paragraph 2.4 below);
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| 2.5 |
a copy of the articles of association of Tronox adopted on 27 March 2019 (the “Articles”) certified as being true, complete and up to date as at the date of the Officer’s
Certificate;
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| 2.6 |
a copy of the trading certificate of Tronox issued by Companies House on 8 November 2018;
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| 2.7 |
a copy of the Plan;
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| 2.8 |
a copy of the certificate of incorporation containing a statement of good standing of Tronox issued by Companies House and dated 22 April 2020; and
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| 2.9 |
the results of our online search on 04 August 2020 at approximately 10:30 a.m. of the public records on file and available for inspection at Companies House with respect to Tronox (the “Records Search”) and the results of a search made by our court clerks of the CE‑File at the Central Index of Winding‑Up Petitions on 04 August 2020 at approximately 10:30 a.m. with respect to Tronox (the “Central Index Search” and together with the Records Search, the “Searches”).
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| 3. |
ASSUMPTIONS
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| 3.1 |
the genuineness of all signatures on any of the Reviewed Documents and that any signature or execution pages on which any such signatures appear physically formed part of complete and final versions of those
documents at the time of signing;
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| 3.2 |
the accuracy and completeness of all facts stated in any of the Reviewed Documents;
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| 3.3 |
that where a document is required to be delivered, each party to it has delivered the same without it being subject to any escrow or other similar arrangement;
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| 3.4 |
that the Company has fully complied with its obligations under all applicable money laundering legislation;
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| 3.5 |
the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of all original documents submitted to us or used to provide copies to us and the conformity to original documents of all copy documents submitted to us;
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| 3.6 |
the Plan adopted and amended by the directors of Tronox is in the same form as the copy of the Plan reviewed by us, and is not subsequently amended, and is administered at all material times in accordance with its
terms;
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| 3.8 |
that the information disclosed in the Searches was correct and complete;
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| 3.9 |
that the Board Resolutions have not been amended, modified or superseded;
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| 3.10 |
that each director of Tronox has disclosed any interest which he or she may have in the transactions contemplated by the Board Resolutions in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and the
Articles, and that none of the relevant directors of Tronox have any interest in such transactions except to the extent permitted by the Articles;
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| 3.11 |
that the actions to be carried out pursuant to the Board Resolutions by Tronox and the exercise of its rights and performance of its obligations thereunder will materially benefit Tronox, and that the directors of
Tronox acted in good faith and in the interests of Tronox in approving the Board Resolutions and the transactions contemplated thereby;
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| 3.12 |
all persons who receive Shares under the Plan will have agreed to receive such Shares;
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| 3.13 |
each party to an Award Agreement (as defined in the Plan) under which Shares are issued, entered into or will enter into the Award Agreement in good faith and the entry by the party into the Award Agreement, and
the performance of obligations by that party under the Award Agreement and the Plan, are in the party’s best interests and, in the case of Tronox, for the purpose of its business;
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| 3.14 |
no person has contravened or will contravene any applicable law by entering into or offering to enter into an Award Agreement or giving effect to a transaction under or in connection with the Plan;
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| 3.15 |
each party to an Award Agreement was or will be solvent at the time of and immediately after entering into an Award Agreement, and was and will have at all times full legal capacity;
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| 3.16 |
that the allotment and issue of the Shares will comply in all respects with the terms of the Special Eligibility Agreement for Securities dated 27 March 2019 and the Transaction Information Document dated 27 March
2019, as amended on 14 February 2020 (included as Exhibit A to our legal opinion letter dated 14 February 2020 which is Exhibit A to the letter agreement from the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. to The Depository Trust
Company, Cede & Co. and National Securities Clearing Corporation and dated 14 February 2020);
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| 3.17 |
that none of the Shares will be offered to the public in the United Kingdom, unless an approved prospectus has been made available to the public before the offer is made or a relevant exemption applies; and
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| 3.18 |
where the Shares are received under the Plan by a person in a jurisdiction other than England and Wales, receipt of the Shares by such person will not be illegal or unenforceable under the laws of that
jurisdiction.
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| 4. |
OPINIONS
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| 4.1 |
Tronox is a public limited liability company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of England and Wales; and
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| 4.2 |
the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. For the purposes of this opinion, “non-assessable” shall mean that no further contributions in respect of the Shares will be required to be made to
Tronox by the holders thereof by reason solely of being a holder of such Shares.
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| 5. |
QUALIFICATIONS
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| 5.2 |
the Central Index Search relates only to a compulsory winding up and is not capable of revealing conclusively whether or not a winding-up petition in respect of a compulsory winding up has been presented since
details of the petition may not have been entered on the records of the Central Index of Winding‑Up Petitions immediately or, in the case of a petition presented to a County Court, may not have been notified to the Central Index and entered
on such records at all, and the response to an enquiry only relates to the period of six months prior to the date when the enquiry was made. We have not made enquiries of any County Court as to whether a petition for the appointment of an
administrator has been presented to, or an administration order has been made by, any County Court against Tronox.
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