Exhibit 5.1
[Letterhead of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP]
July 15, 2014
The Ensign Group, Inc.
27101 Puerta Real, Suite 450
Mission Viejo, CA
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| Re: | The Ensign Group, Inc. |
Registration Statement on Form S-3
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel to The Ensign Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed on the date hereof by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). The Registration Statement relates to, among other things, the issuance and sale by the Company from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the General Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Act, of the following securities of the Company: (i) shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share (“Common Stock”); (ii) shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share (“Preferred Stock”), in one or more series; (iii) warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase Common Stock, Preferred Stock or other securities, or any combination of the foregoing, as shall be designated by the Company at the time of the offering and issued pursuant to one or more warrant agreements (each, a “Warrant Agreement”) proposed to be entered into between the Company and one or more warrant agents to be named in the applicable Warrant Agreement (each, a “Warrant Agent”). The Common Stock, the Preferred Stock and the Warrants are collectively referred to herein as the “Offered Securities.”
This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.
In rendering the opinions stated herein, we have examined and relied upon the following:
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| (i) | the Registration Statement; |
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| (ii) | an executed copy of a certificate of Chad A. Keetch, Secretary of the Company, dated the date hereof (the “Secretary’s Certificate”); |
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| (iii) | a copy of the Fifth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as of June 24, 2014, and certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate (the “Certificate of Incorporation”); |
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| (iv) | a copy of the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, as amended and in effect as of the date hereof, certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate (the “Bylaws”); and |
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| (v) | a copy of certain resolutions of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) relating to the registration of the Offered Securities adopted on July 2, 2014, certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate. |
We have also examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such records of the Company and such agreements, certificates and receipts of public officials, certificates of officers or other representatives of the Company and others, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions stated below.
The Ensign Group, Inc.
July 15, 2014
Page 2
In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, including endorsements, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified or photostatic copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. In making our examination of executed documents or documents to be executed, we have assumed (i) that the parties thereto, other than the Company, had or will have the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder, and (ii) the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, and the execution and delivery by such parties of such documents, and the validity and binding effect thereof on such parties.
We have assumed that each Warrant Agreement will be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the applicable Warrant Agent and that each Warrant that may be issued will be duly signed or countersigned by duly authorized officers of the applicable Warrant Agent. In addition, we have assumed that the terms of the Offered Securities will have been established so as not to, and that the execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, the Warrant Agreements and the Offered Securities will not, violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) any agreement or instrument to which the Company or its properties are subject, (ii) any law, rule or regulation to which the Company or its properties are subject, (iii) any judicial or regulatory order or decree of any governmental authority or (iv) any consent, approval, license, authorization or validation of, or filing, recording or registration with, any governmental authority. We have assumed that New York law will be chosen to govern the Warrant Agreements and the Warrants, that such choice is a valid and legal provision and the Warrants will contain all provisions required under the laws of the State of Delaware in respect of contracts for the sale of securities issued by a Delaware corporation. As to any facts relevant to the opinions expressed herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others and of public officials.
We do not express any opinion with respect to the laws of any jurisdiction other than (i) the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) and (ii) the laws of the State of New York that in our experience are normally applicable to transactions of the type contemplated by the Registration Statement and, to the extent that judicial or regulatory orders or decrees or consents, approvals, licenses, authorizations, validations, filings, recordings or registrations with governmental authorities are relevant, to those required under such laws (all of the foregoing being referred to as “Opined on Law”). We do not express any opinion with respect to the law of any jurisdiction other than Opined on Law or as to the effect of any such non-Opined on Law on the opinions herein stated. The Offered Securities may be issued from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis, and this opinion is limited to the laws, including the rules and regulations, as in effect on the date hereof, which laws are subject to change with possible retroactive effect.
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:
1.With respect to any shares of Common Stock to be offered by the Company pursuant to the Registration Statement (the “Offered Common Stock”) when (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended (including all necessary post-effective amendments), has become effective under the Act; (ii) an appropriate prospectus supplement with respect to the Offered Common Stock has been prepared, delivered and filed in compliance with the Act and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (iii) if the Offered Common Stock is to be sold or otherwise distributed pursuant to a firm commitment underwritten offering, an “at the market” offering or other offering with underwriters or agents, the underwriting, sales agent or other agreement with respect to the Offered Common Stock has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto; (iv) the Board of Directors, including any appropriate committee appointed thereby, and appropriate officers of the Company have taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance of the Offered Common Stock and related matters; (v) terms of the issuance and sale of the Offered Common Stock have been duly established and are then in conformity with the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws so as not to violate any applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and so as to comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or other governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Company; (vi) if the Offered Common Stock is to be certificated, certificates in the form required under the DGCL representing the shares of Offered Common Stock have been duly executed and countersigned; and (vii) the shares of Offered Common Stock are registered in the Company’s share registry and delivered upon payment of the agreed-upon consideration therefor, the shares of Offered Common Stock, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the applicable underwriting agreement, if any, or any other duly authorized, executed and delivered valid and binding agreement, will be duly authorized and validly issued and the shares of Offered Common Stock, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the applicable underwriting agreement, if any, or any other duly authorized, executed and delivered valid and binding agreement, will be, fully paid and nonassessable, in each case, provided that the consideration therefor is not less than $0.001 per share of Common Stock.
The Ensign Group, Inc.
July 15, 2014
Page 3
2.With respect to any shares of any series of Preferred Stock to be offered by the Company pursuant to the Registration Statement (the “Offered Preferred Stock”), when (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended (including all necessary post-effective amendments), has become effective under the Act; (ii) an appropriate prospectus supplement with respect to the Offered Preferred Stock has been prepared, delivered and filed in compliance with the Act and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (iii) if the Offered Preferred Stock is to be sold or otherwise distributed pursuant to a firm commitment underwritten offering or other offering with underwriters, sales agent or agents, the underwriting or other agreement with respect to the Offered Preferred Stock has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto; (iv) the Board of Directors, including any appropriate committee appointed thereby, and appropriate officers of the Company have taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance, sale and terms of the Offered Preferred Stock and related matters, including the adoption of a Certificate of Designations for the Offered Preferred Stock in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL (the “Certificate of Designations”); (v) the filing of the Certificate of Designations with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, in the form to be filed as an exhibit to a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K or other applicable report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement or any prospectus supplement relating thereto, has duly occurred; (vi) the terms of the Offered Preferred Stock and of their issuance and sale have been duly established and are then in conformity with the Certificate of Incorporation, including the Certificate of Designations relating to the Offered Preferred Stock, and the Bylaws so as not to violate any applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and so as to comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or other governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Company; (vii) if the Offered Preferred Stock is to be certificated, certificates in the form required under the DGCL representing the shares of Offered Preferred Stock have been duly executed and countersigned; and (viii) the shares of Offered Preferred Stock are registered in the Company’s share registry and delivered upon payment of the agreed-upon consideration therefor, the shares of Offered Preferred Stock, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the applicable underwriting agreement, if any, or any other duly authorized, executed and delivered valid and binding agreement, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, provided that the consideration therefor is not less than $0.001 per share of Preferred Stock.
3.With respect to any series of Warrants to be offered by the Company pursuant to the Registration Statement (the “Offered Warrants”), when (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended (including all necessary post-effective amendments), has become effective under the Act; (ii) an appropriate prospectus supplement with respect to the Offered Warrants has been prepared, delivered and filed in compliance with the Act and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (iii) if the Offered Warrants are to be sold or otherwise distributed pursuant to a firm commitment underwritten offering or other offering with underwriters or agents, the underwriting or other agreement with respect to the Offered Warrants has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto; (iv) the Board of Directors, including any appropriate committee appointed thereby, and appropriate officers of the Company have taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance, sale and terms of the Offered Warrants, the Offered Securities of the Company into which the Offered Warrants are exercisable, the consideration to be received therefor, the applicable Warrant Agreement and related matters; (v) a Warrant Agreement relating to the Offered Warrants has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each party thereto; (vi) the terms of the Offered Warrants and of their issuance and sale have been duly established in conformity with the applicable Warrant Agreement so as not to violate any applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and so as to comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or other governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Company and the applicable Warrant Agent; (vii) the securities relating to such Offered Warrants have been duly authorized for issuance by the issuer or issuers of such securities; and (viii) the Offered Warrants have been duly executed, delivered, countersigned, issued and sold in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Warrant Agreement to be filed as an exhibit to a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K or other applicable report under the Exchange Act, in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement or any prospectus supplement relating thereto, the Offered Warrants, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the applicable Warrant Agreement and the applicable underwriting agreement, if any, or any other duly authorized, executed and delivered valid and binding agreement, will be valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms under the laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that enforcement thereof may be limited by (a) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium, preference or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally, (b) general principles of equity(regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity) and (c) public policy considerations which may limit the rights of parties to obtain remedies.
The Ensign Group, Inc.
July 15, 2014
Page 4
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We also hereby consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the prospectus which forms a part of the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder. This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof unless otherwise expressly stated, and we disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes in the facts stated or assumed herein or of any subsequent changes in applicable laws.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
