In rendering these opinions, we have assumed that the transactions contemplated by the Reviewed Documents have been or will be consummated in accordance with the terms and provisions of such documents, and that such documents accurately reflect the material facts of such transactions. In addition, the opinions are based on the assumption that the Company and its subsidiaries will each be operated in the manner described in the Articles, the Bylaws, and the other organizational documents of each such entity and their subsidiaries, as the case may be, and all terms and provisions of such agreements and documents will be complied with by all parties thereto.
It should be noted that statutes, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative interpretations are subject to change at any time and, in some circumstances, with retroactive effect. A material change that is made after the date hereof in any of the foregoing bases for our opinion could affect our conclusions. Furthermore, if the facts vary from those relied upon (including if any representations, warranties, covenants or assumptions upon which we have relied are inaccurate, incomplete, breached or ineffective), our opinion contained herein could be inapplicable. Moreover, the qualification and taxation of the Company as a REIT depends upon its ability to meet, through actual annual operating results, distribution levels and diversity of share ownership and the various qualification tests imposed under the Code, the results of which will not be reviewed by the undersigned. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of the operations of the Company for any one taxable year will satisfy such requirements.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 2019, the Company has been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and its actual method of operation through the date of this opinion and its intended method of operation through the end of the Hypothetical Short Year (as defined below) has enabled the Company, and will enable the Company, to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT through the end of the Hypothetical Short Year, determined: (i) as if the Company’s taxable year beginning January 1, 2022 ended on the closing of the Merger (the interval of time between January 1, 2022 and the Closing, the “Hypothetical Short Year”), and (ii) without regard to the distribution requirement described in Section 857(a)(1) of the Code with respect to the Hypothetical Short Year.
The foregoing opinion expressed herein relates to the satisfaction of the REIT qualification requirements only for the taxable year ended December 31, 2019 through the end of the Hypothetical Short Year. No opinion is expressed regarding the Company’s qualification as a REIT for any taxable year or portion thereof beginning after the Hypothetical Short Year. We note that the REIT qualification requirements (including those relating to a REIT’s gross income, assets, and distributions) are normally tested at the end of, or for, a calendar quarter or calendar year, and that the Company’s taxable year beginning January 1, 2022, will not actually end for U.S. federal income tax purposes until after the closing of the Merger. Accordingly, we assume for purposes of this opinion that the Company will not take or omit to take any action if such action or omission, as the case may be, would cause any of the representations in the Certificate to be untrue or is otherwise inconsistent with the qualification of the Company for taxation as a REIT, in each case with respect to the Hypothetical Short Year or any prior year.
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