Exhibit 8.1
| | | | |
| | 330 North Wabash Avenue |
| | Suite 2800 |
| | Chicago, Illinois 60611 |
| | Tel: +1.312.876.7700 Fax: +1.312.993.9767 |
![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/S-4/0001193125-22-160311/g350101g33e70.jpg) | | www.lw.com |
| FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES |
| | Austin | | Moscow |
| | Beijing | | Munich |
| | Boston | | New York |
| | Brussels | | Orange County |
May 26, 2022 Vivid Seats Inc. 111 N. Canal Street, Suite 800 Chicago, Illinois 60606 | | Century City | | Paris |
| Chicago | | Riyadh |
| Dubai | | San Diego |
| Düsseldorf | | San Francisco |
| Frankfurt | | Seoul |
| Hamburg | | Shanghai |
| Hong Kong | | Silicon Valley |
| Houston | | Singapore |
| | London | | Tel Aviv |
| | Los Angeles | | Tokyo |
| | Madrid | | Washington, D.C. |
| | Milan | | |
Re: | Vivid Seats Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-4 |
To the addressee set forth above:
We have acted as special tax counsel to Vivid Seats Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with (i) the Company’s offer to exchange (the “Exchange Offer”) any and all of the Company’s outstanding publicly traded warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), of the Company for 0.240 shares of Class A Common Stock per Warrant and (ii) the solicitation of consents (the “Consent Solicitation”) from the holders of all outstanding Warrants to amend the Warrant Agreement, dated as of October 14, 2021, by and between Horizon Acquisition Corporation, the Company’s predecessor, and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, which governs all of the Warrants, to permit the Company to require that each Warrant that is outstanding upon the closing of the Exchange Offer be converted into 0.213 shares of Class A Common Stock. The Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation are being made pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-4 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on May 26, 2022 (the “Registration Statement”). References in this opinion to the Registration Statement include the preliminary prospectus/offer to exchange forming a part of the Registration Statement (the “Preliminary Prospectus”).
The facts, as we understand them, and upon which with your permission we rely in rendering the opinion herein, are set forth in the Preliminary Prospectus. In addition, in our capacity as special tax counsel, we have made such legal and factual examinations and inquiries as we have deemed necessary or appropriate. In our examination, we have assumed the accuracy of all information provided to us.
Based on such facts and subject to the qualifications, assumptions and limitations set forth herein and in the Preliminary Prospectus, we hereby confirm that the statements in the Preliminary Prospectus under the caption “Market Information, Dividends and Related Stockholder Matters—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences,” insofar as such statements purport to constitute summaries of United States federal income tax law and regulations or legal conclusions with respect thereto, constitute accurate summaries of the matters described therein in all material respects.