EX-5.2 3 d742478dex52.htm EX-5.2 EX-5.2

Exhibit 5.2

 

 

ATTORNEYS • CIVIL LAW NOTARIES • TAX ADVISERS

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P.O. Box 7113

 

1007 JC Amsterdam

 

Beethovenstraat 400

 

1082 PR Amsterdam

 

T +31 20 71 71 000

 

F +31 20 71 71 111

  

 

Amsterdam, August 20, 2019.

 

To the Company

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

We have acted as legal counsel as to Netherlands law to the Company in connection with the Registration Statement and the filing thereof with the SEC. This opinion letter is rendered to you in order to be filed with the SEC as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.

 

Capitalised terms used in this opinion letter have the meanings set forth in Exhibit A to this opinion letter. The section headings used in this opinion letter are for convenience of reference only and are not to affect its construction or to be taken into consideration in its interpretation.

 

This opinion letter is addressed solely to you. This opinion letter is strictly limited to the matters stated in it and may not be read as extending by implication to any matters not specifically referred to in it. Nothing in this opinion letter should be taken as expressing an opinion in respect of any representations or warranties, or other information, contained in any document.

 

In rendering the opinions expressed in this opinion letter, we have exclusively reviewed and relied upon the Registration Statement and pdf copies of the Corporate Documents and we have assumed that any issuance of Registered Securities shall be effected for bona fide commercial reasons. We have not investigated or verified any factual matter disclosed to us in the course of our review.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amsterdam

 

Brussels

 

London

 

Luxemburg

 

New York

 

Rotterdam

   This opinion letter sets out our opinion on certain matters of the laws with general applicability of the Netherlands, and, insofar as they are directly applicable in the Netherlands, of the European Union, as at today’s date and as presently interpreted under published authoritative case law of the Netherlands courts, the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. We do not express any opinion on Netherlands or European competition law, tax law or regulatory law. No undertaking is assumed on our part to revise, update or amend this opinion letter in connection with or to notify or inform you of, any developments and/or changes of Netherlands law subsequent to today’s date. We do not purport to opine on the consequences of amendments to the Corporate documents subsequent to the date of this opinion letter.
  

 

This communication is confidential and may be subject to professional privilege. All legal relationships are subject to NautaDutilh N.V.’s general terms and conditions (see https://www.nautadutilh.com/terms), which apply mutatis mutandis to our relationship with third parties relying on statements of NautaDutilh N.V., include a limitation of liability clause, have been filed with the Rotterdam District Court and will be provided free of charge upon request. NautaDutilh N.V.; corporate seat Rotterdam; trade register no. 24338323.

 


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The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are to be construed and interpreted in accordance with Netherlands law. The competent courts at Amsterdam, the Netherlands, have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any issues of interpretation or liability arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter. Any legal relationship arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter (whether contractual or non-contractual), including the above submission to jurisdiction, is governed by Netherlands law and shall be subject to the general terms and conditions of NautaDutilh. No person other than NautaDutilh may be held liable in connection with this opinion letter.

In this opinion letter, legal concepts are expressed in English terms. The Netherlands legal concepts concerned may not be identical in meaning to the concepts described by the English terms as they exist under the law of other jurisdictions. In the event of a conflict or inconsistency, the relevant expression shall be deemed to refer only to the Netherlands legal concepts described by the English terms.

For the purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed that:

 

  a.

each copy of a document conforms to the original, each original is authentic, and each signature is the genuine signature of the individual purported to have placed that signature;

 

  b.

the Deed of Incorporation and the Deed of Conversion are valid notarial deeds and the Deed of Incorporation has been executed on the basis of a valid declaration of no objection (verklaring van geen bezwaar);

 

  c.

the Current Articles are the Articles of Association in force and effect;

 

  d.

the authorized share capital (maatschappelijk kapitaal) of the Company allows for the issuance of the Registered Shares;

 

  e.

the Company has not (i) been dissolved (ontbonden), (ii) ceased to exist pursuant to a merger (fusie) or a division (splitsing), (iii) been converted (omgezet) into another legal form, either national or foreign, (iv) had its assets placed under administration (onder bewind gesteld), (v) been declared bankrupt (failliet verklaard), (vi) been granted a suspension of payments (surseance van betaling verleend), or (vii) been made subject to similar proceedings in any jurisdiction or otherwise been limited in its power to dispose of its assets;


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  f.

any Registered Securities shall have been issued, and any pre-emption rights in connection therewith shall have been excluded, pursuant to resolutions validly passed by the corporate body (orgaan) of the Company duly authorized to do so;

 

  g.

the issue or purchase price for any Registered Securities shall have been satisfied in cash in full and shall have been received and accepted by the Company ultimately upon the issuance of such Registered Securities and, where relevant, the Company shall have consented to payment on Registered Shares in a currency other than Euro;

 

  h.

any Registered Shares issued pursuant to the conversion, exercise or exchange of other Registered Securities shall have been issued pursuant to a valid conversion, exercise or exchange of such other Registered Securities in accordance with their terms;

 

  i.

the works council (ondernemingsraad) of the Company shall not have a right to give its advice (heeft geen adviesrecht) in respect of the issuance of Registered Shares;

 

  j.

no Registered Securities shall be offered to the public in the European Economic Area; and

 

  k.

at each Relevant Moment, each of the assumptions made in this opinion letter will be correct in all aspects by reference to the facts and circumstances then existing.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set forth in this opinion letter and to any matters, documents or events not disclosed to us, we express the following opinions:

Corporate Status

 

  1.

The Company has been duly incorporated as a besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid and is validly existing as a naamloze vennootschap.

Registered Shares

 

  2.

The Registered Shares, including any Registered Shares issued pursuant to the conversion, exercise or exchange of Registered Debt Securities or Registered Warrants, or as a constituent of a Registered Unit, when issued by the Company and accepted by the acquiror(s) of such Registered Shares, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.


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The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:

 

  A.

Opinion 1 must not be read to imply that the Company cannot be dissolved (ontbonden). A company such as the Company may be dissolved, inter alia by the competent court at the request of the company’s board of directors, any interested party (belanghebbende) or the public prosecution office in certain circumstances, such as when there are certain defects in the incorporation of the company. Any such dissolution will not have retro-active effect.

 

  B.

Pursuant to Section 2:7 NCC, any transaction entered into by a legal entity may be nullified by the legal entity itself or its liquidator in bankruptcy proceedings (curator) if the objects of that entity were transgressed by the transaction and the other party to the transaction knew or should have known this without independent investigation (wist of zonder eigen onderzoek moest weten). The Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) has ruled that in determining whether the objects of a legal entity are transgressed, not only the description of the objects in that legal entity’s articles of association (statuten) is decisive, but all (relevant) circumstances must be taken into account, in particular whether the interests of the legal entity were served by the transaction. Based on the objects clause contained in the Current Articles, we have no reason to believe that, by issuing Registered Securities, the Company would transgress the description of the objects contained in the Current Articles. However, we cannot assess whether there are other relevant circumstances that must be taken into account, in particular whether the interests of the Company are served by issuing Registered Securities since this is a matter of fact.

 

  C.

The opinions expressed in this opinion letter may be limited or affected by:

 

  a.

any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganisation, moratorium or other similar laws or procedures now or hereafter in effect, relating to or affecting the enforcement or protection of creditors’ rights generally;

 

  b.

the provisions of fraudulent preference and fraudulent conveyance (Actio Pauliana) and similar rights available in other jurisdictions to liquidators in bankruptcy proceedings or creditors;

 

  c.

claims based on tort (onrechtmatige daad);


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  d.

sanctions and measures, including but not limited to those concerning export control, pursuant to European Union regulations, under the Sanctions Act 1977 (Sanctiewet 1977) or other legislation;

 

  e.

the Anti-Boycott Regulation and related legislation; and

 

  f.

the rules of force majeure (niet toerekenbare tekortkoming), reasonableness and fairness (redelijkheid en billijkheid), suspension (opschorting), dissolution (ontbinding), unforeseen circumstances (onvoorziene omstandigheden) and vitiated consent (i.e., duress (bedreiging), fraud (bedrog), abuse of circumstances (misbruik van omstandigheden) and error (dwaling)) or a difference of intention (wil) and declaration (verklaring), set-off (verrekening), and other defences afforded by Netherlands law to obligors general.

 

  D.

The term “non-assessable” has no equivalent in the Dutch language and for purposes of this opinion letter such term should be interpreted to mean that a holder of a share will not by reason of merely being such a holder be subject to assessment or calls by the Company or its creditors for further payment on such share.

 

  E.

This opinion letter does not purport to express any opinion or view on the operational rules and procedures of any clearing or settlement system or agency.

We consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and also consent to the reference to NautaDutilh in the Registration Statement under the caption “Legal Matters”.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ NautaDutilh N.V.


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EXHIBIT A

 

LIST OF DEFINITIONS

  

2019 Deed of Amendement

   The deed of amendment to the Articles of Association, dated June 12, 2019.

Anti-Boycott Regulation

   The Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 on protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom.

Articles of Association

   The Company’s articles of association (statuten) as they read from time to time.

Commercial Register

   The Netherlands Commercial Register (handelsregister).

Common Shares

   Common shares in the Company’s capital, with a nominal value of EUR 0.09 each.

Company

   Merus N.V., a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap), registered with the Commercial Register under number 30189136.

Corporate Documents

   The Deed of Incorporation, the Deed of Conversion, the 2019 Deed of Amendment, the Current Articles and the Extract.

Current Articles

   The Articles of Association as they read immediately after the execution the 2019 Deed of Amendment.

Deed of Conversion

   The deed of conversion and amendment to the Articles of Association, dated May 19, 2016.

Deed of Incorporation

   The Company’s deed of incorporation (akte van oprichting), dated June 16, 2003.

Extract

   An extract from the Commercial Register relating to the Company, dated the date of this opinion letter.


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NautaDutilh

   NautaDutilh N.V.

NCC

   The Netherlands Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek).

Preferred Shares

   Preferred shares in the Company’s capital, with a nominal value of EUR 0.09 each.

Registered Debt Securities

   One or more series of debt securities of the Company registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.

Registered Securities

   Registered Debt Securities, Registered Shares, Registered Units and Registered Warrants.

Registered Shares

   The Common Shares and Preferred Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement, including Common Shares and Preferred Shares issuable by the Company pursuant to the conversion, exercise or exchange of Registered Debt Securities or Registered Warrants, or as a constituent of a Registered Unit.

Registered Units

   One or more series of units consisting of other types of Registered Securities, registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.

Registered Warrants

   One or more series of warrants for the purchase of Registered Debt Securities or Registered Shares, registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.

Registration Statement

   The Company’s registration statement on Form F-3 filed or to be filed with the SEC in connection with the registration of the Registered Shares on or about the date of this opinion letter, in the form reviewed by us.

Relevant Moment

   Each time when any Registered Securities are issued by the Company.


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SEC

   The United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

the Netherlands

   The European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.