LIMITATIONS AFFECTING SHAREHOLDERS OF A FRENCH COMPANY
Ownership of ADSs or Shares by Non-French Residents
Neither the French Commercial Code nor our bylaws presently impose any restrictions on the right of non-French residents or non-French shareholders to own and vote shares. However, non-French residents must file a declaration for statistical purposes with the Bank of France (Banque de France) within twenty working days following the date of certain direct foreign investments in us, including any purchase of our ADSs. In particular such filings are required in connection with investments exceeding €15,000,000 that lead to the acquisition of at least 10% of the share capital or voting rights or cross such 10% threshold. Violation of this filing requirement may be sanctioned by five years’ imprisonment and a fine up to twice the amount of the relevant investment. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.
Moreover, any investment:
(i) by (a) any non-French citizen, (b) any French citizen not residing in France, (c) any non-French entity or (d) any French entity controlled by one of the aforementioned persons or entities;
(ii) that will result in the relevant investor (a) acquiring control of an entity registered in France, (b) acquiring all or part of a business line of an entity registered in France, or (c) for non-EU or non-EEA investors crossing, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert, a 25% threshold of voting rights in an entity registered in France; and
(iii) developing activities in certain strategic industries related to (a) activity likely to prejudice national defense interests, participating in the exercise of official authority or are likely to prejudice public policy and public security (including weapons, double-use items, IT systems, cryptology, date capturing devices, gambling, toxic agents or storage of data), (b) activities relating to essential infrastructure, goods or services (including energy, water, transportation, space, telecom, public health, farm products or media), and (c) research and development activity related to critical technologies (including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum technologies, energy storage or biotechnology) or dual-use items, is subject to the prior authorization of the French Ministry of Economy, which authorization may be conditioned on certain undertakings.
The Decree (arrêté) of April 27, 2020 extended the list of sectors subject to prior approval to include biotechnologies now covered under article R. 151-3 III° 1° of the French Monetary and Financial Code, under which investments are defined as (i) the acquisition of control—within the meaning of Article L. 233-3 of the French Commercial Code—of a company that has its registered office in France, (ii) the acquisition of all or part of a line of business of a company that has its registered office in France, or (iii) the acquisition of more than 25% of the shares or voting rights of a company that has its registered office in France.
In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Decree (décret) n°2020-892 dated July 22, 2020 as amended by the Decree (décret) n°2020-1729 dated December 28, 2020 has completed the 25% threshold with an additional temporary 10% threshold of the voting rights for the non-European investments in listed companies applicable, at the date of this prospectus, until December 31, 2021.
The transactions falling within the scope of the Decree (décret) n°2020-892, as amended, benefit from a “fast-track procedure” pursuant to which the investor is exempt from the authorization request provided for in Article R. 151-5 of the Monetary and Financial Code, provided that the investment project has been the subject of prior notification to the French Minister of Economy and that the transaction is carried out within six months following the notification. Unless the French Minister of Economy objects, the authorization is granted at the end of a period of ten working days following notification.
In the absence of such authorization, the relevant investment shall be deemed null and void. The relevant investor may be found criminally liable and may be sanctioned with a fine not to exceed the greater of the following
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