Pierre-Olivier Brouard, Partner, and Karine Khau Castelle, Counsel, represented Entrepreneur Venture Corp and the founders.
The Paris-based small cap fund Entrepreneur Invest, with €900m in assets under management, is organising its own leveraged buyout with Naxicap Partners, which is taking a majority stake in the new holding company Entrepreneur Invest Group alongside founders Frédéric ZABLOCKI and Bertrand Folliet and six managers.
Category: Firm’s news
“Foreign Investments in France: The End of Naivety
On October 6th, the French Ministry of Finance vetoed the takeover by the United States of two “sensitive” French SMEs supplying the nuclear industry for civil and military purposes. The transaction, initiated between an American buyer and its Canadian parent company, led to a change of control of these two French companies. Such an operation triggers the regulation on screening of foreign investments at the level of France and the European Union (EU), the acquirer being a non-European investor.
In strategic and critical sectors (Defense, Security, Energy, Public Transport, Communication, Health, AI, etc.), the takeover of French companies – direct or indirect – is subject to prior authorization by the Ministry of Finance, as is the approval by the U.S. Treasury Department in accordance with CFIUS laws. The acquisition of more than 10% of the voting rights of a listed French company (or 25% of the voting rights of an unlisted company) is also subject to prior authorization when the acquirer is an industrialist or financier outside the EU.
In order to protect national interests, especially in the context of increasing international competition and the war in Ukraine, the French Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the French Ministry of Defense, are stricter in applying this regulation and examine with particular scrutiny cases where foreign export control regulations may impact the autonomy and/or activity of French companies. Consequently, any investment in France in high-tech sectors requires thorough preparation and review in advance.”
Fréderic Saffroy, partner in the Compliance & Regulatory and Aerospace & Defense departments at Alerion Avocats, has contributed to the LexisNexis collection “New Space, the new economy of space activities: legal and ethical issues”.
With an article on the regulatory framework for earth observation.
Antoine Rousseau, a partner, and Isabelle Perron, an associate in Alerion Avocats’ Mergers & Acquisitions department, advised Red Panda Network on its roll-out in Europe.
Red Panda Network is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of red pandas in the Himalayas through scientific research and innovative awareness-raising programmes. For the sustainable conservation of this threatened species, RPN focuses on the four pragmatic components of the “conservation quartet”: research, education, community and implementation. In doing so, RPN seeks to engage the community and partner with local NGOs as a sustainable conservation initiative.
Play for Nature
Pascal Damois
Foreign Investments in France: the end of naivety
On October 6, the French Finance Ministry vetoed the US takeover of two “sensitive” French SMEs supplying the nuclear industry for both civil and military purposes. The transaction, initiated between a US purchaser and their Canadian parent company, meant a change of control of these two French companies. Such a transaction triggers the foreign investment screening regulations at French and European Union (EU) levels, the purchaser being a non-EU investor.
In strategic and critical sectors (Defense, Security, Energy, Public Transportation, Communication, Healthcare, AI, etc.), takeover of French businesses – direct or indirect – is subject to the prior authorization of the Finance Ministry, like the approval of the US Treasury Department in accordance with the CFIUS Laws. Acquiring more than 10% of the voting rights of a listed French company (or 25% of the voting rights of a non-listed company) is also subject to prior authorization when the purchaser is a non-EU industrialist or financier.
In order to protect national interests, especially in light of the growing international competition and the war in Ukraine, the French Finance Ministry, together with the French Defense Ministry, are stricter on the enforcement of this regulation and review with particular scrutiny cases where foreign Export Control regulations may impact the autonomy and/or the business of French companies. Therefore, any investment in France in high-tech sectors requires preparation and a detailed advanced review.
Alerion assisted Airbus Defence and Space for the absorption of Airbus DS Holding
Alerion (Frédéric Saffroy and Alexandra Fortin, with Jérémie Mancel-Cottrel) assisted Airbus Defence and Space for the downstream merger of Airbus DS Holding into its subsidiary, Airbus Defence and Space. This downstream merger is part of the global Airbus Group policy to simplify its corporate chart.
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus dedicated to defence (A400M, MRTT, Eurofighter, Communication, Intelligence, etc.) and space (communication satellites, remote sensing & Earth observation satellites, space probe, ground stations, etc.).
It’s a must for interns at Alerion: like every year, the interns in the second class of 2023 visited the Palais de Justice!
What better introduction to the profession than to discover some of the great pages of French history and its judicial history in the very places where they were written and where the law continues to be written!
Alerion is recognized by Best Lawyers France 2024
Best Lawyers France 2024 ranked 14 of our lawyers among 10 categories:
– Marie-Hélène Bartoli Vallet in Litigation
– Jacques Bouyssou in Criminal Defense, in Litigation and in Arbitration and Mediation.
– Pierre-Olivier Brouard in Corporate Law.
– Nathalie Dupuy-Loup in Construction Law.
– Christophe Gerschel in Corporate Law.
– Karine Khau-Castelle in Corporate law.
– Nicola Kömpf in Labor and Employment Law.
– Sibylle Mareau in Banking and Finance Law.
– Philippe Mathurin in Construction Law and Insurance Law.
– Jacques Perotto in Labor and Employment Law.
– Gilles Podeur in Insolvency and Reorganization Law.
– Vincent Poirier in Corporate Law.
– Catherine Robin in Intellectual Property Law.
– Antoine Rousseau in Corporate Law.
Alerion launches its Climate Litigation Observatory
The climate challenge is also before the courts! In view of the explosion of climate litigation, find out more in our legal watch.
Stay informed with our dedicated webpage!
Jacques Bouyssou explains why it is important for you in video.
Corinne Thiérache will be present at the INTA 2023 Annual Meeting
Corinne Thiérache will participate in the INTA 2023 Annual Meeting in Singapore from 16 to 20 May 2023.