⚖️ A Specific Legal Framework for Urgent Financing
We recently translated from French into English a legal and financial news article dealing with the possibility for the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) to grant a waiver of the obligation to launch a tender offer (offre publique d’acquisition – OPA) in cases where the target company is experiencing recognized financial difficulty.
📉 Legal Context: PIPE Transactions and Emergency Funding
The article analyzed a PIPE (private investment in public equity) transaction: a direct subscription to a capital increase by an investor, outside of a traditional market transaction.
👉 This type of mechanism is particularly relevant in times of:
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economic and financial crisis (crise économique et financière),
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negative or deteriorating shareholders’ equity (capitaux propres négatifs ou en forte dégradation),
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crossing of shareholding thresholds (franchissement de seuils) that would normally trigger an OPA obligation.
Under the AMF General Regulation and the French Code de commerce, an exemption (dérogation / waiver) from this obligation may be granted if the viability of the listed company is at stake.
🌍 Translation at the Crossroads of Securities Law and Corporate Finance
This translation required us to:
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faithfully render concepts of French financial market law,
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adapt drafting to international corporate governance standards,
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ensure clarity of the legal reasoning for non-French-speaking specialists in M&A or compliance.
📌 Key Contextual Translations from This Project
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offre publique d’acquisition (OPA) → tender offer
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dérogation aux obligations → waiver of the obligation
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difficulté financière avérée → recognized financial difficulty
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crise économique et financière → economic and financial crisis
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société cotée → listed company
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besoins de financement → funding needs
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code de commerce → commercial code
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souscription à une augmentation de capital → subscription to a capital increase
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franchissement de seuil → crossing of thresholds
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obligations convertibles ou échangeables en actions → convertible or exchangeable notes
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obligations remboursables en actions → mandatory convertible notes
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capitaux propres négatifs ou en forte dégradation → negative or sharply decreasing shareholders’ equity
