On December 2, 2021, the French legal think-tank Le Club des Juristes released a report on SPACs prepared by an ad hoc commission chaired by Jean Arthuis, former Minister of Finance, entitled: “Paris: Frontline Financial Centre for SPACs.” Olivier de Vilmorin served as rapporteur and Gauthier Blanluet was a member of the ad hoc commission. Jay Clayton was heard by the commission as former chairman of the SEC and Morgane Praindhui De Beys also contributed to the report.
The authors write that “SPACs represent an opportunity both for French entrepreneurs and for Paris as a financial centre” and note that “French law is already able to accommodate this type of company”. They propose several adjustments to the French legal system that would improve the competitiveness of the Paris marketplace, both specifically tailored for SPACs and of a more general scope. In particular, the authors propose to introduce the possibility of multiple voting rights in listed companies and to revise certain rules on capital increases and delegations. To learn more about the report, click here.
The report was presented at a conference hosted by Le Club des Juristes on December 2, in which Olivier de Vilmorin participated as a speaker.