Week of 6 to 12 October 2026
Legislative, regulatory and case-law review
Legislation
No text published between 6 and 11 October 2026 (JORF Nos. 0233 to 0238) amends company law, commercial law, competition law, banking and financial law or insolvency law. Nor has any new implementing decree of Law No. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026 simplifying economic life appeared: the latest known implementing texts predate the period.
Financial markets: squeeze-out on Fiducial Office Solutions
AMF, clearances Nos. 26-362 and 26-363 of 8 October 2026.
On 8 October 2026, Fiducial SC filed a public buy-out offer for the Fiducial Office Solutions shares it does not yet hold, at EUR 36 per share, with a view to a squeeze-out under Article L. 433-4, II of the Monetary and Financial Code. The AMF General Regulation governs the content of the offer document and the response document (Articles 231-19 and 231-27 to 231-28) as well as the independent fairness opinion (Articles 261-1 and 261-1-1), here entrusted to Crowe HAF.
Minority shareholders must choose before the offer closes: tender their shares at the offer price, abstain and be compensated automatically at the squeeze-out, or challenge the threshold, the price or the procedure within the time limits. Appeals against AMF decisions do not, in principle, have suspensive effect (Article L. 621-30 of the Monetary and Financial Code). The timetable for the offer and the squeeze-out is published by the AMF.
Company practice: double voting rights and statutory disclosure thresholds
Commercial Code, Arts. L. 225-123, L. 233-7 and L. 233-14.
News from listed companies brings two often-overlooked mechanisms back into focus. Double voting rights attached to registered shares held for at least two years by the same shareholder (Article L. 225-123) mean that holdings must be assessed in exercisable voting rights, not in number of shares. The articles of association may also lower the disclosure threshold to as little as 0.5% of the share capital or voting rights (Article L. 233-7); a shareholder who fails to disclose may then, at the request of shareholders holding at least 5% of the capital, be deprived of its voting rights for two years (Article L. 233-14), and the court may order a suspension of up to five years.
The point matters beyond the stock market: it bears directly on drafting disclosure clauses in the articles and shareholders’ agreements of unlisted companies.
The firm advises on French business law, including commercial relationships and competition disputes.
Previous edition: Weekly Digest: Business Law (29 September-5 October 2026)
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