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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 2, 2021
Registration No. 333-      
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Inventiva S.A.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
France
Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
50 rue de Dijon
21121 Daix France
Tel: +33 3 80 44 75 00
(Address and telephone number of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street,
18th Floor
New York, New York 10168
+1 800 221-0102
(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
Copies of all communications, including communications sent to agent for service, should be sent to:
Divakar Gupta
Richard Segal
David Boles
Daniel Goldberg
Cooley LLP
55 Hudson Yards
New York, New York 10001
+1 212 479-6000
Arnaud Duhamel
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
15 rue de Laborde
75008 Paris France
+33 1 40 75 60 00
APPROXIMATE DATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF PROPOSED SALE TO THE PUBLIC: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective on filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

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If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of
Securities to be Registered
Amount
to be
Registered
Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Price per Unit
Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price
Amount of
Registration Fee(1)
Ordinary shares, nominal value €0.01 per share(2)
      (3)
      (4)
      (4)
Warrants
      (3)
      (4)
      (4)
Total
      (3)
$ 300,000,000 $ 32,730
(1)
Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.
(2)
These ordinary shares are represented by American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, each of which represents one ordinary share of the registrant. ADSs issuable on deposit of the ordinary shares registered hereby have been registered pursuant to a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-239477).
(3)
There are being registered hereunder such indeterminate number of ordinary shares and such indeterminate number of warrants as may be sold by the registrant from time to time at indeterminate prices, in U.S. dollars or the equivalent thereof denominated in foreign currencies, with the maximum aggregate offering price not to exceed $300,000,000. Any securities registered by this Registration Statement may be sold separately or in combination with other securities registered hereunder. The proposed maximum initial offering price per security will be determined, from time to time, by the registrant in connection with the sale of the securities registered hereunder. The securities registered also include such indeterminate amounts and numbers of ordinary shares as may be issued upon exercise of warrants. Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, the ordinary shares represented by ADSs being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of ordinary shares as may be issuable with respect to the ordinary shares being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.
(4)
The proposed maximum aggregate offering price per class of security will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder and is not specified as to each class of security pursuant to General Instruction II.C. of Form F-3 under the Securities Act.
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

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EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Registration Statement of Inventiva S.A. (the “Registrant”) contains two prospectuses:

a base prospectus which covers the offering, issuance and sale by the Registrant of the securities identified above from time to time in one or more offerings, which together shall have an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $300,000,000; and

a sales agreement prospectus covering the offering, issuance and sale by the Registrant of up to a maximum aggregate offering price of $100,000,000 (which amount is included in the $300,000,000 aggregate offering price set forth in the base prospectus) of the Registrant’s American Depositary Shares representing ordinary shares that may be issued and sold under the Sales Agreement, dated August 2, 2021, between the Registrant and Jefferies LLC.
The base prospectus immediately follows this explanatory note. The specific terms of any securities to be offered pursuant to the base prospectus will be specified in one or more prospectus supplements to the base prospectus. The sales agreement prospectus immediately follows the base prospectus.
 

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 2, 2021
PROSPECTUS
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$300,000,000
Ordinary Shares
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
Warrants to Purchase Ordinary Shares or American Depositary Shares
This prospectus will allow us to issue, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined at or prior to the time of the offering, up to $300,000,000 of our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, as well as warrants to purchase ordinary shares or ADSs. These securities may be offered individually or in any combination.
This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. We will provide you with the specific terms of any offering in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements will also describe the specific manner in which these securities will be offered and may also supplement, update or amend information contained in this document. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, carefully before you invest.
Our securities may be sold directly by us to you, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any underwriters or agents are involved in the sale of our securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters or agents and any applicable fees or commissions and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.
ADSs representing our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA.” On July 29, 2021, the last reported sale price of the ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market was $13.17 per ADS. Our ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA.” On July 29, 2021, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Paris was €11.36 per ordinary share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on the Nasdaq Global Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. There is currently no market through which warrants may be sold and purchasers may not be able to resell warrants purchased under this prospectus. This may affect the pricing of any warrants in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of trading prices, the liquidity of the warrants and the extent of issuer regulation. Prospective purchasers of our securities are urged to obtain current information as to the market prices of our securities, where applicable.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks that we have described on page 6 of this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors” and under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We may also include specific risk factors in supplements to this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Owning our securities may subject you to tax consequences both in France and in the United States. This prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement may not describe these tax consequences fully. You should read the tax discussion in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. In addition, your ability to enforce civil liabilities under U.S. federal securities laws may be affected adversely by the fact that we are incorporated under the laws of France, many of our officers and directors and experts named in this prospectus are residents of France or elsewhere outside of the United States, and a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. See “Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.”
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is            , 2021.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs, and warrants to purchase ordinary shares or ADSs, either individually or in combination, in one or more offerings, with a total aggregate offering price of up to $300,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer.
Each time we sell securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in any documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference,” before investing in any of the securities offered.
THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSUMMATE A SALE OF SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.
Neither we, nor any agent, underwriter or dealer has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. This prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do this prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.
You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is delivered, or securities are sold, on a later date.
This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Unless otherwise indicated in this prospectus, “Inventiva,” “the company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Inventiva S.A. and its consolidated subsidiary.
In this prospectus, references to “euro” or “€” are to the legal currency of the countries of the European Union, including the Republic of France, and references to “dollars,” “U.S. dollars” or “$” are to the legal currency of the United States of America.
 
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. We urge you to read this entire prospectus, including the more detailed consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference from our other filings with the SEC or included in any applicable prospectus supplement. Investing in our securities involves risks. Therefore, carefully consider the risk factors set forth in any prospectus supplements and in our most recent filings with the SEC including our Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, as well as other information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, before purchasing our securities. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities.
Company Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH and other diseases with significant unmet medical need. We have built a pipeline backed by a discovery engine with an extensive library of proprietary molecules, a wholly-owned research and development facility and a team with significant expertise and experience in the development of compounds that target nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation. Leveraging these assets and expertise, we are advancing lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH, as well as a pipeline of earlier stage programs in oncology and other diseases with significant unmet medical need.
Lanifibranor for the Treatment of NASH.   We are developing our lead product candidate, lanifibranor, for the treatment of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a progressive, chronic liver disease for which there are currently no approved therapies. NASH is believed to affect 12% of the United States adult population and is a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver transplantation and liver cancer. Compared to the general population, patients with NASH have a ten-fold greater risk of liver-related mortality. NASH is characterized by a metabolic process known as steatosis, or the excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, inflammation and ballooning of liver cells and progressive liver fibrosis that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis. Lanifibranor is an orally-available small molecule in development for the treatment of NASH that acts to induce anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory and beneficial vascular and metabolic changes in the body by activating all three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, or PPAR, isoforms. PPARs are well-characterized nuclear receptor proteins that regulate gene expression, and their relevance for the fibrotic, inflammatory, vascular and metabolic processes that characterize NASH is well-established. While there are other PPAR agonists that target only one or two PPAR isoforms, lanifibranor is the only pan-PPAR agonist, meaning that it targets the three isoforms, in clinical development. We believe that this pan-PPAR approach provides for a combination of anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory and beneficial vascular and metabolic effects that cannot be obtained with single and dual PPAR agonists. In June 2020, we announced positive topline results from our NATIVE Phase IIb clinical trial of lanifibranor in patients with NASH. In this trial, treatment with lanifibranor at a dose of 1,200 mg met the primary endpoint of a reduction in inflammation and ballooning with no worsening of fibrosis after 24 weeks of treatment, while continuing to show the favorable tolerability profile observed in prior clinical trials of lanifibranor. Treatment with lanifibranor at doses of 800 mg and 1,200 mg also met the key secondary endpoints of resolution of NASH with no worsening of fibrosis and, at the 1,200 mg dose, improvement in liver fibrosis without worsening NASH, which are the primary endpoints relevant for seeking accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and the European Medical Agency, or EMA, after future Phase III development. On October 12, 2020, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH based on Phase IIb data, in addition to Fast Track designation which was previously granted to lanifibranor in this indication. We believe that lanifibranor is the first oral drug candidate to be granted this status for the treatment of NASH since January 2015. The Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA is intended to expedite the development and review of drug candidates for serious or life-threatening conditions. To qualify for this designation, drug candidates must show preliminary clinical evidence that they may demonstrate a substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapies or over placebo if there are no approved therapies. In light of the Phase IIb results, we plan to advance lanifibranor, either alone or together with a collaborator. Following the end-of-phase II meeting with the
 
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FDA and the receipt of the Scientific Advice letter from the EMA during the fourth quarter of 2020, the Phase III trial design and clinical strategy have been discussed with both regulatory authorities and are summarized as follows:

Submission for U.S. accelerated approval and EU conditional approval of lanifibranor will be based on a 72-week histology analysis — We will seek to obtain accelerated approval in the U.S. and conditional approval in the EU for lanifibranor based on a pre-specified histology analysis in approximately 900 patients if we are able to establish a positive benefit-risk ratio after 72 weeks of treatment.

Primary composite endpoint expected to be a combination of NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement — The primary composite endpoint of patients having both NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement of at least one stage will be used for the 72-week histology analysis. The endpoint is designed to predict a significant improvement of prognostic risk and, if met, may support a label for the treatment of NASH and the improvement in liver fibrosis in adult non-cirrhotic NASH patients. During our NATIVE Phase IIb clinical trial, this endpoint was met with statistical significance by both doses of 800 mg and 1,200 mg, including in NASH patients with F2/F3 fibrosis, the patient population that will be included in the Phase III trial, as well as in NASH patients with type two diabetes. Endpoints of NASH resolution and no worsening of fibrosis, and improvement of fibrosis with no worsening of NASH will be included as key secondary endpoints. Additional supportive histologic endpoints, non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis and steatohepatitis as well as effects on lipids and insulin resistance will also be evaluated.

Long-term use to be established after 72 weeks — The duration of 72 weeks was considered adequate by both the FDA and EMA to establish long-term use as well as dose and cumulative drug exposure. With this trial, the proposed size of the safety database required for marketing application would be consistent with regulatory guidelines.
Named NATIV3 (NASH lanifibranor Phase III trial), the planned trial has been designed as a double-blind, placebo-controlled global pivotal Phase III clinical trial to assess the potential benefit of lanifibranor treatment on liver-related clinical outcomes. Patients will be randomized 1:1:1 to receive lanifibranor (800mg once daily or 1200mg once daily) or placebo. The trial will remain blinded after the pre-specified histological analysis and continue in a total of approximately 2,000 patients until the occurrence of a pre-specified number of adverse liver-related clinical events, including progression to cirrhosis. The trial would be completed on a post-marketing basis in the event that U.S. accelerated approval or EU conditional approval is received. Statistical powering of 90% was considered for the sample size calculations of the Phase III clinical trial. The trial preparations are progressing and we plan to initiate Part 1 of the trial in the first half of 2021, with Part 1 referring to a 72-week treatment in approximately 900 patients allowing to seek accelerated approval in the U.S. and conditional approval in the EU for lanifibranor based on a pre-specified histology analysis; this part of the study is followed by an extension period (Part 2), the end date of which depends on a pre-defined number of clinical events. Part 1 of the study has the following timelines:

First Patient First Visit — expected in the third quarter of 2021.

Last Patient First Visit — expected in the second half of 2022.

Last Patient Last Visit — expected in the first half of 2024.

Publication of headline results — expected in the second half of 2024.
Odiparcil for the Treatment of MPS.   Our second clinical-stage asset is odiparcil, which we developed for the treatment of patients with mucopolysaccharidoses, or MPS, a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by an excessive accumulation of large sugar chains, known as glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs, in cells. Odiparcil is an orally-available small molecule designed to modify how GAGs are synthesized. Odiparcil acts to facilitate the production of soluble GAGs that can be excreted in the urine, rather than accumulating in cells. As announced in November 2020, we have decided to focus our clinical efforts on the development of lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH and as part of this decision, we are reviewing all available options to optimize the development of odiparcil for the treatment of MPS VI. During this time, we will suspend all MPS-related research and development activities. As a consequence, the Phase I/II SAFE-KIDDS (SAFEty, pharmacoKInetics and pharmacoDynamics, Dose escalating Study) clinical trial evaluating
 
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odiparcil in MPS VI children and the Phase IIa extension clinical trial with odiparcil in MPS VI patients who completed the prior iMProveS Phase IIa clinical trial was not initiated in the first half of 2021 as initially planned. Odiparcil has received orphan drug designation from the FDA and EMA and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the FDA for the treatment of MPS VI.
Discovery Engine.   We have a scientific team of approximately 70 people with deep biology, medicinal and computational chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacology expertise, more than 75% of whom have worked together for more than 15 years. We also own a library of approximately 240,000 pharmacologically relevant molecules, 60% of which are proprietary, as well as a wholly-owned research and development facility. Using these assets and this expertise, we have built a discovery engine focused on small molecule compounds that target nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation. We are leveraging this discovery engine to identify and develop compounds addressing a wide range of indications. Our Hippo signaling pathway program aims to disrupt the interaction between yes-associated protein, or YAP, and transcription enhancer associated domain transcription factors, or TEAD, an interaction that plays a key role in oncogenic and fibrotic processes. In xenograft and orthotopic models of malignant pleural mesothelioma, or MPM, we observed that YAP-TEAD inhibition was associated with reduced tumor growth and we are in the process of selecting development candidate for our Hippo program, which we anticipate entering pre-clinical development in 2021 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma. We are also advancing a pre-clinical program for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and have validated a new target within the transforming growth factor beta, or TGF-β, signaling pathway. We have also entered into a collaboration with AbbVie Inc., or AbbVie, for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases. The collaboration led to the discovery of cedirogant (formerly ABBV-157), a selective and orally-available ROR-y inverse agonist. After achieving clinical proof of concept in a phase I trial in patients with psoriasis, AbbVie is planning to initiate a phase 2b trial during the second half of 2021.
Our Pipeline
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Recent Developments
As of June 30, 2021, we had approximately €93.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to €107.8 million as of March 31, 2021 and €113.0 million as of December 31, 2020. Net cash used in operating
 
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activities amounted to €19.0 million in the first half of 2021 compared to €7.2 million for the same period in 2020. The Company’s revenues for the first half of 2021 amounted to €0.2 million, as compared to €0.1 million for the same period in 2020.
Corporate Information
We were founded in 2011 and incorporated as a société anonyme, or S.A., in 2016. We are registered at the Dijon Trade and Companies Register (Registre du commerce et des sociétés) under the number 537 530 255. In January 2021, we incorporated our wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Inventiva Inc. in the state of New Jersey. Our ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA” and our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA.”
Our principal executive offices are located at 50 rue de Dijon, 21121 Daix, France. Our telephone number at our principal executive offices is +33 3 80 44 75 00. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., 122 E 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10168.
The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov. Our website address is www.inventivapharma.com. The reference to our website is an inactive textual reference only and information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website or any other website cited in this prospectus is not part of this prospectus.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the U.S. Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:

exemption from the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and

to the extent that we no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (1) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (2) exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation.
We may take advantage of these provisions until December 31, 2025 or such earlier time that we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in total annual gross revenue, have more than $700 million in market value of our capital stock held by non-affiliates or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens. To the extent that we take advantage of these reduced burdens, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than you might obtain from other public companies in which you hold equity interests.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. Since International Financial Reporting Standards make no distinction between public and private companies for purposes of compliance with new or revised accounting standards, the requirements for our compliance as a private company and as a public company are the same.
Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer
We are also considered a “foreign private issuer” under U.S. securities laws. In our capacity as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our
 
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securities. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information.
We may take advantage of these exemptions until such time as we are no longer a foreign private issuer. We will remain a foreign private issuer until such time that more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are held by U.S. residents and any of the following three circumstances applies: (1) the majority of our executive officers or directors are U.S. citizens or residents; (2) more than 50% of our assets are located in the United States; or (3) our business is administered principally in the United States.
The Securities We May Offer
Under this prospectus, we may offer ordinary shares, including ADSs representing our ordinary shares, and warrants to purchase ordinary shares or ADSs, either individually or in any combination, with a total aggregate offering price of up to $300,000,000, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:

designation or classification;

aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price;

maturity, if applicable;

rates and times of payment of interest or dividends, if any;

redemption, conversion or sinking fund terms, if any;

voting or other rights, if any; and

conversion or exercise prices, if any.
The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness.
We may sell the securities directly to investors or to or through agents, underwriters or dealers. We, and our agents or underwriters, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we offer securities through agents or underwriters, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:

the names of those agents or underwriters;

applicable fees and commissions to be paid to them;

details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and

the net proceeds to us.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
 
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 as updated by our subsequent filings, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations.
 
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in the sections titled “Information on the Company,” “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” incorporated by reference from our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto, filed with the SEC.
All statements other than present and historical facts and conditions contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial positions, business strategy, plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “is designed to,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “objective,” “should,” or the negative of these and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

our plans to develop and commercialize our product candidates;

the timing of initiation of our planned clinical trials;

the timing of the availability of data from our clinical trials;

the timing of any planned investigational new drug application or new drug application;

our plans to research, develop and commercialize our current and future product candidates;

our ability to successfully collaborate with existing collaborators or enter into new collaborations, and to fulfill our obligations under any such collaboration agreements;

the clinical utility, potential benefits and market acceptance of our product candidates;

our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy;

our ability to identify additional products or product candidates with significant commercial potential;

our expectations related to the sufficiency of our capital resources;

developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry;

the impact of government laws and regulations;

the potential effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on our business and, operations and clinical development timelines and plans;

our intellectual property position;

our estimate regarding future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and need for additional financing; and

other risks and uncertainties, including those listed in this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors”.
You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame or at all.
 
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Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to this prospectus completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus contains market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. We have not independently verified any third-party information. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.
 
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OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
We may sell from time to time pursuant to this prospectus (as may be detailed in a prospectus supplement) an indeterminate number of ordinary shares, including ADSs representing our ordinary shares, and warrants to purchase ordinary shares or ADSs, either individually or in combination, as shall have a maximum aggregate offering price of up to $300,000,000. The actual price per share or per security of the securities that we will offer pursuant hereto will depend on a number of factors that may be relevant as of the time of offer. See “Plan of Distribution.”
 
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table presents our total capitalization and cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2021. You should read the financial data in the following table in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
As of
March 31,
2021
(in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents
107,806
Other financial liabilities
Total debt
10,086
Shareholders’ equity
Ordinary shares, nominal value €0.01 per share, 38,630,261 shares issued and outstanding
386
Premiums related to share capital
139,668
Reserves
(€ 28,958)
Translation reserve
0
Net loss for the period
(€ 8,840)
Total shareholders’ equity
102,256
Total capitalization
112,342
The number of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) outstanding as of March 31, 2021 was 38,630,261, which excludes:

29,100 ordinary shares issued after March 31, 2021 in connection with the vesting of free shares under the AGA 2019-1 bonus share award plan that have no exercise price;

1,396,800 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of founder’s share warrants (bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise) and share warrants (bons de souscription d’actions) and the vesting of free shares outstanding as of April 16, 2021; and

18,521,739 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our share-based compensation plans and other delegations of authority from our shareholders as of March 31, 2021.
 
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OFFER AND LISTING DETAILS
We may sell from time to time pursuant to this prospectus (as may be detailed in a prospectus supplement) an indeterminate number of ordinary shares, including ADSs representing our ordinary shares, and warrants to purchase ordinary shares or ADSs, either individually or in combination, as shall have a maximum aggregate offering price of up to $300,000,000. The actual price per share or per security of the securities that we will offer pursuant hereto will depend on a number of factors that may be relevant as of the time of offer. See “Plan of Distribution.”
Our ADSs have been listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA” since July 2020. Our ordinary shares have been listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA” since November 2017. Prior to that date, there was no public trading market for our ADSs or our ordinary shares.
There is currently no public trading market for our warrants.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby. Except as described in any applicable prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectuses that we may authorize to be provided to you in connection with a specific offering, we currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby to fund the research and development of our product candidates, for working capital and for general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities sold pursuant to the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.
 
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may offer securities under this prospectus from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities (1) through underwriters or dealers, (2) through agents and/or (3) directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, in accordance with applicable law and regulations and existing shareholders delegations of authority, at:

a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time;

market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

prices related to such prevailing market prices; or

negotiated prices.
Each time that we sell securities covered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms and conditions of the offering of such securities, including the offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us, if applicable.
We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus. We may also designate agents to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time. We will name in a prospectus supplement any underwriter or agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities.
If we utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
If we utilize an underwriter in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will execute an underwriting agreement with the underwriter at the time of sale, and we will provide the name of any underwriter in the prospectus supplement which the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we, or the purchasers of the securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and the underwriter may compensate those dealers in the form of concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, an agent will be acting on a best efforts basis and a dealer will purchase securities as a principal, and may then resell the securities at varying prices to be determined by the dealer.
We will provide in the applicable prospectus supplement information regarding any compensation we pay to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof.
In order to facilitate the offering of the securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing the applicable security in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if the securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.
The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in other transactions with us, or perform other services for us, in the ordinary course of their business.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL
The following description of our share capital summarizes certain provisions of our bylaws. Such summaries do not purport to be complete and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of our bylaws, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
General
As of June 30, 2021, our outstanding share capital consisted of a total of 38,659,361 ordinary shares, with nominal value €0.01 per share. In general, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share at any general shareholders’ meeting. Pursuant to our bylaws, however, a double voting right is attached to each registered share which is held in the name of the same shareholder for at least two years.
Under French law, our bylaws set forth only our issued and outstanding share capital as of the date of the bylaws. Our fully diluted share capital represents all issued and outstanding shares, as well as all potential shares which may be issued upon exercise of outstanding founder’s share warrants and share warrants, as approved by our shareholders and granted by our board of directors.
Reconciliation of the Number of Ordinary Shares Outstanding through June 30, 2021
Ordinary shares outstanding at December 31, 2016
10,030,000
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the exercise of founder’s share warrants
and share warrants
707,900
Number of ordinary shares issued on February 16, 2017 in connection with the share capital increase authorized on February 14, 2017
5,651,240
Number of ordinary shares issued on March 20, 2017 (greenshoe) in connection with the share capital increase authorized on March 16, 2017
55,337
Ordinary shares outstanding at December 31, 2017
16,444,477
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the exercise of founder’s share warrants
and share warrants
180,300
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
60,000
Number of ordinary shares issued on April 17, 2018 in connection with the share capital increase authorized on April 12, 2017
5,572,500
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the exercise of founder’s share warrants
and share warrants
27,400
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
10,000
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
77,500
Number of ordinary shares issued on September 20, 2019 in connection with the share capital
increase authorized on September 18, 2019
4,159,999
Number of ordinary shares issued on October 2, 2019 in connection with the share capital increase authorized on September 30, 2019
313,936
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
63,300
Number of ordinary shares issued on February 11, 2020 in connection with the share capital increase authorized on February 6, 2020
3,778,338
Ordinary shares outstanding at February 11, 2020
30,687,750
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
227,000
 
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Ordinary shares outstanding at June 30, 2020
30,914,750
Number of ordinary shares issued on July 15, 2020 in connection with the share capital increase authorized on July 5, 2020
7,478,261
Ordinary shares outstanding at July 15, 2020
38,393,011
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
227,250
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the exercise of founder’s share warrants
and share warrants
10,000
Ordinary shares outstanding at December 31, 2020
38,630,261
Ordinary shares outstanding at March 31, 2021
38,630,261
Number of ordinary shares issued in connection with the vesting of free shares that have no exercise price
29,100
Ordinary shares outstanding at June 30, 2021
38,659,361
Shareholder Authorizations Regarding Share Capital
At a combined general meeting of shareholders held on April 16, 2021, our board of directors received the following authorizations from shareholders:

delegation of authority to implement a share buyback program within certain agreed-upon financial limits, whereby the Company can buy back up to 10% of the total number of shares comprising the share capital at any time;

delegation of authority to reduce our share capital by canceling certain treasury shares held by the Company up to a limit of 10% of the Company’s share capital per 24-month period;

delegations of authority to increase our share capital by issuing ordinary shares for the maximum duration permitted under French law (18 to 26 months depending of the delegations) within a maximum aggregate potential dilution of 26,000,000 ordinary shares for which delegations our shareholders waived their preferential subscription rights with respect to all such issuances (except when conducted through rights issues);

delegations of authority to grant free shares (actions gratuites) and/or stock options (options de souscription et/ou d’achat d’actions), to our employees, executive officers and directors, for the maximum duration permitted under French law (38 months) within a maximum aggregate potential dilution of 26,000,000 ordinary shares to free shares and stock options issued shall grant, for which delegations our shareholders waived their preferential subscription rights with respect to all such grants; and

delegations of authority to grant warrants (bons de souscription d’actions, or BSAs) to our employees, executive officers and directors for the maximum duration permitted under French law (18 months) within a maximum aggregate potential dilution of 600,000 ordinary shares to which the BSAs issued shall grant, for which delegations our shareholders waived their preferential subscription rights with respect to all such grants.
History of Securities Issuances
From January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021, the following events have changed the number and classes of our issued and outstanding shares:

On April 17, 2018, we issued an aggregate of 5,572,500 ordinary shares in connection with a private placement at a purchase price of €6.37 per share.

On September 20, 2019 and October 2, 2019, we issued an aggregate of 4,473,935 ordinary shares in connection with a private placement at a purchase price of €1.99 per share.

On February 11, 2020, we issued an aggregate of 3,778,338 ordinary shares in connection with a private placement at a purchase price of €3.97 per share.
 
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On July 15, 2020, we issued an aggregate of 7,478,261 ordinary shares in connection with our initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market, at a purchase price of €12.70 per share and $14.40 per ADS.
Key Provisions of Our Bylaws and French Law Affecting Our Ordinary Shares
The description below reflects the terms of our bylaws and summarizes the material rights of holders of our ordinary shares under French law. Please note that this is only a summary and is not intended to be exhaustive. For further information, please refer to the full text of our bylaws, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Key Provisions of Our Bylaws and French Law Affecting our Ordinary Shares
The description below reflects the terms of our bylaws and summarizes the material rights of holders of our ordinary shares under French law. Please note that this is only a summary and is not intended to be exhaustive. For further information, please refer to the full text of our bylaws and French law.
Corporate Purpose (Article 3 of the Bylaws)
Our corporate purpose in France and abroad includes the research and development, production, distribution and marketing, at different stages of development, with respect to all products, principally pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical products, including in the area of animal health. Our company is also engaged in the provision of study, advisory or commercial services and, more generally, any ancillary services, similar or connected to the activities described hereof, including the leasing of laboratories or offices. Our company may participate, by any means, directly or indirectly in any operations that may be related to its purpose through the creation of new companies, contribution, subscription or purchase of company securities or rights, merger or otherwise, creation, acquisition, leasing, management lease of any businesses or establishments.
More generally, we are authorized to engage in any financial, commercial, industrial, civil immovable or movable operations related directly or indirectly to the company’s purpose or any similar or related purpose which may facilitate its expansion or growth.
Directors (Articles 15 to 22 of the Bylaws)
Duties of the Board (Article 18 of the Bylaws).   Except for powers given to our shareholders by law and within the limit of the corporate purpose, our board of directors is responsible for all matters relating to the successful operations of our company and, through its resolutions, governs matters involving the company.
Appointment and Term (Article 15 and 16 of the Bylaws).   Our board of directors must be composed of at least three members, but may not exceed eighteen members, subject to the dispensation established by law in the event of merger. Directors are appointed, renewed or dismissed by the ordinary general meeting. The term of a director is three years, and directors may be re-elected at our annual ordinary share meetings; however, a director over the age of 70 may not be appointed if such appointment would result in the number of directors over the age of 70 constituting more than one-third of the board. An employee can only be appointed as a director if his or her employment contract corresponds to an actual job. The number of directors who are also our employees cannot exceed one-third of the board. Directors need not to be shareholders of our company and may be natural persons or legal entities except for the Chairman of the board who must be a natural person. Legal entities appointed to the board must designate a permanent representative. If a director dies or resigns between annual meetings, the board may appoint a temporary director to fill the vacancy, subject to ratification at the next ordinary general meeting, or, if such vacancy results in a number of directors below three, the board must call an ordinary general meeting to fill the vacancy.
Organization (Article 16 of the Bylaws).   The board must elect a Chairman from among the board members. The Chairman must be a natural person, age 65 or younger, and may be removed by the board at
 
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any time. The board may also elect a natural person as vice Chairman to preside in the Chairman’s absence and may designate up to two non-voting board observers.
Deliberations (Article 17 of the Bylaws).   At least half of the number of directors in office must be present to constitute a quorum. Decisions are made by a majority of the directors present or represented and, if there is a tie, the vote of the chair of the meeting will carry the decision. Meetings may be held as often as required; however, the Chairman is required to call a meeting with a determined agenda upon the request of at least one-third of the directors if the board has not met for more than two months. French law and our charter and bylaws allow directors to attend meetings in person or, to the extent permitted by applicable law and with specified exceptions in our bylaws, by videoconference or other telecommunications arrangements.
Directors’ Voting Powers on Proposal, Arrangement or Contract in Which Any Director is Materially Interested (Article 22 of the Bylaws).   Under French law, any agreement entered into, directly or through an intermediary, between us and any director that is not entered into in the ordinary course of our business and upon standard market terms is subject to the prior authorization of the board of directors (it being specified that the interested director cannot vote on such decision). The same provision applies to agreements between us and another company, except where such company is one of our wholly owned subsidiaries, if one of our directors is the owner or a general partner, manager, director, general manager or member of the executive or supervisory board of the other company, as well as to agreements in which one of our directors has an indirect interest.
Directors’ Compensation (Article 20 of the Bylaws).   Directors’ compensation for their functions is determined at the annual ordinary general meeting. The board of directors may also grant special compensation for missions or offices conferred upon directors subject to the circumstances and conditions provided for by law.
Board of Directors’ Borrowing Powers (Article 18 of the Bylaws).   There are currently no limits imposed by our bylaws on the amounts of loans or borrowings that the board of directors may approve.
Rights, Preferences and Restrictions Attaching to Ordinary Shares (Articles 11, 14, 28, 31 and 32 of the Bylaws)
Dividends.   We may only distribute dividends out of our distributable profits, plus any amounts held in our reserves that the shareholders decide to make available for distribution, other than those reserves that are specifically required by law.
“Distributable Profits”   consist of our statutory net profit in each fiscal year, calculated in accordance with accounting standards applicable in France, as increased or reduced by any profit or loss carried forward from prior years, less any contributions to the reserve accounts pursuant to French law.
Legal Reserve.   Pursuant to French law, we must allocate at least 5% of our statutory net profit for each year to our legal reserve fund before dividends may be paid with respect to that year. Funds must be allocated until the amount in the legal reserve is equal to 10% of the aggregate par value of our issued and outstanding share capital.
Approval of Dividends.   Pursuant to French law, our board of directors may propose a dividend for approval by the shareholders at the annual ordinary general meeting.
Upon recommendation of our board of directors, our shareholders may decide to allocate all or part of any distributable profits to special or general reserves, to carry them forward to the next fiscal year as retained earnings or to allocate them to the shareholders as dividends. However, dividends may not be distributed when our net assets are or would become as a result of such distribution lower than the amount of the share capital plus the amount of any reserve that the law or the bylaws do not allow to be distributed to shareholders. The amount of our share capital plus the amount of our legal reserves which may not be distributed was equal to €425,322.61 at March 31, 2021.
Our board of directors may distribute interim dividends after the end of the fiscal year but before the approval of the financial statements for the relevant fiscal year when the interim statement of financial position, established during such year and certified by an auditor, reflects that we have earned distributable
 
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profits since the close of the last financial year, after recognizing the necessary depreciation and provisions and after deducting prior losses, if any, and the sums to be allocated to reserves, as required by law or the bylaws, and including any retained earnings. The amount of such interim dividends may not exceed the amount of the profit so defined.
Distribution of Dividends.   Dividends are distributed to shareholders pro rata according to their respective holdings of shares. In the case of interim dividends, distributions are made to shareholders on the date set by our board of directors during the meeting in which the distribution of interim dividends is approved. The actual dividend payment date is decided by the shareholders at an ordinary general shareholders’ meeting or by our board of directors in the absence of such a decision by the shareholders. Shareholders that own shares on the actual payment date are entitled to the dividend.
Shareholders may be granted an option to receive dividends in cash or in shares, in accordance with legal conditions. The conditions for payment of dividends in cash shall be set at the shareholders’ meeting or, failing this, by the board of directors.
Timing of Payment.   Pursuant to French law, dividends must be paid within a maximum of nine months after the close of the relevant fiscal year, unless extended by court order. Dividends not claimed within five years after the payment date shall be deemed to expire and revert to the French state.
Voting Rights.   We will only have ordinary shares outstanding. Each share shall entitle its holder to vote and be represented in the shareholders’ meetings in accordance with the provisions of French law and of our bylaws. Ownership of one share implies, ipso jure, adherence to our bylaws and the decisions of the shareholders’ meeting.
In general, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share at any general shareholders’ meeting. Pursuant to our bylaws, however, a double voting right is attached to each fully paid-up registered ordinary share which is held in the name of the same shareholder for at least two years. However, under French law, ordinary bearer shares represented by ADSs are not eligible for double voting rights. Purchasers of ADSs or ordinary shares, in the open market will be unlikely to meet the requirements to have double voting rights attach to any ordinary shares held by them. To our knowledge, double voting rights only attach to the 5,612,224 ordinary shares held by the Cren Family (composed of Frédéric Cren, our Chief Executive Officer and Roberta Becherucci, married name Cren and their minor child), and to the 3,882,500 ordinary shares held by Pierre Broqua, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, as of March 31, 2020.
Under French law, treasury shares or shares held by entities controlled by us are not entitled to voting rights and do not count for quorum purposes.
Rights to Share in Our Profit.   Each share entitles its holder to a portion of the corporate profits and assets proportional to the amount of share capital represented thereby.
Rights to Share in the Surplus in the Event of Liquidation.   If we are liquidated, any assets remaining after payment of the debts, liquidation expenses and all of the remaining obligations will first be used to repay in full the par value of our shares. Any surplus will be distributed pro rata among shareholders in proportion to the number of shares respectively held by them, taking into account, where applicable, of the rights attached to shares of different classes.
Repurchase and Redemption of Shares.   Under French law, we may acquire our own shares. Such acquisition may be challenged on the ground of market abuse regulations. However, Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 of April 16, 2014, or MAR, provides for safe harbor exemptions when the acquisition is made for one of the following purposes:

to decrease our share capital, provided that such a decision is not driven by losses and that a purchase offer is made to all shareholders on a pro rata basis, with the approval of the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting; in this case, the shares repurchased must be cancelled within one month from the expiry of the purchase offer;

to meet obligations arising from debt securities that are exchangeable into equity instruments;
 
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to provide shares for distribution to employees or managers under a profit-sharing, free share or share option plan; in this case the shares repurchased must be distributed within 12 months from their repurchase failing which they must be cancelled; or

we benefit from a simple exemption when the acquisition is made under a liquidity contract complying with the General Regulations (réglement général) of, and market practices accepted by the French Financial Markets Authority, or the AMF.
All other purposes, and especially share buy-backs made for external growth operations in pursuance of Article L. 225-209 of the French Commercial Code, while not forbidden, must be pursued in strict compliance of market manipulation and insider dealing rules.
Under MAR and in accordance with the General Regulations (réglement général) of the AMF, or the General Regulations, a corporation shall report to the competent authority of the trading value on which the shares have been admitted to trading or are traded, no later than by the end of the seventh daily market session following the date of the execution of the transaction, all the transactions relating to the buy-back program, in a detailed form and in an aggregated form.
No such repurchase of ordinary shares may result in us holding, directly or through a person acting on our behalf, more than 10% of our issued share capital. Ordinary shares repurchased by us continue to be deemed “issued” under French law but are not entitled to dividends or voting rights so long as we hold them directly or indirectly, and we may not exercise the pre-emptive rights attached to them.
Sinking Fund Provisions.   Our bylaws do not provide for any sinking fund provisions.
Liability to Further Capital Calls. Shareholders are liable for corporate liabilities only up to the par value of the shares they hold; they are not liable to further capital calls.
Requirements for Holdings Exceeding certain percentages.   None, except as described below under the section of this prospectus titled “Form, holding and transfer of shares (Articles 10 and 13 of the bylaws) — ownership of ordinary shares and ADSs by non-French persons.”
Actions Necessary to Modify Shareholders’ Rights.   Shareholders’ rights may be modified as allowed by French law. Only the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is authorized to amend any and all provisions of our bylaws. It may not, however, increase shareholder commitments without the prior approval of each shareholder.
Special Voting Rights of Warrant Holders.   Under French law, the holders of warrants of the same class (i.e., warrants that were issued at the same time and with the same rights), including founder’s share warrants (bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise) and share warrants (bons de souscription d’actions), are entitled to vote as a separate class at a general meeting of that class of warrant holders under certain circumstances, principally in connection with any proposed modification of the terms and conditions of the class of warrants or any proposed issuance of preferred shares or any modification of the rights of any outstanding class or series of preferred shares.
Rules for Admission to and Calling Annual Shareholders’ Meetings and Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meetings (Section IV of the Bylaws)
Access to, participation in and voting rights at shareholders’ meetings.   Shareholders’ meetings are composed of all shareholders, regardless of the number of shares they hold. Each shareholder has the right to attend the meetings and participate in the discussions (1) personally; (2) by granting proxy to any individual or legal entity of his choosing; (3) by sending a proxy to the company without indication of the mandate; (4) by voting by correspondence; or (5) at the option of the board of directors at the time the meeting is called, by videoconference or another means of telecommunication, including internet, in accordance with applicable laws that allow identification. The board of directors organizes, in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements, the participation and vote of these shareholders at the meeting, assuring, in particular, the effectiveness of the means of identification.
Participation in shareholders’ general meetings, in any form whatsoever, is subject to registration or registration of shares two trading days prior to the date of the relevant general meeting under the conditions provided by applicable laws.
 
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The final date for returning voting ballots by correspondence is set by the board of directors and disclosed in the notice of meeting published in the French Journal of Mandatory Statutory Notices, or BALO (Bulletin des Annonces Légales Obligatoires). This date cannot be earlier than three days prior to the meeting.
A shareholder who has voted by correspondence will no longer be able to participate directly in the meeting or to be represented. In the case of returning the proxy form and the voting by correspondence form, the proxy form is taken into account, subject to the votes cast in the voting by correspondence form.
A shareholder may be represented at meetings by any individual or legal entity by means of a proxy form which we send to such shareholder either at the shareholder’s request or at our initiative. A shareholder’s request for a proxy form must be received at the registered office at least five days before the date of the meeting. The proxy is only valid for a single meeting or for successive meetings convened with the same agenda. It can also be granted for two meetings, one ordinary, and the other extraordinary, held on the same day or within a period of 15 days.
A shareholder may vote by correspondence by means of a voting form, which we send to such shareholder either at the shareholder’s request or at our initiative, or which we include in an appendix to a proxy voting form under the conditions provided for by current laws and requirements. A shareholder’s request for a voting form must be received at the registered office at least six days before the date of the meeting. The voting form is also available on our website at least 21 days before the date of the meeting. The voting form must be recorded by us three days prior to the shareholders’ meeting, in order to be taken into consideration. The voting by correspondence form addressed by a shareholder is only valid for a single meeting or for successive meetings convened with the same agenda.
To better understand the voting rights of the ADSs, you should carefully read the section in this prospectus titled “Description of American Depositary Shares — Voting rights.”
Notice of Annual Shareholders’ Meetings.   Shareholders’ meetings are convened by our board of directors, or, failing that, by the statutory auditors, or by a court appointed agent or liquidator in certain circumstances. Meetings are held at our registered offices or at any other location indicated in the meeting announcement (avis de réunion). A meeting announcement is published in the BALO at least 35 days prior to a meeting, as well as on our website at least 21 days prior to the meeting. In addition to the particulars relative to the company, it indicates, notably, the meeting’s agenda and the draft resolutions that will be presented. The requests for recording of issues or draft resolutions on the agenda must be addressed to the company under the conditions provided for in the current legislation.
Subject to special legal provisions, the convening notice (avis de convocation) is sent out at least 15 days prior to the date of the meeting, by means of a notice inserted both in a legal announcement bulletin of the registered office department and in the BALO. Further, the holders of registered shares for at least a month at the time of the latest of the insertions of the convening notice shall be summoned individually, by regular letter (or by registered letter if they request it and include an advance of expenses) sent to their last known address. This notice may also be transmitted by electronic means of telecommunication, in lieu of any such mailing, to any shareholder requesting it beforehand by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements, specifying his e-mail address. The latter may at any time expressly request by registered letter to the company with acknowledgment of receipt that the aforementioned means of telecommunication should be replaced in the future by a mailing.
The convening notice must also indicate the conditions under which the shareholders may vote by correspondence and the places and conditions in which they can obtain voting forms by mail. The convening notice may be addressed, where appropriate, with a proxy form and a voting by correspondence form, under the conditions specified in our bylaws, or with a voting by correspondence form alone, under the conditions specified in our bylaws. When the shareholders’ meeting cannot deliberate due to the lack of the required quorum, the second meeting must be called at least ten days in advance in the same manner as used for the first notice.
Agenda and Conduct of Annual Shareholders’ Meetings.   The agenda of the shareholders’ meeting shall appear in the convening notice of the meeting and is set by the author of the notice. The shareholders’ meeting may only deliberate on the items on the agenda except for the removal of directors and the appointment of
 
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their successors which may be put to vote by any shareholder during any shareholders’ meeting. Pursuant to French law and our current share capital, one or more shareholders representing 5% of our share capital, acting in accordance with legal requirements and within applicable time limits, may request the inclusion of items or proposed resolutions on the agenda. Such request must be received at the latest on the 25th day preceding the date of the shareholders’ meeting, and in any event no later than the 20th day following the date of the shareholders’ meeting announcement.
Shareholders’ meetings shall be chaired by the Chairman of the board of directors or, in his or her absence, by a Deputy Chairman or by a director elected for this purpose. Failing that, the meeting itself shall elect a Chairman. Vote counting shall be performed by the two members of the meeting who are present and accept such duties, who represent, either on their own behalf or as proxies, the greatest number of votes.
Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting.   Ordinary shareholders’ meetings are those meetings called to make any and all decisions that do not amend our bylaws. An ordinary meeting shall be convened at least once a year within six months of the end of each fiscal year in order to approve the annual accounts for the relevant fiscal year or, in case of postponement, within the period established by court order. Upon first notice, the meeting may validly deliberate only if the shareholders present or represented by proxy or voting by mail represent at least one-fifth of the shares entitled to vote. Upon second notice, no quorum is required. Decisions are made by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present, or represented by proxy, or voting by mail. The votes cast do not include those attached to shares for which the shareholder did not participate in the vote, abstained, voted blank or for which the vote is otherwise void. In addition, pursuant to an AMF recommendation dated 15 June 2015, French listed companies may be required to conduct a consultation of the ordinary shareholders meeting prior to the disposal of the majority of their assets, under certain circumstances.
Extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.   Our bylaws may only be amended by approval at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. Our bylaws may not, however, be amended to increase shareholder commitments without the approval of each shareholder. Subject to the legal provisions governing share capital increases from reserves, profits or share premiums, the resolutions of the extraordinary meeting shall be valid only if the shareholders present, represented by proxy or voting by mail represent at least one-fourth of all shares entitled to vote upon first notice, or one-fifth upon second notice. If the latter quorum is not reached, the second meeting may be postponed to a date no later than two months after the date for which it was initially called. Decisions are made by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present, represented by proxy, or voting by mail. The votes cast do not include those attached to shares for which the shareholder did not participate in the vote, abstained, voted blank or for which the vote is otherwise void.
Temporary measures for shareholders meetings and Board of Directors meetings due to COVID-19 crisis
On March 25, 2020, the French government adopted the ordinance No. 2020-321, adapting the rules governing meetings and deliberations of assemblies and governing bodies of legal entities held until September 30, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ordinance provides the possibility of convening board of directors remotely for all decisions, including the closing of accounts, which previously required a physical meeting. In addition, the ordinance provides two options for holding general meetings of shareholders: behind closed doors or by means of a teleconference or audio-visual conference call.
By decision of the board of directors, the general meeting of shareholders may be held behind closed doors ie., without the shareholders or their proxies (and any other person having the right to attend the meeting such as the statutory auditors and the employee representatives) being physically present. The possibility of holding a meeting behind closed doors requires that the meeting be convened in a place that, on the date of the meeting announcement, the convening notice or on the date of the meeting, is subject to an administrative measure restricting or prohibiting collective gatherings for health reasons, even if this measure is ultimately no longer in effect on the date of the meeting. As of the day of this filing, measures restricting gatherings (decree No. 2021-699 of June 1, 2021, as amended, provides that, as general rule, any gathering, meeting or activity in public or in a place open to the public shall be organized to respect hygienic measures) are applicable until September 30, 2021. Shareholders will only be able to vote remotely and prior to the general meeting of shareholders by the usual means available to date, i.e., vote by correspondence, blank proxy or Internet voting.
 
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The ordinance provides that shareholders (and all the persons who may attend the general meeting of shareholders) may participate in the meeting by means of a teleconference or audio-visual conference call if this conference allows for the identification of the participants, transmits at least the voice of the participants and allows the continuous and simultaneous retransmission of the debates. On May 31 and June 1, 2021, the French government adopted several laws and decrees relating to the management of the sanitary crisis exit. Law No. 2021-689 of May 31, 2021 on the health crisis management (i) notably provided rules for the gathering of people, meetings, and activities on public streets and in places open to the public (L. No. 2021-689, art. 1, I, 3°) and (ii) extended the measures resulting from Ordinance No. 2020-321 of March 25, 2020 for Annual Shareholders Meetings and Board of Directors held until September 31, 2021 (L. No. 2021-689, art. 8, VI). Decree No.2021-699 of June 1, 2021 providing general measures necessary for the management of the exit from the sanitary crisis, as amended by Decree No. 2021-850 of June 29, 2021, authorized physical meetings provided that place of gatherings be arranged so as to ensure strict compliance with hygiene and social distancing measures (D. No.2021-699, June 1, 2021, art. 1 and 45, II).
Provisions having the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company
Provisions contained in our bylaws and French corporate law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. These provisions include the following:

under French law, the owner of 90% of the share capital and voting rights of a public company listed on a regulated market in a Member State of the European Union or in a state party to the EEA Agreement, including from the main French Stock Exchange, has the right to force out minority shareholders following a tender offer made to all shareholders;

under French law, a non-French resident 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 our company’s share capital or voting rights or cross such 10% threshold; see “Limitations affecting shareholders of a French company”;

under French law, certain investments in a French company relating to certain strategic industries by individuals or entities are subject to prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy pursuant to Law No. 2019-486;

under French law, certain investments in a French company relating to certain strategic industries by individuals or entities are subject to prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy pursuant to the decree No. 2019-1590;

a merger (i.e., in a French law context, a share for share exchange following which our company would be dissolved into the acquiring entity and our shareholders would become shareholders of the acquiring entity) of our company into a company incorporated in the European Union would require the approval of our board of directors as well as a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present, represented by proxy or voting by mail at the relevant meeting (unless the merger will result in an increase of the shareholders’ commitments, in which case the approval of each shareholder is required);

a merger of our company into a company incorporated outside of the European Union would require 100% of our shareholders to approve it;

under French law, a cash merger is treated as a share purchase and would require the consent of each participating shareholder;

our shareholders have granted and may grant in the future our board of directors broad authorizations to increase our share capital or to issue additional ordinary shares or other securities, such as warrants, to our shareholders, the public or qualified investors, including as a possible defense following the launching of a tender offer for our shares;

our shareholders have preferential subscription rights on a pro rata basis on the issuance by us of any additional securities for cash or a set-off of cash debts, which rights may only be waived by the
 
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extraordinary general meeting (by a two-thirds majority vote) of our shareholders or on an individual basis by each shareholder;

our board of directors has the right to appoint new directors to fill a vacancy created by the resignation or death of a director, subject to the approval by the shareholders of such appointment at the next shareholders’ meeting, which prevents shareholders from having the sole right to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

our board of directors can be convened by our Chairman or our managing director, if any, or, when no board meeting has been held for more than two consecutive months, by directors representing at least one third of the total number of directors;

our board of directors meetings can only be regularly held if at least half of the directors attend either physically or by way of videoconference or teleconference enabling the directors’ identification and ensuring their effective participation in the board’s decisions;

our shares are nominative or bearer, if the legislation so permits, according to the shareholder’s choice;

approval of at least a majority of the votes cast by shareholders present, represented by a proxy, or voting by mail at the relevant ordinary shareholders’ general meeting is required to remove directors with or without cause;

advance notice is required for nominations to the board of directors or for proposing matters to be acted upon at a shareholders’ meeting, except that a vote to remove and replace a director can be proposed at any shareholders’ meeting without notice;

our bylaws can be amended in accordance with applicable laws;

the crossing of certain thresholds has to be disclosed and can impose certain obligations; see “Declaration of crossing of ownership thresholds (Article 11 of the bylaws)”;

transfers of shares shall comply with applicable insider trading rules and regulations, and in particular with MAR; and

pursuant to French law, the sections of the bylaws relating to the number of directors and election and removal of a director from office may only be modified by a resolution adopted by at least a two-third majority vote of our shareholders present, represented by a proxy or voting by mail at the meeting.
Declaration of Crossing of Ownership Thresholds (Article 11 of the Bylaws)
Set forth below is a summary of certain provisions of the French Commercial Code applicable to us. This summary is not intended to be a complete description of applicable rules under French law.
Any individual or legal entity referred to in Articles L. 233-7, L. 233-9 and L. 233-10 of the French Commercial Code coming to directly or indirectly own, or cease to own, alone or in concert, a number of shares representing a fraction of the company’s capital or voting rights greater or equal to 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 33.33%, 50%, 66.66%, 90% and 95% shall inform the company as well as the AMF of the total number of shares and voting rights and of securities giving access to the capital or voting rights that it owns immediately or over time within a period of four trading days from the crossing of the said holding thresholds.
This obligation applies when crossing each of the above-mentioned thresholds in a downward direction.
In case of failure to declare shares or voting rights exceeding the fraction that should have been declared, such shares shall be deprived of voting rights at General Meetings of Shareholders for any meeting that would be held until the expiry of a period of two years from the date of regularization of the notification in accordance with Article L. 233-14 of the French Commercial Code. Additional sanctions may apply in particular pursuant to Article L.621-15 of the French Monetary and Financial Code.
In addition, any shareholder crossing, alone or acting in concert, the 10%, 15%, 20% or 25% threshold shall file a declaration with the AMF pursuant to which it shall expose its intention over the following
 
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six months, including notably whether it intends to continue acquiring shares of the company, it intends to acquire control over the company, its intended strategy for the company.
Further, and subject to certain exemptions, any shareholder crossing, alone or acting in concert, the 30% threshold shall file a mandatory public tender offer with the AMF. Also, any shareholder holding directly or indirectly a number between 30% and 50% of the capital or voting rights and who, in less than 12 consecutive months, increases his/her/its holding of capital or voting rights by at least 1% of a company’s capital or voting rights, shall file a mandatory public tender offer.
In addition to the thresholds provided for by applicable laws and regulations, any person who comes to hold or ceases to hold, acting alone or in concert within the meaning of Article L.233-10 of the French Commercial Code, directly or indirectly, a number of shares representing at least 2% of the share capital or voting rights, including beyond the reporting thresholds provided for by laws and regulations, must inform the company of the total number of shares and voting rights of the company that such person holds, by registered letter with return receipt requested sent to the company’s registered office within four trading days after crossing such threshold(s). Such person shall also indicate the number of securities giving access to the capital and the voting right potentially attached thereto, as well as any other information provided for by law.
The notification shall be repeated in the conditions stated above each time an additional fraction of 2% of the share capital or voting rights is crossed upward or downward.
In the event of failure to comply with the notification requirements described above, shares exceeding the fraction that should have been notified will be deprived of voting rights at shareholders’ meetings if, at such meetings, the notification failure has been recorded and if one or more shareholders jointly holding at least 5% of the share capital so request. Loss of voting rights shall be applicable in all shareholders’ meetings that would be held up until two years following proper notification.
Changes in Share Capital (Article 7 of the Bylaws)
Increases in share capital.   As the bylaws do not provide any specific stipulations, the share capital may be increased, decreased or amortized by any methods or means authorized by law. Pursuant to French law, our share capital may be increased only with shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting following the recommendation of our board of directors. The shareholders may delegate to our board of directors either the authority (délégation de compétence) or the power (délégation de pouvoir) to carry out any increase in share capital. If shareholders delegate authority to the board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting to decide a capital increase (délégation de compétence), the delegation determines the period (26 months maximum) during which the board of directors may decide to carry out the capital increase and the overall threshold of the capital increase. If shareholders delegate power to the board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting to carry out a capital increase (délégation de pouvoir) already decided by the extraordinary general meeting, the board of directors is granted the power to determine the terms and conditions of the capital increase within the limits set forth by the extraordinary general meeting.
Increases in our share capital may be effected by:

issuing additional shares;

increasing the par value of existing shares;

creating a new class of equity securities; and

exercising the rights attached to securities giving access to the share capital.
Increases in share capital by issuing additional securities may be effected through one or a combination of the following:

in consideration for cash;

in consideration for assets contributed in kind;

through an exchange offer;
 
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by conversion of previously issued debt instruments;

by capitalization of profits, reserves or share premium; and

subject to certain conditions, by way of offset against debt incurred by us.
Decisions to increase the share capital through the capitalization of reserves, profits and/or share premium require shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting, acting under the quorum and majority requirements applicable to ordinary shareholders’ meetings. Increases effected by an increase in the par value of shares require unanimous approval of the shareholders, unless effected by capitalization of reserves, profits or share premium. All other capital increases require shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting acting under the regular quorum and majority requirements for such meetings.
Reduction in Share Capital.   Pursuant to French law, any reduction in our share capital requires shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting following the recommendation of our board of directors. The share capital may be reduced either by decreasing the par value of the outstanding shares or by reducing the number of outstanding shares. The number of outstanding shares may be reduced by the repurchase and cancellation of shares. Holders of each class of shares must be treated equally unless each affected shareholder agrees otherwise.
Preferential Subscription Right.   According to French law, if we issue additional securities for cash, current shareholders will have preferential subscription rights to these securities on a pro rata basis. Preferential subscription rights entitle the individual or entity that holds them to subscribe pro rata based on the number of shares held by them to the issuance of any securities increasing, or that may result in an increase of, our share capital by means of a cash payment or a set-off of cash debts. The preferential subscription rights are transferable during the subscription period relating to a particular offering, such period starting two days prior to the opening of the subscription period and ending two days prior to the closing of the subscription period.
The preferential subscription rights with respect to any particular offering may be waived at an extraordinary general meeting by a two-thirds vote of our shareholders or individually by each shareholder. Our board of directors and our independent auditors are required by French law to present reports to the shareholders’ meeting that specifically address any proposal to waive the preferential subscription rights.
Our current shareholders have waived their preferential subscription rights with respect to this offering.
In the future, to the extent permitted under French law, we may seek shareholder approval to waive preferential subscription rights at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting in order to authorize the board of directors to issue additional shares and/or other securities convertible or exchangeable into shares.
Form, Holding and Transfer of Shares (Articles 10 and 13 of the Bylaws)
Form of shares.   The shares are held in registered form, until their full payment. When they are fully paid up, they may be in registered form or bearer, at the option of the shareholders.
Further, in accordance with applicable laws, we may request at any time from the central depository responsible for holding our shares, or directly to one or several intermediaries listed in Article L. 211-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, information regarding the owners of our ordinary shares in accordance with Article L. 228-2 of the French Commercial Code.
Holding of shares.   In accordance with French law concerning the “dematerialization” of securities, the ownership rights of shareholders are represented by book entries instead of share certificates. Shares issued are registered in individual accounts opened and maintained by us or any authorized intermediary, in the name of each shareholder and kept according to the terms and conditions laid down by the legal and regulatory provisions. Each shareholder’s account shows the name of the relevant shareholder and number of shares held.
 
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Ownership of ordinary shares and ADSs by non-French persons.   Neither French law nor our bylaws limit the right of non-residents of France or non-French persons to own or, where applicable, to vote our securities.
However, under French law, certain investments in any entity governed by a French law relating to certain strategic industries (such as research and development in biotechnologies and activities relating to public health) and activities by individuals or entities not French, not resident in France or controlled by entities not French or not resident in France are subject to prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy (See “Limitations Affecting Shareholders of a French Company.”) If an investment requiring the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy is completed without such authorization having been granted, the French Minister of Economy might direct the relevant investor to nonetheless (i) submit a request for authorization, (ii) have the previous situation restored at its own expense or (iii) amend the investment. The relevant investor might also be found criminally liable and might be sanctioned with a fine which cannot exceed the greater of: (i) twice the amount of the relevant investment, (ii) 10% of the annual turnover before tax of the target company and (iii) €5 million (for an entity) or €1 million (for an individual).
Moreover, (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 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 our share capital or voting rights or cross such 10% threshold.
Any violation of one of these requirements may be criminally sanctioned by five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the amount of the relevant investment. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.
Assignment and transfer of shares.   Shares are freely negotiable, subject to applicable legal and regulatory provisions. French law notably provides for standstill obligations and prohibition of insider trading. They are registered in a share account and transferred by means of a transfer order from account to account. We must receive notice of any transfer for it to be validly registered in our accounts.
Differences in Corporate Law
We are a société anonyme, or S.A., incorporated under the laws of France. The laws applicable to French sociétés anonymes differ from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. The following discussion summarizes material differences between the provisions of the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and the rights of holders of the common shares of a typical corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, which result from differences in governing documents and the laws of France and Delaware. For a more complete discussion, please refer to the Delaware General Corporation Law, French law (including the French Commercial Code) and our bylaws.
France
Delaware
Number of Directors Under French law, a société anonyme must have at least three (3) and may have up to eighteen (18) directors. The number of directors is fixed by or in the manner provided in the bylaws. The number of directors of each gender may not be less than 40%. Any appointment made in violation of this limit that is not remedied will be null and void. Under Delaware law, a corporation must have at least one director and the number of directors shall be fixed by or in the manner provided in the bylaws.
Director Qualifications Under French law, a corporation may prescribe qualifications for directors under its bylaws. In addition, under French law, members of a board of directors of a corporation may be legal Under Delaware law, a corporation may prescribe qualifications for directors under its certificate of incorporation or bylaws.
 
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France
Delaware
entities, and such legal entities may designate an individual to represent them and to act on their behalf at meetings of the board of directors.
Removal of Directors Under French law, directors may be removed from office, with or without cause, at any shareholders’ meeting without notice or justification, by a simple majority vote. Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, directors may be removed from office, with or without cause, by a majority stockholder vote, though in the case of a corporation whose board is classified, stockholders may effect such removal only for cause.
Vacancies on the Board of Directors Under French law, vacancies on the board of directors resulting from death or a resignation, provided that at least three directors remain in office, may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors pending ratification by the shareholders by the next shareholders’ meeting. Under Delaware law, vacancies on a corporation’s board of directors, including those caused by newly created directorships, may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors (even though less than a quorum).
Annual General Meeting Under French law, the annual general meeting of shareholders shall be held at such place, on such date and at such time as decided each year by the board of directors and notified to the shareholders in the convening notice of the annual meeting, within six months after the close of the relevant fiscal year unless such period is extended by court order. Under Delaware law, the annual meeting of stockholders shall be held at such place, on such date and at such time as may be designated from time to time by the board of directors or as provided in the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.
General Meetings Under French law, general meetings of the shareholders may be called by the board of directors or, failing that, by the statutory auditors, or by a court appointed agent or liquidator in certain circumstances, or by the majority shareholder in capital or voting rights following a public tender offer or exchange offer or the transfer of a controlling block on the date decided by the board of directors or the relevant person. Under Delaware law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called by the board of directors or by such person or persons as may be authorized by the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.
Notice of General Meetings Under French law, a meeting announcement is published in the Bulletin des Annonces Légales Obligatoires (BALO) at least 35 days prior to a meeting and made available on the website of the company at least 21 days prior to the meeting. Subject to limited exceptions provided by French law an additional convening notice is sent out at least 15 days prior to the date Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, written notice of any meeting of the stockholders must be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at the meeting not less than ten nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour, and purpose or purposes of the meeting.
 
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France
Delaware
of the meeting, by means of a notice inserted both in a legal announcement bulletin of the registered office department and in the BALO. Further, shareholders holding registered shares for at least a month at the time of the notices shall be summoned individually, by regular letter (or by registered letter if they request it and include an advance of expenses) sent to their last known address. This notice to registered shareholders may also be transmitted by electronic means of telecommunication, in lieu of any such mailing, to any shareholder requesting it beforehand by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements, specifying his email address. When the shareholders’ meeting cannot deliberate due to lack of required quorum, the second meeting must be called at least 10 calendar days in advance in the same manner as used for the first notice.
The convening notice shall specify the name of the company, its acronym, legal form, share capital, registered office address, registration number with the French Trade and Companies Register (Registre du commerce et des sociétés), the place, date, hour and agenda of the meeting and its nature (ordinary or extraordinary meeting). This notice must also indicate the conditions under which the shareholders may vote by correspondence and the places and conditions in which they can obtain voting forms by mail and, as the case may be, the e-mail address to which they may send written questions.
Proxy Each shareholder has the right to attend the meetings and participate in the discussions (1) personally, or (2) by granting proxy to his/her spouse, his/her partner with whom he/she has entered into a civil union or to another shareholder or to any individual or legal entity of his choosing; or (3) by sending a proxy to the company without indication of the mandate, or (4) by voting by correspondence, or (5) by videoconference or another means of Under Delaware law, at any meeting of stockholders, a stockholder may designate another person to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A director of a Delaware corporation may not issue a proxy representing the director’s voting rights as a director.
 
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France
Delaware
telecommunication in accordance with applicable laws that allow identification. The proxy is only valid for a single meeting or for successive meetings convened with the same agenda. It can also be granted for two meetings, one ordinary, and the other extraordinary, held on the same day or within a period of 15 days.
Shareholder action by written consent
Under French law, shareholders’ action by written consent is not permitted in a société anonyme.
Under Delaware law, a corporation’s certificate of incorporation (1) may permit stockholders to act by written consent if such action is signed by all stockholders, (2) may permit stockholders to act by written consent signed by stockholders having the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to take such action at a meeting or (3) may prohibit actions by written consent.
Preemptive Rights
Under French law, in case of issuance of additional shares or other securities for cash or set-off against cash debts, the existing shareholders have preferential subscription rights to these securities on a pro rata basis unless such rights are waived by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present at the extraordinary general meeting deciding or authorizing the capital increase, voting in person or represented by proxy or voting by mail. In case such rights are not waived by the extraordinary general meeting, each shareholder may individually either exercise, assign or not exercise its preferential rights. Preferential subscription rights may only be exercised during the subscription period. In accordance with French law, the exercise period shall not be less than five trading days. Preferential subscription rights are transferable during a period equivalent to the subscription period but starting two business days prior to the opening of the subscription period and ending two business days prior to the closing of the subscription period. Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, a stockholder does not, by operation of law, possess preemptive rights to subscribe to additional issuances of the corporation’s stock or to any security convertible into such stock.
Sources of Dividends Under French law, dividends may only be paid by a French société anonyme out of “distributable profits,” plus any distributable reserves and “distributable Under Delaware law, dividends may be paid by a Delaware corporation either out of (1) surplus or (2) in case there is no surplus, out of its net profits for the
 
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premium” that the shareholders decide to make available for distribution, other than those reserves that are specifically required by law.
Distributable profits” consist of the unconsolidated net profits of the relevant corporation for each fiscal year, as increased or reduced by any profit or loss carried forward from prior years.
“Distributable premium” refers to the contribution paid by the shareholders in addition to the nominal value of their shares for their subscription that the shareholders decide to make available for distribution.
Except in case of a share capital reduction, no distribution can be made to the shareholders when the net equity is, or would become, lower than the amount of the share capital plus the reserves which cannot be distributed in accordance with the law or the bylaws.
fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year, except when the capital is diminished by depreciation in the value of its property, or by losses, or otherwise, to an amount less than the aggregate amount of capital represented by issued and outstanding stock having a preference on the distribution of assets.
Repurchase of Shares
Under French law, a private corporation may acquire its own shares. Such acquisition may be challenged on the ground of market abuse regulations. However, MAR provides for safe harbor exemptions when the acquisition is made for the following purposes:

to decrease its share capital, provided that such decision is not driven by losses and that a purchase offer is made to all shareholders on a pro rata basis, with the approval of the shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting deciding the capital reduction, in which case, the shares repurchased must be cancelled within one month from the expiry of the purchase offer;

with a view to distributing within one year of their repurchase the relevant shares to employees or managers under a profit-sharing, free share or share option plan; not to exceed 10% of the share capital, in which case the shares repurchased must be distributed within 12 months from their repurchase failing which they must be cancelled; or
Under Delaware law, a corporation may generally redeem or repurchase shares of its stock unless the capital of the corporation is impaired or such redemption or repurchase would impair the capital of the corporation.
 
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to meet obligations arising from debt securities, that are exchangeable into equity instruments.
A simple exemption is provided when the acquisition is made under a buy-back program to be authorized by the shareholders in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 225-209 of the French Commercial Code and in accordance with the General Regulations.
All other purposes, and especially share buy-backs for external growth operations by virtue of Article L. 225-209 of the French Commercial Code, while not forbidden, must be pursued in strict compliance of market manipulations and insider dealing rules.
Under MAR and in accordance with the General Regulations, a corporation shall report to the competent authority of the trading venue on which the shares have been admitted to trading or are traded, no later than by the end of the seventh daily market session following the date of the execution of the transaction, all the transactions relating to the buy-back program, in a detailed form and in an aggregated form.
Liability of Directors Under French law, the bylaws may not include any provisions limiting the liability of directors.
Under Delaware law, a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may include a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation and its stockholders for damages arising from a breach of fiduciary duty as a director. However, no provision can limit the liability of a director for:

any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders;

acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

intentional or negligent payment of unlawful dividends or stock purchases or redemptions; or

any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit.
 
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Voting Rights French law provides that, double voting rights are automatically granted to ordinary shares being held of record for more than two years, unless the bylaws of the Company provide otherwise. Our bylaws do not provide otherwise. Delaware law provides that, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.
Shareholder Vote on Certain Transactions
Generally, under French law, completion of a merger, dissolution, sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of a corporation’s assets requires:

the approval of the board of directors; and

approval by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the shareholders present, represented by proxy or voting by mail at the relevant meeting or, in the case of a merger with a non-EU company, approval of all shareholders of the corporation.

Generally, under Delaware law, unless the certificate of incorporation provides for the vote of a larger portion of the stock, completion of a merger, consolidation, sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of a corporation’s assets or dissolution requires:

the approval of the board of directors; and

approval by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding stock or, if the certificate of incorporation provides for more or less than one vote per share, a majority of the votes of the outstanding stock of a corporation entitled to vote on the matter.
Dissenters’ Appraisal Rights French law does not provide for any such right but provides that a merger is subject to either shareholders’ approval by a two-thirds majority vote, or unanimous decisions of the shareholders, as stated above.
Under Delaware law, a holder of shares of any class or series has the right, in specified circumstances, to dissent from a merger or consolidation by demanding payment in cash for the stockholder’s shares equal to the fair value of those shares, as determined by the Delaware Chancery Court in an action timely brought by the corporation or a dissenting stockholder. Delaware law grants these appraisal rights only in the case of mergers or consolidations and not in the case of a sale or transfer of assets or a purchase of assets for stock. Further, no appraisal rights are available for shares of any class or series that is listed on a national securities exchange or held of record by more than 2,000 stockholders, unless the agreement of merger or consolidation requires the holders to accept for their shares anything other than:

shares of stock of the surviving corporation;

shares of stock of another corporation that are either listed on a national securities exchange or held of
 
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record by more than 2,000 stockholders;

cash in lieu of fractional shares of the stock described in the two preceding bullet points; or

any combination of the above.
In addition, appraisal rights are not available to holders of shares of the surviving corporation in specified mergers that do not require the vote of the stockholders of the surviving corporation.
Standard of Conduct for Directors French law does not contain specific provisions setting forth the standard of conduct of a director. However, directors have a duty to act without self-interest, on a well-informed basis and they cannot make any decision against a corporation’s corporate interest (intérêt social). Delaware law does not contain specific provisions setting forth the standard of conduct of a director. The scope of the fiduciary duties of directors is generally determined by the courts of the State of Delaware. In general, directors have a duty to act without self-interest, on a well-informed basis and in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interest of the stockholders.
Shareholder Suits
French law provides that a shareholder, or a group of shareholders, may initiate a legal action to seek indemnification from the directors of a corporation in the corporation’s interest if it fails to bring such legal action itself. If so, any damages awarded by the court are paid to the corporation and legal fees relating to such action may be borne by the relevant shareholder or the group of shareholders.
The plaintiff must remain a shareholder through the duration of the legal action.
There is no other case where shareholders may initiate a derivative action to enforce a right of a corporation.
A shareholder may alternatively or cumulatively bring individual legal action against the directors, provided he has suffered distinct damages from those suffered by the corporation. In this case, any damages awarded by the court are paid to the relevant shareholder.
Under Delaware law, a stockholder may initiate a derivative action to enforce a right of a corporation if the corporation fails to enforce the right itself. The complaint must:

state that the plaintiff was a stockholder at the time of the transaction of which the plaintiff complains or that the plaintiff’s shares thereafter devolved on the plaintiff by operation of law; and

allege with particularity the efforts made by the plaintiff to obtain the action the plaintiff desires from the directors and the reasons for the plaintiff’s failure to obtain the action; or

state the reasons for not making the effort.
Additionally, the plaintiff must remain a stockholder through the duration of the derivative suit. The action will not be dismissed or compromised without the approval of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
 
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Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation
Unlike companies incorporated under Delaware law, the organizational documents of which comprise both a certificate of incorporation and bylaws, companies incorporated under French law only have bylaws as organizational documents.
As indicated in the paragraph below, only the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is authorized to adopt or amend the bylaws under French law.
Under Delaware law, generally a corporation may amend its certificate of incorporation if:

its board of directors has adopted a resolution setting forth the amendment proposed and declared its advisability; and

the amendment is adopted by the affirmative votes of a majority (or greater percentage as may be specified by the corporation) of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment and a majority (or greater percentage as may be specified by the corporation) of the outstanding shares of each class or series of stock, if any, entitled to vote on the amendment as a class or series.
Amendment of Bylaws Under French law, only the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is authorized to adopt or amend the bylaws. The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting may authorize the board of directors to amend the bylaws to comply with mandatory legal provisions, subject to the ratification of such amendments by the next extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. The board of directors is authorized to amend the bylaws as a result of a decision to relocate the company’s registered office in France, subject to ratification by the next ordinary shareholders’ meeting. Under Delaware law, the stockholders entitled to vote have the power to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws. A corporation may also confer, in its certificate of incorporation, that power upon the board of directors.
Listing
Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA.” Our ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, registers and delivers American Depositary Shares, or ADSs. Each ADS represents one ordinary share (or a right to receive one ordinary share) deposited with Société Générale Securities Services, as custodian for the depositary in France. Each ADS will also represent any other securities, cash or other property that may be held by the depositary. The depositary’s office at which the ADSs are administered and its principal executive office are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.
 
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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 our share capital or voting rights or cross such 10% threshold.
Further, 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 individuals or entities;
(ii)   that will result in the relevant investor (a) acquiring control of an entity having its registered office in France (such as us), (b) acquiring all or part of a business line of an entity having its registered office 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 having its registered office in France; and
(iii)   developing activities in certain strategic industries related to:
(a)   activities likely to prejudice national defense interests, participating in the exercise of official authority or likely to prejudice public order and public security (including activities related to weapons, dual-use goods and technologies, IT systems, cryptology, data capturing devices, gambling, toxic agents or data storage),
(b)   activities relating to essential infrastructure, goods or services (including energy, water, transportation, space, telecom, public health, farm products or media), or
(c)   research and development activities related to critical technologies (including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum technologies, energy storage or biotechnology) or dual-use goods and technologies,
is subject to the prior authorization of the French Minister in charge of the Economy, which authorization, if granted, may be subject to certain undertakings.
On July 2, 2020, the French Minister of Economy informed us that we are subject to this regulation and therefore holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs will have to request the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy if the above mentioned conditions in paragraphs (i) and (ii) are met. This request for prior authorization must be filed with the French Minister of Economy, which has 30 business days from receipt of the completed file to provide a first decision, which may (i) unconditionally authorize the investment or (ii) indicate that further examination is required. In the latter case, the French Minister of Economy must make a second decision within 45 business days from its first decision. In case of lack of response from the French Minister of Economy within the above mentioned timeframe, the authorization will be deemed refused. If the authorization is granted, it may be subject to the signature of a letter of undertaking aimed at protecting French national interests.
In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Decree (décret) No. 2020-892 dated July 22, 2020, as amended on December 28, 2020 by the Decree (décret) No. 2020-1729, has created until December 31, 2021 a new 10% threshold of the voting rights for the non-European investments made (i) in an entity with its registered office in France and (ii) whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market, in addition to the 25% above-mentioned threshold. A fast-track procedure shall apply for any non-European investor exceeding this 10% threshold who will have to notify the Minister of Economy who will then have 10 days to decide whether or not the transaction should be subject to further examination.
If an investment requiring the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy is completed without such authorization having been granted, the French Minister of Economy might direct the relevant investor to nonetheless (i) submit a request for authorization, (ii) have the previous situation restored at its
 
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own expense or (iii) amend the investment. The relevant investor might also be found criminally liable and might be sanctioned with a fine which cannot exceed the greater of: (i) twice the amount of the relevant investment, (ii) 10% of the annual turnover before tax of the target company and (iii) €5 million (for an entity) or €1 million (for an individual).
Any violation of one of these requirements may be criminally sanctioned by five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the amount of the relevant investment. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.
Foreign Exchange Controls
Under current French foreign exchange control regulations there are no limitations on the amount of cash payments that we may remit to residents of foreign countries. Laws and regulations concerning foreign exchange controls do, however, require that all payments or transfers of funds made by a French resident to a non-resident such as dividend payments be handled by an accredited intermediary. All registered banks and substantially all credit institutions in France are accredited intermediaries.
Availability of Preferential Subscription Rights
Our existing shareholders have waived their preferential subscription rights with respect to this offering. In the future our shareholders will have the preferential subscription rights described under the section of this prospectus titled “Description of Share Capital — Key provisions of our bylaws and French law affecting our ordinary shares — Changes in share capital (Article 7 of the bylaws) — Preferential subscription right.” Under French law, shareholders have preferential rights to subscribe for cash issues of new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares on a pro rata basis. Holders of our securities in the United States, which may be in the form of shares or ADSs representing our shares, may not be able to exercise preferential subscription rights for their securities unless a registration statement under the Securities Act is effective with respect to such rights or an exemption from the registration requirements imposed by the Securities Act is available. We may, from time to time, issue new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares (such as warrants) at a time when no registration statement is in effect and no Securities Act exemption is available. If so, holders of our securities in the United States will be unable to exercise any preferential subscription rights and their interests will be diluted. We are under no obligation to file any registration statement in connection with any issuance of new shares or other securities. We intend to evaluate at the time of any rights offering the costs and potential liabilities associated with registering the rights, as well as the indirect benefits to us of enabling the exercise by holders of shares, including shares represented by ADSs, in the United States of the subscription rights, and any other factors we consider appropriate at the time, and then to make a decision as to whether to register the rights. We cannot assure you that we will file a registration statement.
For holders of ADSs representing our ordinary shares, the depositary may make these rights or other distributions available to ADS holders. If the depositary does not make the rights available to ADS holders and determines that it is impractical to sell the rights, it may allow these rights to lapse. In that case ADS holders will receive no value for them. The section of this prospectus titled “Description of American Depositary Shares — Dividends and Other Distributions” explains in detail the depositary’s responsibility in connection with a rights offering. See also “Risk Factors — The right as a holder of ADSs to participate in any future preferential subscription rights or to elect to receive dividends in shares may be limited, which may cause holders of ADSs to be diluted” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
The Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to act as the depositary for the American Depositary Shares. The Bank of New York Mellon’s depositary offices are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286. American Depositary Shares are frequently referred to as ADSs and represent ownership interests in securities that are on deposit with the depositary. ADSs may be represented by certificates that are commonly known as American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs. The depositary typically appoints a custodian to safekeep the securities on deposit. In this case, the custodian is Société Générale Securities Services.
You may hold ADSs either (1) directly (a) by having an ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (b) by having uncertificated ADSs registered in your name in the Direct Registration System, or DRS, or (2) indirectly by holding a security entitlement in ADSs through your broker or other financial institution that is a direct or indirect participant in the Depository Trust Company, or DTC. If you hold ADSs directly, you are a registered ADS holder, also referred to as an ADS holder. This description assumes you are an ADS holder. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
DRS is a system administered by DTC pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership is confirmed by periodic statements sent by the depositary to the registered holders of uncertificated ADSs.
As an ADS holder, you will not be treated as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. French law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. As a holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary and you, as an ADS holder, and all other persons directly and indirectly holding ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. New York law governs the deposit agreement and the ADRs. In the event of any discrepancy between the ADRs and the deposit agreement, the deposit agreement governs. A copy of the deposit agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
The following is a summary of the material provisions of the deposit agreement. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of ADR. For directions on how to obtain copies of those documents, see the section of this prospectus titled “Where you can find more information.” Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to “you” in this section refer to purchasers of ADSs in offerings hereunder.
Dividends and Other Distributions
How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the ordinary shares?
The depositary has agreed to pay or distribute to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent.
Cash.   After completion of the offering, we do not expect to declare or pay any cash dividends or cash distributions on our ordinary shares for the foreseeable future. The depositary will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the ordinary shares or any net proceeds from the sale of any ordinary shares, rights, securities or other entitlements into U.S. dollars if it can do so on a reasonable and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is not possible or if any government approval is needed and cannot be obtained, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest. Before making a distribution, any withholding taxes or other governmental charges, together with fees and expenses of the depositary that must be paid, will be deducted. See the section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F titles “Taxation”. It will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and
 
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cents and will round fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.
Ordinary Shares.   The depositary may distribute additional ADSs representing any ordinary shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It will sell ordinary shares which would require it to deliver a fractional ADS, or ADSs representing those ordinary shares, and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. If the depositary does not distribute additional ADSs, the outstanding ADSs will also represent the new ordinary shares. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed ordinary shares, or ADSs representing those shares, sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.
Rights to Purchase Additional Ordinary Shares.   If we offer holders of our securities any rights to subscribe for additional ordinary shares or any other rights, the depositary may (1) exercise those rights on behalf of ADS holders, (2) distribute those rights to ADS holders or (3) sell those rights and distribute the net proceeds to ADS holders, in each case after deduction or upon payment of its fees and expenses. To the extent the depositary does not do any of those things, it will allow the rights to lapse unexercised. In that case, you will receive no value for them.
The depositary will exercise or distribute rights only if we ask it to and provide satisfactory assurances to the depositary that it is legal to do so. If the depositary makes rights available to you, it will exercise the rights and purchase the ordinary shares on your behalf and in accordance with your instructions. The depositary will then deposit the ordinary shares and deliver ADSs to you. It will only exercise rights if you pay it the exercise price and any other charges the rights require you to pay and comply with other applicable instructions. U.S. securities laws may restrict the ability of the depositary to distribute rights or ADSs or other securities issued on exercise of rights to all or certain ADS holders, and the securities distributed may be subject to restrictions on transfer.
Other Distributions.   The depositary will send to you anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it determines is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot make the distribution in that way, the depositary may adopt another method. It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds, in the same way as it does with cash. Or, it may decide to hold what we distributed, in which case ADSs will also represent the newly distributed property. However, the depositary is not required to distribute any securities (other than ADSs) to ADS holders unless it receives satisfactory evidence from us that it is legal to make that distribution. In addition, the depositary may sell a portion of the distributed securities or property sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.
Neither we nor the depositary are responsible for any failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights or anything else to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you.
Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation
How are ADSs issued?
The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposits ordinary shares or evidence of rights to receive ordinary shares with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or share transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs to or upon the order of the person or persons that made the deposit.
How can ADS holders withdraw the deposited securities?
You may surrender your ADSs at the depositary’s office. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or governmental charges payable in connection with such surrender or withdrawal, the depositary will deliver the ordinary shares and any other deposited securities underlying the ADSs to you or a person
 
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designated by you at the office of the custodian or through a book-entry delivery. Alternatively, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will, if feasible, deliver the amount of deposited securities represented by the surrendered ADSs for delivery at the depositary’s office or to another address you may specify. The depositary may charge you a fee and its expenses for instructing the custodian regarding delivery of deposited securities.
How can ADS holders interchange between certificated ADSs and uncertificated ADSs?
You may surrender your ADRs to the depositary for the purpose of exchanging your ADRs for uncertificated ADSs. The depositary will cancel the ADRs and will send you a statement confirming that you are the owner of uncertificated ADSs. Alternatively, upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to you an ADR evidencing those ADSs.
Voting rights
How do you vote?
You may instruct the depositary to vote the number of whole deposited ordinary shares your ADSs represent. If we request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions (and we are not required to do so), the depositary will notify you of shareholders’ meetings or other solicitations of consents and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. Those materials will describe the matters to be voted on and explain how you may instruct the depositary how to vote. For instructions to be valid, they must reach the depositary by a date set by the depositary.
The depositary will endeavor, in so far as practicable, to vote or cause to be voted the amount of deposited ordinary shares represented by those ADSs in accordance with the instructions set forth in your request. The depositary will only vote, or attempt to vote, according to the instruction given by you and received by the depositary. If we do not request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions, you can still send voting instructions, and, in that case, the depositary may try to vote as you instruct, but it is not required to do so. In any event, the depositary will not exercise any discretion in voting deposited securities and it will only vote or attempt to vote as instructed or as described in the following sentence. If (i) we asked the depositary to solicit your instructions at least 30 days before the meeting date, (ii) the depositary does not receive voting instructions from you by the specified date and (iii) we confirm to the depositary that:

we wish to receive a proxy to vote uninstructed shares;

we reasonably do not know of any substantial shareholder opposition to a particular question; and

the particular question is not materially adverse to the interests of shareholders,
the depositary will consider you to have authorized and directed it to give, and it will give, a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote the number of deposited securities represented by your ADSs as to that question.
We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your ordinary shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and there may be nothing you can do if your ordinary shares are not voted as you requested.
In order to give you a reasonable opportunity to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to deposited securities, if we request the depositary to act, we will give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted upon at least 30 days in advance of the meeting date except where under French law the notice period for such meeting is less than 30 days. If we request that the depositary act less than 30 days in advance of a meeting date, the depositary shall use commercially reasonable efforts to distribute the information and otherwise comply with the voting provisions described above.
 
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Except as described above, you will not be able to exercise your right to vote unless you withdraw the ordinary shares. However, you may not know about the shareholder meeting enough in advance to withdraw the ordinary shares.
Fees and Expenses
What fees and expenses will you be responsible for paying?
Pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, the holders of ADSs will be required to pay the following fees:
Persons depositing or withdrawing ordinary shares or ADSs must
pay:
For:
$5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion of 100 ADSs) Issue of ADSs, including issues resulting from a distribution of ordinary shares or rights
Cancellation of ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal, including if the deposit agreement terminates
$0.05 (or less) per ADS Any cash distribution to you
A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been ordinary shares and the shares had been deposited for issue of ADSs Distribution of securities distributed to holders of deposited securities which are distributed by the depositary to you
$0.05 (or less) per ADS per calendar year depositary services
Registration or transfer fees Transfer and registration of ordinary shares on our share register to or from the name of the depositary or its agent when you deposit or withdraw shares
Expenses of the depositary Cable (including SWIFT) and facsimile transmissions as expressly provided in the deposit agreement
Converting foreign currency to U.S. dollars
Taxes and other governmental charges the depositary or the custodian have to pay on any ADS or share underlying an ADS, for example, share transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes As necessary
Any charges payable by the depositary, custodian or their agents in connection with the servicing of deposited securities As necessary
The depositary collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing ordinary shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable to ADS holders that are obligated to pay those fees. The depositary may generally refuse to provide for-fee services until its fees for those services are paid.
From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse or share revenue from the fees collected from ADS holders, or waive fees and expenses for services provided, generally relating to costs and expenses arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program. In performing its duties
 
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under the deposit agreement, the depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency or other service providers that are affiliates of the depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.
The depositary may convert foreign currency itself or through any of its affiliates and, in those cases, acts as principal for its own account and not as an agent, fiduciary or broker on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, fees and spreads that it will retain for its own account. The spread is the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under the deposit agreement and the rate that the depositary or its affiliate receives in an offsetting foreign currency trade. The depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained in any currency conversion under the deposit agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or as to the method by which that rate will be determined, subject to its obligations under the deposit agreement.
Payment of Taxes
You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register any transfer of your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until such taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities represented by your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If the depositary sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs registered in your name to reflect the sale and pay you any net proceeds, or send you any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes. Your obligation to pay taxes and indemnify us and the depository against any tax claims will survive the transfer or surrender of your ADSs, the withdrawal of the deposited ordinary shares as well as the termination of the deposit agreement.
Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers
If we:
Then:
Change the nominal value of our ordinary shares The cash, ordinary shares or other securities received by the depositary will become deposited securities.
Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the deposited securities Each ADS will automatically represent its equal share of the new deposited securities.
Distribute securities on the ordinary shares that are not distributed to you The depositary may also deliver new ADSs or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADRs in exchange for new ADRs identifying the new deposited securities. The depositary may also sell the new deposited securities and distribute the net proceeds if we are unable to assure the depositary that the distribution (a) does not require registration under the Securities Act or (b) is exempt from registration under the Securities Act.
Recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all or substantially all of our assets, or take any similar action Any replacement securities received by the depositary shall be treated as newly deposited securities and either the existing ADSs or, if necessary, replacement ADSs distributed by the depositary will represent the replacement securities. The depositary may also sell the replacement securities and distribute the net proceeds if the replacement securities may not be lawfully distributed to all ADS holders.
Amendment and Termination
How may the deposit agreement be amended?
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADRs without your consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges, registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery costs or other such expenses, or that would otherwise prejudice a substantial right of ADS holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADSs until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment
 
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becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and the deposit agreement as amended.
How may the deposit agreement be terminated?
The depositary will terminate the deposit agreement if we ask it to do so, in which case the depositary will give notice to you at least 90 days prior to termination. The depositary may also terminate the deposit agreement if the depositary has told us that it would like to resign and we have not appointed a new depositary within 60 days. In such case, the depositary must notify you at least 90 days before termination. In addition, the depositary may initiate termination of the deposit agreement if (1) we delist our shares from an exchange on which they were listed and do not list the shares on another exchange; (2) we appear to be insolvent or enter insolvency proceedings; (3) all or substantially all the value of the deposited securities has been distributed either in cash or in the form of securities; (4) there are no deposited securities underlying the ADSs or the underlying deposited securities have become apparently worthless; or (5) there has been a replacement of deposited securities.
After termination, the depositary and its agents will do the following under the deposit agreement but nothing else: collect dividends and other distributions on the deposited securities, sell rights and other property, and deliver ordinary shares and other deposited securities upon cancellation of ADSs. At any time after the termination date, the depositary may sell the deposited securities. After that, the depositary will hold the money it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the deposit agreement, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. Normally, the depositary will sell as soon as practicable after the termination date.
After the termination date and before the depositary sells, ADS holders can still surrender their ADSs and receive delivery of deposited securities, except that the depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing deposited securities if it would interfere with the selling process. The depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing sale proceeds until all the deposited securities have been sold. The depositary will continue to collect distributions on deposited securities, but, after the termination date, the depositary is not required to register any transfer of ADSs or distribute any dividends or other distributions on deposited securities to the ADS holder (until they surrender their ADSs) or give any notices or perform any other duties under the deposit agreement except as described in this paragraph.
Limitations on Obligations and Liability
The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary to ADS holders. We and the depositary:

are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith;

are not liable if either of us is prevented or delayed by law or circumstances beyond our control from performing our obligations under the deposit agreement;

are not liable if either of us exercises, or fails to exercise, discretion permitted under the deposit agreement;

are not liable for the inability of any holder of ADSs to benefit from any distribution on deposited securities that is not made available to holders of ADSs under the terms of the deposit agreement, or for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement;

are not liable for any tax consequences to any holders of ADSs on account of their ownership of ADSs;

have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other proceeding related to the ADSs or the deposit agreement on your behalf or on behalf of any other person;

are not liable for the acts or omissions of any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system; and
 
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may rely upon any documents we believe in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person.
In the deposit agreement, we and the depositary agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances. Additionally, we, the depositary and each owner and holder waives the right to a jury trial in an action against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement.
Requirements for Depositary Actions
Before the depositary will deliver or register a transfer of an ADS, make a distribution on an ADS, or permit withdrawal of ordinary shares, the depositary may require:

payment of any tax or other governmental charges and any stock transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the transfer of any ordinary shares or other deposited securities;

satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or other information it deems necessary; and

compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement, including presentation of transfer documents.
The depositary may refuse to deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs generally when the transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we think it advisable to do so.
Your Right to Receive the Ordinary Shares Underlying Your ADSs
ADS holders have the right to cancel their ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares at any time except:

when temporary delays arise because: (1) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (2) the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (3) we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares;

when you owe money to pay fees, taxes and similar charges; and

when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities.
This right of withdrawal is not limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.
Direct Registration System
In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the DRS and Profile Modification System, or Profile, will apply to ADSs upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC under which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs and such ownership will be evidenced by periodic statements sent by the depositary to the registered holders of uncertificated ADSs. Profile is a required feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of a registered holder of ADSs, to direct the depositary to register a transfer of those ADSs to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those ADSs to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the depositary of prior authorization from the ADS holder to register that transfer.
In connection with and in accordance with the arrangements and procedures relating to DRS/Profile, the parties to the deposit agreement understand that the depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an ADS holder in requesting registration of transfer and delivery as described above has the actual authority to act on behalf of the ADS holder (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). In the deposit agreement, the parties agree that the depositary’s reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the depositary through the DRS/Profile System and in accordance with the deposit agreement will not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the depositary.
 
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Shareholder Communications; Inspection of Register of Holders of ADSs; ADS Holder Information
The depositary will make available for your inspection at its office all communications that it receives from us as a holder of deposited securities that we make generally available to holders of deposited securities. The depositary will send you copies of those communications or otherwise make those communications available to you if we ask it to. You have a right to inspect the register of holders of ADSs, but not for the purpose of contacting those holders about a matter unrelated to our business or the ADSs.
Each holder of ADSs will be required to provide certain information, including proof of taxpayer status, residence and beneficial ownership (as applicable), from time to time and in a timely manner as we, the depositary or the custodian may deem necessary or proper to fulfill obligations under applicable law.
Jury Trial Waiver
The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law.
You will not, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, be deemed to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
Warrants (bons de souscription d’actions) may be offered separately or together with ordinary shares or ADSs. Each series of warrants will be issued under any separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and one or more purchasers of such warrants. The applicable prospectus supplement will include details of the warrant agreements and terms and conditions covering the warrants being offered.
The particular terms of each issue or series of warrants will be described in the related prospectus supplement. If warrants for the purchase of ordinary shares or ADSs are offered, the description will include, where applicable:

the designation and aggregate number of warrants offered;

the price at which the warrants will be offered;

the currency or currency unit in which the warrants are denominated;

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire;

the number of ordinary shares or ADSs that may be purchased upon exercise of each warrant and the price at which and currency or currencies in which that amount of ordinary shares or ADSs may be purchased upon exercise of each warrant;

the date or dates, if any, on or after which the warrants and the related ordinary shares or ADSs will be transferable separately;

the minimum or maximum amount, if any, of warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

whether the warrants will be subject to redemption or call, and, if so, the terms of such redemption or call provisions; and

any other terms, conditions and rights (or limitations on such rights) of the warrants.
We reserve the right to set forth in a prospectus supplement or applicable free writing prospectus specific terms of the warrants that are not within the options and parameters set forth in this prospectus. In addition, to the extent that any particular terms and conditions of the warrants described in a prospectus supplement or applicable free writing prospectus differ from any of the terms described in this prospectus, the description of such terms and conditions set forth in this prospectus shall be deemed to have been superseded or supplemented by the description of such differing terms and conditions set forth in such prospectus supplement or applicable free writing prospectus with respect to such warrants.
 
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TAXATION
The material U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of any of the securities offered by this prospectus will be set forth in the prospectus supplement pertaining to those securities.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
Unless the applicable prospectus supplement indicates otherwise, the validity of our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, and certain other matters governed by French law will be passed on for us by Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. Unless otherwise indicated in any prospectus supplement, Cooley LLP, New York, New York, will be representing us in regards to certain matters governed by U.S. law in connection with any offering. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Inventiva S.A. as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 appearing in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, have been audited by KPMG S.A., independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. KPMG S.A.’s report dated March 2, 2021 refers to the change in Inventiva S.A.’s method of accounting for leases as of January 1, 2019 due to the adoption of IFRS 16 “Leases.”
The offices of KPMG S.A. are located at Tour Eqho, 2 avenue Gambetta, CS 60055, 92066 Paris la Défense Cedex.
 
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ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We are a corporation organized under the laws of France. Half of our directors are citizens and residents of countries other than the United States, and the majority of our assets are located outside of the United States. We have appointed an agent for service of process in the United States; however, it may be difficult for investors:

to obtain jurisdiction over us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors in U.S. courts in actions predicated on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws;

to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in such actions against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors;

to bring an original action in a French court to enforce liabilities based upon the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our non-U.S. resident officers or directors; and

to enforce against us or our directors in non-U.S. courts, including French courts, judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Nevertheless, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would be recognized and enforced in France provided that a French judge considers that this judgment meets the French legal requirements concerning the recognition and the enforcement of foreign judgments and is capable of being immediately enforced in the United States. In the absence of any applicable international convention, a French court is therefore likely to grant the enforcement of a foreign judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim, only if (1) that judgment is enforceable in the jurisdiction of the U.S. court which rendered it, (2) that judgement was rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the dispute (the condition will be met if the dispute is clearly connected to the jurisdiction of the U.S. court and French courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter), (3) that judgment does not contravene French international public order and public policy, including the right to due process and (4) the U.S. judgment is not tainted with fraud and is not incompatible with a judgment rendered by a French court in the same matter, or with an earlier judgment rendered by a foreign court in the same matter.
In addition, French law guarantees full compensation for the harm suffered but is limited to the actual damages, so that the victim does not suffer or benefit from the situation. Such system excludes damages such as, but not limited to, punitive and exemplary damages.
As a result, the enforcement, by U.S. investors, of any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities law against us or members of our board of directors, officers or certain experts named herein who are residents of France or countries other than the United States would be subject to the above conditions.
Finally, there may be doubt as to whether a French court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our board of directors, our officers or certain experts named herein in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in France against us or such members, officers or experts, respectively.
 
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. Under the Exchange Act, we file annual reports on Form 20-F and other information with the SEC. We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in France, filed with and made public by any stock exchange on which we are listed or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.
This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.
We also maintain a website at www.inventivapharma.com through which you can access our SEC filings. The information set forth on our website is not part of this prospectus.
 
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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We filed a registration statement on Form F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with the SEC with respect to the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. This prospectus omits certain information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by the SEC. You should refer to the registration statement, including the exhibits, for further information about us and the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. Statements in this prospectus regarding the provisions of certain documents filed with, or incorporated by reference in, the registration statement are not necessarily complete and each statement is qualified in all respects by that reference. Copies of all or any part of the registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference or the exhibits, may be obtained upon payment of the prescribed rates at the offices of the SEC listed above in “Where You Can Find More Information.” The documents we are incorporating by reference are:

Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2021; Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2021;

our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on April 19, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto (regarding the appointment of Martine Zimmermann as an independent director to our board of directors); our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on May 12, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on July 28, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; and our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on August 2, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; and

the description of ADSs representing our ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on July 7, 2020, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.
We are also incorporating by reference all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus) prior to the termination of this offering. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:
Inventiva S.A.
50 rue de Dijon
21121 Daix France
Tel: +33 3 80 44 75 00
You may also access these documents on our website, www.inventivapharma.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
 
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EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH REGISTRATION
The following is an estimate of the expenses (all of which are to be paid by us) that we may incur in connection with the securities being registered hereby.
SEC registration fee
$ 32,730
FINRA filing fee
45,500
Legal fees and expenses
(1)
Accounting fees and expenses
(1)
Printing expenses
(1)
Miscellaneous expenses
(1)
Total
$ (1)
(1)
These fees will be determined and calculated at the time of each issuance of securities pursuant to this registration statement and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.
 
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[MISSING IMAGE: LG_INVENTIVA-4C.JPG]
$300,000,000
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
Warrants to Purchase Ordinary Shares or American Depositary Shares
PROSPECTUS
, 2021

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities or accept an offer to buy these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities, and it is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 2, 2021
PROSPECTUS
[MISSING IMAGE: LG_INVENTIVA-4C.JPG]
Up to $100,000,000
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
We have entered into a sale agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC, or Jefferies, relating to the sale of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, each ADS representing one ordinary share, offered by this prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell ADSs having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million from time to time through Jefferies, acting as sales agent.
Our ordinary shares will be sold in the form of ordinary shares represented by American Depositary Shares, or ADSs. Each ADS represents one ordinary share. Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA”. On July 29, 2021, the last reported sale price of our ADSs was $13.17 per ADS. Our ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA.” On July 29, 2021, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Paris was €11.36 per ordinary share.
Sales of our ADSs, if any, under this prospectus may be made in sales deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, from time to time. Jefferies is not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of securities, but will act as sales agent and use commercially reasonable efforts to arrange on our behalf for the sale of all ADSs requested to be sold by us, consistent with its normal sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between us and Jefferies. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.
Jefferies will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of 3.0% of the gross sales price per ADS sold under the Sales Agreement. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-14 of this prospectus for additional information regarding the compensation to be paid to Jefferies. In connection with the sale of the ADSs on our behalf, Jefferies will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of Jefferies will be deemed to be underwriting commissions. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to Jefferies with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
Under the authority granted by our shareholders, the ADSs may only be purchased initially by (i) natural or legal entities, governed by French or foreign law, that invest on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological or medical technology sectors and (ii) companies, institutions or entities, whatever their form, governed by French or foreign law, that carry out a significant part of their activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technology or in research in these sectors.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” on page S-7 of this prospectus and in the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Jefferies
The date of this prospectus is           , 2021.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may from time to time sell ADSs representing our ordinary shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $100 million under this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering.
This prospectus and the documents incorporated into this prospectus by reference include important information about us, the securities being offered and other information you should know before investing in our securities. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus that was filed with the SEC before the date of this prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date (for example, a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus), the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that we authorized for use in connection with this offering. We have not, and the sales agent has not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the sales agent is not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this prospectus to “Inventiva,” “the company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Inventiva S.A. and its consolidated subsidiary.
 
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PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
We present our consolidated financial statements in euros and in accordance with IFRS. None of the financial statements incorporated by reference into this prospectus were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
Unless otherwise specified, all monetary amounts are in euros. All references in this prospectus to “$,” “US$,” “U.S.$,” “U.S. dollars,” “dollars” and “USD” mean U.S. dollars and all references to “€” and “euros,” mean euros, unless otherwise noted. Throughout this prospectus, references to ADSs mean ADSs or ordinary shares represented by such ADSs, as the case may be.
We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this prospectus. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.
 
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain information about us, this offering and selected information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. For a more complete understanding of our business and this offering, you should carefully read the entire prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein, including our historical financial statements and the notes thereto, which are incorporated herein by reference. You should read section titled “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-6 of this prospectus and Item 3D. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, for more information about important risks that you should consider before making a decision to invest in our securities.
Company Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH and other diseases with significant unmet medical need. We have built a pipeline backed by a discovery engine with an extensive library of proprietary molecules, a wholly-owned research and development facility and a team with significant expertise and experience in the development of compounds that target nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation. Leveraging these assets and expertise, we are advancing lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH, as well as a pipeline of earlier stage programs in oncology and other diseases with significant unmet medical need.
Lanifibranor for the Treatment of NASH.   We are developing our lead product candidate, lanifibranor, for the treatment of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a progressive, chronic liver disease for which there are currently no approved therapies. NASH is believed to affect 12% of the United States adult population and is a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver transplantation and liver cancer. Compared to the general population, patients with NASH have a ten-fold greater risk of liver-related mortality. NASH is characterized by a metabolic process known as steatosis, or the excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, inflammation and ballooning of liver cells and progressive liver fibrosis that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis. Lanifibranor is an orally-available small molecule in development for the treatment of NASH that acts to induce anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory and beneficial vascular and metabolic changes in the body by activating all three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, or PPAR, isoforms. PPARs are well-characterized nuclear receptor proteins that regulate gene expression, and their relevance for the fibrotic, inflammatory, vascular and metabolic processes that characterize NASH is well-established. While there are other PPAR agonists that target only one or two PPAR isoforms, lanifibranor is the only pan-PPAR agonist, meaning that it targets the three isoforms, in clinical development. We believe that this pan-PPAR approach provides for a combination of anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory and beneficial vascular and metabolic effects that cannot be obtained with single and dual PPAR agonists. In June 2020, we announced positive topline results from our NATIVE Phase IIb clinical trial of lanifibranor in patients with NASH. In this trial, treatment with lanifibranor at a dose of 1,200 mg met the primary endpoint of a reduction in inflammation and ballooning with no worsening of fibrosis after 24 weeks of treatment, while continuing to show the favorable tolerability profile observed in prior clinical trials of lanifibranor. Treatment with lanifibranor at doses of 800 mg and 1,200 mg also met the key secondary endpoints of resolution of NASH with no worsening of fibrosis and, at the 1,200 mg dose, improvement in liver fibrosis without worsening NASH, which are the primary endpoints relevant for seeking accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and the European Medical Agency, or EMA, after future Phase III development. On October 12, 2020, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH based on Phase IIb data, in addition to Fast Track designation which was previously granted to lanifibranor in this indication. We believe that lanifibranor is the first oral drug candidate to be granted this status for the treatment of NASH since January 2015. The Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA is intended to expedite the development and review of drug candidates for serious or life-threatening conditions. To qualify for this designation, drug candidates must show preliminary clinical evidence that they may demonstrate a substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapies or over placebo if there are no approved therapies. In light of the Phase IIb results, we plan to advance lanifibranor, either alone or together with a collaborator. Following the end-of-phase II meeting with the FDA and the receipt of the Scientific Advice letter from the EMA during the fourth quarter of 2020, the
 
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Phase III trial design and clinical strategy have been discussed with both regulatory authorities and are summarized as follows:

Submission for U.S. accelerated approval and EU conditional approval of lanifibranor will be based on a 72-week histology analysis — We will seek to obtain accelerated approval in the U.S. and conditional approval in the EU for lanifibranor based on a pre-specified histology analysis in approximately 900 patients if we are able to establish a positive benefit-risk ratio after 72 weeks of treatment.

Primary composite endpoint expected to be a combination of NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement — The primary composite endpoint of patients having both NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement of at least one stage will be used for the 72-week histology analysis. The endpoint is designed to predict a significant improvement of prognostic risk and, if met, may support a label for the treatment of NASH and the improvement in liver fibrosis in adult non-cirrhotic NASH patients. During our NATIVE Phase IIb clinical trial, this endpoint was met with statistical significance by both doses of 800 mg and 1,200 mg, including in NASH patients with F2/F3 fibrosis, the patient population that will be included in the Phase III trial, as well as in NASH patients with type two diabetes. Endpoints of NASH resolution and no worsening of fibrosis, and improvement of fibrosis with no worsening of NASH will be included as key secondary endpoints. Additional supportive histologic endpoints, non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis and steatohepatitis as well as effects on lipids and insulin resistance will also be evaluated.

Long-term use to be established after 72 weeks — The duration of 72 weeks was considered adequate by both the FDA and EMA to establish long-term use as well as dose and cumulative drug exposure. With this trial, the proposed size of the safety database required for marketing application would be consistent with regulatory guidelines.
Named NATIV3 (NASH lanifibranor Phase III trial), the planned trial has been designed as a double-blind, placebo-controlled global pivotal Phase III clinical trial to assess the potential benefit of lanifibranor treatment on liver-related clinical outcomes. Patients will be randomized 1:1:1 to receive lanifibranor (800mg once daily or 1200mg once daily) or placebo. The trial will remain blinded after the pre-specified histological analysis and continue in a total of approximately 2,000 patients until the occurrence of a pre-specified number of adverse liver-related clinical events, including progression to cirrhosis. The trial would be completed on a post-marketing basis in the event that U.S. accelerated approval or EU conditional approval is received. Statistical powering of 90% was considered for the sample size calculations of the Phase III clinical trial. The trial preparations are progressing and we plan to initiate Part 1 of the trial in the first half of 2021, with Part 1 referring to a 72-week treatment in approximately 900 patients allowing to seek accelerated approval in the U.S. and conditional approval in the EU for lanifibranor based on a pre-specified histology analysis; this part of the study is followed by an extension period (Part 2), the end date of which depends on a pre-defined number of clinical events. Part 1 of the study has the following timelines:

First Patient First Visit — expected in the third quarter of 2021.

Last Patient First Visit — expected in the second half of 2022.

Last Patient Last Visit — expected in the first half of 2024.

Publication of headline results — expected in the second half of 2024.
Odiparcil for the Treatment of MPS.   Our second clinical-stage asset is odiparcil, which we developed for the treatment of patients with mucopolysaccharidoses, or MPS, a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by an excessive accumulation of large sugar chains, known as glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs, in cells. Odiparcil is an orally-available small molecule designed to modify how GAGs are synthesized. Odiparcil acts to facilitate the production of soluble GAGs that can be excreted in the urine, rather than accumulating in cells. As announced in November 2020, we have decided to focus our clinical efforts on the development of lanifibranor for the treatment of NASH and as part of this decision, we are reviewing all available options to optimize the development of odiparcil for the treatment of MPS VI. During this time, we will suspend all MPS-related research and development activities. As a consequence, the Phase I/II SAFE-KIDDS (SAFEty, pharmacoKInetics and pharmacoDynamics, Dose escalating Study) clinical trial evaluating odiparcil in MPS VI children and the Phase IIa extension clinical trial with odiparcil in MPS VI
 
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patients who completed the prior iMProveS Phase IIa clinical trial was not initiated in the first half of 2021 as initially planned. Odiparcil has received orphan drug designation from the FDA and EMA and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the FDA for the treatment of MPS VI.
Discovery Engine.   We have a scientific team of approximately 50 people with deep biology, medicinal and computational chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacology expertise, more than 75% of whom have worked together for more than 15 years. We also own a library of approximately 240,000 pharmacologically relevant molecules, 60% of which are proprietary, as well as a wholly-owned research and development facility. Using these assets and this expertise, we have built a discovery engine focused on small molecule compounds that target nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation. We are leveraging this discovery engine to identify and develop compounds addressing a wide range of indications. Our Hippo signaling pathway program aims to disrupt the interaction between yes-associated protein, or YAP, and transcription enhancer associated domain transcription factors, or TEAD, an interaction that plays a key role in oncogenic and fibrotic processes. In xenograft and orthotopic models of malignant pleural mesothelioma, or MPM, we observed that YAP-TEAD inhibition was associated with reduced tumor growth and we are in the process of selecting development candidate for our Hippo program, which we anticipate entering pre-clinical development in 2021 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma. We are also advancing a pre-clinical program for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and have validated a new target within the transforming growth factor beta, or TGF-β, signaling pathway. We have also entered into a collaboration with AbbVie Inc., or AbbVie, for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases. The collaboration led to the discovery of cedirogant (formerly ABBV-157), a selective and orally-available ROR-y inverse agonist. After achieving clinical proof of concept in a phase I trial in patients with psoriasis, AbbVie is planning to initiate a phase 2b trial during the second half of 2021.
Our Pipeline
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Recent Developments
As of June 30, 2021, we had approximately €93.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to €107.8 million as of March 31, 2021 and €113.0 million as of December 31, 2020. Net cash used in operating activities amounted to €19.0 million in the first half of 2021 compared to €7.2 million for the same period
 
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in 2020. The Company’s revenues for the first half of 2021 amounted to €0.2 million, as compared to €0.1 million for the same period in 2020.
Corporate Information
We were founded in 2011 and incorporated as a société anonyme, or S.A., in 2016. We are registered at the Dijon Trade and Companies Register (Registre du commerce et des sociétés) under the number 537 530 255. In January 2021, we incorporated our wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Inventiva Inc. in the state of New Jersey. Our ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris under the symbol “IVA” and our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVA.”
Our principal executive offices are located at 50 rue de Dijon, 21121, Daix, France. Our telephone number at our principal executive offices is +33 3 80 44 75 00. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., 10 East 40th Street, 10th Floor, New York, New York 10016.
The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov. Our website address is www.inventivapharma.com. The reference to our website is an inactive textual reference only and information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website or any other website cited in this prospectus is not part of this prospectus.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the U.S. Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:

exemption from the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and

to the extent that we no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (1) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (2) exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation.
We may take advantage of these provisions until December 31, 2025 or such earlier time that we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in total annual gross revenue, have more than $700 million in market value of our capital stock held by non-affiliates or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens. To the extent that we take advantage of these reduced burdens, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than you might obtain from other public companies in which you hold equity interests.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. Since International Financial Reporting Standards make no distinction between public and private companies for purposes of compliance with new or revised accounting standards, the requirements for our compliance as a private company and as a public company are the same.
Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer
We are also considered a “foreign private issuer” under U.S. securities laws. In our capacity as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as
 
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frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information.
We may take advantage of these exemptions until such time as we are no longer a foreign private issuer. We will remain a foreign private issuer until such time that more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are held by U.S. residents and any of the following three circumstances applies: (1) the majority of our executive officers or directors are U.S. citizens or residents; (2) more than 50% of our assets are located in the United States; or (3) our business is administered principally in the United States.
 
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THE OFFERING
Securities offered by us
ADSs representing our ordinary shares, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000 and representing, together with all the other shares which have been admitted to trading on Euronext Paris, on a 12-month rolling basis less than 20% of the total number of the Company’s securities admitted to trading on Euronext Paris.
Plan of Distribution
“At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through our sales agent, Jefferies LLC. See “Plan of Distribution” on page S-25 of this prospectus.
Purchaser restrictions
Under the authority granted by our shareholders, the ADSs may only be purchased initially by (i) natural or legal entities, governed by French or foreign law, that invest on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological or medical technology sectors and (ii) companies, institutions or entities, whatever their form, governed by French or foreign law, that carry out a significant part of their activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technology or in research in these sectors. In order to purchase ADSs in the offering, you will be required to execute and provide to Jefferies an investor letter representing that you satisfy the foregoing investor criteria.
The ADSs
Each ADS represents one ordinary share, nominal value €0.01 per share. The offered ADSs may be evidenced by American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs.
Depositary
The Bank of New York Mellon
Use of Proceeds
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to fund the research and development of our product candidates, for working capital and for general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-14 of this prospectus.
Risk Factors
Investing in our securities involves significant risks. See “Risk Factors” on page S-7 of this prospectus, and in documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Nasdaq Global Market
symbol
“IVA”
 
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described below and under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 as updated by our subsequent filings, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations. Please also read carefully the section below titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
You may experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value per ADS of your investment.
The offering price per ADS in this offering may exceed the net tangible book value per ADS outstanding prior to this offering. After giving effect to the sale of ADSs in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million at an assumed offering price of $13.17 per ADS, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on July 29, 2021 on the Nasdaq Global Market, and after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 would have been $215.5 million, or $4.66 per ADS. You will experience additional dilution at the end of the vesting period for our free shares that we have granted, and upon exercise of any outstanding warrants or options to purchase ordinary shares, or if we otherwise issue additional ordinary shares or ADSs below the offering price. See the section titled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you would incur if you participate in this offering. Because the sales of the securities offered hereby will be made directly into the market or in negotiated transactions, the prices at which we sell these securities will vary and these variations may be significant. Purchasers of the securities we sell, as well as our existing shareholders, will experience significant dilution if we sell the securities at prices significantly below the price at which they invested.
Raising additional capital, including as a result of this offering, may cause dilution to our shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue from the sale of our product candidates, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financing, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities, including from this offering, or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a shareholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements with third parties when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our drug development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to third parties to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may use them in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may not increase the value of your investment.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds that we receive from this offering. We may spend or invest these proceeds in a way with which our shareholders and ADS holders disagree. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business and
 
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financial condition. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our investors.
You may not be able to exercise your right to vote the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs.
Holders of ADSs may exercise voting rights with respect to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs only in accordance with the provisions of the amended and restated deposit agreement. The amended and restated deposit agreement provides that, upon receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of our ordinary shares, the depositary will fix a record date for the determination of ADS holders who shall be entitled to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights. Upon timely receipt of notice from us, if we so request, the depositary shall distribute to the holders as of the record date (1) the notice of the meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy sent by us and (2) a statement as to the manner in which instructions may be given by the holders.
Purchasers of ADSs in the offering may instruct the depositary of their ADSs to vote the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs. Otherwise, purchasers of ADSs in the offering will not be able to exercise voting rights unless they withdraw the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs they hold. However, a holder of ADSs may not know about the meeting far enough in advance to withdraw those ordinary shares. If we ask for a holder of ADSs’ instructions, the depositary, upon timely notice from us, will notify him or her of the upcoming vote and arrange to deliver our voting materials to him or her. We cannot guarantee to any holder of ADSs that he or she will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that he or she can instruct the depositary to vote his or her ordinary shares or to withdraw his or her ordinary shares so that he or she can vote them. If the depositary does not receive timely voting instructions from a holder of ADSs, it may give a proxy to a person designated by us to vote the ordinary shares underlying his or her ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that a holder of ADSs may not be able to exercise his or her right to vote, and there may be nothing he or she can do if the ordinary shares underlying his or her ADSs are not voted as he or she requested.
Purchasers of ADSs in the offering may not be directly holding our ordinary shares.
A holder of ADSs will not be treated as one of our shareholders and will not have direct shareholder rights. French law governs our shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the ordinary shares underlying ADSs held by purchasers of ADSs in the offering. Purchasers of ADSs in the offering will have ADS holder rights. The amended and restated deposit agreement among us, the depositary and purchasers of ADSs in the offering, as an ADS holder, and all other persons directly and indirectly holding ADSs, sets out ADS holder rights, as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary.
The right as a holder of ADSs to participate in any future preferential subscription rights or to elect to receive dividends in shares may be limited, which may cause dilution to the holdings of purchasers of ADSs in the offering.
According to French law, if we issue additional securities for cash, current shareholders will have preferential subscription rights for these securities on a pro rata basis unless they waive those rights at an extraordinary meeting of our shareholders (by a two-thirds majority vote) or individually by each shareholder. However, our ADS holders in the United States will not be entitled to exercise or sell such rights unless we register the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. In addition, the amended and restated deposit agreement provides that the depositary will not make rights available to purchasers of ADSs in the offering unless the distribution to ADS holders of both the rights and any related securities are either registered under the Securities Act or exempted from registration under the Securities Act. Further, if we offer holders of our ordinary shares the option to receive dividends in either cash or shares, under the amended and restated deposit agreement the depositary may require satisfactory assurances from us that extending the offer to holders of ADSs does not require registration of any securities under the Securities Act before making the option available to holders of ADSs. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. Moreover, we may not be able to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, ADS
 
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holders may be unable to participate in our rights offerings or to elect to receive dividends in shares and may experience dilution in their holdings. In addition, if the depositary is unable to sell rights that are not exercised or not distributed or if the sale is not lawful or reasonably practicable, it will allow the rights to lapse, in which case you will receive no value for these rights.
Purchasers of ADSs in the offering may be subject to limitations on the transfer of their ADSs and the withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares.
ADSs, which may be evidenced by ADRs, are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary think it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law, government or governmental body, or under any provision of the amended and restated deposit agreement, or for any other reason subject to a holder of ADSs’ right to cancel his or her ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares. Temporary delays in the cancellation of ADSs and withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares may arise because the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books, the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting or we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares. In addition, a holder of ADSs may not be able to cancel his or her ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares when he or she owes money for fees, taxes and similar charges and when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities. See the section of this prospectus titled “Description of American Depositary Shares.”
U.S. holders of ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences if we are characterized as a passive foreign investment company.
Generally, if, for any taxable year, at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or at least 50% of the value of our assets is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income, including cash, we would be characterized as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. Our status as a PFIC will depend on the composition of our income (including whether we receive certain non-refundable grants or subsidies and whether such amounts and reimbursements of certain refundable research tax credits will constitute gross income for purposes of the PFIC income test) and the composition and value of our assets (which may be determined in large part by reference to the market value of our ADSs, which may be volatile) from time to time. Our status may also depend, in part, on how quickly we utilize the cash proceeds from this offering in our business. Based on the composition of our gross income and assets, the nature of our business and our market capitalization in 2020, we do not believe that we were characterized as a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2020. However, our status as a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis and we cannot provide any assurances regarding our PFIC status for the past, current or future taxable years. Because the calculation of the value of our assets may be based in part on the value of our ADSs, the value of which may fluctuate considerably, our PFIC status is difficult to predict. A separate determination must be made after the close of each taxable year as to whether we are a PFIC for that year. As a result, our PFIC status may change from year to year. Our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion regarding our past, current or future PFIC status.
If we are characterized as a PFIC, U.S. holders of the ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences, including having gains realized on the sale of the ADSs treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain, the loss of the preferential rate applicable to dividends received on the ADSs by individuals who are U.S. holders, and having interest charges apply to distributions by us and the proceeds of sales of the ADSs, and additional reporting requirements under U.S. federal income tax laws and regulations. A U.S. shareholder of a PFIC generally may mitigate these adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences by making a “qualified electing fund,” or QEF, election, or, to a lesser extent, a “mark to market” election. If we determine that we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to, and currently expect to, provide the necessary information for U.S. holders to make a QEF election. See “Material U.S. Federal Income
 
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and French Tax Considerations — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations.”
If a United States person is treated as owning at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ADSs, such United States person may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
If a U.S. holder (as defined below under “Material U.S. Federal Income and French Tax Considerations”) is treated as owning (directly, indirectly or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ordinary shares, such U.S. holder may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” in our group (if any), which may subject such person to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. Because our group includes a U.S. subsidiary (Inventiva Inc.), if we were to form or acquire any non-U.S. subsidiaries in the future, such non-U.S. subsidiaries generally will be treated as controlled foreign corporations. A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation will be required to annually report and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “subpart F income” and investments in U.S. property by the controlled foreign corporations and its “global intangible low-taxed income,” regardless of whether we make any distributions. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally will not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that are available to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. We cannot provide any assurance that we will assist investors in determining whether we or any of our future non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a controlled foreign corporation or furnish to any United States shareholder the information required to comply with the reporting and tax-paying obligations discussed above. Failure to comply with such reporting obligations may subject a U.S. holder that is a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to your U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to their investment in our ADSs.
Future changes to tax laws could materially adversely affect our company and reduce net returns to our shareholders.
Our tax treatment is subject to the enactment of, or changes in, tax laws, regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof, tax policy initiatives and reforms under consideration and the practices of tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate, including those related to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, the European Commission’s state aid investigations and other initiatives. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends paid. We are unable to predict what tax reform may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices, could affect our financial position and overall or effective tax rates in the future in countries where we have operations, reduce post-tax returns to our shareholders, and increase the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.
Tax authorities may disagree with our positions and conclusions regarding certain tax positions, resulting in unanticipated costs, taxes or non-realization of expected benefits.
A tax authority may disagree with tax positions that we have taken, which could result in increased tax liabilities. For example, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to our intercompany arrangements and transfer pricing policies, including amounts paid with respect to our intellectual property development. Similarly, a tax authority could assert that we are subject to tax in a jurisdiction where we believe we have not established a taxable connection, often referred to as a “permanent establishment” under international tax treaties, and such an assertion, if successful, could increase our expected tax liability in one or more jurisdictions. A tax authority may take the position that material income tax liabilities, interest and penalties are payable by us, in which case, we expect that we might contest such assessment. Contesting such an assessment may be lengthy and costly and if we were unsuccessful in disputing the assessment, the implications could increase our anticipated effective tax rate, where applicable.
 
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Existing and potential investors in our ordinary shares or ADSs may have to request the prior authorization from the French Minister of Economy prior to acquiring a significant ownership position in our ordinary shares or ADSs.
Under French law, investments of more than 25% by certain individuals or entities in a French company deemed to be a strategic industry may be subject to prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy pursuant to the decree No. 2019-1590 pursuant to the French foreign investment regime. This threshold may be reduced to 10%.
On July 2, 2020, the French Minister of Economy informed us that we are subject to this regulation. As a result, investors in our ordinary shares or ADSs will have to request the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy before acquiring our ordinary shares or ADSs if: (i) they are (a) a non-French citizen, (b) a French citizen not residing in France, (c) a non-French entity or (d) a French entity controlled by one of the aforementioned individuals or entities; and (ii) such investor (a) acquires control of us, (b) acquires all or part of one of our business lines or (c) is a non-EU or non-EEA investors crossing, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert, a 25% threshold of voting rights in us.
In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Decree (décret) No. 2020-892 dated July 22, 2020, as amended on December 28, 2020 by the Decree (décret) No. 2020-1729, has created until December 31, 2021 a new 10% threshold of the voting rights for the non-European investments made (i) in an entity with its registered office in France and (ii) whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market, in addition to the 25% above-mentioned threshold. A fast-track procedure shall apply for any non-European investor exceeding this 10% threshold who will have to notify the French Minister of Economy who will then have 10 days to decide whether or not the transaction should be subject to further examination.
This request for prior authorization must be filed with the French Minister of Economy, which has 30 business days from receipt of the completed file to provide a first decision, which may (i) unconditionally authorize the investment or (ii) indicate that further examination is required. In the latter case, the French Minister of Economy must make a second decision within 45 business days from its first decision. In case of lack of response from the French Minister of Economy within the above mentioned timeframe, the authorization will be deemed refused. If the authorization is granted, it may be subject to the signature of a letter of undertaking aimed at protecting French national interests.
If an investment requiring the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy is completed without such authorization having been granted, the French Minister of Economy might direct the relevant investor to nonetheless (i) submit a request for authorization, (ii) have the previous situation restored at its own expense or (iii) amend the investment. The relevant investor might also be found criminally liable and might be sanctioned with a fine which cannot exceed the greater of: (i) twice the amount of the relevant investment, (ii) 10% of the annual turnover before tax of the target company and (iii) €5 million (for an entity) or €1 million (for an individual).
Moreover, any violation of this requirement may be criminally sanctioned by five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the amount of the relevant investment. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.
Failure to comply with such measures could result in significant consequences on the applicable investor. Such measures could also delay or discourage a takeover attempt, and we cannot predict whether these measures will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares.
 
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in the sections titled “Information on the Company,” “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” incorporated by reference from our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto, filed with the SEC.
All statements other than present and historical facts and conditions contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial positions, business strategy, plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “is designed to,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “objective,” “should,” or the negative of these and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

our plans to develop and commercialize our product candidates;

the timing of initiation of our planned clinical trials;

the timing of the availability of data from our clinical trials;

the timing of any planned investigational new drug application or new drug application;

our plans to research, develop and commercialize our current and future product candidates;

our ability to successfully collaborate with existing collaborators or enter into new collaborations, and to fulfill our obligations under any such collaboration agreements;

the clinical utility, potential benefits and market acceptance of our product candidates;

our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy;

our ability to identify additional products or product candidates with significant commercial potential;

our expectations related to the sufficiency of our capital resources;

developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry;

the impact of government laws and regulations;

the potential effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on our business and, operations and clinical development timelines and plans;

our intellectual property position;

our estimate regarding future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and need for additional financing; and

other risks and uncertainties, including those listed in this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors”;
You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame or at all. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise
 
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You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to this prospectus completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus contains market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. We have not independently verified any third-party information. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We may issue and sell our ADSs representing our ordinary shares, having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $100.0 million from time to time. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. There can be no assurance that we will sell any shares under or fully utilize the sales agreement with Jefferies as a source of financing.
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to fund the research and development of our product candidates, for working capital and for general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus. Pending the use of net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest bearing obligations, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States government.
 
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DILUTION
Our net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 was €101,375,000 ($119,044,662), with this and all other convenience translations presented in this section, “Dilution,” based on the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in effect as of March 31, 2021, of €1.00 = $1.1743), or €2.62 per ordinary share (equivalent to $3.08 per ADS). Net tangible book value per ordinary share is determined by dividing (1) our total assets less our intangible assets and our total liabilities by (2) 38,630,261 ordinary shares outstanding as of March 31, 2021.
After giving effect to the sale of our ADSs in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million at an assumed offering price of $13.17 per ADS, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market on July 29, 2021, and after deducting estimated commissions and offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 would have been €183.5 million, equivalent to $215.5 million, or €3.97 per ordinary share or $4.66 per ordinary share and per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $1.58 per ordinary share and ADS to existing shareholders and an immediate decrease in net tangible book value of $8.51 per ordinary share and ADSs to investors purchasing in this offering.
The following table illustrates this calculation on a per ADS basis. The information is illustrative only and will adjust based on the actual prices at which ADSs are sold, the actual number of ADSs sold and other terms of the offering determined at the time our ADSs are sold pursuant to this prospectus.
Assumed public offering price per ADS
$ 13.17
Net tangible book value per ADS as of March 31, 2021
$ 3.08
Increase in net tangible book value per ADS attributable to this offering
$ 1.58
As adjusted net tangible book value per ADS as of March 31, 2021, after giving effect to this offering
$4.66
Decrease in net tangible book value per ADSs to investors purchasing in this offering
$8.51
The number of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) outstanding as of March 31, 2021 was 38,630,261, which excludes:

29,100 ordinary shares issued after March 31, 2021 in connection with the vesting of free shares under the AGA 2019-1 bonus share award plan that have no exercise price;

1,396,800 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of founder’s share warrants (bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise) and share warrants (bons de souscription d’actions) and the vesting of free shares outstanding as of April 16, 2021; and

18,521,739 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our share-based compensation plans and other delegations of authority from our shareholders as of March 31, 2021.
The ADSs subject to the sales agreement with Jefferies will be sold from time to time at various prices. An increase of $1 per ADS in the price at which the ADSs are sold from the assumed offering price of $13.17 per ADS shown in the table above, assuming all of our securities in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million during the term of the sales agreement with Jefferies are sold at that price, would increase our as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS after the offering to $4.72 per ADS, which would represent a decrease in net tangible book value per ADS to new investors in this offering of $9.45 per ADS, after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A decrease of $1 per ADS in the price at which the ADSs are sold from the assumed offering price of $13.17 per ADS shown in the table above, assuming all of our securities in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million during the term of the sales agreement with Jefferies are sold at that price, would decrease our as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS after the offering to $4.60 per ADS, which would represent a decrease in net tangible book value per ADS to new investors in this offering of $7.57 per ADS, after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. This information is supplied for illustrative purposes only.
 
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND FRENCH TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax and French tax considerations relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of ADSs by a U.S. holder (as defined below). This summary addresses these tax considerations only for U.S. holders that purchase the ADSs pursuant to this offering and that will hold such ADSs as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax and French tax matters that may be relevant to a particular U.S. holder. This summary does not address tax considerations applicable to a holder of ADSs that may be subject to special tax rules including, without limitation, the following:

banks, financial institutions or insurance companies;

brokers, dealers or traders in securities, currencies, commodities, or notional principal contracts;

tax-exempt entities or organizations, including an “individual retirement account” or “Roth IRA” as defined in Section 408 or 408A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), respectively;

real estate investment trusts, regulated investment companies or grantor trusts;

persons that hold the ADSs as part of a “hedging,” “integrated,” “wash sale” or “conversion” transaction or as a position in a “straddle” for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

S corporations, partnerships, or other entities or arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

persons acquiring ADSs in connection with a trade or business conducted outside of the United States, including a permanent establishment in France;

persons that received ADSs as compensation for the performance of services;

Certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents of the United States;

holders that own directly, indirectly, or through attribution 10% or more of the voting power or value of our ADSs and shares or, in the case of the discussion of French tax consequences, 5% or more of the voting stock or our share capital; and

holders that have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar.
For the purposes of this description, a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of ADSs that is (or is treated as), for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

a domestic corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia;

an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

a trust, if a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of the substantial decisions of such trust, or if such trust has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.
If a partnership (or any other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds ADSs, the U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to an investment in the ADSs will depend in part upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Such a partner or partnership should consult its tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations of acquiring, owning and disposing of the ADSs in its particular circumstances.
The discussion in this section is based in part upon the representations of the depositary and the assumption that each obligation in the amended and restated deposit agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms.
References in this discussion to ADSs mean ADSs and ordinary shares represented by ADSs, as the case may be.
 
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Persons considering an investment in the ADSs should consult their own tax advisors as to the particular tax consequences applicable to them relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs, including the applicability of U.S. federal, state and local tax laws, French tax laws and other non-U.S. tax laws.
Material French Tax Considerations
The following describes the material French income tax consequences to U.S. holders of purchasing, owning and disposing of our ADSs and, unless otherwise noted, this discussion is the opinion of Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I, our French tax counsel, insofar as it relates to matters of French tax law and legal conclusions with respect to those matters.
This discussion does not purport to be a complete analysis or listing of all potential tax effects of the acquisition, ownership or disposition of our ADSs to any particular investor, and does not discuss tax considerations that arise from rules of general application or that are generally assumed to be known by investors. All of the following is subject to change. Such changes could apply retroactively and could affect the consequences described below.
The description of the French income tax and wealth tax consequences set forth below is based on the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital of August 31, 1994, or the Treaty, which came into force on December 30, 1995 (as amended by any subsequent protocols, including the protocol of January 13, 2009), and the tax guidelines issued by the French tax authorities in force as of the date of this prospectus supplement.
This discussion applies only to investors that are entitled to Treaty benefits under the “Limitation on Benefits” provision contained in the Treaty.
In 2011, France introduced a comprehensive set of new tax rules applicable to French assets that are held by or in foreign trusts. These rules provide inter alia for the inclusion of trust assets in the settlor’s net assets for the purpose of applying the French real estate wealth tax, for the application of French gift and death duties to French assets held in trust, for a specific tax on capital on the French assets of foreign trusts not already subject to the French real estate wealth tax and for a number of French tax reporting and disclosure obligations. The following discussion does not address the French tax consequences applicable to securities (including ADSs) held in trusts. If ADSs are held in trust, the grantor, trustee and beneficiary are urged to consult their own tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of securities (including ADSs).
U.S. holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of securities in light of their particular circumstances, especially with regard to the “Limitations on Benefits” provision.
Estate and Gift Taxes and Transfer Taxes
In general, a transfer of securities by gift or by reason of death of a U.S. holder that would otherwise be subject to French gift or inheritance tax, respectively, will not be subject to such French tax by reason of the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Estates, Inheritances and Gifts, dated November 24, 1978 (as amended by the protocol of December 8, 2004), unless (i) the donor or the transferor is domiciled in France at the time of making the gift or at the time of his or her death, or (ii) the securities were used in, or held for use in, the conduct of a business through a permanent establishment or a fixed base in France.
Financial Transaction Tax
Pursuant to Article 235 ter ZD of the Code général des impôts (French Tax Code, or FTC), purchases of shares or ADSs of a French company listed on a regulated market of the European Union or on a foreign regulated market formally acknowledged by the French Financial Market Authority (AMF) are subject to a 0.3% French tax on financial transactions provided that the issuer’s market capitalization exceeds 1 billion euros as of December 1 of the year preceding the taxation year pursuant to Regulations
 
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BOI-ANNX-000467-23/12/2020 issued on December 23, 2020. The Nasdaq Global Market is not currently acknowledged by the French AMF but this may change in the future. A list of French relevant companies whose market capitalization exceeds 1 billion euros as of December 1 of the year preceding the taxation year is published annually and at least once a year, by the French State. As at December 1, 2020, our market capitalization did not exceed 1 billion euros.
Purchases of our securities may be subject to such tax provided that (i) its market capitalization exceeds 1 billion euros and (ii) that the Nasdaq Global Market becomes a foreign regulated market formally acknowledged by the AMF.
In the case where Article 235 ter ZD of the FTC is not applicable, transfers of shares issued by a French company, which is listed on a regulated or organized market within the meaning of the French Financial and Monetary Code, are subject to uncapped registration duties at the rate of 0.1% if the transfer is evidenced by a written statement (“acte”) executed either in France or outside France. Although there is no case law or official guidelines published by the French tax authorities on this point, transfers of ADSs should remain outside of the scope of the aforementioned 0.1% registration duties.
Tax on Sale or Other Disposition
As a matter of principle, under French tax law, a U.S. holder should not be subject to any French tax on any capital gain from the sale, exchange, repurchase or redemption by us of ordinary shares or ADSs, provided such U.S. holder is not a French tax resident for French tax purposes and has not held more than 25% of our dividend rights, known as “droits aux benefices sociaux,” at any time during the preceding five years, either directly or indirectly, and, as relates to individuals, alone or with relatives (as an exception, a U.S holder resident, established or incorporated in a non-cooperative State or territory as defined in Article 238-0 A of the FTC other than those States or territories mentioned in 2° of 2 bis of the same Article 238-0 A should be subject to a 75% withholding tax in France on any such capital gain, regardless of the fraction of the dividend rights it holds).
Under application of the Treaty, a U.S. holder who is a U.S. resident for purposes of the Treaty and entitled to Treaty benefit will not be subject to French tax on any such capital gain unless the ordinary shares or the ADSs form part of the business property of a permanent establishment or fixed base that the U.S. holder has in France. U.S. holders who own ordinary shares or ADSs through U.S. partnerships that are not resident for Treaty purposes are advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding their French tax treatment and their eligibility for Treaty benefits in light of their own particular circumstances. A U.S. holder that is not a U.S. resident for Treaty purposes or is not entitled to Treaty benefit (and in both cases is not resident, established or incorporated in a non-cooperative State or territory as defined in Article 238-0 A of the FTC other than those States or territories mentioned in 2° of 2 bis of the same Article 238-0 A) and has held more than 25% of our dividend rights, known as“droits aux benefices sociaux,” at any time during the preceding five years, either directly or indirectly, and, as relates to individuals, alone or with relatives will be subject to a levy in France at the rate of 12.8% if such U.S. holder is an individual or 26.5% for corporate bodies or other legal entities (as from January 1, 2021, to be reduced to 25% by 2022). Special rules apply to U.S. holders who are residents of more than one country.
Taxation of Dividends
Dividends paid by a French corporation to non-residents of France are generally subject to French withholding tax at a rate of 12.8% when the recipient is an individual and 26.5% otherwise (the 26.5% rate for legal entities will be reduced to 25% by 2022). Dividends paid by a French corporation in a non-cooperative State or territory, as defined in Article 238-0 A of the FTC other than those States or territories mentioned in 2° of 2 bis of the same Article 238-0 A, may be subject to French withholding tax at a rate of 75%. However, eligible U.S. holders, other than individuals subject to the French withholding tax at a rate of 12.8%, entitled to Treaty benefits under the “Limitation on Benefits” provision contained in the Treaty who are U.S. residents, as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, will not be subject to this 26.5% or 75% withholding tax rate, but may be subject to the withholding tax at a reduced rate (as described below).
Under the Treaty, the rate of French withholding tax on dividends paid to an eligible U.S. holder who is a U.S. resident as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty and whose ownership of the ordinary
 
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shares or ADSs is not effectively connected with a permanent establishment or fixed base that such U.S. holder has in France, may be reduced to 15%, or to 5% if such U.S. holder is a corporation and owns directly or indirectly at least 10% of the share capital of the issuer; such U.S. holder may claim a refund from the French tax authorities of the amount withheld in excess of the Treaty rates of 15% or 5%, if any.
For U.S. holders that are not individuals but are U.S. residents, as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, the requirements for eligibility for Treaty benefits, including the reduced 5% or 15% withholding tax rates contained in the “Limitation on Benefits” provision of the Treaty, are complex, and certain technical changes were made to these requirements by the protocol of January 13, 2009. U.S. holders are advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding their eligibility for Treaty benefits in light of their own particular circumstances. Dividends paid to an eligible U.S. holder may immediately be subject to the reduced rates of 5% or 15% provided that:

such holder establishes before the date of payment that it is a U.S. resident under the Treaty by completing and providing the depositary with a treaty form (Form 5000) in accordance with the French guidelines (BOI-INT-DG-20-20-20-20-12/09/2012); or

the depositary or other financial institution managing the securities account in the United States of such holder provides the French paying agent with a document listing certain information about the U.S. holder and its ordinary shares or ADSs and a certificate whereby the financial institution managing the U.S. holder’s securities account in the United States takes full responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in the document.
Otherwise, dividends paid to a U.S. holder, other than individuals subject to the French withholding tax at a rate of 12.8%, will be subject to French withholding tax at the rate of 26.5%, or 75% if paid in a non-cooperative State or territory (as defined in Article 238-0 A of the FTC, other than those States or territories mentioned in 2° of 2 bis of the same Article 238-0 A), and then reduced at a later date to 5% or 15%, provided that such holder duly completes and provides the French tax authorities with the treaty forms Form 5000 and Form 5001 before December 31 of the second calendar year following the year during which the dividend is paid.
Certain qualifying pension funds and certain other tax-exempt entities are subject to the same general filing requirements as other U.S. holders except that they may have to supply additional documentation evidencing their entitlement to these benefits.
Form 5000 and Form 5001, together with instructions, will be provided by the depositary to all U.S. holders registered with the depositary. The depositary will arrange for the filing with the French tax authorities of all such forms properly completed and executed by U.S. holders of ordinary shares or ADSs and returned to the depositary in sufficient time so that they may be filed with the French tax authorities before the distribution in order to immediately obtain a reduced withholding tax rate. Otherwise, the depositary must withhold tax at the full rate of 26.5% or 75% as applicable. In that case, the U.S. holders may claim a refund from the French tax authorities of the excess withholding tax.
Since the withholding tax rate applicable under French domestic law to U.S. holders who are individuals does not exceed the cap provided in the Treaty (i.e. 15%), the 12.8% rate shall apply, without any reduction provided under the Treaty.
Real Estate Wealth Tax
On January 1, 2018, the French wealth tax was replaced with a real estate wealth tax (“impôt sur la fortune immobilière”, or IFI). Individuals holding directly or indirectly through one or more legal entities real estate assets or rights with a value exceeding €1,300,000 may fall within the scope of the IFI. A general exclusion applies to real estate assets owned by companies carrying out a commercial or industrial activity when the taxpayer (together with the members of his/her household) holds directly or indirectly less than 10% of the share capital or voting rights of the company. ADSs owned by a U.S. holder should not fall within the scope of the IFI provided that such U.S. holder does not own (together with the members of his/her household) directly or indirectly a shareholding exceeding 10% of the financial rights and voting rights of our share capital. U.S. holders holding directly or indirectly a shareholding exceeding 10% of the financial rights and voting rights of our share capital should seek additional advice.
 
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Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
This section is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of ADSs by a U.S. holder. This summary does not address the estate tax considerations, alternative minimum tax considerations, the potential application of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income, the special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, or any U.S. state, local, or non-U.S. tax considerations of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs.
This summary is based on the Code, existing, proposed and temporary U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, in each case as in effect and available on the date hereof. All the foregoing is subject to change, which change could apply retroactively, and to differing interpretations, all of which could affect the tax considerations described below. There can be no assurances that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, will not take a position different from what is described below concerning the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs or that such a position would not be sustained by a court. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisers concerning the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of the ADSs in their particular circumstances.
In general, and taking into account the earlier assumptions, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. holder of an ADS should be treated as holding the ordinary shares represented by such ADS. Accordingly, no gain or loss will be recognized upon an exchange of ADSs for ordinary shares.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations.   In general, a corporation organized outside the United States generally will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes in any taxable year in which, after applying certain look-through rules with respect to the income and assets of its subsidiaries, either: (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income” or (ii) at least 50% of the average quarterly value of its total gross assets (which would generally be measured by fair market value of its assets, and for which purpose the total value of its assets may be determined in part by the market value of the ADSs, which are subject to change) is attributable to assets that produce “passive income” or are held for the production of “passive income.”
Passive income for this purpose generally includes dividends, interest, royalties and rents (other than royalties and rents which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business), gains from commodities and securities transactions, the excess of gains over losses from the disposition of assets which produce passive income, and includes amounts derived by reason of the temporary investment of funds raised in offerings of the ADSs. If a non-U.S. corporation owns directly or indirectly at least 25% by value of the stock of another corporation, the non-U.S. corporation is treated for purposes of the PFIC tests as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation and as receiving directly its proportionate share of the other corporation’s income.
Based on the composition of our gross income and assets, the nature of our business and our market capitalization in 2020, we do not believe that we were characterized as a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2020 Whether we are a PFIC for any taxable year will depend on our assets and income (including whether we receive certain non-refundable grants or subsidies and whether such amounts and reimbursements of certain refundable research tax credits will constitute gross income for purposes of the PFIC income test) in each year, and because this is a factual determination made annually after the end of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be considered a PFIC in any taxable year. The composition of our income and assets will be affected by how, and how quickly, we use the cash proceeds from this offering in our business, and the value of our assets may be determined in large part by reference to the market price of the ADSs and our ordinary shares, which is likely to fluctuate. As a result, our PFIC status may change from year to year and we have not yet made any determination as to our expected PFIC status for the current year. Our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion regarding our past, current or future PFIC status. If we are classified as a PFIC, a U.S. holder will be subject to special rules discussed below.
If we are a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. holder holds ADSs, we must generally continue to be treated as a PFIC by that holder for all succeeding years during which the U.S. holder holds ADSs, unless we cease to meet the requirements for PFIC status and the U.S. holder makes a “deemed sale” election
 
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with respect to the ADSs. If the election is made, the U.S. holder will be deemed to sell the ADSs it holds at their fair market value on the last day of the last taxable year in which we qualified as a PFIC which may result in recognition of gain (but not loss) taxable under the PFIC excess distribution regime without the receipt of any corresponding cash. After the deemed sale election, the U.S. holder’s ADSs would not be treated as shares of a PFIC unless we subsequently again become a PFIC.
If we are a PFIC, and you are a U.S. holder that does not make one of the elections described below, a special tax regime will apply to both (a) any “excess distribution” by us to you (generally, your ratable portion of distributions in any year which are greater than 125% of the average annual distribution received by you in the shorter of the three preceding years or your holding period for the ADSs) and (b) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs. Under this regime, any excess distribution and realized gain will be treated as ordinary income and will be subject to tax as if (i) the excess distribution or gain had been realized ratably over your holding period, (ii) the amount deemed realized in each year had been subject to tax in each year of that holding period at the highest marginal rate for such year (other than income allocated to the current period or any taxable period before we became a PFIC, which would be subject to tax at the U.S. holder’s regular ordinary income rate for the current year and would not be subject to the interest charge discussed below), and (iii) the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax had been imposed on the taxes deemed to have been payable in those years. In addition, distributions treated as dividends made to you will not qualify for reduced tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains on dividends discussed below under “Distributions.”
Certain elections may alleviate some of the adverse consequences of PFIC status and would result in an alternative treatment of the ADSs. If a U.S. holder makes a mark-to-market election, the U.S. holder generally will recognize as ordinary income any excess of the fair market value of the ADSs at the end of each taxable year over their adjusted tax basis, and will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of any excess of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over their fair market value at the end of the taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election). If a U.S. holder makes the election, the U.S. holder’s tax basis in the ADSs will be adjusted to reflect these income or loss amounts. Any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as an ordinary loss (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election). The mark-to-market election is available only if we are a PFIC and the ADSs are “regularly traded” on a “qualified exchange.” The ADSs will be treated as “regularly traded” in any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the ADSs are traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (subject to the rule that trades that have as one of their principal purposes the meeting of the trading requirement as disregarded). The Nasdaq Global Market is a qualified exchange for this purpose and, consequently, if the ADSs remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Market and are regularly traded, the mark-to-market election will be available to a U.S. holder. Once made, the election cannot be revoked without the consent of the IRS, unless the ADSs cease to be marketable.
Alternatively, if we provide the necessary information, a U.S. holder can make a “qualified electing fund election” or QEF Election, in the first taxable year in which we are treated as a PFIC with respect to the U.S. holder. If a U.S. holder makes a QEF Election with respect to a PFIC, in lieu of the tax consequences described below, the U.S. holder will be subject to current taxation on its pro rata share of the PFIC’s ordinary earnings and net capital gain for each taxable year that the entity is classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. holder makes a QEF Election with respect to us, any distributions paid by us out of our earnings and profits that were previously included in the U.S. holder’s income under the QEF Election will not be taxable to the holder. A U.S. holder will increase its tax basis in its ADSs by an amount equal to any income included under the QEF Election and will decrease its tax basis by any amount distributed on the ADSs that is not included in the holder’s income. In addition, if a U.S. holder has made a QEF election with respect to ADSs, any gain or loss recognized by the U.S. holder on a sale or other disposition of such ADSs will constitute capital gains or losses. If we are a PFIC, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to, and currently expect to, provide the necessary information for U.S. holders to make a QEF Election for United States federal income tax purposes. Generally, a U.S. holder must make the QEF Election by attaching a separate properly completed IRS Form 8621 to the U.S. holder’s timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the first taxable year in which the U.S. holder held our ADSs that includes the close of our taxable year for which we are a PFIC. If a U.S. holder does not make and maintain a QEF election for the U.S.
 
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holder’s entire holding period for our ADSs by making the election for the first year in which the U.S. holder owns our ADSs pursuant to this offering, the U.S. holder will be subject to the adverse PFIC rules discussed above unless the U.S. holder can properly make a “purging election” with respect to our ADSs in connection with the U.S. Shareholder’s QEF Election. A purging election may require the U.S. holder to recognize taxable gain on the U.S. holder’s ADSs.
U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors to determine whether any of these elections would be available and if so, what the consequences of the alternative treatments would be in their particular circumstances.
If we are determined to be a PFIC, the general tax treatment for U.S. holders described in this section will apply to indirect distributions and gains deemed to be realized by U.S. holders in respect of any of our future subsidiaries that also may be determined to be PFICs.
If a U.S. holder owns ADSs during any taxable year in which we are a PFIC, the U.S. holder generally will be required to file an IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund) with respect to the company, generally with the U.S. holder’s federal income tax return for that year. If our company is a PFIC for a given taxable year, then you should consult your tax advisor concerning your annual filing requirements.
The U.S. federal income tax rules relating to PFICs are complex. Prospective U.S. investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs, the consequences to them of an investment in a PFIC, any elections available with respect to the ADSs and the IRS information reporting obligations with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences If We Are Not a PFIC.   The description of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the receipt of distributions and the sale or other taxable exchange of our ADSs, described in the following two section “— Distributions” and “— Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of the ADSs,” apply only if we are not a PFIC in the relevant year and our stock is not subject to the rules described above under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” because we were a PFIC with respect to a U.S. holder and its ADSs in a prior year.
Distributions.   We do not expect to make any distribution in respect of our ADSs. If we are not treated as a PFIC under the rules described above under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” and made any distribution in respect of our ADSs, the gross amount of the distribution (including any amount of non-U.S. tax withheld in respect of such distribution) actually or constructively received by a U.S. holder with respect to ADSs will be taxable to the U.S. holder as a dividend to the extent of the U.S. holder’s pro rata share of our current and accumulated earnings and profits as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be non-taxable to the U.S. holder to the extent of, and will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero), the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs. Distributions in excess of earnings and profits and such adjusted tax basis will generally be taxable to the U.S. holder as described below under “— Sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of the ADSs.” However, since we do not calculate our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, it is expected that any distribution will be reported as a dividend, even if that distribution would otherwise be treated as a non-taxable return of capital or as capital gain under the rules described above.
Distributions treated as dividends that are received by non-corporate U.S. holders may qualify for reduced tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains on dividends received from a “qualified foreign corporation” provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. A non-U.S. corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) generally will be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (a) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States which the Secretary of Treasury of the United States determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and which includes an exchange of information provision, or (b) with respect to any dividend it pays on ADSs which are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Our ADSs are currently listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, which is an established securities market in the United States, and we expect the ADSs to be readily tradable on the Nasdaq Global Market. However, there can be no assurance that the ADSs will be
 
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considered readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States in later years. The Company, which is incorporated under the laws of France, believes that it qualifies as a resident of France for purposes of, and is eligible for the benefits of, the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital, signed on August 31, 1994, as amended and currently in force, or the U.S.-France Tax Treaty, although there can be no assurance in this regard. Further, the IRS has determined that the U.S.-France Tax Treaty is satisfactory for purposes of the qualified dividend rules and that it includes an exchange-of-information program. Therefore, subject to the discussion under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” above, such dividends will generally qualify for reduced tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains on dividends received from a “qualified foreign corporation” provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The dividends will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to corporate U.S. holders.
A U.S. holder generally may claim the amount of any French withholding tax as either a deduction from gross income or a credit against its U.S. federal income tax liability, subject to generally applicable limitations. However, the foreign tax credit is subject to numerous complex limitations that must be determined and applied on an individual basis. Each U.S. holder should consult its own tax advisors regarding the foreign tax credit rules.
In general, the amount of a distribution paid to a U.S. holder in a foreign currency will be the dollar value of the foreign currency calculated by reference to the spot exchange rate on the day the Depositary receives the distribution, regardless of whether the foreign currency is converted into U.S. dollars at that time. Any foreign currency gain or loss a U.S. holder realizes on a subsequent conversion of foreign currency into U.S. dollars will be U.S. source ordinary income or loss. If dividends received in a foreign currency are converted into U.S. dollars on the day they are received, a U.S. holder should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the dividend.
Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of the ADSs.   A U.S. holder will generally recognize gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of ADSs in an amount equal to the difference between the U.S. dollar value of the amount realized from such sale or exchange and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in those ADSs, determined in U.S. dollars. Subject to the discussion under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” above, this gain or loss will generally be a capital gain or loss. The adjusted tax basis in the ADSs generally will be equal to the cost of such ADSs. Under current law, capital gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of ADSs of a non-corporate U.S. holder is generally eligible for a preferential rate of taxation applicable to capital gains, if the non-corporate U.S. holder’s holding period determined at the time of such sale, exchange or other taxable disposition for such ADSs exceeds one year (i.e., such gain is long-term taxable gain). The deductibility of capital losses for U.S. federal income tax purposes is subject to limitations. Any such gain or loss that a U.S. holder recognizes generally will be treated as U.S. source gain or loss for foreign tax credit limitation purposes.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting.   U.S. holders generally will be subject to information reporting requirements with respect to dividends on ADSs and on the proceeds from the sale, exchange or disposition of ADSs that are paid within the United States or through U.S.-related financial intermediaries, unless the U.S. holder is an “exempt recipient.” In addition, U.S. holders may be subject to backup withholding on such payments, unless the U.S. holder provides a taxpayer identification number and a duly executed IRS Form W-9 or otherwise establishes an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and the amount of any backup withholding will be allowed as a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Foreign Asset Reporting.   Certain individual U.S. holders are required to report information relating to an interest in the ADSs, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in accounts maintained by U.S. financial institutions) by filing IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) with their federal income tax return. U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their information reporting obligations, if any, with respect to their ownership and disposition of the ADSs.
 
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THE DISCUSSION ABOVE IS A SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL FRENCH AND U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN OUR ADSs OR ORDINARY SHARES AND IS BASED UPON LAWS AND RELEVANT INTERPRETATIONS THEREOF IN EFFECT AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PROSPECTUS, ALL OF WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, POSSIBLY WITH RETROACTIVE EFFECT. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR ABOUT THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO IT OF AN INVESTMENT IN ADSs OR ORDINARY SHARES IN LIGHT OF THE INVESTOR’S OWN CIRCUMSTANCES.
 
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We have entered into a sales agreement with Jefferies, under which we may offer and sell up to $100,000,000 of our ordinary shares from time to time through Jefferies acting as agent. Sales of our ordinary shares, if any, under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be made by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act.
Under the authority granted by our shareholders, the ADSs may only be purchased initially by (i) natural or legal entities, governed by French or foreign law, that invest on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological or medical technology sectors and (ii) companies, institutions or entities, whatever their form, governed by French or foreign law, that carry out a significant part of their activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technology or in research in these sectors. In order to purchase ADSs in the offering, you will be required to execute and provide to Jefferies an investor letter representing that you satisfy the foregoing investor criteria.
Each time we wish to issue and sell our ordinary shares under the sales agreement, we will notify Jefferies of the number of shares to be issued, the dates on which such sales are anticipated to be made, any limitation on the number of shares to be sold in any one day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Once we have so instructed Jefferies, unless Jefferies declines to accept the terms of such notice, Jefferies has agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such shares up to the amount specified on such terms. The obligations of Jefferies under the sales agreement to sell our ordinary shares are subject to a number of conditions that we must meet.
The settlement of sales of shares between us and Jefferies is generally anticipated to occur on the second trading day following the date on which the sale was made. Sales of our ordinary shares as contemplated in this prospectus supplement will be settled through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company or by such other means as we and Jefferies may agree upon. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.
We will pay Jefferies a commission equal to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds we receive from each sale of our ordinary shares. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. Except as we and Jefferies otherwise agree, we will reimburse Jefferies for the fees and disbursements of its counsel, payable upon execution of the sales agreement. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding any commissions or expense reimbursement payable to Jefferies under the terms of the sales agreement, will be approximately $0.5 million. The remaining sale proceeds, after deducting any other transaction fees, will equal our net proceeds from the sale of such shares.
Jefferies will provide written confirmation to us before the open on the Euronext Paris on the day following each day on which our ordinary shares are sold under the sales agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of shares sold on that day, the aggregate gross proceeds of such sales and the proceeds to us.
In connection with the sale of our ordinary shares on our behalf, Jefferies will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of Jefferies will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed to indemnify Jefferies against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have also agreed to contribute to payments Jefferies may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.
The offering of our ordinary shares pursuant to the sales agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all ordinary shares subject to the sales agreement and (ii) the termination of the sales agreement as permitted therein. We and Jefferies may each terminate the sales agreement at any time upon ten days’ prior notice.
This summary of the material provisions of the sales agreement does not purport to be a complete statement of its terms and conditions. A copy of the sales agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement forms a part.
 
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Jefferies and its affiliates may in the future provide various investment banking, commercial banking, financial advisory and other financial services for us and our affiliates, for which services they may in the future receive customary fees. In the course of its business, Jefferies may actively trade our securities for its own account or for the accounts of customers, and, accordingly, Jefferies may at any time hold long or short positions in such securities.
The prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus in electronic format may be made available on a website maintained by Jefferies, and Jefferies may distribute this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus electronically.
The address of Jefferies LLC is 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022.
 
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MATERIAL CHANGES
Except as described above or otherwise described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in our Reports on Form 6-K incorporated by reference into this prospectus, no reportable material changes have occurred since December 31, 2020.
ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS
We are a corporation organized under the laws of France. Half of our directors are citizens and residents of countries other than the United States, and the majority of our assets are located outside of the United States. We have appointed an agent for service of process in the United States; however, it may be difficult for investors:

to obtain jurisdiction over us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors in U.S. courts in actions predicated on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws;

to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in such actions against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors;

to bring an original action in a French court to enforce liabilities based upon the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our non-U.S. resident officers or directors; and

to enforce against us or our directors in non-U.S. courts, including French courts, judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Nevertheless, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would be recognized and enforced in France provided that a French judge considers that this judgment meets the French legal requirements concerning the recognition and the enforcement of foreign judgments and is capable of being immediately enforced in the United States. In the absence of any applicable international convention, a French court is therefore likely to grant the enforcement of a foreign judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim, only if (1) that judgment is enforceable in the jurisdiction of the U.S. court which rendered it, (2) that judgement was rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the dispute (the condition will be met if the dispute is clearly connected to the jurisdiction of the U.S. court and French courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter), (3) that judgment does not contravene French international public order and public policy, including the right to due process and (4) the U.S. judgment is not tainted with fraud and is not incompatible with a judgment rendered by a French court in the same matter, or with an earlier judgment rendered by a foreign court in the same matter.
In addition, French law guarantees full compensation for the harm suffered but is limited to the actual damages, so that the victim does not suffer or benefit from the situation. Such system excludes damages such as, but not limited to, punitive and exemplary damages.
As a result, the enforcement, by U.S. investors, of any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities law against us or members of our board of directors, officers or certain experts named herein who are residents of France or countries other than the United States would be subject to the above conditions.
Finally, there may be doubt as to whether a French court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our board of directors, our officers or certain experts named herein in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in France against us or such members, officers or experts, respectively.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs offered by this prospectus and certain other matters governed by French law will be passed on for us by Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. Cooley LLP, New York, New York, will be representing us in regards to certain matters governed by U.S. law in connection with this offering. French and U.S. legal counsel to the placement agent in connection with this offering is Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Inventiva S.A. as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 appearing in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, have been audited by KPMG S.A., independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. KPMG S.A.’s report dated March 2, 2021 refers to the change in Inventiva S.A.’s method of accounting for leases as of January 1, 2019 due to the adoption of IFRS 16 “Leases.”
The offices of KPMG S.A. are located at Tour Eqho, 2 avenue Gambetta, CS 60055, 92066 Paris la Défense Cedex.
 
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the SEC. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the securities we are offering under this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference herein. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the securities offered by this prospectus.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. Under the Exchange Act, we file annual reports on Form 20-F and other information with the SEC. We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in France, filed with and made public by any stock exchange on which we are listed or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov.
We maintain a website at www.inventivapharma.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus.
 
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference much of the information we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those publicly available documents. The information that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus is considered to be part of this prospectus. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement. The SEC file number for the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is 001-39374.
The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:

Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2021; Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2021;

our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on April 19, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto (regarding the appointment of Martine Zimmermann as an independent director to our board of directors); our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on May 12, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on July 28, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; and our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on August 2, 2021, including exhibit 99.1 thereto; and

the description of ADSs representing our ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on July 7, 2020, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.
We are also incorporating by reference all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus) prior to the termination of this offering. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus.
Notwithstanding the statements in the preceding paragraphs, no document, report or exhibit (or portion of any of the foregoing) or any other information that we have “furnished” to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act shall be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits that are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You should direct any requests for documents to Inventiva S.A., 50 rue de Dijon 21121 Daix France; telephone: +33 3 80 44 75 00.
 
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Up to $100,000,000
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
PROSPECTUS
Jefferies
, 2021

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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8.
Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Under French law, provisions of bylaws that limit the liability of directors are prohibited. However, French law allows sociétés anonymes to contract for and maintain liability insurance against civil liabilities incurred by any of their directors and officers involved in a third-party action, provided that they acted in good faith and within their capacities as directors or officers of the company. Criminal liability cannot be indemnified under French law, whether directly by the company or through liability insurance.
We have liability insurance for our directors and officers, and we also have coverage for insurance against liability under the Securities Act. We have entered into agreements with our directors and executive officers to provide contractual indemnification. With certain exceptions and subject to limitations on indemnification under French law, these agreements provide for indemnification for damages and expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding arising out of his or her actions in that capacity.
These agreements may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and executive officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these insurance agreements.
Item 9.
Exhibits.
The following exhibits are filed with this registration statement or are incorporated herein by reference.
Exhibit
Number
Exhibit Description
Filed
Herewith
Incorporated
by Reference
herein from
Form or
Schedule
Filing Date
SEC File/
Reg.
Number
1.1* Form of Underwriting Agreement.
1.2 Open Market Sale AgreementSM, dated August 2, by and between the Registrant and Jefferies, LLC.
X
4.1
F-1
(Exhibit 3.1)
06/19/20
333-239312
4.2
F-6
(Exhibit 1)
6/26/20
333-239477
4.3
F-6
(Exhibit 1)
6/26/20
333-239477
4.4* Form of Warrant.
5.1
X
5.2
X
23.1
X
23.2
X
24.1
X
 
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*
To be subsequently filed, if applicable, by an amendment to this registration statement or as an exhibit to a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including any Report on Form 6-K, and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 10.
Undertakings.
(a)   The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)   To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i)   To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
(iii)   To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is a part of the registration statement.
(2)   That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)   To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4)   To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 need not be furnished, provided, that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, or Item 8.A of Form 20-F if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Form F-3.
(5)   That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
 
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(i)   Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(ii)   Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(6)   That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:
The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i)   Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii)   Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii)   The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv)   Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(7)   That, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s Annual Report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s Annual Report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(8)   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
 
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proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
 
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Daix, France on August 2, 2021.
INVENTIVA S.A.
By:
/s/ Frédéric Cren
Name: Frédéric Cren
Title:  Chief Executive Officer
 
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POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SIGNATURES
We, the undersigned officers and directors of Inventiva S.A. hereby severally constitute and appoint Frédéric Cren and Jean Volatier, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power to any of them, and to each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below the Registration Statement on Form F-3 filed herewith and any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to said Registration Statement, and any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in connection with said Registration Statement, and to file or cause to be filed the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and generally to do all such things in our name and on our behalf in our capacities as officers and directors to enable Inventiva S.A. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys, and each of them, or their substitute or substitutes, shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name
Title
Date
/s/ Frédéric Cren
Frederic Cren
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors
(Principal Executive Officer)
August 2, 2021
/s/ Jean Volatier
Jean Volatier
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
August 2, 2021
/s/ Pierre Broqua
Pierre Broqua
Chief Scientific Officer and Director
August 2, 2021
/s/ Chris Buyse
Chris Buyse
Director
August 2, 2021
/s/ Lucy Lu
Lucy Lu
Director
August 2, 2021
/s/ Heinz Maeusli
Heinz Maeusli
Director
August 2, 2021
/s/ Annick Schwebig
Annick Schwebig
Director
August 2, 2021
/s/ Martine Zimmerman
Martine Zimmerman
Director
August 2, 2021
 
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Inventiva S.A., has signed this registration statement on August 2, 2021.
Cogency Global Inc.
By:
/s/ Colleen A. De Vries
Name:  Colleen A. De Vries
Title:
Senior Vice President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc.
 
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Exhibit 1.2

 

SALES AGREEMENT

 

August 2, 2021

 

JEFFERIES LLC
520 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Inventiva S.A., a société anonyme organized under the laws of France and registered with the Register of Commerce and Companies (Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés) of Dijon under number 537 530 255 (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell from time to time through Jefferies LLC, as sales agent and/or principal (the “Agent”), ordinary shares, nominal value €0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Shares”) to be represented by American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), on the terms set forth in this agreement (this “Agreement”).

 

The Common Shares are to be deposited pursuant to the deposit agreement (the “Deposit Agreement”), dated July 16, 2020, by and among the Company, The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary (the “Depositary”), and holders and beneficial holders from time to time of the American Depositary Receipts (the “ADRs”) issued by the Depositary and evidencing the ADSs. Each ADS will initially represent one Common Share (each an “Underlying Common Share”) deposited pursuant to the Deposit Agreement.

 

Each of the Company and the Agent acknowledges that the Shares (as defined in ‎Section 1 below) may only be sold in compliance with applicable French and other applicable law and the limits and conditions set forth in the corporate authorizations of the Company applicable at the time of issuance of the Shares.

 

The Shares will be issued by way of one or more capital increases without preferential rights for existing shareholders by way of a public offer reserved to categories of persons under the provisions of Article L. 225-138 of the French Commercial Code, pursuant to the 20th resolution of the Company’s combined general shareholders’ meeting held on April 16, 2021 (or any substitute resolutions thereto adopted at a subsequent shareholders’ meeting).

 

Section 1      DEFINITIONS

 

(a)            Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the following respective meanings:

 

Affiliate” of a Person means another Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such first- mentioned Person. The term “control” (including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with”) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

 

 

 

 

Agency Period” means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and expiring on the earliest to occur of (x) the date on which the Agent shall have placed the Maximum Program Amount pursuant to this Agreement and (y) the date this Agreement is terminated pursuant to ‎Section 7.

 

Commission” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Euronext” means the regulated market of Euronext in Paris.

 

Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

Floor Price” means the minimum price set by the Company in the Issuance Notice below which the Agent shall not sell Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice, which may be adjusted by the Company at any time during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice by delivering written notice of such change to the Agent and which in no event shall be less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which may be withheld in the Agent’s sole discretion, it being understood that notwithstanding the specified Floor Price, the Sales Price shall be at least equal to (i) the U.S. dollar equivalent (based on the then-prevailing exchange rate) of the volume-weighted average price of the Company's Common Shares on Euronext over the last Trading Day preceding the pricing of the relevant sale or (ii) the U.S. dollar equivalent (based on the then-prevailing exchange rate) of the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s Common Shares on Euronext over the three consecutive Trading Days chosen among the last thirty (30) Trading Days preceding the pricing of the relevant sale, subject to a maximum discount of 15% as calculated by the Agent on each Trading Day during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice.

 

Issuance Amount” means the aggregate Sales Price of the Shares sold by the Agent pursuant to any Issuance Decision.

 

Issuance Commission” means the aggregate Selling Commission of the Shares sold by the Agent pursuant to any Issuance Decision.

 

Issuance Decision” has the meaning ascribed to it in ‎Section 3(b)(v).

 

Issuance Notice” means a written notice containing the parameters in accordance with which the Company desires ADSs to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number or dollar amount of ADSs desired to be sold, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any minimum price below which sales may not be made and any limitations and conditions required by French law and/or set forth in the corporate authorizations of the Company, delivered to the Agent by the Company in accordance with this Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A that is executed by its Chief Executive Officer (directeur général), Deputy Chief Executive Officer (directeur général délégué), or Chief Financial Officer (directeur des affaires financières).

 

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Issuance Notice Date” means any Trading Day during the Agency Period that an Issuance Notice is delivered pursuant to ‎Section 3(b)(i).

 

Issuance Price” means the Sales Price less the Selling Commission.

 

Maximum Program Amount” means ADSs with an aggregate Sales Price of the lesser of (a) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares in the form of ADSs registered under the effective Registration Statement (defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, (b) the dollar amount of the nominal value of the Common Shares available to be issued pursuant to the 20th resolution (or any substitute resolutions thereto adopted at a subsequent shareholders’ meeting), which is currently the equivalent of 230,000 euros, provided, however, that the nominal amount of the capital increases that may result from the 20th resolution shall be deducted from the overall ceiling of 260,000 euros set forth in the 16th resolution, (c) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares permitted to be sold under Form F-3 (including General Instruction I.B.5 thereof, if applicable), (d) the number or dollar amount of ADSs for which the Company has filed a Prospectus (defined below) or (e) the number of Underlying Common Shares issued over a 12-month rolling period representing, once issued together with all the other Common Shares which have been admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris over the same 12-month period, being less than 20% of the total number of the Company’s securities already admitted to trading on Euronext on the date the admission to trading of the Underlying Common Shares is requested.

 

Net Proceeds” means the Issuance Amount due to the Company on any Settlement Date less the Issuance Commission due to the Agent on such date.

 

Person” means an individual or a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, joint stock company, governmental authority or other entity of any kind.

 

Principal Market” means the Nasdaq Global Market or such other national securities exchange on which the ADSs, including any ADS representing the Underlying Common Shares, are then listed.

 

Sales Price” means the actual sale execution price of each Share placed by the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.

 

Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

Selling Commission” means three percent (3.0%) of the Sales Price of each Share placed by the Agent pursuant to this Agreement, or as otherwise agreed between the Company and the Agent with respect to any Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement.

 

Settlement Datemeans the second business day (or such other date as agreed between the Company and the Agent) following each Trading Day during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice on which Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement, when the Company shall deliver to the Agent the amount of Shares sold on such Trading Day and the Agent shall deliver to the Company the Issuance Price received on such sales.

 

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Shares” shall mean the ADSs to be sold pursuant to this Agreement.

 

Trading Day” means any day on which the Principal Market is open for trading.

 

Section 2      REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

 

The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that as of (1) the date of this Agreement, (2) each Issuance Notice Date, (3) each Settlement Date, (4) each Triggering Event Date on which a certificate under ‎Section 4(p) is delivered and (5) sale of the Shares (each of the times referenced above is referred to herein as a “Representation Date”), except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto) on or before a Representation Date:

 

(a)            Registration Statement. The Company has prepared and will file with the Commission a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 that contains a base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”). Such registration statement registers the issuance and sale by the Company of the Common Shares represented by the Shares under the Securities Act. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable, with respect to those Common Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement(s), including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, including all financial statements, exhibits and schedules thereto and all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 6 of Form F-3 under the Securities Act as from time to time amended or supplemented, is herein referred to as the “Registration Statement,” and the prospectus constituting a part of such registration statement(s), together with any prospectus supplement filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act relating to a particular issuance of the Shares, including all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 6 of Form F-3 under the Securities Act, in each case, as from time to time amended or supplemented, is referred to herein as the “Prospectus,” except that if any revised prospectus is provided to the Agent by the Company for use in connection with the offering of those common Shares that is not required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, the term “Prospectus” shall refer to such revised prospectus from and after the time it is first provided to the Agent for such use. The Registration Statement, at the time it originally became effective is herein called the “Registration Statement.” As used in this Agreement, the terms “amendment” or “supplement” when applied to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to include the filing by the Company with the Commission of any document under the Exchange Act after the date hereof that is or is deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.

 

A registration statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-239477), and any amendments thereto, in respect of the Shares has been filed with the Commission; such registration statement in the form heretofore delivered to the Agent and, excluding exhibits, to the Agent, has been declared effective by the Commission; no other document with respect to such registration statement has heretofore been filed with the Commission; (the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, being hereinafter called the “ADS Registration Statement.

 

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All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include, without limitation, the filing of any document under the Exchange Act which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date.

 

At the time the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement was or will be originally declared effective and at the time the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F was filed with the Commission, if later, the Company met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form F-3 under the Securities Act. During the Agency Period, each time the Company files an annual report on Form 20-F the Company will (i) meet the then-applicable requirements for use of Form F-3 under the Securities Act or (ii) promptly notify the Agent that it does not meet such requirements.

 

(b)            Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.

 

The Prospectus when filed complied or will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and, if filed with the Commission through its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”) (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the Securities Act), was identical to the copy thereof delivered to the Agent for use in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares. Each of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective and at each Representation Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. As of the date of this Agreement, the Prospectus and any Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) considered together (collectively, the “Time of Sale Information”) did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date and at each Representation Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Agent furnished to the Company in writing by the Agent expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information described in ‎Section 6 below. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required. The Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the offer and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 under the Securities Act and comply in all material respects with said rule.

 

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All information and other disclosure materials made publicly available by the Company are true, complete and accurate in all material respects, and comply with the requirements of applicable French law, including French securities law, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers’s (“AMF”) regulation and guidelines. The Prospectus shall not contain any material information regarding the Company that has not been made available by the Company to the public in France.

 

(c)            Ineligible Issuer Status. The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act. Each Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending, and each such Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the issuance and sale of the Shares did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts with or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein. Except for the Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and electronic road shows, if any, furnished to the Agent before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Agent’s prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any Free Writing Prospectus.

 

(d)            Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, as applicable, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, do not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

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(e)            Exchange Act Compliance. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, and any Free Writing Prospectus or amendment or supplement thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and any amendments thereto become effective and at each Time of Sale (as defined below), as the case may be, will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(f)            Financial Statements. The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules, if any, and notes, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, if any, present fairly in all material respects in accordance with IFRS the information required to be stated therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus under the Securities Act. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or incorporated by reference therein, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. To the Company’s knowledge, no person who has been suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, or who has failed to comply with any sanction pursuant to Rule 5300 promulgated by the PCAOB, has participated in or otherwise aided the preparation of, or audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

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(g)            No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than the issuance of Ordinary Shares, if any, following the expiration of the acquisition period of free shares (actions gratuites) or upon the exercise of outstanding founder’s share warrants (BSPCE) and share warrants (BSA), in each case referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus), short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on its capital stock, or any material adverse change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company; (ii) the Company has not entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company; and (iii) the Company has not sustained any loss or interference with its business that is material to the Company and that is either from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case ‎(i), ‎(ii) and ‎(iii) above as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(h)            Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing under the laws of France, is duly qualified to do business in each jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, and has all power and authority necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct the business in which it is engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company or on the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement (as defined below) (a “Material Adverse Effect”). No proceeding of mandat ad hoc, conciliation, sauvegarde (including sauvegarde accélérée or sauvegarde financière accélérée), redressement judiciaire or liquidation judiciaire is existing with respect to the Company and the Company is not insolvent. The by-laws (statuts) of the Company comply with the requirements of applicable French law and are in full force and effect in all material aspects. The Company’s “subsidiaries” (for purposes of this Agreement, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) have been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is validly existing as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization and has the power and authority (corporate or other) to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Company’s subsidiaries are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business. All of the issued and outstanding capital stock or other equity or ownership interests of the Company’s subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through its subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim. None of the outstanding capital stock or equity interest in any subsidiary was issued in violation of preemptive or similar rights of any security holder of such subsidiary. The constitutive or organizational documents of the Company’s subsidiaries comply in all material respects with the requirements of applicable laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and are in full force and effect. As of the date of this Agreement, the Company has one subsidiary, Inventiva Inc.

 

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(i)            Capitalization. The shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities, options or warrants or following the expiration of the acquisition period of free shares (actions gratuites) referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus). The shares of capital stock of the Company have been validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable. None of the shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of preemptive rights (droit préférentiel de souscription), priority rights (délai de priorité) or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.

 

(j)            Stock Options. The Company has not issued any stock options, and no stock options of the Company are outstanding.

 

(k)            The Securities. The holders of Common Shares, as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are not entitled to preemptive rights (droit préférentiel de souscription), priority rights (délai de priorité) or other similar rights to acquire the Shares that have not been waived with respect to the offering of the Shares in accordance with their terms and all applicable laws; there are no securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, or warrants, rights or options to purchase from the Company, or obligations of the Company to issue, Common Shares or any other class of share capital of the Company, except in each case as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. Subject to the payment of the Sales Price for each Share and the issuing of a certificate acknowledging such payment by the transfer agent (certificat du dépositaire) in accordance with article L.225-146 of the French Commercial Code (code de commerce), the Shares, will be validly issued, fully paid and may be freely deposited by the Company with the Depositary against issuance of ADRs evidencing ADSs. The Shares, when issued and delivered against payment therefor, will be freely transferable by the Company to or for the account of the Agent; and there are no restrictions on subsequent transfers of the Shares under the laws of the French Republic or the United States except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(l)            This Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

 

(m)          Deposit Agreement. The Deposit Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability.

 

(n)           Authorization of ADSs and Common Shares. Upon issuance of the ADSs against the deposit of the Underlying Common Shares in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, such ADSs will be duly and validly issued, and the persons in whose names the ADSs are registered will be entitled to the rights specified in the Deposit Agreement; and the Deposit Agreement conforms in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The issuance and sale of the Shares, the deposit of the Underlying Common Shares with the Depositary and the issuance of the ADSs as contemplated by this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement will neither (i) cause any holder of any Common Shares or ADSs or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Shares or ADSs or options, warrants or other rights to purchase Common Shares or ADSs or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any shares of preferred stock of the Company, nor (ii) trigger any anti-dilution rights of any such holder with respect to such Underlying Common Shares, ADSs, securities, options, warrants or rights.

 

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(o)            Authorization and Description of Shares. On each Settlement Date, the Company will have the power and authority to allot and issue the Underlying Common Shares on such Settlement Date pursuant to this Agreement without further sanction and consent by any securityholder of the Company. Upon delivery of the Issuance Decision contemplated by ‎Section 3(b)(v) of this Agreement, the Underlying Common Shares shall be duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, and upon delivery of the relevant depositary certificate (certificat du dépositaire) in accordance with Article L. 225-146 of the French Commercial Code, will be validly issued, in accordance with Article L. 225-138 of the French Commercial Code and the 20th resolution of the Company’s combined general meeting of shareholders held on April 16, 2021 (or any substitute resolutions thereto adopted at a subsequent shareholders’ meeting), as applicable and fully paid and non-assessable; and, on each Settlement Date, the issuance of the Underlying Common Shares will not be subject to preemptive rights (droit préférentiel de souscription), priority rights (délai de priorité) or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company that have not been waived with respect to the offering of the Shares in accordance with their terms and all applicable laws. The Common Shares conform in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and such description conforms in all material respects to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same. No holder of Shares will be subject to personal liability by reason of being such a holder. Upon the sale and delivery of the Shares, and payment therefor, the Agent or the purchasers thereof, as the case may be, will acquire good, marketable and valid title to such Shares, free and clear of all pledges, liens, security interests, charges, claims or encumbrances.

 

(p)            Descriptions of Documents. This Agreement and the Deposit Agreement conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(q)            No Violation or Default. The Company is not (i) in violation of its by-laws (statuts); (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any property or asset of the Company is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company, except, in the case of clauses ‎(ii) and ‎(iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(r)            No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of each of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, result in the termination, modification or acceleration of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property, right or asset of the Company pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any property, right or asset of the Company, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of by-laws (statuts) of the Company or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company, except, in the case of clauses ‎(i) and ‎(iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(s)            No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares, or the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in full force and effect under the Securities Act and such as may be required under applicable state securities or blue sky laws, FINRA (as defined below) or the AMF and the publication of a notice (avis) from Euronext for the listing of the Underlying Common Shares.

 

(t)            No Material Actions or Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, demands, claims, suits, arbitrations, inquiries or proceedings (“Actions”) pending to which the Company or its subsidiaries are or reasonably expect to be a party or to which any property of the Company is or reasonably expected to be the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; no such Actions are threatened or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending Actions that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that are not so described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and (ii) there are no statutes, regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(u)            Independent Accountants. KPMG S.A., who has certified certain financial statements of the Company, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the PCAOB, the AMF General Regulations and under the professional rules of the “Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes.”

 

(v)            Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company has good and marketable title in fee simple (or its jurisdictional equivalent) to, or has valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property that are material to its business, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(w)            Intellectual Property Rights. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect: (i) the Company owns or has adequate rights to use all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names and other source indicators, copyrights and copyrightable works, know-how, trade secrets, systems, procedures, licenses, proprietary or confidential information and all other worldwide intellectual property, industrial property and proprietary rights (including registrations and applications for registration of, and all goodwill associated with, the foregoing) (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) used in or necessary for the conduct of its business as now conducted as contemplated in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted by them (the “Company Intellectual Property”); (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s conduct of its business does not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate, and has not infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property of any person (it being understood that the foregoing representation and warranty is made without giving effect to any exemption under applicable law to which the Company may be entitled (e.g., 35 U.S.C. Section 271(e)(1)); (iii) to the knowledge of the Company, all Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company is valid and enforceable; (iv) to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property of the Company is not being infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated by any person; (v) the Company has taken reasonable steps in accordance with normal industry practice to maintain the confidentiality of all Intellectual Property the value of which to the Company is contingent upon maintaining the confidentiality thereof and no such Intellectual Property has been disclosed other than to employees, representatives and agents of the Company all of whom are bound by confidentiality agreements, and (vi) there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by any third party (A) challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property, (B) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company, or (C) alleging that the Company has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated any Intellectual Property of any third party.

 

(x)            No Undisclosed Relationships. There are (i) no business relationship, direct or indirect, between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers or other affiliates of the Company and (ii) no conventions réglementées under Article L. 225-38 et seq. of the French Commercial Code, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

(y)            No Market Abuse. The Company has complied and complies in all material respect with all applicable rules relating to market abuse (including insider trading) and has taken reasonable measures and has reasonable procedures in place in order to ensure such compliance, and none of the allotment of the Shares, the sale of the Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will constitute a violation by the Company of any applicable “insider dealing,” “insider trading” or similar legislation and no person acting on its behalf has done any act or engaged in any course of conduct constituting such violation.

 

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(z)            Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will not be required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not result in the Company being in non-compliance of any applicable laws, rules and regulations with respect to the administration of foreign exchange or overseas investment in France.

 

(aa)          Taxes. The Company has paid all material federal, state, local and foreign taxes and filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof; and except as otherwise disclosed in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency that has been asserted against the Company or any of its properties or assets, except with respect to (i) payments being contested in good faith through an appropriate procedure or for which provision has been made in its accounts if and to the extent required or (ii) non-payments and non-filings that have not had or would not be expected reasonably to have a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except where failures to do so have not had or would not be expected reasonably to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(bb)         Licenses and Permits. The Company possesses all licenses, sub-licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of its properties or the conduct of its business as described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course.

 

(cc)          No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is contemplated or threatened. The Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance or dispute between any of its principal suppliers, contractors or customers and the respective employees of such principal suppliers, contractors or customers, except as would not reasonable be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received written notice of cancellation or termination with respect to any collective bargaining agreement to which it is a party.

 

(dd)         FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares is true, complete, correct and compliant with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.’s (“FINRA”) rules and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules or NASD Conduct Rules is true, complete and correct.

 

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(ee)          Stock Exchange Listing. The Shares and the Common Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and the ADSs are listed on the Principal Market, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the ADSs from the Principal Market, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the Principal Market is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. To the Company’s knowledge, it is in compliance with all applicable listing requirements of the Principal Market.

 

(ff)           Certain Environmental Matters. (i) The Company (x) is in compliance with all, and has not violated any, applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws (including common law), rules, regulations, requirements, decisions, judgments, decrees, orders and other legally enforceable requirements relating to pollution or the protection of human health or safety, the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (y) have received and are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under any Environmental Laws to conduct its business; and (z) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability or obligation under or relating to, or any actual or potential violation of, any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice, and (ii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to the Company, except in the case of each of ‎(i) and ‎(ii) above, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) except as described in the Prospectus, (x) there is no proceeding that is pending, or that is known to be contemplated, against the Company under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceeding regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed, (y) the Company is not aware of any facts or issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that would reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position of the Company, and (z) the Company anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws.

 

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(gg)         Compliance with ERISA. (i) Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Company within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA or any entity that would be regarded as a single employer with the Company under Section 414(b),(c),(m) or (o) of the Code) would have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no Plan has failed (whether or not waived), or is reasonably expected to fail, to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code) applicable to such Plan; (iv) no Plan is, or is reasonably expected to be, in “at risk status” (within the meaning of Section 303(i) of ERISA) and no Plan that is a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA is in “endangered status” or “critical status” (within the meaning of Sections 304 and 305 of ERISA) (v) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (vi) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA and the regulations promulgated thereunder) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (vii) each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified, and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification; (viii) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA); and (ix) none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans by the Company or its Controlled Group affiliates in the current fiscal year of the Company and its Controlled Group affiliates compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s and its Controlled Group affiliates’ most recently completed fiscal year; or (B) a material increase in the Company’s “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 715-60) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year, except in each case with respect to the events or conditions set forth in (i) through (ix) hereof, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(hh)         Disclosure Controls. The Company maintains a system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to the Company and that has been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

(ii)            Accounting Controls. The Company maintains systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that have been designed to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS. The Company maintains internal accounting controls to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls have been identified by the Company’s auditors. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting identified by the Company’s auditors that have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, known to the Company that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

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(jj)            Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering its properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses; and the Company has not (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business in all material respects.

 

(kk)          Cybersecurity. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and, or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonable be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, to the knowledge of the Company, there has been no security breach or other compromise of any of the Company’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of its customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and third party data maintained by or on behalf of the Company), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) and (y) the Company has not been notified of, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to its IT Systems and Data; (i) the Company is presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except as would not, in the case of this clause ‎(i), individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (ii) the Company has implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with generally accepted industry standards and practices.

 

(ll)            No Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any director or officer of the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any employee, agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, Articles 432-11 et seq., 433-1 and 433-2, 433-22 to 433-25, 435-1 et seq. and 445-1 et seq. of the French Criminal Code, or any applicable anti-corruption laws, rules, or regulations of the European Union or any other jurisdiction in which the Company conducts business; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit. The Company has instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.

 

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(mm)        Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering or terrorism financing statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company conducts business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency, including but not limited to, the Cellule française de lutte contre le blanchiment de capitaux et le financement du terrorisme (TRACFIN) and the Office central pour la répression de la grande délinquance financière (OCRGDF) (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(nn)         No Conflicts with Sanctions Laws. Neither the Company nor any of its directors or officers nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any employee, agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company (except for the Agent, in respect of which the Company makes no representation) is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government, (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), any French government agency, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria (each, a “Sanctioned Country”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that would reasonably be expected to result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. For the past five years, the Company has not knowingly engaged in and are not now knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.

 

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(oo)         No Broker’s Fees. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(pp)         Other Underwriting Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.

 

(qq)         No Registration Rights. No person has the right to require the Company to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Shares.

 

(rr)           No Stabilization. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any unlawful stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares. Neither the Company, nor any person acting on its behalf will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in, or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization of the Shares in violation of Regulation M or applicable European Union or French laws or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares. The Company has not taken or omitted to take any action nor will take any action or omit to take any action which may result in the loss by the Agent of the ability to rely on any stabilization safe harbour provided under the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the conditions applicable to buy-back programmes and stabilization measures. The Company authorizes the Agent to make adequate public disclosure of information, and to act as the central point responsible for handling any request from a competent authority, in each case as required by Article 6(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of March 8, 2016 with regard to regulatory technical standards for conditions applicable to buy-back programmes and stabilization measures.

 

(ss)          Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares nor the application of the proceeds received by the Company as described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

 

(tt)           Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included in any of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(uu)         Statistical and Market-Related Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included or incorporated in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

 

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(vv)         Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) applicable to the Company as of the date hereof, including Section 402 related to loans.

 

(ww)        Status under the Securities Act. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Shares and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

(xx)           No Ratings. There are (and prior to the Closing Date, will be) no debt securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Company that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act.

 

(yy)         Preclinical Studies and Clinical Trials. (i) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the pre-clinical studies and clinical trials conducted by or, to the knowledge of the Company, on behalf of or sponsored by the Company, or in which the Company, has participated that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as applicable, were, and if still pending are, being conducted in all material respects in accordance with standard medical and scientific research standards and procedures for products or product candidates comparable to those being developed by the Company and all applicable statutes and all applicable rules and regulations of the Regulatory Authorities and current Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practices; (ii) the descriptions in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus of the results of such studies and trials are accurate and complete descriptions in all material respects and fairly present the data derived therefrom; (iii) the Company has no knowledge of any other studies or trials not described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus the results of which are inconsistent with or call into question the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; (iv) the Company has operated at all times and is currently in compliance in all material respects with all applicable statutes, rules and regulations of the Regulatory Authorities; (v) the Company has provided the Sales Agent with all substantive written notices, correspondence and summaries of all other communications from the Regulatory Authorities; and (vi) the Company has not received any written notices, correspondence or other communications from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency requiring or threatening the termination, material modification or suspension of any pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such studies or trials, and, to the Company’s knowledge, there are no reasonable grounds for the same.

 

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(zz)          Regulatory Filings. The Company has not failed to file with the Regulatory Authorities any required filing, declaration, listing, registration, report or submission that is a responsibility of the Company with respect to the Company’s product candidates that are described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; all such filings, declarations, listings, registrations, reports or submissions were in material compliance with applicable laws when filed; and no material deficiencies regarding compliance with applicable law have been asserted by any applicable regulatory authority with respect to any such filings, declarations, listings, registrations, reports or submissions.

 

(aaa)        Stamp Taxes. No stamp duties or other issuance or transfer taxes are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters in France, the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof solely in connection with (A) the execution, delivery and performance of the this Agreement, (B) the issuance and delivery of the Underlying Common Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus or (C) the sale and delivery by the Company of the Shares as contemplated herein and in the Prospectus (in each case provided that no deed evidencing the sale of the Shares is executed in France).

 

(bbb)       No Immunity. Neither the Company nor any of its properties or assets has immunity under the laws of France, U.S. federal or New York state law from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any French, U.S. federal or New York state court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior to judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court with respect to their respective obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection herewith; and, to the extent that the Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings arising out of, or relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, may at any time be commenced, the Company has, pursuant this Agreement, waived, and it will waive, such right to the extent permitted by law as provided in ‎Section 8(g) of this Agreement.

 

(ccc)        Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Any final judgment for a fixed or determined sum of money rendered by any U.S. federal or New York state court located in the State of New York having jurisdiction under its own laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement would be declared enforceable against the Company by the courts of France, subject to the restrictions described under the caption “Enforcement of civil liabilities” in the Registration Statement, and the Prospectus.

 

(ddd)       Valid Choice of Law. The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of France and will be enforced in France, subject to the restrictions described under the caption “Enforcement of civil liabilities” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to ‎Section 8(g) of this Agreement and Section 7.6 of the Deposit Agreement and has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York state and United States federal court sitting in the City of New York and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in such court.

 

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(eee)        Personal Liability of Shareholders and ADS holders. No holder of any of the Shares after the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement is or will be subject to any personal liability in respect of any liability of the Company by virtue only of its holding of any such Shares; and, except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no material limitations on the rights of holders of the Shares who are not French residents to hold, vote or transfer their securities.

 

(fff)          Indemnification. The indemnification provision set forth in this Agreement hereof do not contravene French law or public policy.

 

(ggg)       Dividends. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) no approvals by any French regulatory authority are currently required in France in order for the Company to pay dividends or other distributions declared by the Company to the holders of Shares, and (ii) under current laws and regulations of France and any political subdivision thereof, any amount payable with respect to the Shares upon liquidation of the Company or upon redemption thereof and dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the share capital of the Company may be paid by the Company in United States dollars or euros and freely transferred out of France, and no such payments made to the holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of France will be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of France or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in France or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein.

 

(hhh)       Legality. The legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence of any of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, this Agreement or the Shares in any jurisdiction in which the Company is organized or does business is not dependent upon such document being submitted into, filed or recorded with any court or other authority in any such jurisdiction on or before the date hereof or that any tax, imposition or charge be paid in any such jurisdiction on or in respect of any such document.

 

(iii)            Legal Action. A holder of the Shares is each entitled to sue as plaintiff in the court of the jurisdiction of formation and domicile of the Company for the enforcement of their respective rights under the Shares and such access to such courts will not be subject to any conditions which are not applicable to residents of such jurisdiction or a company incorporated in such jurisdiction except that plaintiffs not residing in France may be required to guarantee payment of a possible order for payment of costs or damages at the request of the defendant.

 

(jjj)           Foreign Private Issuer. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

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(kkk)        Transaction Agreements under French Law. Each of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement is in proper form to be enforceable against the Company in France in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability; to ensure the legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence in France of this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement, it is not necessary that this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement be filed or recorded with any court or other authority in France (other than court filings in the normal course of proceedings) or that any stamp or similar tax (other than nominal stamp tax duty if this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement are executed in or brought into France) in France be paid on or in respect of this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement or any other documents to be furnished hereunder; provided that, as a general rule, any document in a language other than French must be translated into French by an official sworn translator if it is to be submitted as evidence in any action or proceedings before a French court or public body or used for any purpose (including registration) with public bodies.

 

Any certificate signed by any officer or representative of the Company or its subsidiaries and delivered to the Agent or counsel for the Agent in connection with an issuance of Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Agent as to the matters covered thereby on the date of such certificate.

 

The Company acknowledges that the Agent and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 4(o) hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to the Agent, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

 

Section 3      ISSUANCE AND SALE OF ADSs

 

(a)            Sale of Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company may from time to time seek to sell Shares through the Agent, acting as sales agent, or directly to the Agent, acting as principal, as follows in subsection ‎(b), with an aggregate Issuance Amount of up to the Maximum Program Amount, based on and in accordance with such Issuance Notices as the Company may deliver, during the Agency Period.

 

To the extent, as provided above, that the total number of Underlying Common Shares issued pursuant to this Agreement over a 12-month rolling period represents, once issued and together with all the other Common Shares which have been admitted to trading on Euronext over the same 12 month period, less than 20% of the total number of Ordinary Shares admitted to trading on Euronext on the date the admission to trading of the Underlying Common Shares is requested, no prospectus is required for such admission to trading pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated June 14, 2017, as amended.

 

(b)            Mechanics of Issuances.

 

(i)            Issuance Notice. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, on any Trading Day during the Agency Period on which the conditions set forth in ‎Section 5(a) and ‎Section 5(b) shall have been satisfied, the Company may exercise its right to request an issuance of Shares by delivering to the Agent an Issuance Notice; provided, however, that in no event may the Company deliver an Issuance Notice to the extent that (I) the sum of (x) the Issuance Amount under any given Issuance Notice, plus (y) the aggregate Issuance Amount of all Shares issued under all previous Issuance Notices effected pursuant to this Agreement, would exceed the Maximum Program Amount; and (II) prior to delivery of any Issuance Notice, the period set forth for any previous Issuance Notice shall have expired or been terminated. An Issuance Notice shall be considered delivered on the Trading Day that it is received by e-mail to the persons set forth in Schedule A hereto and confirmed by the Company by telephone (including a voicemail message to the persons so identified), with the understanding that, with adequate prior written notice, the Agent may modify the list of such persons from time to time.

 

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(ii)            Investor letters. Each purchaser of Shares shall provide to the Agent, no later than the Trading Day on which Shares are sold to such purchaser pursuant to this Agreement, an executed investor letter (each, an “Investor Letter”) in substantially the form attached as Schedule A to Exhibit A hereto, which form shall be delivered by the Agent to each prospective purchaser of Shares hereunder, and the Agent shall not sell Shares to any purchaser who shall not have delivered such Investor Letter.

 

(iii)            Agent Efforts. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, upon the receipt of an Issuance Notice, the Agent will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal sales and trading practices to place the Shares with respect to which the Agent has agreed to act as sales agent, subject to, and in accordance with the information specified in, the Issuance Notice, unless the proposed sale of the Shares described therein has been suspended, cancelled or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, provided that the Issuance Notice complies with (i) the Maximum Program Amount, (ii) the other terms provided for herein, and (iii) French law and applicable corporate authorizations of the Company. The Agent will notify the Company of the bids received for Shares in compliance with the terms of the Issuance Notice (an “Agent Notification”) (such Agent Notification may be by email to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer). Such Agent Notification shall contain the price at which the Shares would be purchased, the counterparty/parties bidding for such Shares and the number of Shares to be placed with such counterparty/parties and shall be accompanied by an e-mail confirmation, in the form set forth in Exhibit C hereto, of a representative of each bidding party confirming that such bidding party falls within one of the categories identified in the Investor Letter. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties to this Agreement may modify an Issuance Notice at any time provided they both agree in writing to any such modification.

 

(iv)            Method of Offer and Sale. The Shares may be sold (A) in negotiated transactions with the written consent of the Company; or (B) by any other method permitted by law that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act, including block transactions, sales made directly on the Principal Market or sales made into any other existing trading market of the ADSs, provided that for ‎(A) and ‎(B), such sales are made in compliance with French law and within the limits and conditions set forth by the corporate authorizations of the Company, which shall be specified in the Issuance Notice. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to require either party to agree to any specific method of offer and sale specified in the preceding sentence, except insofar as required for compliance with French law and applicable corporate authorizations of the Company, and (except as specified in clause ‎(A) above or as required for compliance with French law and applicable corporate authorizations of the Company) the method of placement of any Shares by the Agent shall be at the Agent’s discretion.

 

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(v)            Issuance Decision. Following the receipt of an Agent Notification provided for in ‎Section 3(b)(iii) and no later than 3:30 pm (Eastern) on the Trading Day on which the Company wants to sell Shares, the Company shall issue a decision of the board of directors or the Chief Executive Officer of the Company in the form set forth in Exhibit B hereto (the “Issuance Decision”), acting upon delegated authority, reflecting the Company’s decision to issue the Common Shares to be represented by the Shares, allocated, and at such price, as set forth in the Agent Notification to the Company provided in ‎Section 3(b)(iii), subject to settlement on the relevant Settlement Date, it being specified that for each issuance of Shares the equivalent in Euro of the Sales Price will be set by the board of directors or the Chief Executive Officer based upon the U.S. Dollar-Euro exchange rate, as published by the European Central Bank on that date and within the price limits set forth in the 20th resolution of the Company’s combined general shareholders’ meeting held on April 16, 2021 (or any substitute resolutions thereto adopted at a subsequent shareholders’ meeting) as applicable.

 

(vi)            Post-Sale Confirmation to the Company. The Agent will provide (i) written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the Company individuals set forth in Schedule 2, if receipt of such email correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the Trading Day on which it has placed Shares hereunder setting forth the identity of each purchaser, the number of shares sold on such Trading Day to each such purchaser and the Sales Price, in each case, consistent with the Issuance Decision, as well as the corresponding Issuance Amount and Net Proceeds payable to the Company in respect thereof, and (ii) copies of such documents as required by French law and the limits and other conditions set forth in the corporate authorizations of the Company in a form acceptable by the Company, including the Investor Letters. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Agent acknowledges that the written confirmation set forth in this ‎Section 3(b)(vi) may not differ from the terms set forth in the Issuance Decision, and that in such event, no Shares shall be placed pursuant to such Issuance Decision.

 

(vii)            Settlement. Each issuance of Shares will be settled on the applicable Settlement Date, pursuant to which:

 

(A)            Payment for Shares. The Issuance Amount shall be paid by the Agent in US dollars at or prior to 04:00 p.m. C.E.T. on the date prior to the Settlement Date, or at such other time on the same or such other date as may be agreed upon between the Company and the Agent, to the applicable account designated by the Company in the Issuance Notice, which account shall be held at Société Générale Securities Services, as transfer agent and registrar of the Company, or such other transfer agent and registrar as the Company may specify in a Issuance Notice (the “Registrar”).

 

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(B)            Settlement of Shares. No later than 11:00 am C.E.T. on a Settlement Date, the Registrar shall then issue the depositary certificate (certificat du dépositaire) in accordance with Article L. 225-146 of the French Commercial Code, relating to the capital increase of the Company resulting from the issuance of the Underlying Common Shares for the Shares, and shall deliver two originals of such certificate to the Company. At least one full business day prior to a Settlement Date, the Company shall have taken all action to be taken by the Company, including providing the Registrar with all notices (including the Euronext notice) and the Issuance Decision delivered as provided for by ‎Section 3(b)(v) that are required in connection with the issuance of the certificate (certificat du dépositaire) referred herein.

 

(C)            Delivery of Shares. On each Settlement Date, immediately after issuing the relevant certificate (certificat du dépositaire), (i) the Registrar shall (x) send to Euroclear France, in the name and on behalf of the Company, a lettre comptable for the creation of the Underlying Common Shares for the Shares and for credit thereof no later than on the Settlement Date in a securities account opened in the name and on behalf of the Company in the books of the Registrar; (y) deliver the Underlying Common Shares for the Shares to the custodian for the Depositary, and (ii) the Company will instruct the Depositary to, electronically transfer the Shares by crediting the Agent or its designee’s account (provided the Agent shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one business day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) through its Deposit/ and Withdrawal At Custodian (DWAC) System, or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto, which Shares in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form.

 

(D)            Payment of Issuance Commission. On each Settlement Date, the Company shall pay, or cause the Registrar to pay, to the Agent the Issuance Commission due to the Agent in respect of the Issuance Amount of the Shares settled. The aforementioned Issuance Commission shall be paid on the Settlement Date by the Registrar to the Agent as soon as possible after issuance of the certificate (certificat du dépositaire).

 

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(viii)            Suspension or Termination of Sales. Consistent with standard market settlement practices, the Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party hereto in writing or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable email), suspend any sales pursuant to this Agreement, and the period set forth in an Issuance Notice shall immediately terminate; provided, however, that (A) such suspension and termination shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice; (B) if the Company suspends or terminates any sale under this Agreement after the Agent confirms such sale to the Company, the Company shall still be obligated to comply with ‎Section 3(b)(vii) with respect to the applicable Shares; and (C) if the Company defaults in its obligation to deliver such Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that it will hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense (including, without limitation, penalties, interest and reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, in performing its settlement obligations under this Agreement, the Agent may borrow ADSs from stock lenders in the event that the Company has not delivered Shares to settle sales as required by ‎Section 3(b)(vii) above, and may use the Shares to settle or close out such borrowings. The Company agrees that no such notice shall be effective against the Agent unless it is made to the persons identified in writing by the Agent pursuant to ‎Section 3(b)(i).

 

(ix)            No Guarantee of Placement, Etc. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (A) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in placing Shares; (B) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other Person if it does not sell Shares; and (C) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(x)            Material Non-Public Information. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company shall not deliver any Issuance Notice to the Agent, and the Agent shall not be obligated to place any Shares, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information.

 

(c)            Fees. As compensation for services rendered and as contemplated (without duplication) by ‎Section 3(b)(vii)(D), the Company shall pay or cause the Registrar to pay, to the Agent in connection with settlement and delivery of the Shares, on the applicable Settlement Date, the Issuance Commission for the applicable Issuance Amount (including with respect to any suspended or terminated sale pursuant to ‎Section 3(b)(viii) after the Agent confirms such sale to the Company) by the Agent.

 

(d)            Expenses. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, whether or not they are consummated, including without limitation (i) all expenses incident to the issuance and delivery of the Shares (including all printing and engraving costs); (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Underlying Common Shares and the Depositary for the ADSs in connection with this Agreement; (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares; (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors; (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and this Agreement; (vi) all filing fees, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Company or the Agent in connection with qualifying or registering (or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any part of the Shares for offer and sale under the state securities or blue sky laws or the provincial securities laws of Canada, and, if requested by the Agent, preparing and printing a “Blue Sky Survey” or memorandum and a “Canadian wrapper” and any supplements thereto, advising the Agent of such qualifications, registrations, determinations and exemptions; (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agent’s counsel, including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Agent in connection with, FINRA review, if any, and approval of the Agent’s participation in the offering and distribution of the Shares; (viii) the filing fees incident to FINRA review, if any; and (ix) the fees and expenses associated with listing the Shares on the Principal Market.

 

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Section 4      ADDITIONAL COVENANTS

 

The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent as follows, in addition to any other covenants and agreements made elsewhere in this Agreement:

 

(a)            Exchange Act Compliance. During the Agency Period, the Company shall (i) file, on a timely basis, with the Commission all reports and documents required to be filed under Section 13, 14 or 15 of the Exchange Act in the manner and within the time periods required by the Exchange Act; and (ii) either (A) include in each report filed or furnished by the Company on Form 6-K that includes the Company’s quarterly interim financial statements and its annual reports on Form 20-F, a summary detailing, for the relevant reporting period, (1) the number of Shares sold through the Agent pursuant to this Agreement and (2) the net proceeds received by the Company from such sales or (B) prepare a prospectus supplement containing, or include in such other filing permitted by the Securities Act or Exchange Act (each an “Interim Prospectus Supplement”), such summary information and, at least once a quarter and subject to this ‎Section 4, file such Interim Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (and within the time periods required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430B under the Securities Act).

 

(b)            Securities Act Compliance. After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise the Agent in writing (i) of the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission; (ii) of the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus; (iii) of the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement becomes effective; and (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the ADSs from any securities exchange upon which they are listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time, the Company will use its best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order as soon as reasonably practicable. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rule 424(b) and Rule 433, as applicable, under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under such Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission.

 

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(c)            Amendments and Supplements to the Prospectus and Other Securities Act Matters. If any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus so that the Prospectus does not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if in the opinion of the Agent or counsel for the Agent it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, including the Securities Act, the Company agrees (subject to Sections ‎4(d) and ‎4(f)) to promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish at its own expense to the Agent, amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law including the Securities Act. Neither the Agent’s consent to, or delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Company’s obligations under Sections ‎4(d) and ‎4(f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to file such amendment or supplement if there is no pending Issuance Notice and the Company believes that it is in its best interest not to file such amendment or supplement.

 

(d)            Agent’s Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, (including any registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act), the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement through incorporation of any report filed under the Exchange Act), the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without the Agent’s prior consent, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.

 

(e)            Use of Free Writing Prospectus. Neither the Company nor the Agent has prepared, used, referred to or distributed, or will prepare, use, refer to or distribute, without the other party’s prior written consent, any “written communication” that constitutes a “free writing prospectus” as such terms are defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act with respect to the offering contemplated by this Agreement (any such free writing prospectus being referred to herein as a “Free Writing Prospectus”).

 

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(f)            Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto without the Agent’s consent. The Company shall furnish to the Agent, without charge, as many copies of any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, or used by the Company, as the Agent may reasonably request. If at any time when a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares (but in any event if at any time through and including the date of this Agreement) there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company shall promptly amend or supplement such free writing prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict or so that the statements in such free writing prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at such subsequent time, not misleading, as the case may be; provided, however, that prior to amending or supplementing any such free writing prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of such proposed amended or supplemented free writing prospectus and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any such amended or supplemented free writing prospectus without the Agent’s consent.

 

(g)           Filing of Agent Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall not take any action that would result in the Agent or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Agent that the Agent otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

 

(h)           Copies of Registration Statement and Prospectus. After the date of this Agreement through the last time that a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares, the Company agrees to furnish the Agent with copies (which may be electronic copies) of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, and with copies of the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto in the form in which it is filed with the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act or Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, both in such quantities as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time; and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required under the Securities Act or under the blue sky or securities laws of any jurisdiction at any time on or prior to the applicable Settlement Date for any period set forth in an Issuance Notice in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event has occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it is necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to notify the Agent and to request that the Agent suspend offers to sell Shares (and, if so notified, the Agent shall cease such offers as soon as practicable); and if the Company decides to amend or supplement the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented, to advise the Agent promptly by telephone (with confirmation in writing) and to prepare and cause to be filed promptly with the Commission an amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented that will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that if during such same period the Agent is required to deliver a prospectus in respect of transactions in the Shares, the Company shall promptly prepare and file with the Commission such an amendment or supplement.

 

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(i)            Disclosure: During the Agency Period, the Company agrees to publish, by way of press release or, by any other means, in compliance with European and French laws and regulations including the Regulation No 596/2014 of April 16, 2014 on market abuse and the AMF Regulations, any information which would be required due to the existence of the this Agreement.

 

(j)            Blue Sky Compliance. The Company shall cooperate with the Agent and counsel for the Agent to qualify or register the Shares for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) the state securities or blue sky laws or Canadian provincial securities laws of those jurisdictions designated by the Agent, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation. The Company will advise the Agent promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Shares for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof as soon as reasonably practicable.

 

(k)           Earnings Statement. As soon as practicable, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Agent an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 under the Securities Act.

 

(l)            Listing; Reservation of Shares. (i)  The Company will use its best efforts to maintain the listing of the ADSs on the Principal Market; and (ii) the Company will reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, Shares for the purpose of enabling the Company to satisfy its obligations under this Agreement.

 

(m)          Transfer Agent. The Company shall engage and maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Shares.

 

(n)           Due Diligence. During the term of this Agreement, the Company will reasonably cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during normal business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time.

 

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(o)           Representations and Warranties. The Company acknowledges that each delivery of an Issuance Notice and each delivery of Shares on a Settlement Date shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation to the Agent that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or made pursuant to this Agreement are true and correct as of the date of such Issuance Notice or of such Settlement Date, as the case may be, as though made at and as of each such date, except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto); and (ii) an undertaking that the Company will advise the Agent if any of such representations and warranties will not be true and correct as of the Settlement Date for the Shares relating to such Issuance Notice, as though made at and as of each such date (except that such representations and warranties shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented relating to such Shares).

 

(p)           Deliverables at Triggering Event Dates; Certificates. The Company agrees that on or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and, during the term of this Agreement after the date of the first Issuance Notice, upon:

 

(A)            the filing of the Prospectus or the amendment or supplement (other than any amendment or supplement through incorporation of any report filed under the Exchange Act) of any Registration Statement or Prospectus (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Shares or a prospectus filed pursuant to ‎Section 4(a)(ii)(B)), by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker or supplement, but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement or Prospectus;

 

(B)             the filing with the Commission of an annual report on Form 20-F or a report on Form 6-K containing quarterly or half-year financial information (including any Form 20-F/A or Form 6-K/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed annual report on Form 20-F or quarterly or six-month reports on Form 6-K), in each case, of the Company; or

 

(C)             the filing with the Commission of a report on Form 6-K of the Company containing amended financial information that is material to the offering of securities of the Company in the Agent’s reasonable discretion;

 

(any such event, a “Triggering Event Date”), the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause ‎(C) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such report on Form 6-K of the Company is material) with a certificate in the form set forth in Exhibit D hereto as of the Triggering Event Date, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented, (A) confirming that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct, (B) confirming that the Company has performed all of its obligations hereunder to be performed on or prior to the date of such certificate and as to the matters set forth in ‎Section 5(a)(iii) hereof, and (C) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request. The requirement to provide a certificate under this ‎Section 4(p) shall be waived for any Triggering Event Date occurring at a time when no Issuance Notice is pending or a suspension is in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers instructions for the sale of Shares hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Triggering Event Date) and the next occurring Triggering Event Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Shares following a Triggering Event Date when a suspension was in effect and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this ‎Section 4(p), then before the Company delivers the instructions for the sale of Shares or the Agent sells any Shares pursuant to such instructions, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate in conformity with this ‎Section 4(p) dated as of the date that the instructions for the sale of Shares are issued.

 

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(q)            Legal Opinion. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to ‎Section 4(p) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, a negative assurances letter and the written legal opinion of Cooley LLP, counsel to the Company, and the written legal opinion of Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I., French counsel for the Company, Cabinet Beau de Loménie, Crowell & Moring LLP, Hamre, Schumann Mueller & Larson, P.C. and Clark and Brody Law Firm, counsels for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters, each dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented. In lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings, in the discretion of the Agent, the Company may furnish a reliance letter from such counsel to the Agent, permitting the Agent to rely on a previously delivered opinion letter, modified as appropriate for any passage of time or Triggering Event Date (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of such Triggering Event Date).

 

(r)            Comfort Letter. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to ‎Section 4(p) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause KPMG, the independent registered public accounting firm who has audited the financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, to furnish the Agent a comfort letter, dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel; provided, however, that any such comfort letter will only be required on the Triggering Event Date specified to the extent that it contains financial statements filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act and incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into a Prospectus. If requested by the Agent, the Company shall also cause a comfort letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event requiring the filing of a report on Form 6-K containing material amended financial information of the Company, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The Company shall be required to furnish no more than one comfort letter hereunder per each filing of an annual report on Form 20-F or a report on Form 6-K containing quarterly or half-year financial information.

 

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(s)            Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date, the Company shall furnish the Agent a certificate executed by the Secretary of the Company, signing in such capacity, dated the date of delivery (i) certifying that attached thereto are true and complete copies of the resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement), which authorization shall be in full force and effect on and as of the date of such certificate, (ii) certifying and attesting to the office, incumbency, due authority and specimen signatures of each Person who executed this Agreement for or on behalf of the Company, and (iii) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request.

 

(t)            Authorization. Upon delivery of each Issuance Notice, the Company will ensure that the Chief Executive Officer of the Company is duly authorized to decide on the issue of the Underlying Common Shares covered by the Issuance Notice subject to the conditions set forth therein and that any relevant pre-emption rights will have been disapplied in relation to the issue of those Underlying Common Shares. Upon each Settlement Date, the Underlying Common Shares to be allotted on that Settlement Date will be duly authorized by the Company.

 

(u)           Agent’s Own Account; Clients’ Account. The Company consents to the Agent trading, in compliance with applicable law, in the ADSs for the Agent’s own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of the Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(v)            Investment Limitation. The Company shall not invest, or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Shares in such a manner as would require the Company or its subsidiaries to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

 

(w)           Market Activities. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares or any other reference security, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or otherwise, and the Company will, and shall cause each of its affiliates to, comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation M. If the limitations of Rule 102 of Regulation M (“Rule 102”) do not apply with respect to the Shares or any other reference security pursuant to any exception set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102, then promptly upon notice from the Agent (or, if later, at the time stated in the notice), the Company will, and shall cause each of its affiliates to, comply with Rule 102 as though such exception were not available but the other provisions of Rule 102 (as interpreted by the Commission) did apply. The Company shall promptly notify the Agent if it no longer meets the requirements set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102.

 

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(x)            Notice of Other Sale. Without the written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares or ADSs or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares or ADSs (other than Shares hereunder), warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares or ADSs, or effect a reverse stock split, recapitalization, share consolidation, reclassification or similar transaction affecting the outstanding Common Shares or ADSs during the period beginning on the third Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Issuance Notice is delivered to the Agent hereunder and ending on the third Trading Day immediately following the Settlement Date with respect to Shares sold pursuant to such Issuance Notice; and will not directly or indirectly enter into any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares or ADSs (other than the Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares or ADSs, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Shares or ADSs prior to the termination of this Agreement; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s (i) issuance or sale of Common Shares or ADSs, options to purchase Common Shares or ADSs or Common Shares or ADSs issuable upon the exercise of options, warrants, including share warrants (BSA) or free shares (actions gratuites) or upon the exercise of outstanding founder’s share warrants (BSPCE) or other equity awards pursuant to any employee or director share option, incentive or benefit plan, share purchase or ownership plan, long-term incentive plan, dividend reinvestment plan, inducement award under Nasdaq rules or other compensation plan of the Company or its subsidiaries, as in effect on the date of this Agreement, (ii) issuance or sale of Common Shares or ADSs issuable upon exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise or vesting of warrants (including share warrants (BSA) or founder’s share warrants (BSPCE), options or other equity awards outstanding at the date of this Agreement, and (iii) modification of any outstanding options, warrants of any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares or ADSs.

 

Section 5      CONDITIONS TO DELIVERY OF ISSUANCE NOTICES AND TO SETTLEMENT

 

(a)            Conditions Precedent to the Right of the Company to Deliver an Issuance Notice and the Obligation of the Agent to Sell Shares. The right of the Company to deliver an Issuance Notice hereunder is subject to the satisfaction, on the date of delivery of such Issuance Notice, and the obligation of the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice is subject to the satisfaction, on each Trading Day during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice, of each of the following conditions:

 

(i)            Accuracy of the Company’s Representations and Warranties; Performance by the Company. The Company shall have delivered the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 4(p) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to ‎Section 4(p). The Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to such date, including, but not limited to, the covenants contained in ‎Section 4(p), ‎Section 4(q) and ‎Section 4(r).

 

(ii)            No Injunction. No statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated or endorsed by any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby that prohibits or directly and materially adversely affects any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and no proceeding shall have been commenced that may have the effect of prohibiting or materially adversely affecting any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

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(iii)            Material Adverse Changes. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, (a) in the judgment of the Agent there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Effect; and (b) there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any securities of the Company or its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined for purposes of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.

 

(iv)            No Suspension of Trading in or Delisting of ADSs; Other Events. The trading of the ADSs (including without limitation the Shares) shall not have been suspended by the Commission, the Principal Market or FINRA and the ADSs (including without limitation the Shares) shall have been approved for listing or quotation on and shall not have been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market, the New York Stock Exchange or any of their constituent markets on which such securities are then listed. There shall not have occurred (and be continuing in the case of occurrences under clauses (i) and (ii) below) any of the following: (i) trading or quotation in any of the Company’s securities shall have been suspended or limited by the Commission, the AMF or by the Principal Market or Euronext or trading in securities generally on either the Principal Market or Euronext shall have been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges by the Commission, the AMF or the FINRA; (ii) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of federal or New York authorities or French or European authorities; or (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States’ or international, political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the Agent is material and adverse and makes it impracticable to market the Shares in the manner and on the terms described in the Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities.

 

(b)            Documents Required to be Delivered on each Issuance Notice Date. The Agent’s obligation to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares hereunder shall additionally be conditioned upon the delivery to the Agent on or before the Issuance Notice Date of a certificate in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, executed by the Chief Executive Officer, President or Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to the effect that all conditions to the delivery of such Issuance Notice shall have been satisfied as at the date of such certificate (which certificate shall not be required if the foregoing representations shall be set forth in the Issuance Notice).

 

(c)            No Misstatement or Material Omission. Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Times of Sales Information, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

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(d)           Agent Counsel Legal Opinion. Agent shall have received from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel for Agent, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to ‎Section 4(p), with respect to such matters as Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

(e)           Opinion of Depositary’s Counsel. On or prior to the first Settlement Date, the Agent shall have received an opinion of Emmet, Marvin & Martin, LLP, counsel for the Depositary, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Agent.

 

(f)            Investor Documents. Within the applicable time periods contemplated by ‎Section 3(b)(iii) and ‎(vii), the Agent shall have received such documents as required by French law and the limits and other conditions set forth in the corporate authorizations of the Company in a form acceptable by the Company duly executed, and such documents shall be in full force and effect, including the Investor Letter of each prospective investor.

 

(g)           Approval for Listing. On each relevant Settlement Date, the ADSs shall be approved for listing, and not subject to any notice of delisting, on Nasdaq, and on the first Euronext trading day following each relevant Settlement Date, the Underlying Common Shares shall have been approved for listing on Euronext, subject to official notice of issuance.

 

(h)           Certificat du dépositaire. On each Settlement Date, once it has received the funds corresponding to the subscription of the applicable Underlying Common Shares, for purposes of settlement and delivery of the Underlying Common Shares, the Registrar shall issue the depositary certificate (certificat du dépositaire) provided for by Article L. 225-146 of the French Commercial Code, relating to the capital increases of the Company resulting from the subscription of the Underlying Common Shares and the corresponding Shares and shall send a copy thereof to the Company and the Agent.

 

Section 6      INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION

 

(a)            Indemnification of the Agent. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and to reimburse the Agent and each such officer, employee and controlling person for any and all expenses (including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Agent) as such expenses are reasonably incurred by the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, any such Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information described in subsection ‎(b) below. The indemnity agreement set forth in this ‎Section 6(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.

 

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(b)           Indemnification of the Company, its Directors and Officers. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Company or any such director, officer or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; but, for each of ‎(i) and ‎(ii) above, only to the extent arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any such Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information set forth in the first sentence of the tenth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus, and to reimburse the Company and each such director, officer and controlling person for any and all expenses (including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of one counsel chosen by the Company) as such expenses are reasonably incurred by the Company or such officer, director or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action. The indemnity agreement set forth in this ‎Section 6(b) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Agent or the Company may otherwise have.

 

37

 

 

(c)            Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this ‎Section 6 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this ‎Section 6, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under the indemnity agreement contained in this ‎Section 6 or to the extent it is not prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect, jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this ‎Section 6 for any reasonable and documented out-of-pocket legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the indemnified parties shall be selected by the indemnified party (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in ‎Section 6(a) and ‎Section 6(b) above), (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are incurred.

 

38

 

 

(d)            Settlements. The indemnifying party under this ‎Section 6 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by ‎Section 6(c) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request; and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding.

 

(e)            Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this ‎Section 6 is for any reason held to be unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, from the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement; or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause ‎(i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause ‎(i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total gross proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total commissions received by the Agent. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, on the one hand, or the Agent, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in ‎Section 6(c) any reasonable and documented legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in ‎Section 6(c) with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this ‎Section 6(e); provided, however, that no additional notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been given under ‎Section 6(c) for purposes of indemnification.

 

39

 

 

The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this ‎Section 6(e) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this ‎Section 6(e).

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of this ‎Section 6(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the Issuance Commission received by the Agent in connection with the offering contemplated hereby. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this ‎Section 6(e), each officer and employee of the Agent and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Agent, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.

 

Section 7      TERMINATION & SURVIVAL

 

(a)            Term. Subject to the provisions of this ‎Section 7, the term of this Agreement shall continue from the date of this Agreement until the end of the Agency Period, unless earlier terminated by the parties to this Agreement pursuant to this ‎Section 7.

 

(b)            Termination; Survival Following Termination.

 

(i)            Either party may terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the Agency Period, by giving written notice as required by this Agreement, upon four (4) Trading Days’ notice to the other party; provided that, (A) if the Company terminates this Agreement after the Agent confirms to the Company any sale of Shares, the Company shall remain obligated to comply with Section 3(b)(vii) with respect to such Shares and (B) ‎Section 2, ‎Section 3(d) ‎Section 6, ‎Section 7 and ‎Section 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement. If termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Shares, such sale shall nevertheless settle in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

(ii)           In addition to the survival provision of ‎Section 7(b)(i), the respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, of its officers and of the Agent set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent or the Company or any of its or their partners, officers or directors or any controlling person, as the case may be, and, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, will survive delivery of and payment for the Shares sold hereunder and any termination of this Agreement.

 

40

 

 

Section 8      MISCELLANEOUS

 

(a)            Press Releases and Disclosure. The Company may issue a press release describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby as soon as practicable following the date of this Agreement, and may file with the Commission a report on Form 6-K, with this Agreement attached as an exhibit thereto, describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Company shall consult with the Agent prior to making such disclosures, and the parties hereto shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosures that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto. No party hereto shall issue thereafter any press release or like public statement (including, without limitation, any disclosure required in reports filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act) related to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby without the prior written approval of the other party hereto, except as may be necessary or appropriate in the reasonable opinion of the party seeking to make disclosure to comply with the requirements of applicable law or stock exchange rules. If any such press release or like public statement is so required, the party making such disclosure shall consult with the other party prior to making such disclosure, and the parties shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosure that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto.

 

(b)            No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the determination of any fees, are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Company and the Agent, (ii) when acting as a principal under this Agreement, the Agent is and has been acting solely as a principal is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (iii) the Agent has not assumed nor will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and the Agent does not have any obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Agent and its affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (v) the Agent has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

 

(c)            Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Agent’s research analysts and research departments are required to and should be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and as such the Agent’s research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company understands that the Agent is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

41

 

 

(d)            Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:

 

If to the Agent:


Jefferies LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Facsimile: (646) 786-5719
Attention: General Counsel

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

450 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Attention: Yasin Keshvargar.

 

If to the Company:

 

Inventiva S.A.,

50 Rue de Dijon, 21121, Daix, France

(email:         ),

Attention Frédéric Cren and Jean Volatier.

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Cooley LLP

55 Hudson Yards

New York, NY 10001

Attention: Div Gupta

Facsimile: (212) 479-6275.

 

Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others in accordance with this ‎Section 8(d).

 

(e)            Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in ‎Section 6, and in each case their respective successors, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term “successors” shall not include any purchaser of the Shares as such from the Agent merely by reason of such purchase.

 

(f)            Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Article, Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

 

42

 

 

(g)            Governing Law Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. The Company irrevocably appoints Cogency Global, Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10168 as its agent to receive service of process or other legal summons for purposes of any such suit, action or proceeding that may be instituted in any state or federal court in the City and County of New York. With respect to any Related Proceeding, each party irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all immunity (whether on the basis of sovereignty or otherwise) from jurisdiction, service of process, attachment (both before and after judgment) and execution to which it might otherwise be entitled in the Specified Courts, and with respect to any Related Judgment, each party waives any such immunity in the Specified Courts or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and will not raise or claim or cause to be pleaded any such immunity at or in respect of any such Related Proceeding or Related Judgment, including, without limitation, any immunity pursuant to the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, as amended.

 

(h)            Judgment Currency. The obligations of the Company pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any sum due to the Agent shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first business day, following receipt by the Agent of any sum adjudged to be so due in such other currency, on which (and only to the extent that) the Agent may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency; if the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to the Agent hereunder, the Company agrees, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the Agent against such loss.

 

43

 

 

(i)            General Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument, and may be delivered by facsimile transmission or by electronic delivery of a portable document format (PDF) file (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com). This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit. The Article and Section headings herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

 

 

[Signature Page Immediately Follows]

 

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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms

 

  Very truly yours,
   
  INVENTIVA S.A.
   
  By:  /s/ Frédéric Cren
    Name: Frédéric Cren
    Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Agent in New York, New York as of the date first above written.

 

JEFFERIES LLC  
   
By: /s/ Michael Magarro  
  Name: Michael Magarro  
  Title: Managing Director  

 

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

ISSUANCE NOTICE

 

[Date]

 

Jefferies LLC

520 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10022

 

Attn: [__________]

 

Reference is made to the Sales Agreement between Inventiva S.A. (the “Company”) and Jefferies LLC (the “Agent”) dated as of August 2, 2021. The Company confirms that all conditions to the delivery of this Issuance Notice are satisfied as of the date hereof.

 

The number of Common shares underlying such ADSs (the “Underlying Common shares”) issued over a 12-month rolling period represents, once issued together with all the other common shares which have been admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext over the same 12-month period, less than 20% of the total number of the Company’s securities already admitted to trading on Euronext on the date the admission to trading of the Underlying Common shares is requested.

 

Date of Delivery of Issuance Notice (determined pursuant to ‎Section 3(b)(i) of the Sales Agreement): _______________________

 

Issuance Amount (equal to the total Sales Price for such Shares):

 

$    
     
Number of days in selling period:    
     
First date of selling period:    
     
Last date of selling period:    

 

Settlement Date if other than standard T+2 settlement:

 

If Issuance Notice follows a reverse inquiry to the Company, identity and contact information:

 

All Shares must be placed at the same Sales Price on any Trading Day.

 

   

 

Floor Price (in no event less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which consent may be withheld in the Agent’s sole discretion): $ ____ per share, it being specified that each Share will be sold at the same price and that the Sales Price per Share will be at least equal to (i) the U.S. dollar equivalent (based on the then-prevailing exchange rate) of the volume-weighted average price of the Company's Common Shares on Euronext over the last Trading Day preceding the pricing of the relevant sale or (ii) the U.S. dollar equivalent (based on the then-prevailing exchange rate) of the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s Common Shares on Euronext over the three consecutive Trading Days chosen among the last thirty (30) Trading Days preceding the pricing of the relevant sale, subject to a maximum discount of 15% as calculated by the Agent on each Trading Day during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice.

 

A-1

 

 

Sales by the Agent are only open to investors falling within one of the following categories and the investor will certify prior to delivery of the Issuance Decision contemplated by ‎Section 3(b)(v) of the Sales Agreement, that it belongs to one of them by signing an investor letter attached hereto as Schedule A in accordance with the Sales Agreement:

 

(i) any person, legal entity (including companies), trusts or investment funds, or other investment vehicles, regardless of their form, under French or foreign law, investing on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical technology sectors; and/or

 

(ii) any French or foreign company, institution or entity, regardless of its form, carrying out a significant part of its activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technologies or in research in these fields.

 

The funds corresponding to the share capital increases shall be transferred to the Company’s account(s) held at Société Générale Securities Services, as transfer agent and registrar of the Company on or before the Settlement Date, details of which are provided below:

 

[●] [details of the bank account on which the net proceeds relating to the capital increase based on the 20th resolution shall be wired to be included]

 

Comments:  

 

       
   
   

By:

 

    Name:
    Title:

 

 

A-2

 

Schedule A to EXHIBIT A

 

FORM OF INVESTOR LETTER

 

INVENTIVA S.A.
50 Rue de Dijon,
21121, Daix,
France

 

JEFFERIES LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022

 

[DATE]

 

RE: Inventiva S.A.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

In connection with its proposed commitment to subscribe for ordinary shares, nominal value €0.01 per share (the “Common Shares”), of Inventiva S.A., a société anonyme incorporated in the French Republic (the “Company”), to be delivered in the form of American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”), in the context of an issuance by the Company without preferential subscription rights of up to [ ] Common Shares in the form of ADSs reserved to specified categories of investors (the “Placement”), the undersigned (the “Investor”) hereby represents and warrants that, as at the date hereof and until the completion of the Placement, it belongs and will belong, or is acting on behalf of or advising an investor who belongs and will belong, to one of the following categories:

 

(i) any person, legal entity (including companies), trusts or investment funds, or other investment vehicles, regardless of their form, under French or foreign law, investing on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical technology sectors.

 

(ii) any French or foreign company, institution or entity, regardless of its form, carrying out a significant part of its activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technologies or in research in these fields.

 

provided that, if the Investor is acting on behalf of investment funds or other legal entities managed or advised by it, such representation shall also apply to each such funds or legal entities and the Investor shall further ensure compliance thereof by each such funds or entities in connection with the initial distribution of the ADSs.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

On behalf of

 

By:

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

A-3

 

 

EXHIBIT B

 

FORM OF ISSUANCE DECISION

 

[****]

 

B-1

 

 

EXHIBIT C

 

Confirmatory email to be received by the Agent for each prospective investor before the Agent Notification

 

To: [ ]

 

In connection with our proposed commitment to subscribe for ordinary shares, nominal value €0.01 per share, of Inventiva S.A., a société anonyme incorporated in the French Republic (the “Company”), to be delivered in the form of American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”), in the context of an issuance by the Company without preferential subscription rights of up to [ ] Common Shares in the form of ADSs, we acknowledge that the contemplated offering is reserved to the following categories of investors: (i) any person, legal entity (including companies), trusts or investment funds, or other investment vehicles, regardless of their form, under French or foreign law, investing on a regular basis in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical technology sectors; and/or (ii) any French or foreign company, institution or entity, regardless of its form, carrying out a significant part of its activities in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or chemical sectors or in medical devices and/or technologies or in research in these fields.

 

We hereby represent and warrant belonging to one of the above-mentioned categories and to execute and send to Jefferies LLC an investor letter no later than [ ] by which we will formally represent and warrant belonging to one of these categories.

 

C-1

 

 

Schedule A

 

Notice Parties

 

The Company

 

Frédéric Cren:

 

Jean Volatier:

 

The Agent

 

Gil Bar-Nahum:

 

 

 

EXHIBIT D

 

Form of Officer’s Certificate Pursuant to ‎Section 4(p)

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected Chief Executive Officer of Inventiva S.A., a société anonyme incorporated in France (the “Company”), does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to ‎Section 4(p) of the Sales Agreement, dated August 2, 2021, between the Company and Jefferies LLC (the “Sales Agreement”), that to the knowledge of the undersigned:

 

(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in ‎Section 2 of the Sale Agreement are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof; provided, however that such representations and warranties are qualified by the disclosure included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto); and

 

(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sale Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.

 

1. [There have been no material changes to the Company Intellectual Property since _________.]

 

Cooley LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP are entitled to rely on this certificate in connection with the respective opinions such firms are rendering pursuant to the Sale Agreement. Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sale Agreement.

 

INVENTIVA S.A.

 

By:

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

Date: [●]

 

D-1

 

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

August 2, 2021

 

Inventiva S.A.

50 rue de Dijon

21121 Daix France

France

 

Re: Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Inventiva S.A.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We are acting as special French counsel for Inventiva S.A. (the “Company”), a French société anonyme, in connection with the filing by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a Form F-3 Registration Statement (the “Registration Statement”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company has provided us with a prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), which forms part of the Registration Statement. The Base Prospectus may be amended from time to time in connection with any further post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, and the Base Prospectus provides that it will be supplemented in the future by one or more prospectus supplements (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”). The Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, including the Base Prospectus (as supplemented from time to time by one or more Prospectus Supplements), provides for the registration by the Company of an indeterminate amount of (i) the Company’s ordinary shares, €0.01 nominal value per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), including Ordinary Shares that may be issued in the form of American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”) and (ii) warrants (bons de souscription d'actions) to purchase Ordinary Shares, including in the form of ADSs (the “Warrants,” and, together with the Ordinary Shares and the ADSs, the “Securities”), with the maximum aggregate public offering price of all such securities to be issued by the Company under the Registration Statement not to exceed $300,000,000, as further described in the Registration Statement. The Securities are being registered for offering and sale from time to time pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act.

 

In rendering the opinion expressed below, we have examined and relied on originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such agreements, documents and records of the Company, and such instruments and certificates of officers and other representatives of the Company and public officials, as we have deemed necessary as the basis for such opinion, and have made such investigations of law as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for such opinion.

 

We have assumed that (i) the Registration Statement, and any amendments thereto, will have become effective under the Securities Act (and will remain effective at the time of issuance of any Securities thereunder); (ii) a Prospectus Supplement to the extent required by applicable law and the relevant rules and regulations of the Commission will be timely filed with the Commission, (iii) the outstanding share capital of the Company will be validly issued and fully paid up at the time of the decisions of the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général) to issue, offer and sell the Securities, (iv) the resolutions authorizing the Company to issue, offer and sell the Securities as adopted by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), will be in full force and effect at all times at which the Securities are issued, offered or sold by the Company, (v) the definitive terms of the Securities will have been established in accordance with the authorizing resolutions adopted by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur géneral), the Company’s bylaws and applicable law, and (vi) the Company will issue and deliver the Securities in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement and the amount of Securities will remain within the limits of the then authorized but unissued amounts of Securities, (vii) all Securities will be issued in compliance with applicable securities and corporate law, (viii) with respect to any Warrants, the terms and conditions of such Warrants will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company according to applicable laws, enforceable against it in accordance with their terms, and (ix) any subscription, purchase, underwriting, placement or similar agreement will constitute a valid and binding obligation of each party thereto. As to any facts material to the opinion expressed herein which we have not independently established or verified, we have relied upon statements and representations of the Company and its officers and other representatives and of public officials.

 

GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL A.A.R.P.I.
15 rue de Laborde - 75008 Paris | tél. +33 (0)1 40 75 60 00 | info@gide.com - gide.com | Palais T03

 

 

 

 

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion that (1) the Ordinary Shares, when (a) the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of the Company and the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), have taken all necessary corporate action to authorize the issuance of, and establish the terms of, the offering of the Ordinary Shares and related matters and (b) issued, sold and delivered in the manner and for the consideration stated in the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting, placement or similar agreement approved by the Board and/or the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), as the case may be, upon payment of the consideration provided therein to the Company and issuance of the depositary certificate (certificat du dépositaire) in respect thereof, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and (2) the Warrants, when (a) the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of the Company and the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur géneral) of the Company, have taken all necessary corporate action to authorize the issuance of and establish the terms and conditions of such Warrants and the terms of the offering of the Warrants and related matters, and (b) issued, sold and delivered in the manner and for the consideration stated in the applicable definitive subscription, purchase, underwriting, placement or similar agreement approved by the Board and/or the chief executive officer as the case may be, and upon payment of the consideration provided therein, then the Warrants will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against it in accordance with their terms.

 

The term “non-assessable”, which has no recognized meaning in French law, for the purposes of this opinion means that no present or future holder of ordinary shares will be subject to personal liability, by reason of being such a holder, for additional payments or calls for further funds by the Company or any other person after the issuance of the ordinary shares.

 

We do not undertake or accept any obligation to update this opinion to reflect subsequent changes in French law or factual matters arising after the date of effectiveness of the Registration Statement.

 

This opinion is subject to any limitation arising from ad hoc mandate (mandat ad hoc), conciliation (conciliation), accelerated safeguard (sauvegarde accélérée), accelerated financial safeguard (sauvegarde financière accélérée), safeguard (sauvegarde), judicial reorganisation (redressement judiciaire), judicial liquidation (liquidation judiciaire) (including a provision that creditors’ proofs of debts denominated in foreign currencies would be converted into euros at the rate applicable on the date of the court decision instituting the accelerated safeguard (sauvegarde accélérée), the accelerated financial safeguard (sauvegarde financière accélérée), the safeguard (sauvegarde), the judicial reorganisation (redressement judiciaire) and the judicial liquidation (liquidation judiciaire) proceedings), insolvency, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights of creditors.

 

We are members of the Paris bar and this opinion is limited to the laws of the Republic of France. This opinion is subject to the sovereign power of the French courts to interpret agreements and assess the facts and circumstances of any adjudication. This opinion is given on the basis that it is to be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Republic of France.

 

This opinion is addressed to you solely for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement. It is not to be transmitted to anyone else nor is it to be relied upon by anyone else or for any other purpose, or quoted or referred to in any public document (other than the Registration Statement) or filed with anyone without our prior written express consent.

 

We hereby consent to the filing with the Commission of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

 

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

/s/ Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 5.2

 

 

August 2, 2021

 

Inventiva S.A.

50 rue de Dijon

21121 Daix France

France

 

Re: Securities Registered Under Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Inventiva S.A.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are acting as special French counsel for Inventiva S.A. (the “Company”), a French société anonyme, in connection with the filing of a registration statement on Form F-3 filed on August 2, 2021 (the “Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) relating to the registration of the offering by Company of up to $300,000,000 of any combination of securities of the types specified therein, including a sales agreement prospectus (the “Sales Agreement Prospectus”) contained in the Registration Statement relating to the issuance and sale by the Company, through Jefferies LLC (the “Agent”) pursuant to the Sales Agreement dated August 2, 2021 (the “Sales Agreement”), by and between the Company and the Agent, of ordinary shares, €0.01 nominal value per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), including Ordinary Shares that may be issued in the form of American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”) having a maximum aggregate price of up to $100,000,000 (the “Sales Agreement Shares”), covered by the Registration Statement. The Sales Agreement Shares are being offered and sold by the Agent pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement.

 

In rendering the opinion expressed below, we have examined and relied on originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such agreements, documents and records of the Company, and such instruments and certificates of officers and other representatives of the Company and public officials, as we have deemed necessary as the basis for such opinion, and have made such investigations of law as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for such opinion. 

 

We have assumed that (i) the resolutions authorizing the Company to issue, offer and sell the Sales Agreement Shares as adopted by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), will be validly adopted and in full force and effect at all times at which the Sales Agreement Shares are issued, offered or sold by the Company, (ii) the outstanding share capital of the Company will be validly issued and fully paid up at the time of the decisions of the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général) to issue the Sales Agreement Shares, (iii) the issue of the Sales Agreement Shares will fall within the limits set forth by the corporate authorizations referred above in (i), (iv) the definitive terms of the Sales Agreement Shares will have been established in accordance with the authorizing resolutions adopted by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), the Company’s bylaws and applicable law, (v) the Sales Agreement Shares will be offered by way of a private placement to, and subscribed by, investors pertaining to, the categories of investors as defined by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of the Company and in accordance with article L. 225-138 of the French commercial code, (vi) the Company will issue and deliver the Sales Agreement Shares in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement and the Sales Agreement Prospectus, (vii) all Sales Agreement Shares will be issued in compliance with applicable securities and corporate law and (viii) any purchase, placement or similar agreement will constitute a valid and binding obligation of each party thereto. As to any facts material to the opinion expressed herein which we have not independently established or verified, we have relied upon statements and representations of the Company and its officers and other representatives and of public officials.

 

GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL A.A.R.P.I.
15 rue de Laborde - 75008 Paris | tél. +33 (0)1 40 75 60 00 | info@gide.com - gide.com | Palais T03

 

 

 

 

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion that the Ordinary Shares, when (a) the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of the Company, the Board and, if applicable, the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), have taken all necessary corporate action to authorize and/or decide the issuance of, and establish the terms of, the offering of the Sales Agreement Shares and related matters and (b) issued, sold and delivered in the manner and for the consideration stated in the applicable definitive purchase, sales, placement, subscription or similar agreement authorized by the Board and/or the chief executive officer (président-directeur général), as the case may be, upon payment of the consideration provided therein to the Company and issuance of the depositary certificate (certificat du dépositaire) in respect thereof, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

 

The term “non-assessable”, which has no recognized meaning in French law, for the purposes of this opinion means that no present or future holder of ordinary shares will be subject to personal liability, by reason of being such a holder, for additional payments or calls for further funds by the Company or any other person after the issuance of the ordinary shares.

 

We do not undertake or accept any obligation to update this opinion to reflect subsequent changes in French law or factual matters arising after the date of effectiveness of the Registration Statement.

 

This opinion is subject to any limitation arising from ad hoc mandate (mandat ad hoc), conciliation (conciliation), accelerated safeguard (sauvegarde accélérée), accelerated financial safeguard (sauvegarde financière accélérée), safeguard (sauvegarde), judicial reorganisation (redressement judiciaire), judicial liquidation (liquidation judiciaire) (including a provision that creditors’ proofs of debts denominated in foreign currencies would be converted into euros at the rate applicable on the date of the court decision instituting the accelerated safeguard (sauvegarde accélérée), the accelerated financial safeguard (sauvegarde financière accélérée), the safeguard (sauvegarde), the judicial reorganisation (redressement judiciaire) and the judicial liquidation (liquidation judiciaire) proceedings), insolvency, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights of creditors.

 

We are members of the Paris bar and this opinion is limited to the laws of the Republic of France. This opinion is subject to the sovereign power of the French courts to interpret agreements and assess the facts and circumstances of any adjudication. This opinion is given on the basis that it is to be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Republic of France.

 

We hereby consent to the filing with the Commission of this opinion as Exhibit 5.2 to the Registration Statement, and to the reference to Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,

 

/s/ Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.

 

 

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

 

KPMG Audit

Tour EQHO

2 Avenue Gambetta

CS 60055

92066 Paris la Défense Cedex

France

Téléphone : +33 (0)1 55 68 68 68

Télécopie : +33 (0)1 55 68 73 00

Site internet : www.kpmg.fr

  

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Board of Directors
Inventiva S.A.

 

We consent to the use of our report dated March 2, 2021, with respect to the financial statements of Inventiva S.A., incorporated herein by reference and to the reference to our firm under the heading “Experts” in the prospectus.

 

Paris La Défense, France

August 2, 2021

/s/ KPMG S.A.

 

Cédric Adens

Partner