Armingaud Avocat

Paris Stepping into London’s Fintech Shoes?

February 27th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in France | IT | Legislation - (0 Comments)

Despite the lack of announcement by UK Government to give notification to the EU under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty of its decision to withdraw from the Union, France is already making its move to move into the steps of the former Fintech capital of Europe. On January 25-26, 2017, more than 1,500 people attended the second edition of the Paris FinTech Forum, encompassing more than 28 countries and 130 companies, from global players to startups.

The irony of the event location, set in the historical venue of the former Paris Stock Exchange building, was not lost to the Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau who wondered “Who would have imagined just a few years ago that a central banker would be speaking at a forum on innovation?” before recognizing that “For banks and insurers, the digital revolution is upsetting the traditional model for client relations” and “there are difficult choices ahead.”

In addition to Fintech – both in their classic understanding of technological innovation applied to the finance industry to more disruptive models, the Forum also gave the opportunity to demonstrate the blossoming RegTech scene. RegTech encompasses all added-value solutions which make it easier for banking services to ensure compliance with applicable regulation, be it for the KYC or AML purposes. Blockchain based solutions also departed from their original Bitcoin association to showcase a broad range of innovative services, from identity control to supply-chain management.

While investments, both in terms of number of operations and invested amounts, have been slightly decreasing in 2016, the Paris Fintech Forum was a proud statement that the market was maturing into products ready to hit the market on a large-scale basis.

The Paris Fintech Forum showcased the strong interest of the French current Government in blockchain technology (see NewsBTC article here), in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of the Brexit announcement (see Business Mirror article here). However, France itself will be facing a general election next April and uncertainty may also prevail until then on the continent.

First publication: K&L Gates F i ntech Law Watch

Electronic Money: The French Government Strengthens Financial Intermediaries’ Obligations

On November 10, 2016, the French Government issued a decree against the financing of terrorism which contains various measures addressing anonymous electronic money [source in French]. This new regulatory measure applies to electronic money issuers as well as their distributors, credit institutions, finance companies, consumers, and to any person who physically transfers money from a certain amount.
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French CNIL Reveals the Scope of its Connected Car “Compliance Package”

October 7th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Connected Cars | Europe | France | Privacy - (0 Comments)

On 3 October 2016, during a conference organized by the French Comity of Car Manufacturers (“CCFA”) during the Paris Motor Show, Mrs. Sophie Nerbonne, the Compliance Director of the French Data Protection Authority (“Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés” or “CNIL”), hosted a press conference in the ongoing fact-gathering for the CNIL’s “compliance package on connected vehicles” (link – in French) on the basis of the Act no. 78-17 dated 6 January 1978, relating to information technology, data files and civil liberties.

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Leaders League Ranking 2016 – New Technologies – Internet – France

July 11th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in IT | Privacy | Rankings - (0 Comments)

K&L Gates ranked “Highly Recommended” with E. Drouard & Claude-Etienne Armingaud by Leaders League.

Source: No longer publicly available

internet, leaders league, rankings

Legal 500 2016 – EMEA Ranking – Industry focus: IT, telecoms and the internet – Band 3

K&L Gates is ranked in the Industry focus: IT, telecoms and the internet ranking as Band 3

“Headed by E. Drouard, K&L Gates LLP’s six-lawyer team assists major companies with digital transformation, outsourcing matters and IT systems integration. It also advises on cutting-edge data protection matters. Altarea-Cogedim Group and Voyages-SNCF.com are clients, as are a number of luxury goods manufacturers and advertising groups. Senior associate Claude-Etienne Armingaud is another name to note.”

Source: Legal 500 EMEA

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The French Take On The Blockchain

March 30th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Blockchain | France | Legislation - (0 Comments)

On March 24, the French National Assembly hosted a day-long conference on “Blockchain: Disruption and Opportunities.”

This event aimed at raising awareness of the French elected representatives and corporate executives on blockchain issues and potential uses for the digital transformation of society as a whole.

The closing statement provided by Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Economy, was subsequently echoed by his announcement on March 29 of the upcoming adaptation of the French finance regulatory framework in order to progressively allow the introduction of the technology.

This adaptation should first open up to experimentation on the mini-bond market, to be expanded to other tools.

Mr. Macron stated that he was “aware of the importance of the disruptive potential of the blockchain” while the regulatory framework was limited by the current French and European regulations, which prevented the use of the blockchain “in real-life situations, i.e. with real clients and not exclusively in closed beta test scenario within a given financial institution.”

It was also announced that a ministerial ordinance had just been submitted for review to the French Administrative Supreme Court (“Conseil d’État”) to allow for such experimentation in the coming weeks.

First published on K&L Gates FinTech Law Blog.

Table ronde #1 – Produits et services : les tendances de 2016, Conference Automobile Connectee – Le Journal de l’Automobile, Paris

February 6th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Conference | Connected Cars | Non classé - (0 Comments)

Automated Vehicles – Comparative views across the Pond

January 29th, 2016 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Connected Cars | Europe | Privacy - (0 Comments)

While the Obama administration just announced that the financing of the autonomous car would be one of its last projects during the Detroit Auto Show, the research services from the European Parliament also published a prospective note on a similar topic.

The two projects share a same ambition: reduce the death toll on the roads as well as energy consumption. (more…)

Big Data, Concurrence, Données Personnelles, e-Commerce, Europe, Gouvernement, Internet, Législation, livre numérique, Régulation

L’avocat à l’ere numerique, FNUJA de Draguignan

Prima Biomed Ltd. completed the acquisition of Immutep, S.A. for $25 million.

December 17th, 2014 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Communication | Deal | eHealth - (0 Comments)

Prima Biomed Ltd. (ASX:PRR) entered into an agreement to acquire Immutep, S.A. for $28 million in cash, shares and warrants on October 2, 2014. Acquisition funding of the total consideration of up to approximately $28 million will be funded with up to $18 million in cash, partly based on the achievement of key milestones, the issue of Prima ordinary shares totaling approximately $3 million and based on a VWAP calculation and the issue of 200 million warrants equating to a consideration value of approximately $7 million. In order to fund the acquisition and provide ongoing working capital, Prima Biomed has secured an investment agreement with Bergen Global Opportunity Fund, LP managed by Bergen Asset Management for up to $37.4 million. Immutep’s founder and Scientific and Medical Director, Frederic Triebel will join Prima as its Chief Scientific Officer, along with his scientific team, to oversee the LAG-3 development program and to advise on the ongoing development of CVac. The deal is subject to approval of Prima Biomed Ltd. shareholders. As of November 14, 2014, the transaction was approved by shareholders of Prima Biomed Ltd.

Adam Holdsworth from ProActive Capital, Matthew Gregorowski from Citadel Communications and Axel Muhlhaus from edicto GmbH acted as the public relation advisors in this transaction. Jean-Patrice Labautière, François Lan, Alexandre Brossier, Claude-Etienne Armingaud, Ariane Samson-Divisia, Julie Bouchard, Bertrand Dussert and Glenn Hughes of K&L Gates acted as legal advisors to Prima Biomed Ltd. Pascale Gallien and Vincent Maufront of Heenan Paris acted as legal advisors for shareholders of Immutep.

Prima Biomed Ltd. (ASX:PRR) completed the acquisition of Immutep, S.A. for $25 million in cash, shares and warrants on December 17, 2014. Prima made upfront cash payment of $10.8 million with the remaining cash component of $7.2 million partly payable on the achievement of a predetermined milestone and partly payable after 12 months subject to the satisfaction of warranty retention arrangements. The total consideration paid by Prima for the acquisition is estimated to be approximately $25 million as opposed to the previously $28 million. The difference is attributable to the reduction in value of the warrants based on the Black Scholes option pricing model using updated market data.