|
TITLE II Share Capital – Shares |
ARTICLE 6 – SHARE CAPITAL
The share capital is set at an amount of 6,504,749,885.00 euros, represented by 2,601,899,954 shares of 2.50 euros each.
ARTICLE 7 – PAYING UP SHARES
Subscriptions to shares are made in accordance with applicable law.
The Board of Directors determines the amount and the payment due dates of any cash sums remaining to be paid on the shares.
Any calls for funds are published at least two weeks in advance in a newspaper for legal notices in the department of the registered office.
Any payment not made by the applicable due date shall automatically bear interest, without further notice, in favor of the Company at the legal rate increased by one percent from the due date until the settlement date.
ARTICLE 8 – FORM AND TRANSFER OF SHARES
Fully paid up shares may be held as registered shares or bearer shares, at the shareholder’s option.
The shares are entered in a stock ledger.
Bearer shares and registered shares are freely transferable.
ARTICLE 9 – IDENTIFICATION OF SHAREHOLDERS –
DECLARATION OF CROSSING OWNERSHIP THRESHOLDS
The Company is authorized, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to identify the holders of securities that grant immediate or future voting rights at the Company’s Shareholders’ Meetings.
In addition to obligations that shareholders may have under applicable law to notify the Company upon crossing certain percentages of share ownership or voting rights, any person, whether a natural person or a legal entity, who comes to hold, directly or indirectly, 1% or more, or any multiple of 1%, of the share capital or the voting rights or of securities that may include future voting rights or future access to share capital or voting rights, is required to inform the Company by registered mail with return receipt requested, indicating the number of securities or voting rights held, within a period of 15 days from the date of crossing each of the said thresholds.
In determining the ownership or voting rights percentages provided for in the previous paragraph, shares or voting rights held by controlled companies, as defined in ArticleL.233-3 of the French Commercial Code, must be included if applicable.
In the event of a failure to declare ownership of shares or voting rights as described above, any shares or voting rights exceeding the fraction that should have been declared may be deprived of voting rights at a Shareholders’ Meeting if, at the meeting, the failure to declare ownership of such shares or voting rights has been noted and if one or several shareholders holding, collectively, at least 3% of the Company’s capital or voting rights so request at such meeting.
Any natural person or legal entity is also required to inform the Company in the manner and within the time periods set forth above in the fourth paragraph of this Article 9 when his direct or indirect holdings fall below each of the applicable thresholds in said paragraph.
4