Recently, the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) delivered a pivotal ruling on BSPCEs’ tax regime, a specialized form of stock options.
Understanding BSPCEs:
- BSPCEs, known formally as bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise, aren’t a music genre or a trendy substance; they’re a unique stock option variant.
- Introduced in 1998, BSPCEs offer a legally regulated framework for employee share ownership, aiming to foster loyalty and engagement in burgeoning companies.
Key Characteristics:
- BSPCEs are exclusively available to unlisted limited companies or those with a market capitalization under €150m, contingent upon specific ownership criteria.
- Issuing firms must have a registration history of less than 15 years, typically aligning with startups’ profiles.
- Essentially, BSPCEs are tailor-made stock options crafted to suit the dynamics of startup environments.
Beneficiaries and Mechanics:
- Employees or directors are the intended beneficiaries, receiving the privilege to convert BSPCEs into shares, contingent upon performance metrics and tenure.
- The conversion price, set at grant time, enables potential gains linked to the company’s valuation upticks.
Our Tax Team
- Pierre Bonamy, Partner
- Nicolas Guilland, Associate
