France

Cooley’s multidisciplinary team advises French technology and life sciences companies in all stages of growth, as well as the US, European and French investors and acquirers of those companies. We are deeply connected to the French innovation ecosystem, both in France and in key US and international markets. Clients trust us to help them successfully navigate their unique challenges because of our vast experience advising dynamic venture-backed companies, and their investors, globally.

Our team’s approach provides our French clients with access to leading lawyers in complex areas, including private financing and public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, tax and more.

Many of our team members are fluent in French and are frequently on the ground in Paris – staying closely connected to local market dynamics – and some are French-qualified lawyers. Backed by decades of history in the region, we know how to align strategy across legal, practical and cultural nuances – ensuring clients are seamlessly guided through jurisdictional complexity and international expansion.

We routinely provide our French clients with legal services, such as:

• Setting up local US subsidiaries, aligning commercial forms and policies to US standards and assisting with other aspects of establishing a presence in the United States.
• Working with French counsel to guide startup and growth companies through all stages of private financings and public offerings, including company-side and investor-side cross-border venture financings.
• Structuring and implementing US and international business operations, strategic alliances, joint ventures and reorganizations.
• Establishing and executing US option and employee benefits plans, grants of options and other incentive compensation arrangements.
• Advising on corporate, litigation and employment matters.
• Counseling buyers, sellers, investors and other stakeholders in connection with mergers and acquisitions.
• Providing international tax planning for French companies across a range of business transactions, including cross-border M&A, joint ventures and tax-efficient structuring or restructuring of international operations.
• Advising clients on how to protect and commercialize their technology.
• Assisting with international financing and derivative transactions, financial instruments, Subpart F and PFIC issues, and US real estate investments.
• Leading IPOs of French issuers on US exchanges, as well as advising clients and boards of directors on foreign private issuer (FPI) legal, regulatory and listing requirements throughout the IPO life cycle.

By the numbers

• 7,000+ innovative, high-growth private company clients worldwide
• 1,600+ VC financings annually, with an equal split between investor and company representation
• 1,600+ M&A transactions globally, for an aggregate value of more than $745 billion since 2020
• #1 law firm for completing venture-backed IPOs for 15+ years (IPO Vital Signs)
• Top law firm for European FPI IPOs (Deal Point Data, 2016 – 2025)
• 78% of French FPI IPOs (Deal Point Data, 2016 – 2025)
• 86% of French biotech FPI IPOs (Deal Point Data, 2016 – 2025)
• 33% market share for European FPI IPOs (Deal Point Data, 2016 – 2025)
• 53% market share for all European biotech FPI IPOs (Deal Point Data, 2016 – 2025)

Representative experience

• Multiple US and international investors in strategic transactions with leading French AI companies
• ScorePlay in its $13 million Series A and $5 million Series Seed funding rounds
• Upway in its $60 million Series C, $30 million Series B and $25 million Series A funding rounds
• Contentsquare in its agreement to acquire Loris AI
• Amolyt Pharma in its agreement to be acquired by AstraZeneca in an up to $1.05 billion cross-border transaction
• Lectra in its acquisition of the majority of the capital of Launchmetrics
• Abivax in its $235.8 million IPO
• Contentsquare in its agreement to acquire Heap
• Cellectis (as underwriter counsel) on its $60 million at-the-market facility and $25 million follow-on offering
• ERYTECH Pharma in its acquisition by Pherecydes Pharma, resulting in new entity PHAXIAM Therapeutics
• Contentsquare in its $400 million Series F, which doubled its valuation
• ERYTECH Pharma in the sale of its US manufacturing facility to Catalent Pharma
• Valneva in its $93.5 million IPO
• GENFIT in its win against a Section 11 suit
• Checkr in its Series E, which raised its valuation to $4.6 billion
• Aircall in its Series D, which led it to reach unicorn status
• Contentsquare in its Series E, which raised its valuation to $2.8 billion
• Valneva SE (as issuer counsel) on its $107.6 million US IPO and European private placement, €190.9 million in aggregate global follow-on offerings, €60 million global private placement and $75 million at-the-market facility
• Nanobiotix in its $113 million IPO
• Sazerac in the acquisition of Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy from Constellation Brands
• Sazerac in the acquisition of Whiskey Brands and Distillery from Brown-Forman
• Aircall in its $65 million Series C funding
• Contentsquare in its $190 million Series D funding
• Inventiva (as issuer counsel) on its multi-tranche equity financing of up to €348 million and $107.7 million US IPO
• Innate Pharma (as issuer counsel) on its $79 million US IPO and European private offering and $75 million at-the-market facility
• GENFIT SA (as issuer counsel) in its $155.4 million IPO
• DBV Technologies (as issuer counsel) in follow-on offerings raising $831 million in aggregate
• PeopleDoc in its sale to Ultimate Software for approximately $300 million
• ERYTECH Pharma (as issuer counsel) on its $143.7 million US IPO and European private offering, multiple private placements totaling €106 million to US and European investors, $30 million at-the-market facility and $37.85 million in registered direct offerings
• DBV Technologies (as underwriter counsel) in its $133 million US IPO and European private offering
• Criteo (as issuer counsel) in its $288 million IPO