Société par actions simplifiée[1] (SAS; simplified joint-stock company in British English or simplified corporation in American English) is a French type of business entity. It is the first hybrid entity[definition needed] enacted under French law and based on common law principles rather than civil.[clarification needed] It is similar to a limited liability company under United States law, as the Delaware LLC was the model used by the French government.[citation needed] The SAS is also similar to the limited company in British law, and most other hybrids, though the hybrid in civil-law countries is quite different because there is also a hybrid of common law principles applied.
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A société par actions simplifiée has its annual statements audited by an independent body and published. The head of a société par actions simplifiée is its président. However, unlike the société anonyme, it does not have a board. The président is also responsible for the operation of the company. The company may also have a directeur général (managing director), who has the same authority as the président with respect to third parties. The président can be either a physical person or a corporation, if there is only one shareholder. An SAS with only one shareholder is known as a société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle (SASU).
The société par actions simplifiée form of organization is useful for companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries of another company, often a publicly traded corporation, since it does not need a complex capital equity structure. An example of this is European aerospace giant Airbus, which is an SAS wholly owned by a Dutch-based societas Europaea of the same name. It is also useful for companies held by families or small, close-knit groups of families. For example, the Louis Dreyfus Group, a trading conglomerate, is held in this manner by members of the Louis-Dreyfus family.
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