Date: March 3, 2017

IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES LEGISLATION OF ONTARIO (the Jurisdiction)

AND

IN THE MATTER OF THE PROCESS FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF APPLICATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS

AND

IN THE MATTER OF SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC S.E. (the Filer)

DECISION

Background

The principal regulator in the Jurisdiction has received an application from the Filer for a decision under the securities legislation of the Jurisdiction (the Legislation) for:

1. an exemption from the prospectus requirement (the Prospectus Relief) so that such requirement does not apply to

(a) trades of:

(i) units (the 2017 Units) of a temporary fonds commun de placement d’entreprise or “FCPE”, a form of collective shareholding vehicle commonly used in France for the conservation of shares held by employee-investors, named Schneider Relais International 2017 (the 2017 Fund); and

(ii) units (together with the 2017 Units, the Temporary Classic Units and together with the 2017 Units and the Principal Classic Units (as defined below), the Units) of future temporary FCPEs organized in the same manner as the 2017 Fund (together with the 2017 Fund, the Temporary Classic Funds),

made under an International Employee Shareholding Plan (IESP) to or with Qualifying Employees (as defined below) resident in the Jurisdiction and the Other Offering Jurisdictions (as defined below) (collectively, the Canadian Employees, and Canadian Employees who subscribe for Temporary Classic Units, the Canadian Participants);

(b) trades of ordinary shares of the Filer (the Shares) by the Classic Fund to or with Canadian Participants upon the redemption of Units as requested by Canadian Participants (the term “Classic Fund” used herein means, prior to the Merger (as defined below), a Temporary Classic Fund and following the Merger, an FCPE named Schneider Actionnariat Mondial (the Principal Classic Fund)); and

2. an exemption from the dealer registration requirement (the Registration Relief, and together with the Prospectus Relief, the Offering Relief) so that such requirement does not apply to the Filer and its Local Related Entities (as defined below), the Classic Fund and Natixis Asset Management (the Management Company) in respect of:

(a) trades in Units made pursuant to an Employee Offering (as defined below) to or with Canadian Employees; and

(b) trades in Shares by the Classic Fund to or with Canadian Participants upon the redemption of Units as requested by Canadian Participants.

Under the Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions (for a passport application):

(a) the Ontario Securities Commission is the principal regulator for this application, and

(b) the Filer has provided notice that section 4.7(1) of Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System (MI 11-102) is intended to be relied upon in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (the Other Offering Jurisdictions).

Interpretation

Terms defined in National Instrument 14-101 Definitions and MI 11-102 have the same meaning if used in this decision, unless otherwise defined.

“Related entity” has the same meaning given to such term in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions (NI 45-106) under the heading “Division 4 – Employee Executive Officer, Director and Consultant Exemptions”.

Representations

This decision is based on the following facts represented by the Filer:

1. The Filer is a corporation formed under the laws of France. It is not, and has no current intention of becoming, a reporting issuer under the Legislation or the securities legislation of any other jurisdiction of Canada. The head office of the Filer is located in France and the Shares are listed on Euronext. The Filer is not in default of securities legislation of any jurisdiction of Canada.

2. The Filer carries on business in Canada through certain related entities and has established a global employee share offering of the Filer under the IESP (the 2017 Employee Offering) and expects to establish subsequent global employee share offerings of the Filer following 2017 for the next four years that are substantially similar (Subsequent Employee Offerings, and together with the 2017 Employee Offering, Employee Offerings) for Qualifying Employees and its participating related entities, including related entities that employ Canadian Employees (Local Related Entities, and together with the Filer and other related entities of the Filer, the Schneider Electric Group). Each Local Related Entity is a direct or indirect controlled subsidiary of the Filer and no Local Related Entity has any current intention of becoming a reporting issuer under the Legislation or the securities legislation of any other jurisdiction of Canada. The Canadian headquarters of the Schneider Electric Group are in Ontario. There are more assets and clients of the Schneider Electric Group in Ontario than in any other jurisdiction of Canada.

3. As of the date hereof, “Local Related Entities” include Control Microsystems Inc., Schneider Electric Systems Canada Inc., Power Measurement Ltd., Power Measurement, Inc., Schneider Electric Canada Inc., Schneider Electric Software Canada Inc. and Viconics Technologies Inc. For any Subsequent Employee Offering, the list of “Local Related Entities” may change.

4. Each Employee Offering will be made under the terms as set out herein and for greater certainty, all of the representations will be true for each Employee Offering other than paragraphs 3, 11, 23 and 29 which may change (save for references to the 2017 Fund and the 2017 Employee Offering which will be varied such that they are read as references to the relevant Temporary Classic Fund and Subsequent Employee Offering, respectively).

5. As of the date hereof and after giving effect to any Employee Offering, Canadian residents do not and will not beneficially own more than 10% of the Shares (which term, for the purposes of this paragraph, is deemed to include all Shares held by the Classic Fund on behalf of Canadian Participants) issued and outstanding, and do not and will not represent in number more than 10% of the total number of holders of the Shares as shown on the books of the Filer.

6. Each Employee Offering involves an offering of Shares to be subscribed through a Temporary Classic Fund, which will be merged with the Principal Classic Fund following completion of the Employee Offering (the Classic Plan).

7. Only persons who are employees of an entity forming part of the Schneider Electric Group during the subscription period for an Employee Offering and who meet other employment criteria (the Qualifying Employees) will be allowed to participate in the relevant Employee Offering.

8. The 2017 Fund was established for the purpose of implementing the 2017 Employee Offering. The Principal Classic Fund was established for the purpose of implementing the Employee Offering generally. There is no current intention for any of the 2017 Fund or the Principal Classic Fund to become a reporting issuer under the Legislation or the securities legislation of any other jurisdiction of Canada. There is no intention for any Temporary Classic Fund that will be established for the purpose of implementing Subsequent Employee Offerings to become a reporting issuer under the Legislation or the securities legislation of any other jurisdiction of Canada.

9. The 2017 Fund and the Principal Classic Fund are FCPEs and are registered with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (the French AMF). It is expected that each Temporary Classic Fund established for Subsequent Employee Offerings will be a French FCPE and registered with, and approved by, the French AMF.

10. Under the Classic Plan, each Employee Offering will be made as follows:

(a) Canadian Participants will subscribe for the relevant Temporary Classic Units, and the relevant Temporary Classic Fund will then subscribe for Shares on behalf of Canadian Participants using the Canadian Participants’ contributions and the employer contributions from Local Related Entities that employ the Canadian Participants, as described in paragraph 10(h). The subscription price will be the Canadian dollar equivalent of the average opening price of the Shares (expressed in Euros) on Euronext for the 20 trading days preceding the date of fixing of the subscription price (the Reference Price) by the management board of the Filer, less a specified discount to the Reference Price.

(b) Initially, the Shares subscribed for will be held in the relevant Temporary Classic Fund and the Canadian Participants will receive the relevant Temporary Classic Units.

(c) Following the completion of an Employee Offering, the relevant Temporary Classic Fund will be merged with the Principal Classic Fund (subject to the approval of the supervisory board of the FCPEs and the French AMF). The Temporary Classic Units held by the Canadian Participants will be replaced with units of the Principal Classic Fund (the Principal Classic Units) on a pro rata basis and the Shares subscribed for will be held in the Principal Classic Fund (such transaction being referred to as the Merger). The Filer is relying on the exemption from the prospectus requirement pursuant to section 2.11 of NI 45-106 in respect of the issuance of Units of the Principal Classic Fund to Canadian Participants in connection with the Merger.

(d) The Units will be subject to a hold period of approximately five years (the Lock-Up Period), subject to certain exceptions provided for in the IESP and adopted for an Employee Offering in Canada (such as a release on death, termination of employment or the Canadian Participant’s employer ceases to be an affiliate of the Filer).

(e) Any dividends paid on the Shares held in the Classic Fund will be contributed to the Classic Fund and used to purchase additional Shares. To reflect this reinvestment, no new Units will be issued. Instead, the reinvestment will increase the asset base of the Classic Fund as well as the value of the Units held by Canadian Participants.

(f) At the end of the relevant Lock-Up Period, a Canadian Participant may (i) request the redemption of his or her Units in the Classic Fund in consideration for a cash payment equal to the then market value of the Shares, or (ii) continue to hold his or her Units in the Classic Fund and request the redemption of those Units at a later date in consideration for a cash payment equal to the then market value of the Shares. Subject to certain changes in the regulations of the Classic Fund which may be made, a Canadian Participant may be permitted to request the redemption of his or her Units in the Classic Fund in consideration for the underlying Shares (instead of a cash payment) at or after the end of the Lock-Up Period.

(g) In the event of an early exit resulting from a Canadian Participant exercising one of the exceptions to the Lock-Up Period and meeting the applicable criteria, the Canadian Participant may request the redemption of his or her Units in the Classic Fund in consideration for a cash payment equal to the then market value of the underlying Shares.

(h) As indicated in paragraph 10(a) above, the Local Related Entity employing a Canadian Participant will also contribute on behalf of such Canadian Participant an amount into the Classic Plan based on predetermined matching contribution rules.

11. For the 2017 Employee Offering, for each contribution that a Canadian Participant makes into the Classic Plan up to and including the Canadian dollar equivalent of €800, the Local Related Entity employing such Canadian Participant will contribute an additional 100% of such amount into the Classic Plan on behalf of such Canadian Participant. For the portion of each contribution that a Canadian Participant makes that is equal to or greater than the Canadian dollar equivalent of €801 and up to and including the Canadian dollar equivalent of €2,000, the Local Related Entity employing such Canadian Participant will contribute an additional 50% of such amount into the Classic Plan on behalf of such Canadian Participant. For clarity, the maximum contribution by a Local Related Entity in respect of a Canadian Participant is the Canadian dollar equivalent of €1,400 (i.e., 100% of the Canadian dollar equivalent of first €800 contribution and 50% of the Canadian dollar equivalent of the next €1,200 contribution). For each Subsequent Employee Offering, the matching contribution rules may change.

12. The subscription price for an Employee Offering will not be known to Canadian Employees until after the end of the applicable subscription period. However, this information will be provided to Canadian Employees prior to the start of the revocation period, during which Canadian Participants may choose to revoke all (but not part) of their subscription under the Classic Plan and thereby not participate in the relevant Employee Offering.

13. Under French law, an FCPE is a limited liability entity. The portfolio of the Classic Fund will consist almost entirely of Shares, but may, from time to time, include cash in respect of dividends paid on the Shares which will be reinvested in Shares and cash or cash equivalents pending investments in Shares and for the purposes of Unit redemptions.

14. The Management Company is a portfolio management company governed by the laws of France. The Management Company is registered with the French AMF to manage investments and complies with the rules of the French AMF. To the best of the Filer’s knowledge, the Management Company is not, and has no current intention of becoming, a reporting issuer under the Legislation or the securities legislation of the Other Offering Jurisdictions.

15. Only Qualifying Employees will be allowed to hold Units of the Classic Fund.

16. The Management Company’s portfolio management activities in connection with an Employee Offering and the Classic Fund are limited to subscribing for Shares from the Filer, selling such Shares as necessary in order to fund redemption requests and investing available cash in cash equivalents.

17. The Management Company is also responsible for preparing accounting documents and publishing periodic informational documents of the Classic Fund. The Management Company’s activities do not affect the underlying value of the Shares.

18. None of the entities forming part of the Schneider Electric Group, the Classic Fund, the Management Company or any of their directors, officers, employees, agents or representatives will provide investment advice to the Canadian Employees with respect to an investment in the Shares or the Units.

19. Shares issued pursuant to an Employee Offering will be deposited in the Classic Fund through CACEIS Bank (the Depositary), a large French commercial bank subject to French banking legislation.

20. Under French law, the Depositary must be selected by the Management Company from among a limited number of companies identified on a list maintained by the French Minister of the Economy and Finance and its appointment must be approved by the French AMF. The Depositary carries out orders to purchase, trade and sell securities in the portfolio and takes all necessary action to allow the Classic Fund to exercise the rights relating to the securities held in its portfolio.

21. Participation in an Employee Offering is voluntary, and the Canadian Employees will not be induced to participate in an Employee Offering by expectation of employment or continued employment.

22. The total amount invested by a Canadian Employee pursuant to an Employee Offering cannot exceed 25% of his or her gross eligible earnings.

23. For the 2017 Employee Offering, eligible earnings include the employee’s gross base salary as of March 1, 2017 as well as any bonus and/or overtime paid between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016.

24. The Shares and Units are not currently listed for trading on any stock exchange in Canada and there is no intention to have the Shares or the Units so listed.

25. None of the entities forming part of Schneider Electric Group, the Classic Fund or the Management Company is currently in default of securities legislation of any jurisdiction of Canada.

26. The Unit value of the Classic Fund will be calculated and reported to the French AMF on a regular basis, based on the net assets of the Classic Fund divided by the number of Units outstanding. The value of Classic Fund Units will be based on the value of the underlying Shares, but the number of Units of the Classic Fund will not correspond to the number of the underlying Shares (as dividends will be reinvested in additional Shares and increase the value of each Unit).

27. All management charges relating to the Classic Fund will be paid from the assets of the Classic Fund or by the Filer, as provided in the regulations of the Classic Fund.

28. The Canadian Employees will receive an information package in the French or English language, according to their preference, which will include a summary of the terms of the relevant Employee Offering and a description of Canadian income tax consequences of subscribing for and holding Units of the Classic Fund and requesting the redemption of such Units at the end of the applicable Lock-Up Period. Canadian Participants will have access to the Filer’s French Document de Référence filed with the French AMF in respect of the Shares and a copy of the regulations of the relevant Temporary Classic Fund and the Principal Classic Fund. The Canadian Employees will also have access to copies of the continuous disclosure materials relating to the Filer that are furnished to holders of the Shares. Canadian Participants will receive an initial statement of their holdings under the Classic Plan, together with an updated statement at least once per year.

29. For the 2017 Employee Offering, there are approximately 2,740 Canadian Employees resident in the Jurisdiction and the Other Offering Jurisdictions (with the greatest numbers, approximately 715, 689, 644 and 632 resident in Québec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, respectively), who represent, in the aggregate, less than 2% of the number of employees in the Schneider Electric Group worldwide.

Decision

The principal regulator is satisfied that the decision meets the test set out in the Legislation for the principal regulator to make the decision.

The decision of the principal regulator under the Legislation is that the Offering Relief is granted:

(a) for the 2017 Employee Offering provided that:

(i) the prospectus requirement will apply to the first trade in any Units or Shares acquired by Canadian Participants pursuant to this decision unless the following conditions are met:

(1) the issuer of the security

(A) was not a reporting issuer in any jurisdiction of Canada at the distribution date, or

(B) is not a reporting issuer in any jurisdiction of Canada at the date of the trade;

(2) at the distribution date, after giving effect to the issue of the security and any other securities of the same class or series that were issued at the same time as or as part of the same distribution as the security, residents of Canada

(A) did not own, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the outstanding securities of the class or series, and

(B) did not represent in number more than 10% of the total number of owners, directly or indirectly, of securities of the class or series; and

(3) the first trade is made

(A) through an exchange, or a market, outside of Canada, or

(B) to a person or company outside of Canada; and

(b) for any Subsequent Employee Offering under this decision completed within five years from the date of this decision, provided that (i) the representations other than those in paragraphs 3, 11, 23 and 29 remain true and correct in respect of that Subsequent Employee Offering, and (ii) the conditions set out in paragraph (a) above are satisfied as of the date of any distribution of a security under such Subsequent Employee Offering (varied such that any references therein to the 2017 Fund and the 2017 Employee Offering are read as references to the relevant Temporary Classic Fund and Subsequent Employee Offering, respectively).

“Anne Marie Ryan”
Commissioner
Ontario Securities Commission

“Janet Leiper”
Commissioner
Ontario Securities Commission