As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 24, 2005 Registration No. 333- --------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC 20549 ---------------------------------------------------------- FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 ---------------------------------------------------------- SCOR --------------------------------------------- (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) N/A --------------------------------------------- (Translation of Registrant's Name into English) The Republic of France Not Applicable -------------------------------- ------------------------------ (Jurisdiction of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 1, Avenue du General de Gaulle 92074 Paris-La Defense Cedex, France (Address of Principal Executive Offices) ---------------------------------------------------------- SPECIFIC STOCK OPTIONS PLAN FOR THE SUBSCRIPTION OF SHARES TO BE ISSUED, DATED AUGUST 25, 2005 (Full Titles of the Plan) ---------------------------------------------------------- Maxine Verne, Esq. Please send copies of all SCOR U.S. Corporation communications to: 199 Water Street Scott R. Saks, Esq. New York, New York 10038-3526 Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (212) 884-9003 30 Avenue de Messine (Name, Address and Telephone Number 75008 Paris, France of Agent For Service) +33 1 42 99 04 50 CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE ----------------- --------------- -------------------- ---------- -------------- Title of Amount to be Proposed Maximum Proposed Amount of Securities to Registered(2) Offering Price Per Maximum Registration be Registered(1) Share(3) Aggregate Fee(3) Offering Price(3) ----------------- --------------- -------------------- ---------- -------------- Ordinary Shares 550,000 $1. 49 ((euro)1.14) $819,500 $96.46 of SCOR, no par value ----------------- --------------- -------------------- ---------- -------------- (1) American Depositary Receipts evidencing American Depositary Shares issuable on deposit of the Ordinary Shares have been registered pursuant to separate Registration Statements on Form F-6 (Registration Nos. 333-05684; 333-112953). Each American Depositary Share represents one Ordinary Share. (2) Consists of Ordinary Shares which will be deliverable pursuant to the exercise of stock options granted under the Specific Stock Options Plan for the Subscription of Shares to be Issued, dated August 25, 2005, of SCOR (the "Plan"). The amount being registered also includes an indeterminate number of Ordinary Shares which may be offered as a result of stock splits, stock dividends and anti-dilution provisions and other terms, in accordance with Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. (3) Pursuant to Rule 457(h)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the proposed maximum offering price per share, maximum aggregate offering price and amount of the registration fee have been computed on the basis of (euro) 1.14, the exercise price of options pursuant to which the Ordinary Shares may be issued, converted to U.S. dollars at a rate of $1.3049 per (euro)1.00, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Noon Buying Rate on January 21, 2005. PART I INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS As permitted by Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), this Registration Statement omits the information specified in Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the plans covered by this Registration Statement as required by Rule 428(b). These documents and the documents incorporated herein by reference pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act. Such documents are not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act. 2 PART II INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ITEM 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference The Commission allows us to "incorporate by reference" the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this Registration Statement, and later information that we file with the Commission will automatically update and supersede this information. The documents listed below have been filed with or furnished to the Commission by SCOR, and are incorporated herein by reference: o SCOR's Annual Report on Form 20-F/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, filed with the Commission on October 20, 2004 (File No. 001-14518); o SCOR's Report on Form 6-K, dated December 22, 2004 (File No. 001-14518); and o The description of Ordinary Shares and American Depositary Shares contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, dated October 1, 1996 (File No. 001-14518), as such description has been amended by Amendments 1 and 2 on Form 8-A/A filed with the Commission on December 12, 2003 and May 18, 2004, and including any other amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. All documents subsequently filed by SCOR pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and, to the extent designated therein, certain reports on Form 6-K filed or furnished by SCOR, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all the Ordinary Shares and/or American Depositary Shares offered hereby have been sold or that deregisters all Ordinary Shares and/or American Depositary Shares then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into, and to be a part of, this Registration Statement from the date of filing or furnishing of those documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed or furnished document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement. ITEM 4. Description of Securities Not applicable. ITEM 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel The validity of the Ordinary Shares will be passed upon for us by Emmanuelle Rousseau, our General Counsel. Ms. Rousseau is a full time employee of SCOR and is eligible to participate in certain of our employee benefit plans and receive Ordinary Shares thereunder. Ms. Rousseau currently holds less than 0.01% of our outstanding Ordinary Shares. ITEM 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers 3 French law prohibits the registrant from entering into indemnification agreements with its directors and officers providing for limitations on personal liability for damages and other costs and expenses that may be incurred by directors and officers arising out of or related to acts or omissions in such capacity. French law also prohibits the registrant from providing for limitation of liability of a member of the board of directors. Generally, under French law, directors and officers will not be held personally liable for decisions taken diligently and in the corporate interest of the registrant. The registrant has contracted liability insurance for its directors and officers and for all the directors and officers of its subsidiaries. ITEM 7. Exemption From Registration Claimed Not applicable. ITEM 8. Exhibits 4.1 Specific Stock Options Plan for the Subscription of Shares to be Issued, dated August 25, 2004 4.2 Form of Grant Letter 4.3 Translation from French into English of SCOR's Memorandum and Articles of Association, as last amended on May 18, 2004 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1 of SCOR's Annual Report on Form 20-F/A for the year ended December 31, 2003 (File No. 001-14518)) 4.4 Form of Deposit Agreement, dated as of October 8, 1996, as amended and restated as of December 1, 2003, among SCOR, The Bank of New York as Depositary, and all Owners and Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary Receipts issued thereunder (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a) of SCOR's Registration Statement on Form F-6 filed with the Commission on February 19, 2004 (File No. 333-112953)) 5.1 Opinion of the SCOR General Counsel 23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 23.2 Consent of the SCOR General Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1) 24 Power of Attorney (included on signature page) ITEM 9. Undertakings (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes: (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act; 4 (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration statement. (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference into the registration statement. (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. 5 SIGNATURES AND POWER OF ATTORNEY Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Paris and the Republic of France, on this 21st day of January, 2005. SCOR By: /s/ Denis Kessler ------------------------------- Denis Kessler Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 6 KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Denis Kessler, Patrick Thourot, Christophe Le Bars and Emmanuelle Rousseau and each of them, jointly and severally, the undersigned's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, in the undersigned's name and in the capacity indicated below, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting to such attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do all other acts and things requisite or necessary to be done, and to execute all such other documents as they, or any of them, may deem necessary or desirable in connection with the foregoing, as fully as the undersigned might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or the undersigned's substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Signatures Title Date ---------- ----- ---- /s/ Denis Kessler Chairman and Chief Executive January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Officer (Principal Executive Denis Kessler Officer) /s/ Marcel Kahn Chief Financial Officer January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Marcel Kahn /s/ Aymeric Oudin Principal Accounting Officer January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Aymeric Oudin Director ---------------------------- Michele Aronvald /s/ Helman le Pas de Secheval Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Helman le Pas de Secheval /s/ Antonio Borges Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Antonio Borges Director ---------------------------- Allan Chapin, Esq. /s/ Daniel Havis Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Daniel Havis /s/ Yvon Lamontagne Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Yvon Lamontagne 7 Director ---------------------------- Daniel Lebegue /s/ Andre Levy-Lang Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Andre Levy-Lang /s/ Herbert Schimetschek Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Herbert Schimetschek /s/ Jean-Claude Seys Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Jean-Claude Seys /s/ Jean Simmonet Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Jean Simmonet /s/ Claude Tendil Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Claude Tendil /s/ Daniel Valot Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Daniel Valot /s/ Carlo Acutis Director January 21, 2005 ---------------------------- Carlo Acutis SCOR U.S. CORPORATION January 21, 2005 Authorized U.S. Representative /s/ Maxine Verne ---------------------------- Maxine Verne Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary 8 EXHIBIT INDEX 4.1 Specific Stock Options Plan for the Subscription of Shares to be Issued, dated August 25, 2004................... Filed electronically herewith. 4.2 Form of Grant Letter.................... Filed electronically herewith. 4.3 Translation from French into English of SCOR's Memorandum and Articles of Association, as last amended on May 18, 2004 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1 SCOR's Annual Report on Form 20-F/A for the year ended December 31, 2003 (File No. 001-14518)).............. Incorporated by reference. 4.4 Form of Deposit Agreement, dated as of October 8, 1996, as amended and restated as of December 1, 2003, among SCOR, The Bank of New York as Depositary, and all Owners and Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary Receipts issued thereunder (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a) of SCOR's Registration Statement on Form F-6 filed with the Commission on February 19, 2004 (File No. 333-112953)).................. Incorporated by reference. 5.1 Opinion of the SCOR General Counsel..... Filed electronically herewith. 23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm......................... Filed electronically herewith. 23.2 Consent of the SCOR General Counsel..... Contained in Exhibit 5.1. 24 Power of Attorney....................... Included in signature pages.