Update, 29/2, 11:55 am: Atos strengthens its Board of Directors with three new members. The company is restarting after the deal with EPEI was cancelled. This deal would take over the Tech Foundations unit, as well as much of Atos’ debt. This deal fell apart, but businessman Křetínský appears to be preparing a new offer.
Today, Atos announced that David Layani and Helen Lee Bouygues will join the Board to defend the positions of shareholder Onepoint. Onepoint is the main shareholder of the French IT group and holds 11.4 percent of the shares. Mandy Metten joins as Employee Director.
Onepoint would also be interested in acquiring the Tech Foundations part of Atos. Bloomberg reports this based on sources involved in the negotiations. They report that Daniel Křetínský, who heads EPEI, is also preparing a new offer. The previous deal was recently cancelled after no agreement was reached on the terms and price of the sale. According to the sources, Křetínský waits for the moment to see whether his group is asked to participate in the ongoing negotiations on the refinancing of Atos’ debts.
Also read: Atos tries to refinance outstanding debts
Original, 28/2, 10:31 am: Negotiations between Atos and EP Equity Investment (EPEI) have been brought to an end. No agreement was reached on the terms and price of the sale.
EPEI, which is under the leadership of Czech businessman Daniel Křetínský, is not acquiring a part of Atos. During the exclusive negotiations, a possible sale of Tech Foundations was discussed. This unit experienced negative growth in earnings (-1.7 percent) last year, annual figures show.
The French company’s net debt totalled 2.23 billion euros at the end of 2023. To get rid of the huge debt, the acquisition by EPEI was an interesting option, as it was previously said that EPEI would take over the 1.9 billion euro debt of this division.
Split remains
Atos indicates that Tech Foundations and Eviden will remain separate parts, each with its own focus and strategy. “Atos will continue to consider strategic options that are in the best interests of its customers, employees and shareholders,” the company added.
For Eviden’s earnings, the results are better, with this unit growing from 2 percent in 2022 to 2.9 percent in 2023. Atos’ free cash flow has sunken deeper, from -187 million euros in 2022 to -1,078 million euros in 2023.
Ongoing negotiations with Airbus
Negotiations between Atos and Airbus are still ongoing, though. Through these discussions, Atos could sell its Big Data & Cybersecurity business unit. Talks with Airbus have already reached a stage where both parties are starting a due diligence process, in which a careful analysis of the other party is done. An offer between 1.5 and 1.8 billion euros has also already been made.
The French state is encouraging this sale. That statement came after French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated that the country will preserve the IT service provider’s strategic business “by all possible means”.
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