Atos chooses Onepoint’s consortium as its new acquirer, putting the French IT company in the hands of Atos’ largest shareholder.
Onepoint is Atos’ largest shareholder, and a proposal was made in partnership with Butler Industries and Econocom. These proposals met Atos’ objectives, which included debt reduction and financing needs. One other party was in the race to become the new acquirer: EP Equity Investment.
Atos defended the choice with three motivations. Onepoint has a strong business interest, is consistent with the financial parameters being pursued, and has the support already obtained from a large part of Atos’ creditors.
The consortium was led by David Layani, who previously announced his intention to become CEO of the French IT service provider. Layani would thus like to take over from Paul Saleh, Atos’s brand-new chief executive, who landed the position after Yves Bernaert stepped down in January due to a disagreement.
Financial restructuring
The consortium will immediately begin developing a plan for Atos’ financial restructuring. In consultation with Atos, this plan should already receive approval next month.
The consortium has already committed to a 1.5 billion euro loan to Atos and is investing 250 million euros directly into the IT company. The company is struggling with a debt burden of 2.9 billion euros, which needs to be converted into equity.
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