France plans strategic acquisition at Atos

The French government has made an offer to acquire parts of Atos SE considered strategic, amounting to an enterprise value of 500 million euros, potentially reaching up to 625 million euros including success fees. This time, following the expiration of a previous state offer, the proposal is non-binding and concerns the advanced computing activities of the Big Data and Security unit of the struggling IT company. High-performance and quantum computing, business computing, and AI activities are particularly in focus. The exclusive offer is valid until May 2025. Atos, an important supplier to major French industries, including nuclear facilities and last summer's Olympic Games in Paris, is trying to alleviate its looming debt burden, which threatens its operational continuance, by selling parts of its business. A French commercial court approved Atos's restructuring plan last month, providing the company with new funds for continuation and transferring control to the creditors. The review of the sale of strategic business parts is overseen by the creditors, with the goal of implementing the rescue measures by the end of the year. Previously, the French state offered to acquire the company’s supercomputing division as part of a larger 700-million-euro bidding process, which also expired and included other business areas. Atos also announced the initiation of a formal sales process for the remaining parts of the BDS unit, including the so-called mission-critical systems and their cybersecurity offerings. The sale of the remaining BDS assets is to occur "based on a list of potential buyers approved by the French government," the French Ministry of Finance stated in a separate communiqué. Previously, the French defense company Thales had expressed interest in some of the assets.