The IT group Atos, which is experiencing major financial difficulties, is canceling its capital increase project launched last summer, but is continuing its discussions with billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to sell part of its activities to him, he announced. Monday morning. In addition, the French group requested “the designation of an ad hoc agent”, a preventive measure, to lead “discussions with its banks with a view to reaching a plan to refinance its financial debt”, he said. he indicated in a press release.
“Given the evolution of the market context, the conditions for carrying out the capital increase project with preferential subscription rights of 720 million euros are no longer met,” Atos underlined. This project, which was announced for a total of 900 million euros last summer, had already been revised downwards at the beginning of January. Furthermore, “discussions with EPEI”, the investment company of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, “are continuing” but still “without certainty that they will lead to an agreement”. These discussions concern the sale of Tech Foundations, the entity which brings together Atos’ historic outsourcing activities.
The stakes are high: faced with a wall of debt with 3.65 billion euros of loans and bonds to be repaid or refinanced before the end of 2025, Artos must reach an agreement for this transaction if it wants to regain a little air. This proposed sale was announced last summer, but had triggered an outcry from LR elected officials (anxious to keep this strategic company “in the French fold”), business circles and shareholder funds. An information mission was created by the Senate.
At the same time, negotiations with Airbus for the purchase of Big Data activities
Without reaching this extreme, the group wishes to call on an “ad hoc agent” to “supervise” discussions with the banks about its debt and “facilitate a rapid outcome”. “The ad hoc agent is an independent third party whose mission would be in particular to assist the company in its discussions” with the banks, “with a view to converging towards an adequate financial solution as quickly as possible,” specifies Atos. “The ad hoc mandate is an amicable procedure allowing negotiations to be conducted in a confidential framework,” recalls the group. According to him, “the ad hoc mandate would only concern the financial debt” and would have “no impact on employees, customers and suppliers”.
At the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange, the shares of the IT group Atos fell by almost 17%, to 3.27 euros, in the first trades on the Paris Stock Exchange, in the wake of strategic announcements this Monday morning. . Around 10:00 a.m., the group’s shares fell 24.57% to 2.97 euros, reaching their historic lows. Since January 1, the stock has lost nearly 58%.
