The French government has launched a new bid to acquire part of Atos, offering €500 million ($525m) for the IT vendor’s HPC, quantum, and artificial intelligence activities.
Details of the non-binding offer for what is referred to as Atos’s “advanced computing” business were revealed on Monday, with the French government having entered into an exclusivity period that runs until May 31, 2025.
If the deal goes ahead, the advanced computing operations will be carved out of the Atos BDS business unit, which also oversees the company’s cybersecurity and big data offerings.
Advanced computing employs 2,500 people and generated an income of €570 million ($599m) in 2023, Atos said. If a deal is reached by May 31, a share purchase agreement will be signed, entitling Atos to an up-front payment of €150 million ($157m).
The potential sale of the advanced computing business, which also includes Atos business computing, was included in the company’s financial rescue package, agreed earlier this year. This is designed to bring stability to Atos after years of financial uncertainty caused by mounting debt.
A previous bid by the French government to acquire part of Atos stalled in October, with the parties having failed to reach an agreement by the end of a previous exclusivity period. Since then the Élysée has acquired a preferred share in Bull SA, a supercomputing subsidiary of Atos. This will give it more influence on decisions about the company’s future.
The French Finance Commission recently adopted an amendment that could lead to a full nationalization of Atos. The change calls for €70 million ($73.8m) to be allocated to the exploration of a deal to acquire the company, which handles a number of sensitive contracts for the French state.
The amendment was included in the Finance Bill (PLF) for 2025 and will need to be confirmed by a vote and a parliamentary review.
Meanwhile, Atos has announced an extension of its contract with Eurocontrol, worth €165 million ($173m). Eurocontrol is a pan-European organization managing airspace and aviation, and Atos says the contract extension “will enable Eurocontrol to enhance the resilience of its IT infrastructure through the expert management of platforms, networks and security that underpin its critical applications.”
“Eurocontrol represents one of our most important partnerships in our Air Traffic Management business and I am grateful that they have once again entrusted Atos with the management of their mission-critical assets. We will continue to marshal Atos Group capabilities to support Eurocontrol in its ambition to support growth across its aviation network,” said Punit Sehgal, CEO for Belux at Atos.
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