Atos: three takeover deals to be studied by May 31, 2024

On May 6, 2024, Atos announced it had received four buyout offers, and selected three, which will be studied by May 31, 2024. The IT company will announce its selection, and hopes to finalize the deal over the month of July 2024. 

At the same time, the French government voiced its intent to buy Atos’ “sovereign” branches, including supercomputers, quantum computing and cybersecurity. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, stated on April 29, 2024, that he had sent Atos executives a “non-binding” letter of intent to this end. 

In regard to takeover offers, the tech company rejected the partial offer by US investment fund Bain Capital, which “did not meet the firm’s stated goals in regard to the company’s entire scope,” reads Atos’ press release. 

Three offers thus remain in the running. The first, named “Project Alpha”, brings together the creditors (bondholders and banks) sharing Atos’ five-billion-euro debt. It includes financing to the tune of 1.2 billion euros, with 600 million euros in new bonds and 600 million euros in new bank loans. 

The second offer comes from Czech billionaire entrepreneur Daniel Křetínský, through his fund, EP Equity Investment, supported by the British hedge fund, Attestor Limited. It relies on a 600-million-euro capital increase, 1.3 billion euros in facilities, and debt refinancing.

The French company Onepoint, which already has an 11% stake in Atos, issued the third offer, alongside Butler Industries, a fund belonging to businessman Walter Butler. It includes a 350-million-euro investment, in exchange for at least 35% of shares, 1.3 billion euros in new facilities and 500 million in fundraising. 

Atos explained the takeover “will probably entail radical changes in the company’s capital structure and a significant amount of new securities issued, which will result in massive dilution of existing shareholders.”