Suitcase without a handle: France does not rule out saving Atos through nationalization

Atos announced that it had signed an agreement with ALTEN SA to sell its business unit to Worldgrid for $270 million. Worldgrid provides consulting and engineering services to energy and utility companies, but this amount is not enough to improve the company’s financial position. The French government is ready to financially support the company and is again considering nationalization as one of the possible options for overcoming the crisis.

ALTEN is reported to be a renowned IT and engineering player with expertise in the energy and utility industries. The transaction will not affect Worldgrid’s strategic customer service. The deal has already received regulatory approval and will be closed by the end of 2024. ALTEN currently employs approximately 1,100 employees. In 2023, its revenue was about €170 million.

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The amount received from the transaction is too small to solve the financial problems of the French company. Last week, France stepped up efforts to turn around Atos, which remains in financial difficulties and is in the process of restructuring.

The country’s parliamentary finance commission said it had adopted an amendment to the 2025 finance bill currently being considered by parliamentarians that would allow for the nationalization of Atos. “Atos is in poor condition,” the explanatory note says. “The company has a debt of €5 billion. This is due to the company’s acquisition and expansion strategy, which ultimately weakened it.” There will be a vote on this bill, so it’s too early to talk about any decisions, The Register resource reported.

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Last week, the French government also announced a round of funding for Atos from its Economic and Social Development Fund, saying the investment would give the state a privileged stake in the business. Antoine Armand, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry of France, noted that thanks to this, the state will gain greater control over the activities and decisions of the company. He also said these actions guarantee the high level of security necessary for the country’s sovereignty and demonstrate “the ability of the state to implement the necessary protection measures in companies that carry out strategic activities.”

Atos ended the first half of the year with a loss of €1.9 billion and has a debt of €4.2 billion. The company blames its failures on “continued market weakness in America and Central Europe”, but predicts better times ahead. As The Register believes, the government risks getting “a suitcase without a handle.” Suffice it to remember that 25 years ago the Atos share price was almost €150 per unit, and at the close of trading on Monday the company’s share price was €0.67.