The French company Atos is negotiating with the French government to sell it a division engaged in “Advanced Computing Activities”. The company’s press service reports that part of the business will cost €500 million ($524 million).
The company, which is on the verge of bankruptcy and provides communications to the French military and intelligence services, as well as produces servers for supercomputers and other devices, is now in the process of restructuring its debts and at the same time changing directors several times.
Over the past four months, the government has been trying to reach an agreement with the company’s management to ensure that French authorities retain control over Atos’ strategic technologies and prevent them from falling into the hands of foreign buyers.
Image Source: Jametlene Reskp/unsplash.com
The parties expect to sign an agreement to purchase shares before May 31, when the exclusivity period ends. In its statement, Atos said that the initial payment should be €150 million upon signing the agreement.
Potentially, the transaction amount could increase to €650 million, including additional payments. According to the representative of the French authorities, the French government is able, when necessary, to preserve strategically important industries to protect sovereignty.
The Atos BDS division includes Advanced Computing, Critical Systems and Cyber Products, which employ 4 thousand people and have combined sales of approximately €900 million annually.
Atos also said it intends to launch a formal sales process for Critical Systems and Cyber Products. Taking into account the sale of one of the divisions, by 2027 the company’s financial leverage (the ratio of net debt to basic profit) will be in the range from 1.8 to 2.1. This is considered a moderate level of debt burden.
France’s parliamentary finance commission earlier this month said it had adopted an amendment that could lead to the nationalization of Atos.
Back in April, it was reported that the French authorities intended to buy part of Atos’ assets, but in October news appeared that they had abandoned their plans.