Airbus has submitted an offer worth at least 1.5 billion euros to Atos to take over the BDS activities.

Atos and Airbus confirmed to Reuters this morning that discussions are underway to acquire the French IT company’s BDS operations (Big Data & Security). Both companies thus confirm rumors that have been spread by various French news media since mid-December. The takeover offer would be between 1.5 and 1.8 billion euros.

Looking for investors

Airbus attempted to buy into Atos’ cybersecurity division in March 2023, but Atos did not appear interested at the time. Both parties deepened their cooperation. It’s no secret that Atos is looking for investors for its various divisions, meaning it may now be open to an offer. The French government would prefer the company to remain in French hands.

Since the controversial split of Atos in 2022, BDS activities have been part of the part of the company known as Eviden. This division is also active in the supercomputer market and recently won a major order there. All activities related to data center, hosting, digital workplace and unified communications were transferred to the Atos Tech Foundations branch.

Atos does not appear to have set an exact deadline for completing the possible sale. We will continue to update this article as more information becomes available.