The French government has submitted a proposal to Atos to take over BDS activities. Atos, in desperate need of money, does not hesitate to do so.

Bruno Lemaire, the French finance minister, is said to have personally sent a letter to Atos last weekend to announce the government’s plans, the minister confirmed to Reuters on Sunday. The French government is targeting Atos’ activities Advanced computing, mission-critical systems And Cyber ​​products. These fall under the BDS branch of the company, which has continued to operate under the name Eviden since the controversial split.

The French government plans to nationalize Atos-Beton. Atos, in turn, says it is open to this offer. A specific amount has not yet been announced, but the French IT company believes that these activities are worth between 700 million and one billion euros.

National significance

It is no coincidence that the French government is keen to keep Atos’s BDS branch within its borders. The company is an important technology partner for the military and intelligence services, which means that Atos also has a national interest for France and the government therefore wants to prevent these strategic branches from falling into foreign halls at all costs. Atos also plays an important role in the digital framework for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

Sources say Thales and Dassault Aviation would be involved in the takeover bid, but neither party will or can confirm this. How and where the government wants to organize Atos’ industries is also still unclear. The BDS branch employs around four thousand people.

Financial breathing space

By June, Atos would be made a concrete offer that could put the money to good use. The company had previously announced that it would need more than a billion euros this year to make ends meet. Atos is urgently looking for investors. Previously, takeover talks with the Czech billionaire David Kretinsky and then with Airbus failed. Interested parties can register until May 3rd, and Atos hopes to have secured the necessary funds by July.

In any case, the news of a possible takeover by the French government has already caused Atos shares to rise. This is also not uninteresting in terms of possible investments. So for the first time in a long time there is subdued sunshine over Atos, although the dark clouds remain. Atos made a net loss of $3.6 billion in 2023.