Czech billionaire and French investor among bidders for Atos debt

Paris — Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, French investor David Layani and a consortium of banks had all filed bids to restructure the debt of French IT company Atos, it said on Monday, adding it had already rejected an offer from Bain Capital.

Once a celebrated flagship technology company included in the blue-chip CAC-40 share index, Atos grew quickly through acquisitions but later made a series of strategic mistakes against a backdrop of unstable governance.

The company said in a statement issued before the Paris stock exchange opened that it would decide which offer to pursue by the end of the month, while also negotiating the planned takeover of its cybersecurity, military communication and supercomputing assets by the French state.

Atos shares rose briefly before reversing course to stand about 2% lower on Monday morning.

The company confirmed that an agreement for an emergency €100m credit facility had been signed with some of its creditors, while talks with banks and the state to provide another €350m were progressing. Atos, which hosts sensitive data for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, has said it needs €1.1bn in total to finance its business over 2024-2025.

As Atos’s largest shareholder with about an 11% stake, tech investor David Layani wants to tighten his grip on the company and become its next boss, with his pitch centred on keeping Atos under French control.

According to the offer posted on Atos’s website, Layani’s investment fund Onepoint and its financial partner Butler Industries would inject €350m in cash in exchange for “a minimum” of 35% of the firm’s shares and voting rights. The offer would allow for a total new capital injection of up to €500m.

Deep-pocketed Kretinsky, who recently took over French supermarket chain Casino in a similar debt restructuring deal, has teamed up with investment fund Attestor, offering to inject €600m in equity and provide a total of €1.3bn in financing over five years.

A third bid from Atos’s main bondholders and bank creditors offers €1.2bn in new money through bonds and guarantees, as well as the conversion of current debt worth €1.8bn into equity.

Any restructuring “probably implies radical changes in the capital structure of the company and a significant issuing of new shares that will lead to a massive dilution of existing shareholders”, Atos said.

Reuters