New twist in the Atos file. The State has entered into exclusive negotiations with the digital group for the potential acquisition of the entire Advanced computing activities, which generated a turnover of approximately 570 million euros and employs 2,500 people mainly in France. He submitted an offer on Sunday with an enterprise value of 500 million euros which could rise to 625 million euros including price supplements. The exclusivity of the State, which will have to make an initial payment of 150 million euros to Atos upon signature of the transfer (Share Purchase Agreement), is granted until May 31. This is a major change in strategy for the State, which last April wanted to acquire all Big Data & Cybersecurity (BDS) activities for an amount of 700 million euros.
This ambition to nationalize BDS was even confirmed by the State in June. As such, he had submitted a non-binding offer with a view to nationalizing this activity which he considered sovereign. And then nothing until October 7, the date on which Atos announced the expiration of the non-binding offer on BDS from the French government received on June 14, and revised on September 30. Following this press release, Atos indicated that discussions relating to the potential acquisition by the French State of the activities of BDS (Advanced Computing, Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products) continued until this new twist. , which clearly marks a clear decline in the state's ambitions.
Atos, still a BDS seller
However, Atos still remains a seller of the Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products activities. The group clarified that it “would commit to launching an organized divestment process for its Cybersecurity Products and Mission Critical Systems activities, which generated a turnover of approximately 340 million euros in 2023”. Thales and Airbus should logically be very interested in these two BDS activities, which were ultimately sold piecemeal. This Atos subsidiary achieved 1.42 billion euros in revised turnover in 2023. The group is betting on continued growth in BDS turnover in the years to come, it should amount to 1.53 billion in 2024, then 1.74 billion in 2025, 1.94 billion in 2026, and, finally, 2.17 billion in 2027.
In the end, the State lowered its ambitions by purchasing Atos Advanced Computing. This activity designs and manufactures high-performance servers as well as supercomputers, critical technologies whose applications for the benefit of defense and French industry are essential for the sovereignty of France, estimated the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry. Very concretely, Atos' Advanced Computing activities bring together the High-Performance Computing (HPC) & Quantum divisions as well as the Business Computing & Artificial intelligence divisions. “This key step confirms the solidity of the State’s project for these sovereign activities”he stressed.
“The opening of exclusive discussions between the State and Atos constitutes a crucial first step, not only for the recovery and restructuring of the group but also for securing the strategic supercomputer activity. It is the role of the State to guarantee, as a shareholder when justified, the sustainability and development of the most strategic industrial activities for our sovereignty,” said the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Development. Industry, Antoine Armand.
Preferential action for other sovereign activities
The other sovereign activities of the Atos group are already the subject of adequate protection through the convention and the preferential action from which the State benefits. Their sale will be carried out by Atos as part of a separate process and on the basis of a list of possible buyers approved by the State. As an extension of the agreement concluded between Atos, Bull SA and the State on June 26, 2024, Atos announced at the beginning of November that Bull SA had issued on November 8 a preferential action for the benefit of the French State in order to protect the interests of national sovereignty in respect of certain activities carried out by Atos.
For Atos, this sale, if it materializes, will have a leverage effect expected for 2027 as part of the ongoing financial restructuring, the safeguard plan for which was approved on September 27 and decided by the Specialized Commercial Court of Nanterre on October 24, 2024. Atos suffers from a lack of visibility. This has led a number of clients to terminate contracts or postpone the award of new contracts, preferring to wait for the finalization of Atos' financial restructuring plan. Thus, BDS's business plan was revised downwards to align with current commercial dynamics.
