Worldgrid will soon change hands. The French IT group Atos, in the midst of financial restructuring, announced this Monday the finalization of the sale of its highly critical subsidiary to its compatriot Alten. This sale announced in June, the subject of a binding agreement at the beginning of November, has been finalized “for an enterprise value of 270 million euros”specifies Atos in a press release. Thanks to her, “Atos' net debt will be reduced by approximately 0.2 billion euros”continues the group.
As a reminder, Worldgrid designs the control systems for nuclear power plants, particularly for EDF. The subsidiary employs nearly 1,100 employees and generated a turnover of around 170 million euros in 2023, according to Atos.
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In a separate press release, the Alten group recalls that it is “recognized for its expertise as a provider of technology and engineering solutions.” With “3,000 consultants worldwide working in the energy sector, including 1,000 in the nuclear sector”.
Atos debt reduction
This sale, which is of a strategic nature for the industrial security of the French nuclear fleet, contributes to Atos' debt reduction strategy. In disarray for several years, the former Tech flagship received a breath of fresh air at the end of October, with the validation by the commercial court of its accelerated safeguard plan.
This plan, voted on at the beginning of September by creditors and shareholders, provides for debt relief of 3 billion euros, out of a total of nearly 5 billion, a capital increase and dilution. « massive » of shareholders. It is supposed to be implemented by January 2025 at the latest.
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The fact remains that many employees appear worried despite this plan, according to Fabrice Lorioux, Unsa union representative. “The financial funds which are shareholders of Atos only think of one thing: recovering part of their money”he stressed, referring to the sale of Worldgrid. According to him, “the restructuring only aims to let the company survive for two or three years, not much more”.
Negotiations with the State
Furthermore, Atos announced last Monday that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with the French State with a view to transferring the strategic activities of its branch to it. « Advanced Computing ». These notably include supercomputers used for nuclear deterrence.
The planned operation, which also concerns servers participating in artificial intelligence activities, covers the entire branch, for a business value of between 500 and 625 million euros. The French State's offer provides for discussions to take place until May 31, 2025.
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“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 activity of supercomputers”then reacted the Minister of the Economy, Antoine Armand.
At the beginning of November, Atos had already announced the issue of a preferred share for the benefit of the French State, granting it special rights in Bull SA, the subsidiary building the supercomputers used in particular to simulate nuclear deterrence tests. In the event of a positive conclusion of these negotiations, it is expected that the IT group will receive a first payment of 150 million euros upon signature of the agreement.
(With AFP)
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