Atos’ bondholders and banks reached an agreement on Sunday to take over and save the struggling IT group themselves, which could mark the epilogue of a saga full of twists and turns.
The deal will involve a capital increase of €233 million, a contribution of €1.5 to €1.675 billion and a debt reduction of €3.1 billion, according to a statement released four days after the consortium led by Onepoint, Atos’ largest shareholder initially chosen to carry out the takeover, threw in the towel.
This announcement, made by Atos management, reinforces hopes of an end to the crisis for the group, a technological pillar of the Paris Games this summer and with some 100,000 employees in 69 countries, but plunged into chaos in recent months.
He now hopes to move very quickly to launch operations at the beginning of July, before the Olympic Games.
“The restructuring operations will then be implemented during the second half of 2024 with a view to effective completion by the end of 2024 or during the first quarter of 2025,” specifies the group.
Banks and bondholders will then become the majority shareholders of the group: they will hold up to 99.9% of the capital.
The capital increase is however open to current shareholders, who would not wish to see their participation diluted, and could, if they contribute, secure a maximum of 25.9% of the capital.
Once the flagship of French IT, the group is dragging a colossal debt and was fighting for its survival. The last few days have been particularly eventful, with entrepreneur David Layani (Onepoint) giving up on saving Atos, in a final twist.
The agreement reached should enable the group to get out of its financial rut, to obtain a “BB” credit rating “by 2026” and to guarantee it “a minimum amount of liquidity of 1.1 billion euros” until December 31, 2026.
