Atos, a French IT company, was having a hard time staying in business until the French government offered to take over some of its operations.
As part of the deal, the government would buy the advanced computer, mission-critical systems, and cybersecurity product lines from Atos. There was a value of between 700 million euros and 1 billion euros behind the deal. Soon, the first steps will be taken toward the offer, and the offer itself could happen as early as June.
The deal was revealed this weekend by Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister. “There are activities within Atos that are sovereign and must remain under the sole control of France,” he said. It was Le Maine’s hope that several French companies would invest in Atos, but none of the deals went through. Atos is currently in charge of several secret contracts with the French government. They are also in charge of the Paris Olympics’ data and cybersecurity.
Several talks about deals with Airbus and even Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky fell through, which is what led the government to suggest the investment.
The company has been having a lot of money problems and owes a lot of money—almost four billion euros worth. The company said they needed more than a billion euros to run their business through next year. This is more than the amount they told investors they needed.
There are plans for the company to restructure in the next few months. Since it was announced that the government would be investing, Atos’s stock price has gone up 19%.
