Non-Binding Offer: Atos receives an offer from the French State to acquire its Advanced Computing activities.
Financial Details: Proposed enterprise value of €500 million, potentially increasing to €625 million with earn-outs.
Impact on Restructuring: The sale affects Atos's financial restructuring process and timetable.
AAtos has received a non-binding offer from the French State for the potential acquisition of 100% of its Advanced Computing activities within the BDS division. The proposed enterprise value is €500 million, which could increase to €625 million including earn-outs. The offer includes an exclusivity period until May 31, 2025, during which Atos and the French State will engage in exclusive negotiations.
The Advanced Computing business encompasses High-Performance Computing (HPC), Quantum Computing, Business Computing, and Artificial Intelligence divisions. Employing approximately 2,500 people, this segment generated revenue of around €570 million in 2023. If the negotiations lead to an agreement and customary approvals are obtained, a Share Purchase Agreement may be signed by the specified date. An initial payment of €150 million is expected upon signing.
"The indicative closing date of the financial restructuring transactions is still planned by year-end or early January 2025."
— Atos
As part of the agreement with financial creditors, an independent expert will assess the valuation of the disposed perimeter to ensure that the terms of the transaction reflect a fair market value. Additionally, Atos commits to launching a formal sale process for its Cybersecurity Products and Mission Critical Systems businesses, which generated revenue of approximately €340 million in 2023.
The sale of the Advanced Computing activities will impact Atos's current financial restructuring process and timetable. The company anticipates a 2027 financial leverage ratio of between 1.8x and 2.1x, depending on the outcome of the ongoing €233 million rights issue. A supplement to the prospectus relating to the rights issue will be filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and the subscription period will be extended accordingly.
Atos will continue to inform the market of the next steps in its financial restructuring. The company emphasizes that the information provided aims to reestablish equal access to information relating to the Atos Group among investors.
