2024-06-30 17:18:11
Atos’ collectors and banks agreed on Sunday to take over and rescue the troubled French IT large, doubtlessly marking the tip of a tortuous saga within the weeks earlier than the Olympics, for which the group is the know-how spine.
A press launch issued 4 days later by the consortium led by the primary shareholder Onepoint stated the settlement would contain a capital improve of 233 million euros, the supply of latest financing of 150 million to 1.675 billion euros and the discount of three.1 billion euros in debt. Atos had initially chosen to make the acquisition however threw within the towel.
The announcement by Atos administration boosted hopes of an finish to the disaster on the group, which has round 100,000 workers in 69 international locations however has been thrown into turmoil in latest months.
He now hopes to be up and operating as quickly as early July, earlier than the Olympics.
“The restructuring operations will likely be applied within the second half of 2024 with a view to efficient completion by the tip of 2024 or the primary quarter of 2025,” the group stated.
Banks and bondholders would change into its main shareholders: they’d maintain as much as 99.9% of the capital.
Nevertheless, the capital improve is open to current shareholders who don’t want their participation to be diluted and who can obtain as much as 25.9% of the shares in the event that they contribute capital.
The settlement reached ought to permit the group to flee monetary difficulties, get hold of a “BB” credit standing “by 2026” and assure it liquidity of not less than 1.1 billion euros “by December 31, 2026.”
-“make investments once more”-
“The principle thought is that every thing begins earlier than the Olympics,” she added, stressing that the settlement “leaves a portion of the shares for current shareholders. Those that imagine in Atos and need to reinvest will likely be ready to take action”.
Has the rejected candidate to take over the group, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, been dominated out? The supply confused that collectors and banks “aren’t closed to the arrival of industrialists.”
“He nonetheless has to show that he’s an industrialist and has no (German fund) references” that accompanied his takeover provide and that “we now not need to hear”.
One other investor within the Atos bid, Onepoint boss David Layani, was picked on June 11 however stunned everybody by strolling away from the bid this week.
Mr. Layani, the incoming chief, resigned from the Atos board on Friday and introduced that his group wished to exit the corporate (it at present holds an 11% stake in Atos).
– Strategic Dimension –
Atos, which has been mired in monetary disaster for practically three years, launched restructuring procedures in February and its shares are at present value lower than one euro on the inventory market.
It should change into the technological spine of the Olympic Video games in Paris this summer season, and its future additionally has a powerful political dimension linked to its strategic actions within the subject of protection (notably military tools or supercomputers for France’s nuclear deterrent).
In relation to those delicate actions, Atos introduced this week that it had “accomplished negotiations” with the French authorities “on an settlement designed to guard France’s sovereign pursuits.” Clearly, it’s a query of stopping these actions from falling into the fingers of international actors.
In mid-June, the state supplied 700 million euros to purchase them.
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