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Airbus drops offer for stake in Atos unit, shares tumble
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus has decided not to make an offer for a minority stake in Atos’ soon-to-be spun-off division Evidian, sending shares in the French IT firm down more than 15%.
In a statement on Wednesday, the world’s largest planemaker said the purchase of a 29.9% stake in Evidian “does not meet the company’s objectives in the current context and under the current structure.”
A person familiar with the talks said Airbus reckoned that financial conditions had not been met for the deal originally being discussed but that it still believed in some form of partnership with Atos.
Evidian regroups Atos’ most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers, and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury had said last month a deal would have made sense because aerospace was increasingly driven by big data, connectivity and high-power computing.
Atos, whose clients include France’s administration and army, would have in return secured much-needed investment as it strives to carry out its split-up plan after a troubled period marked by a governance crisis, heavy losses and sharp stock price swings.
Its shares fell 17% by 1107 GMT.
“Atos takes note of Airbus’ decision to no longer pursue the discussions it initiated in February 2023,” it said in a separate statement.
“Atos confirms it will, with Airbus, explore other options and pursue the work on the long-term strategic and technological partnership between Airbus and Evidian which has the potential to create significant value for both companies.”
A deal would have made Airbus the No. 1 investor Evidian.
Atos values the unit at about 7 billion euros ($7.60 billion), including a 3- billion-euro debt, a source familiar with the matter had told Reuters in February.
At that valuation, a 29.9% share stake in Evidian would have a price tag of 1.2 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9213 euros)
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Tim Hepher; Editing by Silvia Aloisi)
A minority stake refers to owning less than 50% of a company's shares, which means the shareholder does not have control over the company but may influence decisions.
Corporate governance involves the systems, principles, and processes by which a company is directed and controlled, ensuring accountability and transparency.
A stake in a company represents ownership, usually measured in shares, which entitles the holder to a portion of the company's profits and voting rights.
A partnership in business is a formal arrangement where two or more parties agree to manage and operate a business together, sharing profits and liabilities.
Investment can significantly impact a company's shares by increasing their value if the investment leads to growth, or decreasing their value if the investment fails.
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