by Mathieu Rosemain
Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky is exploring options to persuade creditors to accept his takeover offer for Atos, a source close to the matter said, as the company faces a decision on a debt restructuring plan by May 31.
Among the options considered, one would consist of giving creditors access to the capital of the entity bringing together Atos’ historic outsourcing activities, the source indicated.
This move would give creditors economic exposure to the entity in question.
Daniel Kretinsky’s investment vehicle EP Equity Investment (EPEI), in partnership with the British fund Attestor, so far offers to erase more than 90% of Atos’ financial debt, amounting to 4, 8 billion euros, and to sell a large part of the company, the proceeds of which would be partly distributed to creditors.
The two partners would inject 600 million euros in cash as part of the plan, in exchange for almost all of Atos’ ownership, according to a document detailing the initial offer and published on the Atos website. two weeks ago.
Spokespeople for Daniel Kretinsky, Atos and OnePoint, the group’s largest shareholder, declined to comment.
In addition to Daniel Kretinsky’s offer, Atos announced at the beginning of May that it had accepted as part of its financial restructuring procedure two other proposals coming respectively from a group of bondholders and banks and from OnePoint, a company controlled by David Layani.
In their offer, bondholders and banks say they are in favor of the arrival of a “reference investor”, provided that he refrains from selling assets, a position which aligns with that of David Layani.
The Kretinsky-Attestor camp, for its part, has expressed deep concerns about the commercial situation of Atos, which is considered worse than expected and believes that a significant reduction in debt is necessary to save the company.
Once a French technological flagship integrated into the CAC 40, and led by the current European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, Atos has grown through acquisitions but has made a series of strategic errors against a backdrop of unstable governance.
A court administrator was asked to help find new money and restructure the group’s debt.
(Report by Mathieu Rosemain, French version by Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)