The Atos group has given its creditors until Friday to make refinancing proposals while its debt is around 5 billion euros (AFP/Archives/Damien MEYER)
The senatorial information mission responsible for analyzing the difficulties of Atos highlighted on Tuesday “the late and insufficient intervention of the State” in the matter and made eleven proposals to save the French IT giant, in its report presented to the Senate.
The rapporteurs said they “regret a partial, fragmented and late mobilization of state services with regard to a strategic enterprise for our national sovereignty and defense”, while Bercy expressed its interest on Sunday with a view to acquiring sovereign activities of Atos.
“We have taken all our responsibilities towards Atos”, replied the Minister of the Economy, Bruno le Maire, questioned in the Senate by Thierry Meignen (LR), one of the rapporteurs of this mission of information.
“It is not because we do things discreetly that we do not do them effectively” added the minister, pointing out that his services had been working on this file for months.
“The majority of stakeholders would have preferred proactive and stabilizing intervention from the State from the second half of 2022,” insisted the rapporteurs in a press release.
Furthermore, the acquisition by the State of the strategic activities of Atos “will not resolve the question of the future of the group” they deplored, in particular that of the Tech Foundations branch, which brings together the historic outsourcing activities , some of which are also of a sovereign nature, according to the rapporteurs.
The Minister of the Economy, Bruno le Maire during a debate on public finances at the National Assembly, in Paris, April 29, 2024 (AFP/Alain JOCARD)
“Sensitive contracts for our data and our public services are attached to Tech Foundations, the imperviousness of which with Eviden has still not been clearly demonstrated,” they underlined, Eviden bringing together cybersecurity, digital and BDS activities (the branch “big data” and security) from Atos.
They expressed their fear in the long term of “a piecemeal sale” of a company which would have lost its main attractions, such as its supercomputers used for nuclear deterrence or its cybersecurity products.
Among their recommendations, the senators recommend the entry of the State into the capital of Atos through an equity investment to guarantee it a place on the board of directors and to be able to supervise strategic activities while ensuring viability of the group as a whole.
They also call for Bpifrance to take a majority stake in BDS.
In the event of asset sales, the senators want “French industrial buyers to be favored” to “preserve our competitiveness”.
To explain the delicate financial position of the group, the fact-finding mission highlights certain decisions taken during the presidency of Thierry Breton, between 2008 and 2019, questioning in particular the “frequency and number of acquisitions, their price of purchase (…) or even the speed and execution of restructurings” during this period.
They also believe that Atos would have taken “certain technological turns too late” and that the instability at its head since 2019 has led “to short-term financial logic”.
Launched in February, the information mission of the Senate’s Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs committees interviewed 84 people over nearly three months, including the president of Atos, Jean-Pierre Mustier, and its general director Paul Saleh, the April 10.
The French IT giant has given its creditors until Friday to make refinancing proposals.
The company indicated on Monday that it now needs 1.1 billion euros in liquidity for its activity in 2024-2025 and wants to reduce its gross debt by 3.2 billion euros, which is around 5 billion.
© 2024 AFP
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