by Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) – Sycomore Asset Management, a minority shareholder of Atos which has been calling for the resignation of the group’s chairman for several months, asked on Thursday that this question be placed on the agenda of the next general meeting.
The IT and cybersecurity group announced almost simultaneously last year a costly plan to split up its activities before probable disposals, as well as the departure of its managing director, Rodolphe Belmer.
Airbus had expressed its interest in taking a stake in the future split cyber branch of Atos now called Eviden, before abandoning its project.
Sycomore AM believes in a letter dated June 1 addressed to Atos and communicated to the press, that Bertrand Meunier has “a significant share of responsibility in the governance crisis” to which the group, formerly headed by the European Commissioner responsible for the internal market , Thierry Breton, was confronted.
The successive and sudden departure of two chief executives and the role of Bertrand Meunier in their appointment lead to a formal request for his dismissal at Atos’ annual general meeting on June 28, the management company said.
Sycomore AM says it holds just over 1% of Atos shares, which exceeds the 0.7% threshold required to file a resolution with the company’s shareholders.
A spokesperson for Atos declined to comment.
Other minority shareholders support Sycomore’s initiative, Cyril Charlot, founding partner of the management company, said at a press conference, without wanting to name them.
According to Cyril Charlot, these investors and Sycomore represent between 4% and 5% of the capital of Atos. A proportion which is not sufficient in the state to pass the resolution.
The fund had already indicated last September that it wanted the resignation of the group’s president, Bertrand Meunier.
(Report Mathieu Rosemain; French version Kate Entringer, edited by Nicolas Delame)
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